Lessons
The borders between Orthodoxy and heresy are drawn in blood. (Elder Jerome)
Live in peace not only with your friends but also with your enemies; but only with your own personal enemies, not with the enemies of God. (St. Theodosius of Kiev Caves)
Faith is the only blessed foundation of the life of the personal and the life of the social and the ordering of the state. (St. Nicholas of Žiča)
Freedom that excludes any possibility of pursuing the good is perfect and Divine. (St. Filaret Moskovsky)
As pure canvas, freedom is given to people; when people get dirty, they must wash it with tears and blood. Because freedom is either pure or none at all. Or Golden Liberty, inseparable from the Holy Cross, or none. (St. Nicholas of Žiča)
Freedom in God and not from God - this is true freedom, unforgiving, life-giving, joyful, golden. ”(St. Nicholas of Žiča)
Whoever does not believe the Apostles trusts Judas, Caiaphas, Herod and Nero - the persecutors of the Apostles and the traitors of truth. He who does not believe the righteous has no choice but to believe the unjust. He who does not believe in the pure must believe in the unclean. Whoever does not believe the truth-sufferers must believe the tormentors and the depraved. Every day is not about anything else but for people to opt for one or the other. (St. Nicholas of Žiča)
No friend of gold has ever become a friend of Christ or people. (St. John Chrysostom)
A woman with her virtuous life morally protects the whole nation, but she also destroys it with her immorality. (St. Vasily the Great)
Do not forsake the will of God to fulfill the will of men. (St. Antony the Great)
In Kosovo, not only peonies but thorns also grew. But only peonies are introduced into Gracanica. (St. Nicholas of Žiča)
There is no time for prayer only for one who will not pray. (St. Innocent Moscow)
It is not for the condemnation of being poor, but for not having the courage to endure misery. (St. Vasily the Great)
We will find it useful for ourselves when we seek the benefit of our neighbor. (St. John Chrysostom)
It is not the rich who owns the property and keeps it, but the one who shares it. Sacrifice, not possession, makes us happy. (St. Clement of Alexandria)
A small fire softens a large slice of wax, so small inconveniences often soften, sweeten and cleanse all our sharpness, insensitivity and hardness of heart. (St. Ignatius Brijancaninov)
The more you love money, the harder you close the Kingdom of Heaven. (St. Vasily the Great)
Be joyful that you are allowed to be a devout Orthodox Christian. But also weep and mourn for the wicked and unbelievers who walk in darkness, in the hands of the devil. … THE SOUL AND THE CHRIST ARE NECESSARY… KEEP THE TWO - DO NOT LOSE THEM… (St. Kozma Atolski)
Who supports knowledge of his faith, supplements his knowledge with faith, he has solved the problem of faith and knowledge. (St. Nicholas of Žiča)
When we stop condemning God, we will stop condemning human beings, too. (St. Siluan)
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to make us who He is, by His infinite love has become what we are. (St. Irenaeus of Lyons)
Never do anything dishonest, even if it pleases many, and do not abandon a good deed, even if it is hateful fornicators. (St. Gregory the Theologian)
It is not the poor who has nothing, but the one who wants much; likewise he is not so rich that he has much, but he that needeth nothing. (St. John Chrysostom)
Don't be mean to anyone, no matter how much he has robbed you. (Elder Pacey)
Man, my brethren, begins to grow old, not when his hair is whitened, but when his heart is blackened.(St. Nectary of Aegina)
One support when you are at the bottom is worth more than a thousand praises when you are at the top. (Patriarch Paul)
It doesn't matter if they love you. It's important that you love. (Elder Porphyria)
Don't let your tongue run out before you think about what to say. (Elder Ephraim of Phimothey)
No matter how tempting a man is, he should say, "It is by the grace of God." (St. Sisoje)
Those who gather grief and abuse, and pray, are like those who seize water and pour it into an erupting judgment. (Prep. Neil Sinai)
A calm person considers each person taller than himself. (Father Thaddeus)
God sends us temptations out of His mercy, so that after we overcome them we may receive wreaths. Because, the wreath is not given to anyone without temptation. (Saint Justin Celijsky)
The greatest human disease is a defective thought. (Elder Paisie)
There is light and darkness in us. We are obliged to do what we can, to raise the light in ourselves, and then the darkness will go away. (Saint Jerome of Aegina)
The events that are coming will cleanse all the lawlessness and apostasy of the church clergy.
Don't worry too much ... Everything is according to the providence of the All-Merciful God, so that we don't lose our souls. (Elder Jefrem of Arizona)
In order to look at the Holy Trinity, you should pray for that to St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom, who taught about the Trinity, because their intercession can attract the blessing of the Holy Trinity to a person. That, on the other hand, if you look straight into the Trinity, you should beware. (Saint Seraphim of Sarov)
First of all, it is necessary to believe in God, because "he who approaches God should believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Heb. 11: 6).
Faith is, according to the teaching of Venerable Antiochus, the beginning of our union with God: he who truly believes is the stone of the temple of God, prepared for the edification of God the Father, exalted by the power of Jesus Christ, that is. by the cross, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
"Faith, on the other hand, without works is - dead", and works of faith are - love, peace, long-suffering, mercy, humility, rest from one's deeds, as God rested from deeds, carrying the cross and living in the spirit. Only such faith is recognized as true. There is no true faith without works. He who truly believes, inevitably has deeds. (Saint Seraphim of Sarov)
The reasons for the coming into the world of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are:
1) God's love for the human race, because "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for him" (John 3:16).
2)The resurrection in the fallen man of the image and likeness of God, as the Holy Church sings about it (1st canon on the Nativity of the Lord, song 1: renews the wise Creator. "
3)The salvation of human souls, because "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17).
Therefore, following the goal of the Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, we should also lead our lives in accordance with His divine teaching, in order to obtain the salvation of our souls. (Saint Seraphim of Sarov)
On the difficult path in temptations, illnesses and the like, the thorns of disbelief, intolerance and timidity tear the clothes of the soul. It is necessary, therefore, to pluck out these thorns by faith, hope and patience, having as an example the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered much throughout his earthly life. of life. Many thorns hurt His all-holy soul, which is why He announced "By your suffering save your souls." (Elder Jefrem of Arizona)
He who has acquired perfect love, lives in this life as if he does not exist, because he considers himself a stranger in the visible world, patiently waiting for the invisible. He all changed into love for God and forgot every other love. He who loves himself cannot love God. And he who does not love himself out of love for God, loves God. He who truly loves God is considered a stranger and a stranger on earth, because in his striving for God he contemplates Him Alone with his soul and mind. The soul, filled with the love of God, at the time of its departure from the body, will not be afraid of the prince of the air, but will fly with the Angels as from a foreign land to its homeland. (Saint Seraphim of Sarov)
Sin is sweet, very short, but its bitterness is very long. (Saint Demetrius of Rostov)
You put your personal plans in front of and above God's plans - that's why you suffer! Problems are solved by calming down and trusting in God. (Saint Paisius)