What kind of effort is being referred to? And why must it be achieved through effort rather than an easy, pleasant, carefree life? When reading and interpreting this phrase, it is essential to remember that the Lord spoke these words…
The most frequently read books of the Bible in the Church are the Psalter and the Gospel. It can be said that various excerpts from the Psalter constitute the lion’s share of all Orthodox services. Moreover, according to the Ustav,…
This is an important question because it is natural for people to notice the sins of others before paying attention to their own. The Lord Jesus Christ addresses this tendency in the parable about removing the beam from one’s own…
Vices, passions, and sins—these are terms describing different phenomena that, in Christian worldview, are interconnected and share much in common. In the vocabulary of Orthodox Christians, the word vice has the following meanings: It is important to note that in ecclesiastical use,…
What is conscience in a person? How can one learn to hear it? In life, we often face choices, and we want to act according to our conscience. Conscience is directly connected to what humanity gained after the Fall: the…
What is the ideal moral image of a Christian? Is it the one according to which we were created—in the image and likeness of God? Is it the image of Christ, which we are called to emulate today? In the…
What are the main Christian commandments and virtues? Are they innate to human nature from birth, or must they be cultivated and nurtured through effort? The commandments of the Christian faith, on one hand, present a lengthy list of what…
How can one be happy? How can one live in difficult circumstances (family, domestic challenges, health problems, work issues, etc.) and still “rejoice always”? If a person strives to keep all the commandments and church rules, will there be fewer…
The fear of God, or the fear of the Lord, is described by the wise King Solomon as the beginning of wisdom. However, there seems to be a visible contradiction when comparing this idea with the teaching of the holy…