Spiritual Life and Christian Practices

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Love: The Foundation of Existence in Our World

by Metropolitan Macarius A homily on the life-giving and unifying force of love, and a call to those lost in materialism to return to the love of Christ in the Church. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. (II Cor. 9:15) Love, which rests in human hearts desires to […]

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Letters of Elder Macarius of Optina

A collection of excerpts from the letters of Elder Macarius of Optina, filled with deep spiritual insight and sobering instructions to people in a wide variety of situations. St. Macarius of Optina Introduction Elder Macarius of Optina was canonized by the Russian Church Abroad in 1990, together with the other […]

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The Vanity of Riches by St. John Chrysostom

In this sermon, given while a fugitive from the wrath of the emperor had taken refuge in the church, St. John reveals the way spiritual values transcend and overshadow all physical things, how Christianity renders riches worthless.  This is something we all need to hear and understand, us whose hearts […]

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A Catechetical Homily of St. Theodore the Studite

catechesis 2:  On taking care for ourselves and fleeing sin’s destructive places and ways. [Given on the Sunday of the Paralytic] Brethren and fathers, after the feast the season invites us once again to talk with you and to return to the usual instruction. And we have come with enthusiasm […]

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Fettered by Fear

by Priest Andrew Kencis “Of all of the innumerable temptations that we have to wade through on the path to salvation, there is one facet or “bonding agent” that is common to all of them.   It is precisely that which weakens our resolve and allows thoughts contrary to what we […]

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Recognizing Misfortune or Trouble Leads One to Seek Deliverance

by Our Holy Father Tikhon of Zadonsk This sermon not only dispels grief and suffering in the face of misfortune or troubles, but teaches the way such trials are for the good of the vigilant soul.  St. Tikhon is an author of renowned spiritual wisdom, and he is especially known […]

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Orthodox Near-Death Experience in Russia

by Claudia Vasilievna Ustignia Through the will of God, the account of this miracle, which took place 24 years ago [1965], has reached America. It’s authenticity is verified by the fact that it records the year, day, hour, city, address, names… etc. Reading it, we behold the great care which […]

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Principles for Pious Life by Archbishop Platon of Kostroma

“Always keep the name of Jesus on your lips, in your mind and your heart. As often as possible think of the Great love to you of the Lord God, praised and worshiped in Trinity, so that you yourself would love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, […]

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Icons: Aids in Spiritual Struggle by Fr. George Turpa

This lecture from the 1979 Orthodox Christian Youth Conference deals with those windows of Heaven, the holy and venerable icons.  Fr. George gives a historical context to the theology of the icon, and then uses the concept of a material icon that portrays unclouded reality as an introduction to the […]

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Modesty and Will by St. Metropolitan Philaret Voznesensky of New York

Our Lord Jesus Christ, instructing His disciples and apostles, imbued in them the necessity of observing purity of heart and thought. From the thought and from the heart proceed our sinful impulses: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart,” says the Saviour; “and […]