“Why was it necessary for the Ascension to happen and for the Holy Spirit to descend?” In two volumes of Empirical Dogmatics, Metropolitan Hierotheos offers us a once-hidden treasure: the unwritten teachings of Fr John Romanides, one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the last century. These “spoken teachings” (recorded from lectures at the … [Read more...] about Met. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos (and Fr. John Romanides) – On The Mystery of Pentecost
Articles
Orthodox Spirituality and the Technological Revolution
Technology has led us into a dangerous new arena. As Fr Aimilianos puts it, whereas in industrial society people were consumers enslaved to the products they had made, in post-industrial society they are “ becoming consumers and slaves to [the] images and information which fill their lives.” Contrary to the technocrats with blind faith that technology will … [Read more...] about Orthodox Spirituality and the Technological Revolution
Why Does God Allow Evil? A Parable by Elder Cleopa
In this simple parable, Elder Cleopa explains how events that appear random, arbitrary, and even evil may in fact serve a higher purpose. Source: Orthodox Christian By Archimandrite Cleopa (Ilie) A long time ago in the Egyptian desert there lived a hermit monk. Sometimes he would go to Alexandria to sell the baskets he wove. The hermit would give almost all the … [Read more...] about Why Does God Allow Evil? A Parable by Elder Cleopa
The Diabolist: Remembering a Youthful Encounter with Evil1
In this recollection of his youth, the noted English writer G. K. Chesterton reflects on the terrifying and lingering impact of an encounter with evil in the person of one of his companions. The narrative is made unusually powerful by the skill with which Chesterton reveals the invisible concealed within the visible, the supernatural cloaked within the natural and mundane, deep … [Read more...] about The Diabolist: Remembering a Youthful Encounter with Evil1
How to Establish a Prayer Rule
Establishing and maintaining a prayer rule does not have to be an onerous experience, one that is more likely to fail than succeed, writes St. Theophan the Recluse. We need a prayer rule because we need discipline, but that discipline has to be doable, one that delivers the fruits of prayer and not one that drives us to frustration, or worse, despair, because we don't have the … [Read more...] about How to Establish a Prayer Rule
