God is Lord

O Θεός, o κουρέας και το κακό στον κόσμο....

 
Μια φορά πήγε ένας τύπος στο κουρείο για το καθιερωμένο κούρεμα και ξύρισμα.
Καθώς ο κουρέας άρχισε να δουλεύει, άρχισε μια καλή συζήτηση.
Μίλησαν για τόσα πολλά πράγματα και πάρα πολλά θέματα ...;
Όταν τελικά άγγιξαν το θέμα της θρησκείας και του θεού, ο κουρέας αναφώνησε:
Δεν πιστεύω ότι ο Θεός υπάρχει.
Γιατί το λες αυτό;' ρώτησε ο πελάτης. Και ο κουρέας είπε: 'Λοιπόν, απλά βγες έξω στο δρόμο για να καταλάβεις γιατί ο Θεός δεν υπάρχει. Πες μου γιατί αν ο Θεός υπάρχει, υπάρχουν τόσοι διεστραμμένοι;
Γιατί τόσα εγκαταλελειμμένα παιδιά;
Αν ο Θεός υπήρχε, δε θα υπήρχε ούτε δυστυχία ούτε πόνος.
Δε μπορώ να φανταστώ ένα Θεό που αγαπάει και συμπονεί να επιτρέπει όλα αυτά που γίνονται.'

Ο πελάτης το σκέφτηκε για μια στιγμή, αλλά δεν απάντησε γιατί δεν ήθελε να χαλάσει τη συζήτηση.
Ο κουρέας τελικά τελείωσε τη δουλειά του και ο πελάτης έφυγε.
Όμως μόλις έφυγε από το κουρείο, είδε ένα άντρα στο δρόμο με μακρυά κατσαρά βρώμικα μαλλιά και γένια. Φαινόταν πολύ βρώμικος και απεριποίητος. Εκείνη τη στιγμή ο πελάτης γύρισε πίσω και ξαναμπήκε στο κουρείο.

Τότε είπε στον κουρέα:
'Ξέρεις τι; Οι κουρείς δεν υπάρχουν!'
'Πως μπορείς να το λες αυτό;' ρώτησε ο έκπληκτος κουρέας.
'Είμαι εδώ και είμαι κουρέας! Μόλις σε κούρεψα, τι είναι αυτά που λες;'
'Όχι!' απάντησε ο πελάτης και εξήγησε: 'Οι κουρείς δεν υπάρχουν γιατί αν υπήρχαν, δε θα υπήρχαν αχτένιστοι άνθρωποι και με μακρυά βρώμικα μαλλιά, όπως ο τύπος απ' έξω.'

Μα ... οι κουρείς ΌΝΤΩΣ υπάρχουν! Αυτό συμβαίνει όταν οι άνθρωποι δεν έρχονται σε μένα.'
'Ακριβώς!' απάντησε ο πελάτης. 'Αυτό είναι το θέμα! Ο Θεός, επίσης ΥΠΑΡΧΕΙ! Και αυτό συμβαίνει όταν οι άνθρωποι δεν πηγαίνουν σε αυτόν και δεν αναζητούν σε αυτόν βοήθεια. Γι' αυτό υπάρχει τόσος πόνος και δυστυχία στον κόσμο.'

Great moments to remember

I arrived at the address and honked the horn.
After waiting a few minutes
I walked to the
Door and knocked.

. 'Just a minute', answered a
Frail, elderly voice. I could hear something
Being dragged across the floor.


After
A long pause, the door opened. A small woman in
Her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a
Print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned
On it, like somebody out of a 1940's
Movie.


By her side was a small nylon
Suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had
Lived in it for years. All the furniture was
Covered with sheets.


There were no
Clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils
On the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
Box filled with photos and
Glassware.


'Would you carry my bag
Out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase
To the cab, then returned to assist the
Woman.


She took my arm and we walked
Slowly toward the curb.


She kept
Thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I
Told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers
The way I would want my mother
Treated.


'Oh, you're such a good
Boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave
Me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
Through downtown?'


'It's not the
Shortest way,' I answered
Quickly..


'Oh, I don't mind,' she
Said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a
Hospice.


I looked in the rear-view
Mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have
Any family left,' she continued in a soft
Voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very
Long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the
Meter.


'What route would you like me
To take?' I asked.


For the next two
Hours, we drove through the city. She showed me
The building where she had once worked as an
Elevator
Operator.


We drove through the
Neighborhood where she and her husband had lived
When they were newlyweds She had me pull up in
Front of a furniture warehouse that had once
Been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a
Girl.


Sometimes she'd ask me to slow
In front of a particular building or corner and
Would sit staring into the darkness, saying
Nothing.


As the first hint of sun was
Creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm
Tired. Let's go now'.


We drove in
Silence to the address she had given me. It was
A low building, like a small convalescent home,
With a driveway that passed under a
Portico.


Two orderlies came out to
The cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
Solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.


I
Opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
The door. The woman was already seated in a
Wheelchair.


'How much do I owe you?'
She asked, reaching into her
Purse.


'Nothing,' I
Said


'You have to make a living,' she
Answered.


'There are other
Passengers,' I responded.


Almost
Without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She
Held onto me tightly.


'You gave an
Old woman a little moment of joy,' she
Said.
'Thank you.'


I squeezed her
Hand, and then walked into the dim morning
Light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound
Of the closing of a life..


I didn't
Pick up any more passengers that shift.

I drove
Aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that
Day, I could hardly talk.

What if that woman had
Gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient
To end his shift?
What
If I had refused to take the run, or had honked
Once, then driven away?


On a quick
Review, I don't think that I have done anything
More important in my life.


We're
Conditioned to think that our lives revolve
Around great moments.


But great
Moments often catch us unaware-beautifully
Wrapped in what others may consider a small
One.


PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY
WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL
ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM
FEEL.

AMEN....

What Oxygen is for our Physical well-being, God's Grace is for our Spiritual ( Elder Paisios )

"You must know that only passions and sins are ours. Whatever good we do is from God, whatever foolish things we do come from us. When God's Grace abandons us for just a little while, we become unable to do anything. As in natural life, when God removes oxygen from us we die immediately. The same is true for spiritual life: If God removes His Grace, we are lost."



Elder Paisios

Elder Paisios - That we must believe in God, rather than in ourselves

"Nowhere does the Gospel tell you to believe in yourself, but to believe in God --- that God can help, that God can heal. Some people, however, take this the wrong way, and say, 'Man has powers, and must believe in himself.' To believe in one's self contains either egoism or demonism."



Elder Paisios

Τι θα πει Υπομονη .....

Να πονάς, αλλά να μην καταβάλλεσαι.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μην παραφέρεσαι.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μην μεμψιμοιρείς.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μην γκρινιάζεις.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μην γίνεσαι αντικοινωνικός.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μην γίνεσαι πρόβλημα στο
περιβάλλον σου.
Να πονάς, αλλά να μένεις ολοθρος.
Να πονάς, αλλά να χαμογελάς.
Να πονάς, αλλά να δοξολογείς.
Να πονάς, αλλά να προσφέρεις.
Να πονάς, αλλά να προσεύχεσαι.

Why do women cry

A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?”

“Because I’m a woman,” she told him.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will.”

Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?”


“All women cry for no reason,” was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?”

God said:

“When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.”

“You see my son,” said God, “the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart – the place where love resides.”

Why study the signs of the times? (Fr. Seraphim Rose)

In the following talk, Fr. Seraphim speaks to us from almost twenty years ago, and yet his words are quite relevant to our times as we approach the end of the second millennium. Although some of the individual examples he gives are now dated, there are now even more extreme examples of the same phenomena of which he speaks. As always, he humbles his understanding before the holy Scriptures and their interpretation by the Orthodox Holy Fathers, and thus his teaching about the times remains timeless, free of the intellectual fashions and prejudices of this world. As time goes on, the Orthodox world-view from which he received his wisdom will become ever more necessary for the spiritual survival of true Christians.

THE SUBJECT of this talk is watching for the signs of the times. First of all, we have to know what it is meant by the phrase “signs of the times.” This expression comes straight from the Gospel, from the words of our Saviour in Matthew 16:3. Christ tells the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to Him, “Ye can discern the face of the sky,” that is, tell what the weather will be; “but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” In other words, He’s telling them that this has nothing to do with science, or with knowing our place in the world, or anything of the sort. It’s a religious question. We study the signs of the times in order to be able to recognize Christ.

During the time of Christ, the Pharisees and Sadducees did not study the signs of the times in order to see that Christ had come, that the Son of God was already on earth. There were already signs that they should have recognized. For example, in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, there is a prophecy concerning the seventy weeks of years, which means that the Messiah was to come about 490 years from the time of Daniel. Those Jews who read their books very carefully knew exactly what this was all about, and at about the time that Christ came they knew that it was time for the messiah.

But this is an outward sign. More importantly, the Pharisees and Sadducees should have been watching for the inward signs. If their hearts had been right with God, and if they had not been merely trying to fulfill the outward commandment of the law, their hearts would have responded and recognized God in the flesh when He came. And many of the Jews did—the apostles, the disciples, and many others.

This same passage in the 16th chapter of St. Matthew speaks further about signs. Our Lord told the Jews, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.” The events of the Old Testament contain prefigurations of events in the New Testament. When Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale, this was a prefiguation of our Lord’s being three days in the tomb. And this sign—the sign of Jonah-was given to the people of Christ’s time.

Our Lord was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that an evil and adulterous generation seeks for spectacular events, that is, fire coming down from heaven, or the Romans being chased away, angels manifesting themselves and banishing the foreign government of the Romans, and things of that sort. Christ told them this kind of sign would not be given. An evil and adulterous generation seeks after this, but those who are pure of heart seek rather something more spiritual. And the one sign that is given to them is the sign of Jonah. Of course, it is a great thing that a man should be three days in the grave and the rise up, being God.

Thus, from our Savior’s words, we know that we are not to watch for spectacular signs, but we are rather to look inwardly for spiritual signs. Also, we are to watch for those things which according to Scripture must come to pass.


Fr. Seraphim Rose

True joy comes from seeing God in all things

True joy comes from seeing God in all things, knowing God in all things. To know of God in the wisdom of the mind, this brings shimmers of peace and a foretaste of joy. Yet such joy is bounded, able to be swayed; for he who knows God’s presence but in part, still is able to imagine His absence. One, who sees God only in this place or in that, sees Him missing from those places in between. His joy is fleeting, for as in a moment it arises in the perception of God’s presence, so it retreats in the illusion of His absence. The one whose joy is stable, solid and penetrating, is he who knows of God’s presence among all things, with all things, and in all things. Even as in the temple, so, too, in the school. Even as in the Church, so, too, in the field. From the brightest star to the smallest blade of grass, he sees the beautiful mystery of Christ present as all in all. He beholds the leaf with reverence, as the vessel of his direct encounter with the grace of God. He beholds his sister with love, seeing in her the energies of the blessed Divinity. He begins to see God present in more and more, and absent from less and less; until he comes to the divine realization that there is no place that God is not, that the whole of creation around him shimmers in radiance with the presence of the Most Holy. He understands that perceptions of God’s absence are but an illusion in which there is no truth.
Then is joy most full, most pure. Then it is unfailing, for in all things is God encountered; and where God is, there true joy also abides. Even in sorrow, joy is known; for the earth itself cries out in witness of Christ’s presence in the sorrow — of the divine love that pervades even the deepest human grief. In loneliness, one too finds joy: for all creation sings of the Creator’s grace, and through it the Creator Himself is present, reaching out to His children.
Behold God the all-present, all-loving, all-merciful Father, everywhere existing and ever the same. Behold the source and giver of joy, abounding in this world of life. Behold God indeed, who has the power to save and the compassion to redeem.

Basic Orthodox knowledge – the true interpretation of the signs of the times (Fr. Seraphim Rose)

The first thing we must have if we are going to have the true interpretation of the signs of the times is something we can call basic Orthodox knowledge. That is, knowledge of the Holy Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments (and not just according to the way it seems, but according to the way the Church has interpreted it); knowledge of the writings of Holy Fathers; knowledge of Church history; and awareness of the different kind of heresies and errors which have attacked the Church’s true understanding of dogma and especially of the last times. If we do not have a grounding in sources such as these, we will find ourselves confused and unprepared. That is precisely what our Lord tells us: to be ready, to be prepared. Unless we have this basic knowledge, we will not be prepared and we will misinterpret the signs of the times.

A few years ago a book was printed in English which has become a fantastic bestseller for a religious book. It has sold over ten million copies in America. It’s called The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, a Protestant Evangelical in Texas. In a rather superficial style he gives his interpretation of the signs of the times. He believes it’s the last times we are living in now. He believes that everywhere around us there are being fulfilled these signs which our Lord talked about. If you read this book, you find that sometimes he gets something more or less correct according to our Orthodox understanding, sometimes he is totally off, and sometimes he is partly wrong, partly right. It’s as though he’s just guessing, because he reads the Scripture according to his own understanding. He has no basic Orthodox Christian knowledge, no background in the true knowledge of the Scriptures and the Holy Fathers. Therefore, if you read this book seriously, you will find that you become very confused. You don’t know what to believe any more. He talks, for example, about a millennium which is supposed to come before the end of the world. He talks about the rapture, when Christians are supposedly gathered up into the heavens before the end of the world, and then watch how the people suffer down below. He talks about the building of the Temple in Jerusalem as though this is a good thing, as thought this is preparing for Christ’s coming.

If you read such books as this (there are many other books like it; this one happens to be a bestseller because the author caught the imagination of people just at one particular time), and if you take them all as truth, you will find that instead of recognizing Christ—which is the whole reason for our understanding about the signs of the times—you will be accepting Antichrist.

Take, for example, the very question of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is true, according to Orthodox prophecies, that the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. If you look at people like Hal Lindsey, or even the Fundamentalist Carl McIntire, they are also talking about the building of the Temple, but they’re talking about it as though we are building it in order for Christ to come back and reign over the world for a thousand years. What they are talking about is the coming of Antichrist. The millennium, according to the Protestant interpretation, as being a special thousand-year reign at the end of the world, is actually the reign of Antichrist. In fact, there have already been people who have arisen and proclaimed their thousand-year kingdom which is going to last until the end of the world. The last one was Adolf Hitler. This is based upon the same kind of chiliastic idea: that is, interpreting the millennium in a worldly sense. The actual thousand years of the Apocalypse is the life in the Church which is now, that is, the life of Grace; and anyone who lives it sees that, compared to the people outside, it is indeed heaven on earth. But this is not the end. This is our preparation for the true kingdom of God which has no end.

There are many books of basic Orthodox knowledge now available. Those who are seriously concerned about studying the signs of the times should first be very well versed in some of these books, and they should be reading them, seriously studying them, and having them as daily food. The best books to read are not someone’s interpretation of Revelation (the Book of Apocalypse), because right now there’s not really any Orthodox interpretation of this in English.2

The best books are the basic spiritual textbooks. First of all there are basic texts of Orthodox dogmas, the various catechisms. One of the best is the eighth-century work of St. John Damascene, On the Orthodox Faith, which goes through the whole of the catechism. An even earlier one is St. Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical Lectures, that is, lectures prepared for people about to be baptized, which goes through the whole Creed and tells what the Church believes. There are many similar books of catechism, both in ancient times and in more modern times. More recently we have the catechisms in Russian of Metropolitan Platon and Metropolitan Philaret, which are a little shorter and simpler.

Then there is a different kind of book: commentaries on Holy Scriptures. There are not too many of these in English,3 but we do have some of the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom. This area is a little bit weak in English, because there are many good books in Russian which are not in English yet, including more recent books of commentaries on the Scriptures, even on the Apocalypse. Archbishop Averky’s books are very good, but they’re just being put into English now. God willing, before too long, they will be out.4

Then, besides these two kinds of books—basic catechism and commentaries on Scripture—there are all the books on Orthodox spiritual life. These include the Lausiac History (which tells about how the monks lived in Egypt, and how they fought spiritually), the Dialogues of St. Gregory of Rome, the Lives of Saints, The Ladder of St. John, the Homilies of St. Macarius the Great, the books of St. John Cassian, the Philokalia, Unseen Warfare and St. John of Kronstadt’s My Life in Christ. These books deal with basic Orthodox spiritual life, spiritual struggle, how to discern the wiles of the demons, how not to fall into deception. All of them give a basic foundation by which to understand the signs of the times.

Then there are the works of more recent writers who are in the same patristic spirit as the ancient Holy Fathers. The main examples are the two great writers of 19th-century Russia, Bishop Theophan the Recluse and Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov,5 whose works are now coming out gradually in English. Bishop Ignatius’ book The Arena and various articles by Bishop Theophan are in English.6 These two writers are very important because they transmit the patristic teaching down to our times. They have already explained many questions which arise concerning how to understand the Holy Fathers. For example, the new Orthodox Word has a whole text of Bishop Ignatius on the toll-houses which the soul meets after death. Sometimes, in reading the Holy Fathers, one has questions on such subjects and doesn’t quite know how to understand what the ancient Fathers say, and these more recent Father explain these texts.

There are the histories of the Church, which tell of God’s revelation to men and how God acts with regard to men. It is very instructive to read the stories of the Old Testament, because exactly the same things repeat themselves in the New Testament. Then one should read, along with he New Testament, the histories of the New Testament Church. For example, there’s a pocketbook of Eusebius’ History of the Church, which traces the history of the Church down through the first three centuries, written from an Orthodox Christian point of view.7 It’s very important to see what early Church writers saw was important in the history of the Church: the martyrs, the apostles, and so forth.

So all these different kinds of writings help to prepare us with basic Christian knowledge, that is, catechisms, commentaries on Scripture, books on spiritual life, more recent patristic books in this same spirit, and histories of the Church. Before we do too much reading about what specifically the signs of the times mean, we should have a basic background in all of these categories of books. All of them prepare one to understand something about the signs of the times. Once one has begun to prepare oneself like this, it is not merely a matter of adding knowledge up in one’s head and being able to repeat by heart certain phrases, to have exactly the right interpretation of a Bible verse, or anything of the sort.


Fr. Seraphim Rose

I ask of You God (a child’s wish)

From here on earth,

From my small place

I ask of You God

Please tell all men

In every land

What you and I

Both understand

Please tell all men

That Peace is Good.

That’s all

That need be understood.

In every world

In Your great sky,

We understand.

Both You and I.



Dedicated to all the children whose souls now rest in the arms of God

Ὁ τηλεφωνητὴς τῆς γιαγιᾶς

Σᾶς ὁμιλεῖ ὁ αὐτόματος τηλεφωνητὴς τῆς γιαγιᾶς:

-Καλημέρα, αὐτὴ τὴ στιγμὴ ἀπουσιάζω, παρακαλῶ ἀφῆστε τὸ μήνυμα μετὰ τὸν χαρακτηριστικὸ ἦχο beeeeeppp ...

- Ἐὰν εἶσαι ἕνα ἀπὸ τὰ παιδιά μου πίεσε 1 ἢ 2 (ἀνάλογα ποιὸ παιδὶ εἶσαι) καὶ στὴ συνέχεια χρησιμοποίησε τὶς ἑπόμενες ἐπιλογὲς:

-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ κρατήσω τὰ παιδιὰ πίεσε 2

-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ σοῦ πλύνω τὰ ροῦχα καὶ νὰ σιδερώσω πίεσε τὸ 3

-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ κοιμηθοῦν τὰ παιδιὰ ἐδῶ πίεσε 4

-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ πάρω τὰ παιδιὰ ἀπὸ τὸ σχολεῖο πίεσε 5

-ἐὰν θέλεις φαγητὸ νὰ στείλω στὸ σπίτι πίεσε 6

-ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ ἔρθεις νὰ φᾶς ἐδῶ πίεσε 7

-ἐὰν χρειάζεσαι λεφτὰ πίεσε 8

-Ἐὰν θέλεις νὰ μὲ καλέσεις γιὰ δεῖπνο ἢ νὰ μὲ πᾶς στὸ θέατρο ἁπλὰ ἄρχισε νὰ μιλᾶς !!!!!!!!!!!

Τὸ παιδὶ τοῦ διαζυγίου

Ὁρισμένες φορὲς οἱ γονεῖς, μετὰ ἀπὸ μία ἐπώδυνη πορεία, φθάνουν στὴν ἀπόφαση τοῦ διαζυγίου. Οἱ συνθῆκες δὲν εἶναι εὔκολες γιὰ κανένα καὶ κανεὶς δὲν βγαίνει ἱκανοποιημένος ἀπὸ ἕνα διαζύγιο.

Ὅταν οἱ γονεῖς φθάνουν σ' αὐτὴ τὴν ἀπόφαση πρέπει νὰ σκεφτοῦν τὸν ἀντίκτυπο ποὺ θὰ ἔχει στὰ παιδιὰ καὶ πῶς προτίθενται νὰ τὸν ἀντιμετωπίσουν. Τὸ διαζύγιο εἶναι ἀπὸ τὶς χειρότερες ἐμπειρίες στὴ ζωὴ ἑνὸς παιδιοῦ καὶ τὸ ἂν θὰ προκαλέσει ψυχολογικὰ προβλήματα ἤ ὄχι ἐξαρτᾶται ἀφ` ἑνὸς μὲν ἀπὸ τὴν προσωπικότητα τοῦ παιδιοῦ καὶ ἀφ` ἑτέρου ἀπὸ τὸ χειρισμὸ τῶν γονέων. Οἱ γονεῖς ἔχουν τὴν ὑποχρέωση νὰ προστατεύσουν τὸ παιδὶ καὶ νὰ τὸ ἀπομακρύνουν ἀπὸ τὶς συγκρούσεις καὶ τὶς βίαιες καταστάσεις ποὺ πιθανὸν ὑπάρχουν στὴν οἰκογένεια.

Ἡ τραυματικὴ ἐμπειρία τοῦ διαζυγίου ἔχει ἄμεσα καὶ ἔμμεσα ἀποτελέσματα. Τὰ ψυχολογικὰ προβλήματα ἐκδηλώνονται κυρίως ὅταν τὸ παιδὶ βρίσκεται στὸ μέσον τῆς σύγκρουσης, ὅταν εἶναι μάρτυρας σὲ σκηνὲς ἐχθρότητας μεταξὺ δύο ἀνθρώπων ποὺ ἀγαπάει καὶ πρέπει νὰ ἀποφασίσει ποιὸς ἀπὸ τοὺς δύο ἔχει δίκιο. Ἡ ψυχικὴ ἔνταση τοῦ παιδιοῦ εἶναι πολὺ μεγάλη ὅταν ἀποτελεῖ μέρος τῆς διαμάχης τῶν δύο ἐμπόλεμων γονέων καὶ σημεῖο ἀναφορᾶς γιὰ τὶς κατηγορίες, ποὺ οἱ γονεῖς ἐκτοξεύουν ὁ ἕνας ἐναντίον τοῦ ἄλλου γιὰ ἀδιαφορία, ἐγκατάλειψη, ἀνεπάρκεια ἢ μεροληπτικὴ στάση. Συχνὰ ἐπίσης τὸ παιδὶ χρησιμοποιεῖται γιὰ τὴ ρύθμιση οἰκονομικῶν διαφορῶν μεταξὺ τῶν δύο γονέων.

Μελέτες δείχνουν ὅτι τὰ παιδιὰ ἐλπίζουν στὴν ἐπανασύνδεση τῆς οἰκογένειας ἀκόμη καὶ μετὰ ἀπὸ 10 - 15 χρόνια. Στὴν ἐνήλικη ζωὴ τους ἔχουν μειωμένη ἱκανότητα νὰ διαμορφώσουν σταθερὲς σχέσεις μὲ πρόσωπα τοῦ ἄλλου φύλου. Τὸ παιδὶ τοῦ διαζυγίου ἔχει πολλὲς πιθανότητες νὰ γίνει ἕνας ὀξύθυμος, ἀνασφαλὴς καὶ ἐπιθετικὸς ἐνήλικος.

Μιὰ ἀπὸ τὶς σημαντικότερες παραμέτρους, ποὺ καθορίζει τὶς ἐπιπτώσεις τῆς διάλυσης τῆς οἰκογένειας στὰ παιδιά, εἶναι ἡ στάση τῶν γονέων πρὶν καὶ μετὰ τὸ διαζύγιο. Τὸ πρῶτο ἐρώτημα ποὺ συνήθως τίθεται ἀφορᾶ στὴν ἀνακοίνωση τοῦ διαζυγίου. Οἱ ἐξηγήσεις ποὺ θὰ δοθοῦν στὸ παιδὶ θὰ πρέπει νὰ εἶναι ὅσο τὸ δυνατὸν πιὸ κοντὰ στὴν ἀλήθεια. Τὰ παιδιὰ μικρῆς ἡλικίας ἔχουν τὴν τάση νὰ ἑρμηνεύουν τὰ πάντα μὲ ἐπίκεντρο τὸν ἑαυτό τους. Ἔτσι συχνὰ βιώνουν τὸ διαζύγιο ὡς ἐγκατάλειψη, ἀπόρριψη ἢ ἐνοχοποιοῦνται ὅτι εἶναι κακὰ παιδιὰ καὶ ὁ γονιὸς ποὺ ἔφυγε δὲν τὰ ἀγαπᾶ. Τὰ μεγαλύτερα παιδιὰ μποροῦν νὰ καταλάβουν τὶς δυσμενεῖς συνέπειες ποὺ ἔχει γιὰ τοὺς ἐνήλικες ἕνας ἀποτυχημένος γάμος καὶ νὰ ἀντιληφθοῦν τοὺς πραγματικοὺς λόγους τοῦ διαζυγίου. Σημαντικὸ εἶναι ἡ ἐπαφὴ μὲ τὸν γονιὸ ποὺ φεύγει νὰ συνεχίσει νὰ εἶναι συχνὴ καὶ καθορισμένη. Τὸ παιδὶ ποὺ περιμένει τὸ γονέα, ὁ ὁποῖος δὲν ἔρχεται, βλέπει τοὺς φόβους ἐγκατάλειψης νὰ ἐπιβεβαιώνονται καὶ βυθίζεται σὲ πραγματικὴ ἀπελπισία

Ἡ μόνιμη κατοικία τοῦ παιδιοῦ θὰ πρέπει νὰ εἶναι στὸ σπίτι τοῦ ἑνὸς γονιοῦ. Τὸ νὰ μοιράζει ἐξίσου τὸ χρόνο του σὲ δύο σπίτια τὸ ἀποστερεῖ ἀπὸ κάθε ἔννοια μόνιμου δικοῦ του χώρου καὶ τὸ κρατάει σὲ διαρκῆ σύγχυση. Ἂν ὑπάρχουν ἀδέλφια δὲν θὰ πρέπει νὰ χωρίζονται τὶς μέρες τῶν ἐπισκέψεων. Τὴ στιγμὴ τοῦ διαζυγίου τὰ ἄλλα μέλη τῆς οἰκογένειας γίνονται ἀκόμη πιὸ σημαντικά. Οἱ σχέσεις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἰσχυροποιοῦνται καὶ τὰ ἀδέλφια προστατεύονται μεταξύ τους ἀπὸ τυχὸν αὐθαιρεσίες τῶν γονέων καὶ ἀπὸ τὸ ἄγχος τοῦ ἀποχωρισμοῦ.

Τὰ ζητήματα πειθαρχίας εἶναι ἕνα ἄλλο θέμα ποὺ δὲν πρέπει νὰ παραβλεφθεῖ γιὰ τὰ παιδιὰ τοῦ διαζυγίου. Ὁ γονιός, μὲ τὸν ὁποῖο μένουν μαζί, ἔχει συνήθως τὴν τάση ὑπερπροστασίας καὶ χαλάρωσης τῶν κανόνων πειθαρχίας γιὰ νὰ ἁπαλύνει τὸν πόνο καὶ τὸ στρὲς τοῦ παιδιοῦ. Τὰ περισσότερα παιδιὰ ἔχουν ἀνάγκη ἀπὸ σταθερὰ ὅρια καὶ κανόνες πειθαρχίας. Σὲ μιὰ φάση τῆς ζωῆς τους, ποὺ νοιώθουν ὅτι τὰ πάντα ἀλλάζουν γύρω τους, ἡ πειθαρχία ἀποτελεῖ ἀσφαλῆ βάση γιὰ νὰ μπορέσουν νὰ κυριαρχήσουν στὸ ἄγχος τους καὶ νὰ συνεχίσουν νὰ τὰ καταφέρνουν στὶς σχολικές τους ἐπιδόσεις καὶ τὴν κοινωνική τους ζωή.

Σημαντικὸς παράγων γιὰ τὴν ψυχικὴ ἰσορροπία τοῦ παιδιοῦ καὶ τὴ φυσιολογική του ἐξέλιξη εἶναι ἡ αἴσθηση συνέχειας. Οἱ δύο γονεῖς, παρ` ὅλο ποὺ δὲν συνεχίζουν τὴ ζωή τους ὡς ζευγάρι, θὰ πρέπει νὰ συνυπάρχουν καὶ νὰ παίρνουν κοινὲς ἀποφάσεις γιὰ θέματα ποὺ ἀφοροῦν στὸ παιδί.

Meaning of suffering and sorrow in our life

The Original Sin and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the paradise of Eden. Man's sin was that he turned away from God and trusted the devil. Consequently the Lord has allowed for us to see what the snake really is and how much it is NOT to be trusted.

All of us encounter suffering in our lives. Sometimes we deserve to suffer, sometimes we do not. Curiously enough, our sufferings force us to reflect upon both their nature and origin; suddenly a world of questions and outlooks appear in front of us.

Suffering is closely connected to the so-called issue of evil in our lives. Where does the evil come from? For this reason, we have to describe the Orthodox perception of the world, based on the Holy Scriptures and Tradition. These two sources exist in unity; they are not religious systems, but a description of the divine economy in the life of the Ecclesiastical community.

The Uncreated God creates the Creation out of non-existence. Creation, being a non-existence, participates in the divine energies and becomes an existence. In the biblical narration about the creation of Man, the Lord breathed into the nostrils of Man a breath of life. That is how Man became a living soul. We can draw a parallel with our breathing – Man breathes and connects to the air, so he lives. The entire Creation is quickened by the divine energy. In the first three chapters of Genesis, the creation of world, the issue of the forefathers’ sin and the evil are being depicted. It is noteworthy here, that all creation is described as “very good”.
Although all creation is good, this good is relative and is not perfect. Creation happens to be in a constant motion towards perfection. The Lord created Man according to His image and likeness and placed him to lead all creation.The “image” is a connection of Man with God, the “likeness” is a constant motion and alteration towards perfection.

So, we can say that creation and the created ones, have the possibility of alteration to good (from non-existence to perfection) or towards evil (from being to non-existence). The cause of evil, as well as a cause of good is: the possibility of Man created, to alteration (good or evil) and his will (freedom).

Some consider evil as a punishment for a violation of the juridical world order. Thus, in its time, Western Scholasticism came to a conclusion that Satan happens to be the punishing tool in the hands of God. But this is not correct because people often suffer without being guilty at all. Orthodoxy considers evil as a sickness. Evil has no hypostases, substance, it is not a thing, because everything God created is “very good”. Evil is parasitizing upon the hypostases of good and although it is non-existent, it provokes sufferings to all good creatures. So, George Herbert’s “Hell is full of good meaning and wishings” is very actual in this context. St. John of Damascus says that good is the beginning and the end of all, including evil.We act wishing good and receive the deformed good – which is evil.

Following the above mentioned, let us examine the Biblical Narration about the forefathers’ sin. Sin happens not only because of the free will of Man, but also because of temptation. Thus, the ancient serpent, Satan, tempts Eve to trespass the commandment of abstention of the tree of “knowledge of good and evil”. Man lived in paradise between “the tree of life” and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil”. We have to remark that there was no prohibition on eating the fruit of the tree of life, it became unavailable to Man later, after the sin. “The tree of knowledge of good and evil” is a malfunction between the direct connection with the Lord and the knowledge of the reality of creation, which is decay and destruction. Thus, the ancient serpent, Satan and a tempter, offers to Man, represented by Eve, the inborn desire and purpose of Man, given by God – to become god, by grace.

He says to Eve “ye shall be as gods”.Here we have a good (to say the least, an inborn!) desire. But the price is to break the direct communication with God (stepping away from the tree of life) and coming into direct communication with the possibility of decay and destruction of the reality of the creation (communion with the tree of knowledge of good and evil).

The consequences of communion with the knowledge of good and evil are as follows: hiding from the presence of the Lord, justification without repentance and heritage of decay and death. Let us take a short deviation, in order to mention that Man himself, freely hid himself from the presence of the Lord, before the Lord “expelled” him from paradise. This indicates that the communication with God was ceased by the initiative of Adam. The Lord has nothing to do with the ceasing of communication between Man and God.That is why the juridical pattern – guilt-punishment, in the light of above mentioned, seems to be at least weak.

As we mentioned before, the fall of the forefathers happened not only because of their free will. Man becomes a victim of the extraneous power, which tradition calls Satan or the Devil, having an ongoing struggle with him. Hence, after all the justification the Lord heard from Adam, who laid the blame upon his wife (and the Lord himself, who gave to him this wife!), and Eve, who laid the blame upon the serpent – the Lord defines to Man the way of his salvation. First of all, it is a struggle between the descendants of the serpent and those of Man. The Church calls it the first Gospel. The woman is Mother of God and her descendant is Christ who will “bruise” Satan and his servants – the descendants of the serpent. We must note that enmity and struggle are closely connected with the salvation of Man, i.e. the Lord does not define the struggle for the sake of a struggle, but this struggle bears fruit.

Next, we have a very valuable Narration connected to our theme – the meaning of suffering and sorrow in our life. The Lord says to the woman that the she will bear children in sorrow. In the Gospel, the Lord clarifies this point. The sorrow transforms into joy. The birth of human beings into the world is a victory over death and salvation of human kind of death. Hence, we can call these sufferings “resurrecting”. It is most clear that sufferings are closely connected to the healing of the whole situation and to salvation.

In the end of the third chapter of Genesis, the Lord says that because of the forefathers’ sin, the earth is cursed. Man has to work hard, in sweat and sorrow for his bread. Thus, the creation, this second body of Man, having not freedom, its own will, mechanically follows Man and becomes a subject to decay and destruction.

Regarding the above mentioned, we can conclude that evil, suffering, decay, destruction and death, entered our life as a consequence of the forefathers’ sin and exist together with our unceasing post-forefathers’ sins. But all these are closely connected to our salvation. Salvation is a comeback to direct communication of Man with God. Out of chaos and destruction, Man returns to divine harmony through repentance.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the Lord asks about the Galileans who were executed by Pilate, whether they were sinners above all the Galileans. Nay – says the Lord, but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. So, the way to salvation is repentance.

Repentance is not our farfetched image of a sinner (“I am the worst”), but it is a door out of chaos to harmony. Usually, repentance follows humbleness. Pride is a fantasy about ourselves. Humbleness, in contrast to pride, is a logical evaluation of our state. It is a door out of fantasy to existing reality.

To clarify, let us parallel pride, fantasy, humbleness and repentance with the evangelical parable about the prodigal son. The younger son, asks from father, his part of the inheritance, leaves the family home and in a “far country”, rejecting abstention, he wastes all his fortune by living a riotous life. Here, it is clear that he estimates the situation incorrectly; he is proud of himself that he is grown up and can get by, by himself. He is living in a fantasy not connected to reality. Then a famine happened in that far country and he has to find a job – to feed swine in order to survive somehow. He would be glad to fill his belly with the husk that swine ate, but he could not. Here, we have suffering – this is a fruit of pride, fantasy and breaking of connection with father. We have to notice here, that in this case, the sufferings and shortages sobered him up. The prodigal son gets humble, he estimates his condition rationally. Based on facts, he figures out that he cannot do everything by himself, that by breaking communication with his father, he came to hunger. So, he decides to repent and to say to his father: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants”. Next, he uses repentance practically; he goes to his father and asks for forgiveness; he enters into communication with him. That is how he gets rid of sufferings and shortages.

In conclusion, we can say that sufferings are a part of our fallen reality. In our freedom, following the example of the Lord, we can follow the sufferings to reach resurrection or eternally get firm in evil. We have to always remember that our struggle is against temptation, against the spirit of evil. These are not medieval concepts, but an everyday reality. So, we cannot count only upon our free will, it could be substituted, but upon the Lord. Sufferings could be humiliating and sobering, they can place us in front of our way to be healed. The way of healing lies through humbleness, repentance and of course, prayer, i.e. through communication with the Lord, to Him is glory unto the ages. Amen.



Starkoff Serapheim Fr.

A mother’s prayer for her children

O God, Creator of all things!

Adding mercy upon mercy, Thou hast deemed me worthy of being a mother; Thy goodness hath endowed me with children so that I may say: these are Thy children! For Thou hast given them life, breathed an immortal soul into them, given them a new birth in a life that is according to Thy will, Thou hast adopted them and received them into the bosom of Thy Church.

O Lord, preserve them in Thy grace, and until the end of their lives deem them worthy of receiving the Holy Mysteries of Thy covenant.

Illumine them with Thy truth.

Let Thy Name be holy in them and through them.

Help me by Thy grace to rear them for the glory of Thy Name and for the benefit of their neighbor.

Give me strength and patience to do this, O Lord, and guide me.

Teach me to plant in their hearts the root of true wisdom – Thy fear.

Endow them with the light of Thy wisdom which governs all things.

Let them learn to love Thee with all their souls and all their thoughts.

Let them cleave unto Thee with all their heart and fear Thy words for as long as they live.

Endow me with the reason to implant in them the conviction that true life consists of respecting Thy commandments, that labor fortified with piety offers all that is needed in this life and unutterable blessedness in eternity.

Reveal to them the understanding of Thy law.

Unto the end of their days let them labor feeling Thy omnipresence at all times.

Embed in their hearts hatred towards all unlawfulness.

Let them be faultless in Thy ways.

Let them always know that Thou, o All-Merciful God, are zealous in Thy laws and justice.

Preserve them in chastity and trembling before Thy Name, that they may not shame Thy Church by their behavior, but that they should live according to Her commandments.

Give them zeal in their desire for useful learning and enable them to do every good deed.

Let them acquire a proper understanding of things needed for their everyday life, illumine them with the knowledge of things beneficial for the human race.

O Lord, teach me to implant with a permanent seal in their hearts and minds the wisdom to flee from friendship with those who live not in fear of Thee, wisdom to decisively turn away from every relationship with the lawless.

That they may not listen to evil talk.

That they heed not imprudent people.

That, led by evil examples, they stray not from Thy path.

That they not be discouraged in that sometimes, in this world, the way of the lawless is crowned with success.

O Heavenly Father!

Help me by Thy grace to be watchful at all times that I may not scandalize my children with my actions, but that I may, ever bearing in mind their behavior, dissuade them from misconceptions, correct their errors, restrain their stubbornness and self-will.

That they may not gravitate toward pride and reckless deeds.

That they may not be carried away by mindless thoughts.

That they do not follow their desires.

That pride does not infect their thoughts.

That they not forget Thee and Thy law.

That lawlessness does not destroy their minds and health.

That sins do not make feeble their spiritual and bodily strength.

O righteous Judge, Thou who chastiseth offspring unto the third and fourth generation for the sins of their fathers, avert such vengeance from my children, punish them not for my sins, but sprinkle them with the dew of Thy grace, that they may advance in virtue and holiness, that they may grow in Thy benevolence and in the love of pious men.

O Father, plentious in mercy!

According to my motherly feelings I would that my children enjoy an abundance of earthly treasures, I desire that they be blessed by the dew in the heavens and by the good things of the earth, still, let Thy holy will be with them!

Administer their destiny according as Thou pleasest.

Deprive them not of their daily bread.

Endow them with time sufficient for the acquisition of blessed eternity.

Be merciful unto them, when they sin before Thee.

Judge them not for the sins of youth and ignorance.

Make contrite their hearts should they oppose the leading hand of Thy goodness.

Chastise them and caress them, direct them on the path that is pleasing to Thee, but turn not Thy face away from them.

Accept with gracious mind their prayers, and grant them success in every good deed.

Turn not away from them in times of sadness, lest they be beset by temptations that surpass their strength.

Let the shadow of thy Grace fall upon them, let Thy angel walk with them and keep them from all calamities and evil ways.

O All-merciful God!

Make me a mother who rejoices in her children, let them be my happiness in all the days of my life and my support in my old age.

Deem me worthy to stand with them before Thee on the day of Thy dread judgement and with unworthy courage say: “Here I am and my children which Thou hast given me, O Lord!”

That together with my children I may glorify Thy unspeakable goodness and Thy eternal love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

“Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” ( St. Silouan the Athonite )

The Lord never ceases calling us to Himself: “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” He nourishes us with His most precious Body and Blood. In His mercy He schools us by His Word and the Holy Spirit. He has revealed His mysteries to us. He lives in us and in the sacraments of the Church, and leads us to where we shall behold His glory. But this glory shall each man behold according to the measure of his love. The more a man loves, ardently does he set his face towards God, yearning to be with the Beloved Lord, and therefore will he approach the nearer to Him; while the man who loves but little will have but little desire for the Lord, and man who does not love at all will neither wish nor aspire to see the Lord, and will spend his life in darkness. 


St. Silouan the Athonite

The will of God

“Now crisis, (judgment) is upon this world;” (John 12, 31)

The crisis of the whole world is this.

The crisis of each and every one of us, is this.

Whether we like it or not,

whether we believe in God or not,

whether we are in His Church

or in a false, heretical dogma,




a deceiving denomination,

whether we are Popes, Patriarchs,

Archbishops, Bishops, Priests,

Monks, Married or lay, dedicated or missionaries,

we are all subject to this divine, pre-eternal

and eternally ongoing valid law:

“Do God’s will or do your own will.”

This is the Divine Sword that Christ came to use.

This is the discriminating Fire that Christ already lit.

God or “mammon”, our will or His, either one or the other!

And the exact judgement that we will definitely face,

will be exclusively, collectively and entirely

based on this and only this :

“Did we do God’s will or did we do our own will?”

Our own will covers everything ungodly,

everything sinful, illegal and independent.

God’s will includes everything blessed,

everything He asked us to do in His love

everything that is pleasing to Him

everything that is beneficial for our eternal soul

and contributing to our salvation.

No special theology is needed, to understand this preliminary and primary belief and dogma of doing God’s will. Even the “simple” Lord’s Prayer, instructed to us by Christ Himself, begins with the very core principal request: ‘Yennithito to thelima su’, Your will be done! The very first thing that Christ urges us to ask for, is not health, not wealth, not progress, not prosperity, but to ask God so that He can help us to do His will.

“To do God’s will” is the centre of salvation, it is the holy of holies. To do God’s will is the most sacred aim of every faithful and every soul who claims to believe in God and love God. “If you love Me, do my will!” (John 14, 15). To do God’s will is the ultimate of all gifts, the spiritual peak of all blessings. To do God’s will is the actual, literal “kingdom of heaven!” Christ urges us to “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and then everything else will be added” This righteousness is an interpretation of God’s kingdom, that is why Saint David the Psalmist exclaims: “Blessed be You, oh Lord, teach me Your judgments (Your Will).” (Ps. 118, 12) Christ means and implies that:

· we should first be genuinely interested in being very well taught and deeply educated in what exactly is God’s will,

· we should readily be wanting from the heart to do God’s will

· if we don’t want this eagerly, then we can somehow force ourselves to do so, and

· then we will experience the kingdom of heaven.

All Saints who experienced this kingdom and were elevated to great heights of holiness, primarily achieved this, because they enforced God’s will. They also forced themselves and grasped this grace by “force” – “The kingdom of heaven experiences violence, and men of violence take it by force.” (Math. 11, 12) If we find ourselves not being interested or not wanting to do God’s will, then we should “force” ourselves, just like we force an infant to take its necessary medication when it refuses. This blessed “violence” is only done against our own will, against our ego and our evil self, but never against others. We can never and should never force others, but “whoever wishes in free will” may follow God’s will. (Mark 8, 34) Whoever decides to follow his own will does not glorify God but glorifies himself and the devil.

The whole of the Satanic law is this: “Do what you want” – “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” (The Book of the Law, by Aleister Crowley). Crowley was mostly known as “the Great Beast”, due to the fact that the was a self-declared Satanist, despite any failed attempts to deny this and pseudo claims that “he only borrowed various terms and notions from various religious sources because he liked to be defiant, sarcastic or witty, only for the purpose of shocking and disturbing people”, though this excuse in itself is a disturbing statement indeed. Even the very own biographer and literary executor of Aleister Crowley, John Symonds, reveals to us and writes: “Crowley’s philosophy takes a bit from here and a bit from there… but… he was more a Satanist than anything else. ‘I serve my great Master Satan’, he wrote in one of his franker confessions, ‘and that august Council composed of Beelzebub, Lucifuge, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Baal, Adrammelech, Lilith and Nahema.’” (John Symonds, The Great Beast).

Aleister Crowley is the author of “The Book of the Law”. He is also the founder of the Global Religion “Thelema” which is in fact a transliteration of the common Greek noun “thelima”, “will”, “desire” = thelisi, pothos, and also from the verb “thelo”, to will, to have desire, purpose. Aleister Crowley developed this satanic religion under demonic inspiration and evil mixture of included notions from Eastern and Western Mysticism (a diplomatic disguise word for “demonism”) ideas from Yoga, Occultism and especially from the Hebrew Qabalah… (another promoted fashion by celebrities).

All followers of Crowley and his “Thelema” religion, are called “thelemites” and are fanatically, passionately instructed to “seek out and follow their own will, their own desires, even (in extent) the will of God’s opponent, the devil” by restoring “devil worship” through “Magick” (Magic with a “k”), a term that Aleister Crowley formulated as being different to the magic of the occult and defined it as “”the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”, including both “mundane” acts of will as ritual magic…” (Book of the Law). Crowley regarded this “Magick” as “the essential method for a person to reach true understanding of the self and to act according to one’s true will” (truly demonic will) which he also considered as the reconciliation “between freewill and destiny”, which in God’s eyes, is the enmity of God and the reconciliation between paranormal activity and demonic phenomena dominating the lives of those who embrace such mystic philosophy.

We must be extremely cautious on what role models we expose our children. Their “fruits” of the lives of these celebrities have a lot to reveal to us. A simple search on Wikipedia shows “Aleister Crowley was also bisexual, a recreational drug experimenter and a social critic. In many of these roles he ‘was in revolt against the moral and religious values of his time’, espousing a form of ‘libertinism’ based upon the rule of “Do What Thou Wilt”. Because of this, he gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, and was denounced in the popular press of the day as “the wickedest man in the world!”

Another satanic law being outlined is that “there is no God but man”, therefore, man replaces God and places himself in his position and role of God, in every aspect of life. This is the spirit of the Antichrist. Anyone who does not believe in God, automatically constitutes himself as god and deifies his own human personal will as “divine” will. Anyone who does not believe in God and stubbornly follows his own will, in fact, subconsciously declares the existence of God and verifies the narration of the fall of the “protoplasts”, the first created ones, Adam and Eve. There, Satan, embodies the snake, and this is what “Avatar” means, “an evil embodiment”, an unlawful “inter-course with humans and extra terrestrial (demonic) beings”, an “incompatible interlink”, and “cloning” into a “new creation”, a “new being”, or to be “Born Again” in a redeeming way.

All of the above terms, some of them biblical too, reveal the evilness of our antichristian age. There is so much profound Satanism in all aspects of our life, in Cinema, on daytime television, even within children’s stories, comics or toys, that it is just not funny at all. What is even more weird is that people are not reacting at all to this profound, preoccupying, predominant evilness. They are getting accustomed to it.

And this is the greatest trick and deception of the devil, to make you believe that he “does not exist” and that all this occultist imagery and staggering, petrifying witchcraft (such as “Harry Potter”, Halloween and the subtle, suspicious Avatar which are all full of evil representation, satanic depictions & subliminal messages) is supposedly just symbolism at its best.

The aim of the devil is make people, even the elderly, even young kids, through cinema movies, television, video clips and video games, to make them get used to these images, to get them acquainted with these evil notions and ideas and gradually become familiarised to any demonic representations and ghostly activity, so when it all actually happens, when Satan arrives and his super “god-man” Antichrist appears in person, in real, they will not be afraid, shocked or surprised. They will follow him because they will be subjected to his comforts, conformed to his convenient enterprises and slaves to the rhythm of their own will in tune to the will of Satan.

One of the most astonishing, most powerful and ever awakening questions that I ever received by a young child whilst I was teaching in Class and narrating the fall of Adam and Eve, was: – “Sir, wasn’t Eve surprised at all that the snake actually spoke?”…

Wow!!! What a simple but unusual observation! What a remarkable theological truth! It sounds so logical, yet it is so revealing. Eve was not surprised because she was used to it, she was familiarised with the fact that the snake, and all other animals spoke and had a very individual way of communication with Adam and Eve, as friends to friends. This communication stopped after the fall, after the sever distortion of nature, due to the severe breaking of that relationship, due to the satanic law of ignoring the will of God and following the will of our own sinful self.

A final chapter in this indispensable yet inexhaustible topic is, that once we establish that we need to do God’s will, we then need to establish:

· what exactly is God’s will

· how is it expressed, how is it channelled to us humans, and

· how are re-assured that we are doing God’s will?

We really don’t need to perplex, jeopardize and deceive ourselves with any special mystical insights, philosophical or metaphysical paths, para-psychological practices which can never direct us to the will of God but to the will of Satan. It is such a simple process to learn the will of God that I will present it in point form, for testimony and peace of mind:

· Wanting to do God’s will, presupposes a preliminary faith in God. We firstly need to establish the existence of God, by readily wanting to believe in Him in advance and sternly examining our heart to see if we are actually prepared to proceed in such enormous leap. All stumbling blocks and vast hindrances must ruthlessly be identified, severely battled and effectively removed. If we are utterly bound by logic and ego, if we are biased and proud, sarcastic or negatively disposed to the issue of God’s existence, then we will never succeed and there is no point in being curious or testing the field.

· We must begin through Him and intensely honestly pray to Him, asking God to “help and boost our unfaithfulness”.

· We also approach holy men of God, saintly elders, ascetics or god-fearing priests who are renowned for their spirituality and ask them to pray for us and to fervently beseech God for a sign or a way in order for us to get closer to Him, even (most preferably) through a sacred revelation or a miraculous transformation (of course without ever expecting it or demanding it, this would be the worse…) We should never have the trivial, arrogant, cunning and conceited expectation of “God proving Himself to us if He exists”. He doesn’t need to do this, we cannot contest or provoke God, He will not be a “servant”of our impudent demands or contemptible commands. At the end of the day, it is not at all honourable and dignifying of us to have such supercilious and superficial thoughts, to have such reproachful poor mentality and place irrational preconditions. Faith starts from the heart, and comes from the heart. Faith is regenerated in a clean and humble heart that is free from prejudice, unfairness, ungodliness and idolatry.

· We then establish the reality of the God-Man Jesus Christ as a true historical figure. We perform a personal study of good faith, examining closely and deeply all external and internal testimonies, especially His Holy Scripture, and most preferably, the whole New Testament, with a spirit of humbleness and sinfulness. But we must be especially alert of the critical necessity of a guide, a mentor for the proper translation of Christ’s Teachings and His will contained within the Bible. That guide, is the Holy Church of God. Not any “Church” or any Christian Community that call themselves “Church”, but His One and Only True Living Church, His Holy Body of believers that are united in the One Truth, in the One Chalice and enjoy a common Sacramental Communion. The Great conquering truth is that, the basis of truth is not Holy Scripture in general, not any global modern translations and individual versions, not even the original Ancient Greek Text itself, but the nucleus basis of Truth is the Church Herself. The Apostles, the Church are the ones who produced the Bible and not the other way round.

· We therefore proceed to establish the fact that He created, He built His Church on the foundations of the Apostles, on the foundations of Truth. We search and examine to see which out of all these literally thousands of existing adversary “Churches” of today, have faithfully kept intact, unadulterated, incorrupt the teachings of Christ and of the Apostles. We look to see which preserves His Truth and which one maintains “Apostolic Succession”, that is, the authority of canonical priesthood traced back to the very Apostles, the validity of Sacraments and common global recognition through a Patriarchate Structure. Thus we attain a sound knowledge of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ, we closely observe all beliefs, all their items of faith, the actual content and nature of faith, and identify an official compilation, Symbol of Faith, their Creed, their dogma.

· We must then examine We also must learn the actual, specific, principal “Name” of the Church that helps it differentiate from other false, erroneous and deceiving groups: ORTHODOX, which means proper worship, true Faith, which has the wholeness of truth (not sporadically) and is intended for the whole world.

· If we are not members of that Orthodox Church, we become so by receiving a full canonical Baptism (not just Chrismation) regardless of what denomination we were in previously. If we are already members, then we are inactive and need to become more active in the faith and the life of the Church, to gradually get to know more about God so we can then learn what He wants. We will also carry out a further, extensive study on the Sacred writings of the Great Holy Fathers of the Church along with the close, in depth, imitating study of the Lives of Saints fundamental testimony and guidance of all recent Holy Elders & Newly Canonised Saints.

· It is highly imperative, of extreme critical importance that we find and submit to the mandatory discerning guidance of an experienced, canonical and wise Spiritual Father/Confessor. He will mainly assist us in knowing and doing God’s will. His role is exclusive but not autonomous or independent from us. Our elementary contribution is required which forms an indisputable precondition: A long term fast, fervent prayer and special spiritual exercise = “askisis”, and “kanonas” (atonement) needs to take place that will prepare the mind and constitute our heart to receive and perceive the will of God. We must at first note and always keep in mind, that it is not an easy task to “enter the mind of God” and “determine His will”. There are great ascetics, hermits, stylites, who went to gigantic and super-human lengths of askisis, not forty-day fast, or 40 consecutive Liturgies, but forty whole years on a pole, in a cave, in a desert, to find out the will of God, and even after that (!) were still not over-confident…

We are not trying to scare or perplex anyone. This is only mentioned so that no one falls in evil pride of claiming to be able to easily know, effortlessly determine or effect God’s will. The oceanic depth of the will of God first requires simple steps of floating, paddling, swimming then diving in head first or scuba-diving…

As an epilogue, I will try to simplify the Orthodox Dogmatic Theology concerning God’s will, by analysing this Divine dual, twofold will.

There are two different types of God’s Wills:

A) The “kat’ evdokian” will of God, implemented as “Akriveian”, and

B) the “kata parahorisin” will of God, carried out as “Economy”.

The preposition “Kata” means “according to”.

A) The term “Evdokian” means deep, revered pleasure, divine contentment, sacred satisfaction, and is usually implemented and referred to as “Akriveia” = accuracy, but not austerity with the extreme harshness, biased meaning of the word. “Akriveia” means correctness, exactness, precision in wanting to do the right thing, the right way. “Akriveia” means truth, truth means Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy means Christ Himself.

B) The term “parahorisin” means divine concession, condescending grant, tolerating compromise. In other words it simply means, Gods does not really want something, but allows it to happen, for educational and salvational reasons that we cannot ever see or perceive.“Economy” or “Oikonomia” is dispensation, exemption, leniency. It discloses a sense of compromise and should be executed under rare reasons and critical cases. “Economy” is divine philanthropy, a special allowance of forgiveness, a holy grant of compassion and sympathy. “Economy” should never be carried out at the expense of “Akriveia” = accuracy, or at the tragic sacrifice of dogma, nor should it ever be cunningly practiced as the norm, the usual, or become the standard way of doing things.

In our day and age, modern or worldly Christians will appeal and abuse the condescending, compromising will of God and take pleasure and comfort in the suspicious umbrella of always resorting and referring to the Second Will of God, the “kata parahorisin”, while always appealing to “economy”. Even Ecclesiastical Leaders of today, often cannot understand and undermine the Akriveian, accuracy of the Holy Fathers, and claim to now be better than them, appear more forgiving than them, and promote themselves as more tolerating than them, towards theological differences… (GOD FORBID!!!) Alimono.

Our perpetual aim, in all our “filotimo” (kind disposition, respectful approach of dignity, a term that Holy Elder & New Saint Paisios really loved using), should always be to desire the implementation of God’s good pleasing will, the “kat’ evdokian” thelema. Some of us though, sometimes in life, we need to go through the path of the condescending, granting will of God, the “kata parahorisin” thelema, and that’s ok, as long as we have honest intentions, “kali diathesi”, as long as our approach and appeal is genuine. God is the one Who examines hearts and test “kidneys” = good will, desires. In Jeremiah 17:10 we see this remarkable classification: “I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of their practices.”

One Great New Saint of our times, indisputably equal to St Symeon the New Theologian, is Saint Athanasios Mytilineos the New Theologian. He whole-heartedly followed and accurately expressed God’s will from very young, in a very remarkable way:

“When I was very young, and others would tease me at school or question me why I prayed, why I fasted, why I remained a virgin, I humbly yet firmly and confidently affirmed: – ‘I am simply doing God’s will, I am doing what God wants, I am doing it because Christ asked me to do this for Him, for His favour. I thus found no ‘obligation’, no upset, no imposition, but an internal sacred compelling which makes us realise that “the yoke of Christ is easy and the burden is truly light.” (Math. 11, 30)

May we all refuse to be “thelemites of sinful ourselves” and persistently pursue to be thelemites of our glorious God. If we always want things to be done the right way, we thus want Orthodoxy. And if we want Orthodoxy, we have nothing to fear, because we are safely embracing and following the True Will of God! 


Monk Nicodemus

Πειρασμοί ( ἀββᾶ Ἰσαὰκ )

Ὅταν θελήσεις νὰ κάνεις ἀρχὴ καλοῦ ἔργου, πρῶτα νὰ ἑτοιμάσεις τὸν ἑαυτό σου γιὰ τὴν ἀντιμετώπιση τῶν πειρασμῶν, ποὺ πρόκειται νὰ ἔρθουν ἐναντίον σου. Γιατὶ ὁ ἐχθρός, ὅταν δεῖ κάποιον ν᾿ ἀρχίζει μὲ θερμὴ πίστη μία θεάρεστη ζωή, συνηθίζει νὰ τοῦ ἐπιτίθεται μὲ διάφορους καὶ φοβεροὺς πειρασμούς, ὥστε νὰ δειλιάσει ἀπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ νὰ ἐγκαταλείψει τὴν καλή του πρόθεση. Καὶ παραχωρεῖ ὁ Θεὸς νὰ πέσει σὲ πειρασμοὺς γιὰ νὰ χτυπήσεις ἐπίμονα τὴ θύρα (τοῦ ἐλέους) Του καὶ γιὰ νὰ ριζώσει μέσα στὸ νοῦ σου, ἀπὸ τὸ φόβο τῶν θλίψεων, ἡ μνήμη Ἐκείνου, καὶ γιὰ νὰ Τὸν πλησιάσεις μὲ τὶς προσευχές, ὥστε ν᾿ ἁγιαστεῖ ἔτσι ἡ καρδιά σου ἀπὸ τὴν ἀκατάπαυστη ἐνθύμησή Του. Καὶ ὅταν Τὸν ἐπικαλεῖσαι, θὰ σὲ ἀκούσει. Καὶ θὰ μάθεις ἔτσι, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἶναι αὐτὸς ποὺ σὲ λυτρώνει. Καὶ τότε θὰ νιώσεις τὴν παρουσία Ἐκείνου ποὺ σ᾿ ἔπλασε καὶ σὲ δυναμώνει καὶ σὲ προστατεύει. Γιατὶ ἡ σκέπη καὶ ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγκαλιάζει ὅλους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Δὲν γίνεται ὅμως ὁρατὴ παρὰ μόνο σ᾿ ἐκείνους ποὺ καθάρισαν τὸν ἑαυτό τους ἀπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτία καὶ εἶναι συνεχῶς προσηλωμένοι στὸ Θεό. Ἐξαιρετικὰ μάλιστα φανερώνεται σ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἡ βοήθεια καὶ ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅταν μποῦν σὲ μεγάλη δοκιμασία γιὰ χάρη τῆς ἀλήθειας, γιατὶ τότε τὴν αἰσθάνονται πολὺ καθαρά με τὴν αἴσθηση τοῦ νοῦ.

Μερικοί, ποὺ εἶδαν αὐτὴ (τὴ βοήθεια) καὶ μὲ τὰ σωματικά τους μάτια, ἀνάλογα μὲ τὶς δοκιμασίες, καὶ διαπίστωσαν ἔτσι τὴ συμπαράσταση τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὑποκινήθηκαν ἀπ᾿ αὐτὴ σὲ γενναῖες πράξεις, ὅπως μαθαίνουμε γιὰ τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ καὶ τοὺς Τρεῖς Παῖδες καὶ τὸν ἀπόστολο Πέτρο καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἁγίους, ποὺ ἄθλησαν γιὰ τὸ Χριστό. Σ᾿ αὐτοὺς (ἡ θεία βοήθεια) ἦταν ὁλοφάνερη, ἔχοντας ἀνθρώπινη μορφή, δίνοντάς τους θάρρος καὶ προετοιμάζοντάς τους γιὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς εὐσέβειας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ στοὺς πατέρες, ποὺ ἔζησαν στὴν ἔρημο καὶ ἔδιωξαν ἀπὸ κεῖ τοὺς δαίμονες καὶ ἔγιναν κατοικητήρια ἀγγέλων, καὶ σ᾿ αὐτοὺς παρουσιάζονταν συνεχῶς οἱ ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι καὶ μὲ κάθε τρόπο τοὺς βοηθοῦσαν καὶ τοὺς συμπαραστέκονταν σὲ ὅλα καὶ τοὺς στήριζαν καὶ τοὺς λύτρωναν ἀπὸ τοὺς πειρασμούς, ποὺ οἱ ἄγριοι δαίμονες τοὺς προξενοῦσαν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρι σήμερα δὲν ἀπομακρύνεται ἡ βοήθεια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπὸ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ποὺ ὁλοκληρωτικὰ ἀφιερώθηκαν στὰ ἔργα ποὺ Ἐκεῖνος εὐαρεστεῖται, ἀλλὰ βρίσκεται κοντὰ σὲ ὅλους ὅσοι Τὸν ἐπικαλοῦνται.

ἀββᾶ Ἰσαὰκ