How Can the Faithful Free Themselves from the Old, Fallen Man?

Archimandrite George Kapsanis (+2014),

Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Venerable Gregory, Mount Athos

 

 

We all feel that we bear the traces of the old man. His principal characteristic is self-love, that is, the unhealthy, egocentric “love” of ourselves. Self-love prevents us from truly and selflessly loving God and our fellow man. From self-love the passions are born.

Being subject to the passions, as we are, we cannot relate to other human persons and to things without passion. Our relationships become passionate and selfish, preventing us from truly enjoying our fellow human beings and the other good things of this world. This ultimately leads us to loneliness, emptiness, and a dead end.

Therefore, when we speak of the old man, we mean the unhealthy egocentrism from which all of us suffer, some to a lesser and others to a greater degree.

How can we free ourselves from this serious spiritual illness that poisons our entire existence?

Only someone free from this illness could become our physician. Only a new man could give us, too, the possibility of overcoming the illness of the old man and becoming new men ourselves.

We all know that this new man is the God-Man, our Saviour Christ, who, according to Scripture, “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”

Out of His infinite love for us, Jesus Christ offers Himself to us so that we may be united with Him and thus receive His own new life.

Through Holy Baptism, Chrismation, and Holy Communion, we are incorporated into the Body of Christ and given life by Christ.

Every Christian who participates in the life of Christ, within His Body, which is the Church, has received, through the Grace of the Holy Spirit, the seeds of new life. He must, however, also struggle to be cleansed ever more thoroughly of the passions and adorned with the virtues.

Let us put it simply: The more a person empties himself of his selfishness, the more he is filled with true love and the Grace of God. The more the old man diminishes, the more the new man grows. This passage from the old man to the new is not easy, because the passions have deep roots within us and are not easily uprooted.

Continuous struggle over many years is needed for purification from the passions. This is the struggle of repentance. Every day we must repent of our oldness, that is, our sinfulness, our subjection to the passions, our egocentrism, and our inability to love God our Father and our fellow man wholeheartedly. And every day we are called to struggle to acquire love, humility, sincere confession, self-control, righteousness, forgiveness of wrongs, and prayer.

Thus, little by little, a new spiritual birth takes place within us: the birth of the new man, who is endowed with the Grace of God.

But just as every childbirth is accompanied by birth pangs, so too spiritual birth presupposes the pangs of repentance. When we crucify the old man, we suffer pain, but it is then that the new man rises within us. We are crucified together with Christ so that we may also rise together with Him.

Thus, through our patient and daily struggle of repentance, we shall be freed from the old, fallen man and transformed into new men. This is what happened in the lives of our saints, who show us the way through their wondrous lives.

What Is the Remembrance of Death, and What Is Its Meaning?

The remembrance of death helps us overcome the old man because it brings humility to our souls. When we forget death, we have the illusion that we shall live forever on earth, and this increases our arrogance, our greed, our worship of the flesh, and our inclination to exploit other people. The remembrance of death gives us a sense of our limitations on earth and of the significance that our actions, words, and thoughts have for eternity and life after death.

Thus, it helps us to approach this present life with seriousness, in the light of eternity, and not to squander our earthly life wastefully, thoughtlessly, and frivolously, disregarding the consequences.

For this reason, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates also said that “those who philosophize rightly practice dying, and of all people they fear death the least.”

Saint John Chrysostom advises us to visit cemeteries frequently in order to reflect upon the vanity of human affairs.

We all know that after visiting a cemetery, we are humbler, more compassionate, less attached to material things, and more open to God and our fellow man.

The remembrance of death, about which Saint John of the Ladder and other Holy Fathers have written extensively, has nothing to do with any unhealthy, melancholic, or neurotic state. Such a state is not beneficial to the soul, because it brings despair and must be overcome with the help of one's spiritual father.

The remembrance of death according to God is a grace-filled and spiritual state that brings humility, peace, and joy to the soul. It is a gift of God, and we must ask Him for it.

How Is the Remembrance of God Attained?

The more a person overcomes an egocentric way of life and loves God, the more he thinks of God.

A person thinks about what occupies his mind and what he loves. The Lord Himself said: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The study of the word of God in Holy Scripture and in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, our association with spiritual people who love God, fervent prayer, regular attendance at the sacred services, and our frequent and worthy participation in Holy Communion increase our love for God and, consequently, our remembrance of God.

Saint Gregory the Theologian advises us: “We ought to remember God more often than we breathe.” That is, we should think of and remember God more frequently than we breathe.

The continual remembrance of God brings deep peace and joy to the soul, even amid the most difficult circumstances of life.

What Is Noetic Prayer and Prayer of the Heart?

The remembrance of God in a person manifests communion with God and is therefore a form of prayer. The struggle to invoke continually the holy name of Christ through the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner,” constantly renews within a person the remembrance of God and communion with Him. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “Pray without ceasing.”

Through the remembrance of God and prayer, man reveals the true nobility of his nature, which stands at the boundary between the visible and invisible worlds and is “a living being called to become god”; he transcends natural necessity, extends his existence toward God, and feels free from everything that holds him captive on earth.

For prayer to be genuine, however, it must be the prayer of the whole person, and not merely of the lips, or merely of the mind, or merely of the heart.

Perfect prayer is both noetic prayer and prayer of the heart. The mind prays within the heart, which is the center of our existence. That is, the whole person prays from his innermost depths and center, fulfilling God's commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” The whole person offers himself to God.

For this prayer, the single-phrase prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” is used, which, through its brief invocation, helps to concentrate the mind and draw it into the heart.

The Holy Fathers known as the Neptic Fathers wrote from their own experience about the manner and method of this prayer. There is a collection of the writings of these Holy Fathers called the Philokalia. And the word Philokalia is itself significant. Through noetic prayer and prayer of the heart, the faithful Christian is united with God and beholds God, who is the most beautiful of all that exists in the world, the supreme Beauty.

Since there is a danger of confusion between prayer of the heart and the various methods of meditation and prayer practiced in Eastern religions, I think it necessary to clarify a few points:

1. Not only the single-phrase prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ...,” but also every prayer of the Church, such as the fundamental, divinely given Lord’s Prayer, the “Our Father,” must be noetic and of the heart, that is, it must proceed from the depths of our being.

2. For us Orthodox Christians, acquiring the gift of unceasing noetic prayer and prayer of the heart is not primarily a matter of method and technique, but a matter of a contrite heart, that is, a heart that repents, grieves over its sins, and humbles itself. Without such a heart, no method or technique of prayer, such as the use of inhalation and exhalation, can bring about true prayer.

3. Prayer of the heart and noetic prayer presuppose our participation in the life of the Church, in her Mysteries, the observance of God's commandments, and obedience to a spiritual father. It is not, therefore, an individualistic or private approach to God. Within the Church, the humble Christian receives the Grace of God, and this Grace, with his own cooperation and willingness, of course, brings about true prayer within him.

In concluding the subject of prayer, I would like to say that modern man has a particular need for prayer so that he may avoid being absorbed by the profoundly materialistic way of life of our times, forgetting his Godlikeness, that is, his divine origin and divine destiny.

He also needs prayer in order to preserve his inner unity, balance, and peace amid the terrible fragmentation, imbalance, and outward preoccupation of the modern world. And so that, through a constant awareness of God's presence and providence in his life, he may avoid becoming anxious, falling into despair, and experiencing the world as empty and meaningless.

Through the continual invocation of the most sweet and holy name of Christ, he will feel Christ in his heart, avoid sin, cultivate feelings of love for God and his fellow men, find peace within himself, and bring peace to those around him.

Allow me to offer some brotherly advice drawn from the spiritual tradition of Mount Athos: The more often we say the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ...” with longing throughout the day, the closer we shall be to God, and the more Grace and strength we shall receive to face the various difficulties and temptations of life.

In These Times of Apostasy, How Do You See the Future of Hellenism and Orthodoxy?

With great sorrow, we observe that there is indeed, among a segment of modern Greeks, apostasy from the God of our Fathers and an anti-Christian and anti-ecclesiastical spirit, which sometimes develops into open or insidious persecution of the Church—organized, systematic, and relentless.

Atheism and anti-Christianity are becoming the establishment in our country, seeking to turn Greeks against Christ. They make use of education, school textbooks, radio, television, and the press. They also employ ridicule and the marginalization of those who still dare to express their faith and love for the Church. Indeed, we have reached such a demonic state of affairs that even atheist teachers of theology in schools engage in atheistic propaganda.

If one adds to these the consequences that the influx of tourism and the Western materialistic way of life into our country, as well as our entry into the melting pot of the European Union, have had on the morals and faith of our people, one realizes that we are passing through the greatest spiritual danger we have ever faced as a Greek Orthodox nation.

The worst thing is that we have not become aware of the danger; there is no proper spiritual vigilance and resistance; there are no prophetic figures—with few exceptions—who, with self-sacrifice and boldness, will denounce the instruments of the Antichrist, call the devout people to spiritual mobilization, and voice Orthodox Hellenism’s new ‘NO’ to the new and even worse spiritual captivity that threatens our Nation.

I believe that the efforts of the enemies of our Nation to de-Christianize the Greeks are aimed at stripping us of our Greek identity, so that we Greeks, spiritually and nationally enslaved, may become easy prey for international interests and totalitarian ideologies.

The enemies of the Church are making a relentless effort to ridicule our traditional Christian faith in the eyes of those Greeks who are not firmly established in the faith, especially the young, and to draw them away from the Church...

If we modern Greeks lose Christ or push Him to the margins, we shall also lose our spiritual freedom and the possibility for the life-giving tradition of Orthodox humanism to continue bearing fruit in this land.

For this reason, it is time for all of us to struggle, to offer spiritual resistance, to confess and bear witness to our faith, whatever the cost to us.

I believe that today, too, our struggle is for faith and fatherland, or, as the fighters of 1821 would have put it: “For the holy faith of Christ and the freedom of our fatherland.” For spiritual freedom, which is also the necessary prerequisite for our national independence! We modern Greeks who remain faithful to the values for which they sacrificed themselves—and I believe we are the great majority—are called today to continue their bloody struggle.

More dangerous to our country even than foreign invaders who covet our ancestral land is anti-Christian atheism, because it kills our souls and corrupts our consciences and convictions.

At critical periods in our history, God raised up enlightened men such as Saint Cosmas of Aetolia and Makriyannis, who awakened the people and strengthened them in the Orthodox faith and their national consciousness.

I believe that today, too, the Grace of God and the Champion Leader of our Nation will provide some means for our salvation, in response to the struggle, suffering, repentance, and tears of those who have not bowed down before the modern Baals of apostasy.

We also have the example of Russia, where seventy years of persecution against the Church were unable to extinguish the faith among the broader sections of the devout Russian people, but rather strengthened it and made it shine more brightly.

Jesus Christ, the God-Man, the Crucified and Risen One, and not the devil, has the final word in history, and for this reason, however dark the skies may grow, we always remain hopeful.

 

Greek source: Αγιορείτικη Μαρτυρία, Issue 2, pp. 70–75.

Greek source online: https://katanixi.gr/pos-mporei-na-apallagei-o-pistos-apo-ton-palaio-ptotiko-anthropo/

 

On the Love of Enemies: The Teaching of St. Silouan

By Dr. Jean-Claude Larchet

 

 

Although it is natural and usual to love those who love us and to do good to those who do good to us (Mt 5:46-47; Lk 6:32-33), to love our enemies is distasteful to our nature. One can say that it isn’t in our power but is an attitude that can only be the fruit of grace, given by the Holy Spirit. This is why St. Silouan the Athonite writes, "The soul that has not known the Holy Spirit does not understand how one can love one’s enemies, and does not accept it."

The Staretz repeatedly says that love of enemies is impossible without grace: "Lord, You have given the commandment to love enemies, but this is difficult for us sinners if Your grace is not with us"; "Without God’s grace we cannot love enemies"; "He who does not love his enemies, does not have God’s grace"; "He who has not learned to love from the Holy Spirit, will certainly not pray for his enemies." On the contrary, St. Silouan always teaches that this attitude is a gift of the Holy Spirit: "The Lord has commanded us to love our enemies, and the Holy Spirit reveals this love to us"; "One can only love one’s enemies through the grace of the Holy Spirit"; "When you will love your enemies, know that a great divine grace will be living in you."

This grace does not suddenly erupt in the soul, but rather shows itself in a divine pedagogy, where taking into account the weakness and the difficulties of man, the Holy Spirit progressively teaches him to love and teaches him all the attitudes and ways which will allow him to do so. "The Holy Spirit teaches us to love even our enemies"; "The Holy Spirit teaches the soul a profound love for man and compassion for the lost. The Lord had pity for those who were lost... The Holy Spirit teaches this same compassion for those who go to hell"; "I could not speak about it if the Holy Spirit had not taught me this love"; "The Lord taught me love of enemies... The Holy Spirit taught [me] to love."

The grace of the Holy Spirit shows to him who possesses it the way to love his enemies. But it also reveals to him the foundation of this love: the love of God for all people and His will to save them: "No man can know by himself what divine love is if the Holy Spirit does not instruct him; but in our Church divine love is known through the Holy Spirit, and that is why we speak about it." Grace also "gives man the capacity and the strength to love his enemies, and the Spirit of God gives us the strength to love them."

Staretz Silouan insists that because love of enemies is a fruit of grace, it is essentially through prayer that it can be obtained. Several times he urges us to "ask the Lord with our whole being to give us the strength to love all men." He also advises to pray to the Mother of God and the Saints: "If we are incapable [of loving our enemies] and if we are without love, let us turn with ardent prayers to the Lord, to His Most Pure Mother, and to all the Saints, and the Lord will help us with everything, He whose love for us knows no bounds." The Staretz confesses that he himself constantly prays God for this: "I continuously beg the Lord to give me the love of enemies... Day and night I ask the Lord for this love. The Lord gives me tears and I weep for the whole world." Wishing in his universal love for all men to receive such a gift, he links them to himself in his prayer: "Lord, teach us through Your Holy Spirit to love our enemies and to pray for them with tears... Lord, as you prayed for your enemies, so teach us also, through the Holy Spirit, to love our enemies."

Yet obtaining the grace to love one’s enemies presupposes other conditions.

The love of enemies is completely bound to the love of God: we have seen that the principal foundation for the love of enemies is the love that God shows to all His creatures equally and His will that all people should be saved, and Christ gave us a perfect example of such love throughout his earthly life. The love of God leads man to accomplish His will and to imitate Him as much as possible, and so also to love his enemies. The Staretz also notes that he who does not love his enemies shows that he has not learned from the Holy Spirit to love God.

To love one’s enemies is also tightly bound to humility. The Staretz often associate these two virtues. Almost all the difficulties we encounter in loving our enemies are linked with pride: it is from pride that flows the affliction that follows upon insults, hated, bad temper, spite, the desire for revenge, contempt for one’s neighbor, refusing to forgive him and to be reconciled with him.

Pride excludes the love of enemies and love of enemies excludes pride: "If we love our enemies, pride will have no place in our soul." The fact that humility goes hand in hand with love of enemies proves the presence of grace and the authenticity of love: "If you have compassion for all creatures and love your enemies, and if, at the same time, you judge yourself the worst of all people, this shows that the great grace of the Lord is in you."

Indeed humility is the indispensable condition to receive and keep the grace that teaches us to love our enemies and gives us the strength to do so. The Staretz advises: "Humiliate yourself, then grace will teach you." On the other hand, "pride makes us lose grace... The soul is then tormented by bad thoughts and does not understand that one must humiliate oneself and love one’s enemies, for without that one cannot please God."

The Staretz sometimes also stresses the role played by penitence in connection with humility. "Regard yourself the worst of men," he advises. This is an attitude of great humility that of its nature implies penitence. He who counts himself the worst of men necessarily thinks others better than himself; he will judge and blame himself, and not judge and criticize his enemies, for he tends to estimate them better than himself.

The Staretz also gives us the example of another penitential attitude -- asking God’s forgiveness each time one has not loved one’s enemy: "If I judge someone or look at him angrily, my tears dry up and I fall into despondency; and again I start asking the Lord to forgive me, and the merciful Lord forgives me, a sinner. "Through such an attitude, by which the soul humbly recognizes before God its faults and shortcomings and obtains from Him forgiveness, an opening can be made that becomes bigger and bigger for grace and unceasing progress in love. As to a total absence of compassion for enemies, it shows the presence and the action of an evil spirit; sincere repentance is the only way to be freed from it."

The insistence on prayer, humility and penitence shows that, although St. Silouan recognizes a determining role to the action of grace in acquiring love of enemies, he does not neglect the role played by the efforts that man makes. The Staretz is very conscious of the importance of the initial action; this is why he says, "I beg you, try," and states, "In the beginning, force your heart to love your enemies." The efforts one makes must manifest themselves in a general way in a straight intention and constant good will, stretched toward the realization of God’s command. God will not fail to respond.

For the person who feels discouraged by such a demanding task, St. Silouan reassures him: "Seeing your good intention, the Lord will help you in everything." The Staretz who felt in himself so acutely human powerlessness and weakness seems to think constantly of these words of the Apostle: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13) and witnesses in his own experience the mighty help that everyone can receive from God.

For Christ there are no enemies

The Staretz would say that for Christ there are no enemies -- there are those who accept "the words of eternal life," there are those who reject and even crucify; but for the Creator of every living thing, there can be no enemy. So it should be for the Christian, too, who "in pity for all must strive for the salvation of all."

Wherein, then, lies the force of the commandment, "Love your enemies"? Why did the Lord say that those who keep His commandments would know from very experience whence the doctrine?

... God is love, in superabundance embracing all creatures. By allowing man to actually know this love the Holy Spirit reveals to him the path of fullness of being. To say "enemy" implies rejection. By such rejection a man falls from the plenitude of God... "The whole paradise of Saints lives by the Holy Spirit, and from the Holy Spirit nothing in creation is hid," writes the Staretz. "God is love and in the Saints the Holy Spirit is love. Dwelling in the Holy Spirit, the saints behold love and embrace it, too, in their love."

... [It] is possible to judge whether a given state of contemplation was a reality or an illusion only after the soul had returned to consciousness of the world; for then, as the Staretz pointed out, if there were no love for enemies and so for all creatures, it would be a true indication that the supposed contemplation had not been a real communion with God.

-- The Monk of Mount Athos (London: Mowbrays, 1973) by Archimandrite Sophrony; pp 70-71.

 

Jean-Claude Larchet is professor of philosophy and a specialist in Patristics living in France. This is a section of a longer essay published in Buisson Ardent by the Association Saint-Silouane l’Athonite in the society’s journal (Maxime Egger, secretary, Le Sel de la Terre, 79 avenue C-F Ramuz, CH-1009 Pully, Switzerland). The translation was made by Mother Lydia of the Orthodox Cloister of St. John the Forerunner in The Hague.

 

Source: In Communion, Issue 8, Pascha 1997.

Online: https://orthochristian.com/7173.html

Self-Knowledge and Ambition

Protopresbyter Dionysios Tatsis | October 7, 2026 | Orthodoxos Typos

 

Every day, ordinary people voice complaints about the actions and omissions of those who hold political authority, and not infrequently ecclesiastical authority as well. There is a widespread sense that these persons are incompetent and serve vested interests, in a provocative and scandalous manner. Without overlooking the notable exceptions, unfortunately the majority prove to be incompetent, and this happens because these particular people are ambitious and lack self-knowledge. We are speaking of the presence of a terrible passion and the absence of a great virtue. Ambition and self-knowledge cannot coexist in a person. When ambition predominates, self-knowledge is lost. Whereas when self-knowledge is present, the passion of ambition diminishes and sometimes is even mortified.

The ambitious person loses the sense that he is an ordinary human being with many weaknesses and, naturally, unfit for positions of responsibility in secular authority. This reality is not taken into account, and so major social problems, whose solution requires ability, are entrusted to small and weak people. And the result is that the problems multiply!

Knowledge of ourselves is necessary, without causing us to become discouraged; on the contrary, it leads us to spiritual awakening. Saint John Chrysostom says that “it is no small act of piety and virtue to be able to recognize our true worth. For the one who knows himself best is he who believes that he is nothing, etc.” Likewise, the awareness that we are sinners and worthy of punishment does not exclude us from forgiveness. We can “remain standing in the spiritual arena and engage in the struggles of repentance”!...

Although people display behavior that reveals a lack of self-knowledge, they themselves deny this, because there is much malice in their souls. At the same time, they are absorbed in worldly concerns. Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that “nothing causes a person to be so ignorant of himself as being absorbed in worldly concerns; and, conversely, nothing causes him to be so absorbed in worldly concerns as ignorance of himself, because these two things depend upon one another.” When a person is free from worldly concerns, he acquires self-knowledge, which leads to every kind of virtue. Saint Basil the Great counsels the well-disposed Christian concerning the acquisition of self-knowledge: “Take heed to yourself, and neither cling to mortal and corruptible things as though they were eternal, nor despise eternal things as though they were temporary.” The Saint also does not fail to mention that it is difficult for one to know his true self: “Man is not what he appears to be, but a certain higher wisdom is needed, through which each one of us may come to know well who, after all, his true self is. But this, unless we purify our mind, is far more difficult than it is for someone with impaired eyesight to look at the sun.”

 

Greek source:

https://orthodoxostypos.gr/%ce%b1%e1%bd%90%cf%84%ce%bf%ce%b3%ce%bd%cf%89%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1-%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%af-%cf%86%ce%b9%ce%bb%ce%bf%ce%b4%ce%bf%ce%be%ce%af%ce%b1/

Borderline States—Between Body and Soul

Dmitry Avdeev (†2022) on depression, neuroses, and other nervous disorders

 

 

I don’t wish you wealth, fame, success, or even good health, but only peace in your soul. That’s the most important thing. If you have peace, you will be happy.

- St. Alexiy of St. Zosima Hermitage

 

We increasingly talk and hear about chronic fatigue, neuroses, depression, and other diseases that arise “due to nerves.” And doctors, based on numerous studies, state that a huge number of physical illnesses develop precisely as a result of prolonged nervous strain. Moreover, about half of the diseases currently studied by psychiatry are borderline conditions (those that arise due to nerves).

A discussion with the well‑known Moscow psychiatrist, Candidate of Medical Sciences D. A. Avdeev, about these disorders, ways to overcome them, and the Christian approach to them was recorded some years ago for a spiritual educational program on Belarusian television, however only fragments of it were aired.

In 2022, Dmitry Alexandrovich passed away prematurely from cancer. He was a professional who believed in God and sought to foster a Christian attitude towards mental illnesses, which led him to develop a model of Orthodox psychotherapy. This article contains a more complete version of his video interview.

* * *

May it be unto you according to your faith…

Modern man’s life is full of stress and emotional overload. And it’s no wonder—the abundance of events and information, like a powerful tsunami, overwhelms our thoughts and feelings every day. There’s practically no time to stop and catch our breath. We’re always in a hurry…

It’s also getting colder, and it’s raining. Autumn is a time when emotional crises and chronic illnesses become more pronounced, and overall well‑being and mood deteriorate.

But is it only the pace of our lives and climatic conditions that are to blame for the fact that the number of diseases arising “due to nerves” is rapidly increasing, and borderline conditions are increasingly developing into mental illnesses? Here is what is written on this matter in the “Foundations of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church”:

The Church views mental illnesses as one of the manifestations of the general sinful corruption of human nature.

From the history of medicine, it is known that from the moment of the baptism of Rus’, medicine in Rus’ was under the direct patronage of the Orthodox Church. Holy Prince Vladimir declared in his Charter that doctors are church people, subordinate to the bishop. And monasteries provided care not only for the poor but also for the sick, which also included those “deprived of reason.” The process of separating psychiatry from the Church began only at the end of the 18th century, when psychiatrists decided to become more “objective” and rely solely on data from clinical and laboratory observations.

After October 1917, [1] a person was reduced to pure physiology—mere flesh, without any hint of the existence of a soul. Psychiatry began to view a person’s personality from the same perspective. However, the term “psyche” means “soul” in Greek.

Currently, spirituality is once again being discussed in psychiatry. Clinics are opening house churches, providing spiritual care for patients, and holding scientific and theological conferences with the participation of clergy and psychiatrists.

“By nature” or from sin?

—As a psychiatrist and a believer, how would you assess the causes of neurosis, depression, and other nervous disorders? Is it stress, the hectic pace of our lives, or something else?

—One might ask oneself: was life really simpler in the time of Ivan the Terrible? Or in any other era, for example, in the Napoleonic era? Of course not. But it would be disingenuous if I said that we are not affected by speed, by the pace of life. There are even such concepts as “exhaustion depression,” “informational neuroses,” but these are just the backdrop, the environment. Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov made the remarkable comparison of modern man’s spiritual state to a jug that’s been shattered. Unfortunately, it’s been reduced to a pile of shards.

Psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychology do not talk about sin. But the main thing to pay attention to is a person’s spiritual state, which cannot be good without spiritual peace, without a clear conscience, without the person striving to overcome pride, vanity, and other sinful passions.

—So, are borderline states sinful states? Or are mental disorders a type of illness? How should we treat them, and how should they be cured?

—I’ve been studying borderline states for about twenty years now, and I see that these are diseases, but they are often sinful diseases. When sin occurs in the depths of the human spirit, it disorganizes the will and emotions. And I’ve long noticed in my practice that neuroses and many forms of depression (in particular, neurotic depression) have spiritual roots. And from those roots, certain physical manifestations arise. After all, a person is a combination of the spiritual, the mental, and the physical. This is how it all descends in a hierarchy, step by step: spirit, soul, and body.

I can give you one telling example. Once, a patient came to me complaining of a neurotic disorder. During the conversation, he said: “Doctor, if you only knew how much I’m tormented by envy! It’s eating me up from the inside! After all, I envy everyone—those who have a better apartment, a more successful job, higher earnings. And it weighs so heavily on me! I’m just burning up inside.”

So, should we give such a patient a sedative tablet three times a day? And put a checkmark, as if the problem were solved? That would be completely wrong. Nothing will happen without understanding that he is in the grip of sinful passions, without repentance, without work on himself.

It is necessary to identify the three main causes in the development of mental illnesses. Mental illnesses may be a consequence of some organic disorders in the body, i.e., they are diseases “of nature,” which are either hereditary in nature or associated with individual biological factors. These include schizophrenia, manic‑depressive psychosis, epileptic psychosis, and senile psychosis.

The term “from nature” was introduced by John Climacus. We read in his works that he observed that in some monastics, certain states of spiritual turmoil did not pass after prayer, the sign of the cross, or after the performance of church sacraments. We have a remarkable example in the life of Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, who spent three years caring for a monk who suffered from what would now be called catatonia.

A few examples. A typical symptom of schizophrenia is delusion (delusion is a false conclusion). It is impossible to try to rationally convince a person suffering from delusions. Depressive psychosis. It is associated with changes in the brain tissue’s neurotransmitters. The mother says to such a patient: “Well, pull yourself together.” And she starts to feel offended, angry, and guilty—but what the patient needs is medical help. There is a change in the emotional state in the case of epilepsy, when the patient exhibits aggressive behavior, requires medical assistance and active treatment of the disease.

The second group—a vast group of mental disorders—are illnesses resulting from passions that have enslaved the soul.

The third group consists of illnesses caused by demonic assault, brought about by demonic influence.

Here, it’s important not to get things mixed up. I’ve come across situations more than once where, say, a patient is experiencing the onset of schizophrenia, the debut of a psychotic process; and their relatives are church‑going believers. And so they decide that they shouldn’t go to a doctor but should instead go for an exorcism. Of course, prayer is needed, as is church commemoration and the blessing of a spiritual advisor. But this is a mistake, and there’s a danger lurking here. It’s important to understand that mental disorders are, after all, a separate group of diseases.

And at the same time, these illnesses may be a cross laid upon us by the Lord. Sometimes I witness very remarkable examples: a person seems to have a severe mental illness—but how they grow spiritually against that backdrop! I remember one of my patients. He is a moderately disabled person due to a mental illness, and as a doctor I tried to console and reassure him. But he looked at me and said: “Doctor, don’t. The situation I’m in is the most salvific for me.” And, of course, the Christian path is not closed to such a person, and the Kingdom of Heaven is not closed to them. No, this is our brother in Christ who needs help, prayer, compassion, and support.

Depression doesn’t always mean despondency.

—Dmitry Alexandrovich, let's take a closer look at depression. What are its characteristics, and how does it arise?

—In some cases, depression is a painful disorder. And this is due to the fact that in the brain structures, neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine are reduced to almost zero, and the person experiences a pessimistic, depressed mood. They are inactive. Relatives and acquaintances try to somehow stimulate them: They tell them to get a job, to pray more. But they can’t do it because they are sick. At the first stage, medical assistance is needed—psychiatric and psychotherapeutic—and as recovery progresses, psychological and spiritual support will become more prominent.

And then there are depressions (and there are significantly more of them, in fact the vast majority) as a consequence of the passions of despondency and sorrow that have enslaved the soul. This point is very significant. It is necessary to distinguish—and this applies to the clergy as well—between sin and illness.

In general, depression has become one of the leading health issues; there are about 500 million people worldwide suffering from depressive disorders. The use of psychotropic medications and antidepressants has gotten out of control for medical professionals and cannot be accounted for in any way. Moreover, depression is becoming younger; today we are talking about childhood depression.

—Sometimes, depressive states or a nervous breakdown can lead a person to think about suicide. What would you advise someone who might be on the verge of suicide?

—This is very serious… But I would advise you to cross yourself with faith and say: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Then go to church and, without holding anything back, sincerely tell the priest all your worries and concerns during confession. If you need first aid, that’s exactly where to find it.

Speaking about the problem of suicide in general, it is known that only ten percent of those who commit suicide are mentally ill people. Ninety percent are mentally healthy but spiritually deeply damaged people. And do you know how many of them there are? Thirty-nine to forty per every 100,000 people! That is tens of thousands — a city of suicides every year! We are talking about successful suicides. But there are also attempted suicides, and they are much more numerous.

There are many mental illnesses toward which we need to form a Christian, Orthodox attitude.

Neurosis = conflict

—What are the characteristics of neuroses?

—Neurosis has many spiritual roots. Probably, to put it very briefly, neurosis is a clash between what is desired and reality. And the more powerful the clash, the stronger the manifestation of neurosis. It is always an internal conflict. Sometimes I give an example like this: I clench two fists, press them together, and ask the patient which hand should I break—the right one or the left one? Both are equally painful! There is no way out of this dead‑end situation.

In these cases, humility, inner peace and kindness are needed. Can one imagine such a state of affliction in St. Seraphim of Sarov, who greeted everyone with the words: “My joy, Christ is risen!”? An Orthodox Christian may be ill, may be poor, or homeless—it is all the will of God. But with the right spiritual disposition, in the soul of an Orthodox Christian “roses bloom and nightingales sing.” This is an indisputable truth. Remember the Savior’s words: “My peace I give to you!”

One can suffer from neurosis for a long time until a person understands the true causes of neurotic disorders, until he realizes that it is his perception, value system, attitudes, and some incorrect behavioral stereotypes that are to blame for the illness. A daughter hasn’t spoken to her mother for ten years because of some principles, and she experiences terrible inner tension, has a headache, and her conscience is troubled… But what’s the solution? To go up to her mother, hug her, kiss her, and ask for forgiveness—and everything will fall into place. And people stubbornly refuse to relent, ending up with illnesses or heart attacks. After all, today it is known that eighty percent of all diseases arise from stress.

I remember how one woman wrote to me in a letter: “Here I am, sick, and I don’t understand at all what clash of the desired and the real you’re talking about in the case of neuroses.” I replied: “My dear (I think her name was Liudmila), God has allowed you to be sick right now, and you’re so burdened by it that you want to be healthy at any cost… Humility! Humility is the main remedy.” Walking the Christian path to Christ—that is the main remedy for neuroses.

“You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.”

—And what if a person is lost? Maybe they didn’t have faith, or they’ve just started coming to church. They’ve backed themselves into a corner—and they’re in a deep, years‑long depression or suffering from a neurosis. Can they pull themselves out on their own? Or do they still need outside help?

—This is, in fact, what my colleagues and I have been doing for many years. Of course, the Lord guides all of us. And He will not abandon this person, provided that person prays, sincerely believes, and turns to the sacraments of the Church. Look, the “Foundations of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church” beautifully states that an Orthodox psychotherapist or psychologist is the co‑worker of a clergyman. A meeting with him often precedes a meeting with a priest. And often people come to me who are not yet ready to go to confession, but they already have spiritual questions. They come to me with these questions during their appointments, and we try to resolve them. Of course, this makes life easier for such a person, because an Orthodox psychologist or someone who has been attending church for a long time and has read the Holy Fathers can give good, beneficial advice.

—Some psychotherapists claim that if a child develops mental disorders or complexes as a result of improper upbringing, they are practically incurable as the child grows older. What’s your comment as a doctor and a person of faith?

—Perhaps I should start by answering your question from a different angle. The thief who spent his whole life stealing and killing, when he found himself on the cross to the right of the Savior in the last three hours of his life, repented, changed his ways, and was the first to enter paradise. Therefore, in my opinion, claims that drug addiction, alcoholism, certain neurotic disorders, and childhood experiences are incurable do not correspond to reality. In my view, such psychotherapists have mercenary motives and want to keep the patient tied to them.

Take, for example, psychoanalysis. When I talked to French psychoanalysts and asked them: “Well, how effective is it?”—I saw bewilderment and a smile in their eyes; what effectiveness? The client attends psychoanalysis sessions for three, five, or seven years. And a psychoanalytic procedure costs quite a lot of money, lasts about an hour, and takes place twice or three times a week. It turns into a lifestyle.

Of course, there’s the issue of the starting point—“You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear,” as they sometimes say. If a child has pious parents and is familiar with the sacraments of the Church, then in general such a child has more opportunities—that is, he has certain initial advantages in life. And yet, as long as a person is alive, as long as a person is breathing, the Lord gives him a chance to change, for transformation and revival.

Orthodoxy is not something you can just pick up on the fly.

—The fear of God versus fear as a phobia: What is the difference?

—The fear of God brings peace and tranquility to the heart. Fear as a phobia is demonic fear. Who is the most neurotic? The devil. And the fear instilled by him gives rise to precisely this state in the heart.

In my books, I compare and contrast repentant lamentation over sins and neurotic self‑criticism. Repentant lamentation over sins gives rise to peace, tranquility, and joy in the heart. But neurotic self‑criticism is like grinding water in a mortar, like running in circles, sorrow for sorrow and nothing else. It doesn’t bring anything constructive.

—But how can a person figure out which fear is which?

—For that, you need to study the holy fathers. And Orthodoxy isn’t something you can just pick up on the fly, it’s not something you can learn in five minutes. You need to study it, try to live in a Christian way, and go to church. And gradually, little by little, your way of thinking will develop in the right direction.

“Be attentive to yourself, so that hot‑temperedness, irritability, and resentment do not gain the upper hand over you—for otherwise you will lead a troubled and disorderly life. But cultivate generosity, meekness, lack of malice, and everything that is fitting for Christians, so that you may lead a peaceful and serene life” —St. Ephraim the Syrian.

 

Elena Nasledysheva spoke with Dr. Dmitry Avdeev, M.D., Ph.D.

Translation by Myron Platte.

 

1. That is, the October Revolution in Russia.

 

Source: https://orthochristian.com/180676.html

 

Can a Lie Serve unto Salvation?

Russian source: Православная Русь, No. 15 (1347), August 1/14, 1987, p. 12.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), whereas the devil “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). “See,” says Venerable Dorotheos, “from Whom we separate ourselves and with whom we unite ourselves through falsehood? Clearly, with the evil one. Therefore, if we truly desire to be saved, we must with all our strength and with all diligence love the truth and guard ourselves against every falsehood, lest it separate us from the Truth and the Life.”

In the book The Lausiac History there is the following account: “We came to St John of Lycopolis and asked him to pray for us. He asked whether there was anyone among us from the clergy. When we answered that there was not, he looked over everyone and, pointing with his hand to one man, said: ‘Here is a deacon.’ And when the man, wishing to conceal his rank, continued to deny it, the Saint took him by the hand, kissed him, and said: ‘Child, do not reject the grace of God and do not lie: falsehood is alien to Christ and to Christians. Even if a lie is told for a good purpose, it is still not praiseworthy, for falsehood, according to the word of the Saviour, is of the devil.’”

This is why Venerable Dorotheos says that even if, through extreme necessity and in an exceptional circumstance, it should become necessary somehow to conceal the truth, even then a person suffers harm and must repent and reproach himself, for God has no need of our falsehood and can always enlighten us if we humbly ask Him for enlightenment.

 

The Lord’s Teaching on Holy Communion

† Metropolitan Klemes of Larissa and Platamon

 

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted the Jews who approached Him in the hope that He would provide them with material food by multiplying the bread not to devote all their concern to perishable food, but rather to spiritual food, which is bestowed by God upon those who seek it (cf. John 6:27).

Certainly, by this exhortation He did not hinder work—quite the contrary—but rejected exclusive concern for acquiring and securing material food alone. For such food perishes, serving the needs of this present biological life, and cannot nourish the spirit. Yet there is a food “which endures” “unto everlasting life,” which the Lord provides, He who has been confirmed and demonstrated to be the Son of God the Father. What is this food? The mystical Partaking, that is, Holy Communion in His Flesh! (cf. St Theophylact, Commentary on the Four Gospels, 1865 ed., p. 336).

In order for a person to be deemed worthy of this divine Mystery, he must have as his foundation the unwavering faith that the Lord Jesus Christ is the true Son of God Who became Man, the true God-Man, in order to make human beings sons of God by grace. And this faith, which transcends reason, must not be merely theoretical, but put into practice, adorned with good works—evangelical and divine.

Our Lord reminds the Jews, and all of us, that just as the ancient Israelites miraculously received manna from heaven in the wilderness in order to be sustained in natural life, so also the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Manna, the true Bread of Life, gives spiritual life by nourishing the human soul through the Energy of the Holy Spirit. And in this way He grants even to the human body life and incorruption! For He is the true Bread, “which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” (John 6:33).

The Jews, being carnally minded, supposed that the Lord was promising them a continual supply of material food, and for this reason they eagerly asked Him not to deprive them of this gift (v. 34).

The Lord, however, affirms that He Himself IS the Bread of Life! (v. 35). He is the pre-eternal God Himself, Who came into our deadened nature and our corruptible life in order to quicken it with the Fire of His Divinity! He grants regeneration and renewal through holy Baptism, abundantly bestows nourishment through His life-giving word upon those, of course, who have a “right heart” (St Theophylact, p. 337), and finally grants resurrection and eternal life to those who are nourished by Holy Communion.

Since He is the Bread of Life, whoever partakes of Him will live forever: “and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (v. 51).

The Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was crucified voluntarily and of His own free will, in order to give His Flesh—hypostatically united with the Divinity—for the life of the world. Thus our salvation was accomplished through the destruction of death and the Resurrection, which thereafter was imparted to the whole human race. And no one can receive the gifts of the divine Incarnation unless, in the Divine Liturgy, he partakes of the life-giving Flesh of the Lord Who suffered and rose again. The bread and wine offered, through the mystical divine blessing of the celebrant and the descent of the Holy Spirit, are changed in an ineffable and incomprehensible manner into the Flesh and Blood of the Lord! (St Theophylact, p. 339).

And just as, when the Lord lived upon the earth and was nourished with material bread, that bread was changed into His Flesh and became assimilated to it within Him, so now also the bread of the offering is truly and actually changed into the Flesh of the Lord.

And this takes place supernaturally and spiritually, yet with absolute reality, so that we may speak of sacramental and liturgical realism, even though we continue to see and taste Bread and Wine in the consecrated Gifts. For now we walk by faith, and it is faith that assures us of realities that are not perceptible to the senses. Nor, indeed, would we be able to endure seeing and tasting with our senses true Flesh and Blood, permeated by the Fire of the Divinity! This surpasses us, and for this reason the Lord has providentially arranged that what we know should take place in this manner.

But when the Jews heard these astonishing and fearsome words, they showed unbelief and began to wonder intensely what these unheard-of and unprecedented things were that He was telling them! Who does this man think He is? And how is it possible for us to eat His flesh in order to have eternal life? (v. 52).

Whoever remains on the natural level, whoever is not given life by unwavering faith in the divine words of Christ the Saviour, is indeed unable to accept His teaching, which transcends reason, concerning the dread Mystery of the Divine Eucharist. For this reason, we too must have pure and unshakable faith in Holy Communion and not seek rational proofs as to how it is accomplished (St Theophylact, p. 340).

The Flesh of which we partake is not the flesh of a mere man, but of God Who became Man, and therefore, as deified Flesh, it is able to deify those who partake of it. It is not symbolic, transient, corruptible, and temporary food, but a means of attaining eternal life. And the Blood of Holy Communion imparts the Holy Spirit and quenches man’s spiritual thirst.

For this reason, our Lord is unequivocal: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (vv. 53–55).

And He continues decisively and emphatically, leaving no room for doubt that His words are to be understood in the fullest and most literal sense: “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever” (vv. 56–58).

Whoever receives Holy Communion, says the unerring mouth of our Lord, abides in the Lord, and the Lord abides in him. There takes place a supernatural intermingling, a wondrous union and commingling, so that God is within us and we are within God! Through the life-giving, deified Flesh of the Lord we participate in the divine Life, and the divine Life flows into us! And henceforth we live for God and for Him alone! What a dread Mystery this is! How the things of Christ become ours and are manifested within us! His holiness and perfection, His purity and chastity, His love for mankind and forgiveness, His humility and meekness, His love and self-sacrifice, His poverty and selflessness!… All these, of course, according to the measure of our capacity; yet we must resemble Him in these things, and all of them, to a lesser or greater degree, should characterize us, if in reality we are sacramentally and liturgically partakers of His divine Life!…

For this reason, we cannot avoid the deep self-examination that must govern us. Those who truly partake of the life-giving Body and Blood of the Lord our God and Saviour must remain in continual effort, watchfulness, and an unceasing struggle of preparation, so that they may partake worthily of the divine Gifts and divine graces. Their whole life must be Christ-life, a life filled with repentance, attentiveness, prayer, self-restraint, purity, and inner and outward order, so that they may not only partake of the divine Mysteries, but may also truly preserve within themselves the divine gifts mentioned above. Then, what room or place can there be for sin, for serious falls and tragic spiritual defeats, for impermissible concessions and grievous relapses?

And especially if we fulfill the ideal of frequent Eucharistic participation, as should be the case with true Christians, then this demanding and continual effort will constitute a God-pleasing way of life, a foretaste of Paradise, a journeying together and union with Christ the Saviour. What could be higher or more blessed than this?

May it be so, that we may be deemed worthy of true communion in the Kingdom of incorruption of our Triune God, in eternal union with Him in the light, together also with our like-minded fellow-strugglers and brethren. Amen!

Larissa, September 2026

 

Greek source:

https://imlp.gr/2026/10/06/%ce%b4%ce%b9%ce%b4%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%bb%ce%af%ce%b1-%cf%84%ce%bf%e1%bf%a6-%ce%ba%cf%85%cf%81%ce%af%ce%bf%cf%85-%cf%80%ce%b5%cf%81%e1%bd%b6-%ce%b8%ce%b5%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%bf%ce%b9/

What Is Salvation?

Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (+2015)

 

 

When the word of God speaks of salvation—and more generally, within the Church, in the books of the Church, in its writings and services—when salvation is spoken of, it certainly means something different from being saved from various dangers. Of course, it also includes deliverance from illnesses and other dangers, from threats, disasters, and so forth; but this is not the main thing. And the unfortunate thing is that, although we are Christians, we do not know what the real danger is, nor precisely what this salvation is. Consequently, while God knows exactly the danger from which we are in peril and intends to save us from that danger, we understand something else, and in a manner of speaking, we fail to understand one another.

And it may well be that many times we receive the answer from God: “You are not really in danger from the things you think threaten you. The things you are afraid of amount to nothing. Everything you are trying to obtain when you say, ‘Save me,’ and ask for salvation, is not what you actually need. Since you are already making a mistake, since you are already going astray and missing the mark, do not expect”—God says, in a manner of speaking—“that I too will be carried along with you and, so to speak, act according to the way you think things are and the way you want them to be.”

Man’s danger, man’s threat, man’s destruction is the poison of sin. To understand the paradox: a person may, in the very act of sinning—that is, at the very moment he is committing a sin—be facing some danger and ask to be saved from that danger, which he thinks is the real danger. And indeed, not only may he ask to be saved from something that is not a real danger, but he may even ask to be saved from some danger precisely so that he can go on sinning and enjoy his sin undisturbed. What understanding can there then be with God? How can God entrust anything to us, when we do not know what we are saying or what we are asking for, when we do not know what the real danger is, and when we do not know exactly what the salvation is that God can give us and wants to give us?

For example, a fire comes and burns everything. As a Christian, you should reflect that whether you yourself are burned or not is not of such great importance; but what if the fire of sin burns up your entire being? Think about that, and let God see that this is what concerns you, that this is what causes you pain, and that you cry out: “My Lord, save me!” That is, let Him see that you are not deluded, that you are not distracted, that you are not, so to speak, running off in a direction where there is no need to go. Rather, you take occasion from anything that happens to look at your soul, to look at the things of your soul; and as, at that moment, you see the fire burning whatever it burns, you can understand very clearly what damage the fire of sin is doing within you, the downpour of sin within you, the earthquake of sin within you!

Pay attention to this: With the other fire, the natural fire, we, as human beings, will do whatever we can, but in the end, we do not know what God will do. As for this fire here, the spiritual fire, we are absolutely certain—we must be utterly certain—that the Lord has received the message. That is, the Lord has become assured that we have seen what we need to see, that we realize what our danger is, and that we know what we are saying when we say, “Lord, save me”; and we await this salvation, utterly certain that here, in this case, the Lord—for everything else, everything that happens, is meant to make us pay attention to this reality—we are utterly certain that the Lord will make this fire, however paradoxical it may seem, like a cool breeze, just as the natural fire, the tangible fire, became for the martyrs. Sometimes, indeed, God intervenes immediately and turns all that burning heat of sin into a refreshing coolness that refreshes the soul; and the soul feels and experiences—lives—this salvation that it asked of God. And God truly grants it, and one then has within oneself that other fire of God which refreshes, that other fire which burns away sin.

Very often, God either does not listen at all—in the sense that we are not saying these things for Him to hear them, just as a little child recites a poem—or, since God sees that we are not asking for what we ought to ask, that we are not seeing what we ought to see, namely what exists within us and constitutes a deadly danger, and that we are not asking for what we ought to ask, He does not listen to us, He does not respond, and we have no contact or communication with Him. And so I would say, with all the strength of my soul, that whoever passes over everything else, forgets everything else, and does not regard anything else—whatever it may be—as the danger from which he needs to be saved, but instead resolves to see the real danger that lies within him—and that danger is sin—and directs all his attention there, and this becomes his deepest concern, and at the same time he truly asks for salvation, he will have it.

I say it once again: precisely when we want to see the real danger, the Lord will grant us this grace. And when we want to be freed, to be saved, from the real danger to our soul—which is sin—the Lord will grant us this grace. And if this grace is not granted, it is because we are asking for other things.

For example, you may be suffering terrible pain, and God permits it precisely because He wants to do you good in this respect: He wants you to see your sin and to ask to be saved from sin. You are in terrible pain, and you cry out and shout and so forth; but God sees that what concerns you more is to be relieved of the pain, even though that bodily pain is rendering you a service at that moment. It is helping you to see your own nothingness and to humble yourself, to be broken in spirit, to see your hardness; yet you do not accept this, and you shout and cry out for the pain to go away. Whereas what you need to do—the other thing God will take away without your even realizing it—what God wants is for you to see that other poisonous sting of sin and all the poison that has spread throughout your entire being; and God is waiting for you to cry out to Him to save you. He can save you, but if He does not see, if He does not perceive, that you are asking for salvation, how is He to save you?

We need to understand these things. They are not games, and we must not waste our time doing what the rest of the world does.

 

Greek source: https://agiazoni.gr/ti-einai-sotiria/

Struggles Against the Sexual Passions: Counsels from Saints Barsanuphius and John

 

The question of Abba Dorotheus to the Great Elder:

-- Q: I am being strongly attacked by sexual passion; I am afraid that I may fall into despondency, and that from the infirmity of my body I will not be able to restrain myself; pray for me, for the Lord’s sake, and tell me, my Father, what I should do?

A: Brother! The devil, out of envy, has raised up warfare against you. Guard your eyes and do not eat until you are full. Take a little wine for the sake of the body’s infirmity of which you speak. And acquire humility, which rends all the nets of the enemy. And I, who am nothing, will do what I can, entreating God that He might deliver you from every temptation and preserve you from every evil. Do not yield to the enemy, O brother, and do not give yourself over to despondency, for this is a great joy to the enemy. Pray without ceasing, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, deliver me from shameful passions,” and God will have mercy on you, and you will receive strength by the prayers of the Saints. Amen.

-- Q: The same brother, being attacked by the same sexual passion, asked the same Great Elder to pray for him and to tell him how to distinguish whether a man is being tempted by his own lusts or by the enemy.

A: Brother! Without labor and contrition of heart no one can be delivered from passions and please God. When a man is tempted by his own lust, this may be known from the fact that he is careless about himself and allows his heart to reflect about what he has done before; and then a man himself draws passion unto himself through his own lust. His mind, being little by little blinded by passion, begins, unnoticeable for himself, to pay attention to someone for whom he feels attraction, or to speak with him, and he finds occasions on which to converse with him or to sit with him, and by all means he strives to fulfill his desire. If one allows thoughts to pay heed in this, warfare will increase until a fall, albeit not in body but in spirit, in agreement with thoughts; and it turns that such a man lights the fire himself in his own substance. But a sober and prudent man who desires to be saved, when he sees from what it is that he suffers harm, carefully preserves himself from evil remembrances, is not drawn into passionate thoughts, avoids meetings and conversations with those for whom he feels attraction and avoids every occasion for sin, fearing lest he himself ignite a fire within himself. This is the warfare which proceeds from one’s own lust, which a man brings on himself . . .

Tame your steed with the bridle of knowledge, lest, looking here and there, he become inflamed with lust towards women and men and throws you, the horseman, to the ground. Pray to God, that He may turn “your eyes, lest they see vanity” (Psalms 118:37). And when you will acquire a manful heart, warfare will depart from you. Cleanse yourself, as wine cleanses wounds, and do not allow stench and filthiness to accumulate in you. Acquire weeping, so that it might remove from you freedom (looseness) in your relations, which destroys the souls that adopt it. Do not throw away the implement without which fertile land cannot be worked. This implement, made by the Great God, is humility: it uproots all the tares from the field of the Master and gives grace to those who dwell in it. Humility does not fall, but raises from a fall those who possess it. Love weeping with all your heart, for it also is a participant in this good work. Labor in everything to cut off your own will, for this is accounted to a man for sacrifice. This is what is meant by: “For Thee we are mortified all the day, we are accounted as sheep for slaughter” (Psalms 43:22). Do not weaken yourselves by conversations, for they will not allow you to prosper in God. Firmly bridle the organs of your senses: sight, hearing, smelling, taste, and feeling, and you will prosper by the grace of Christ. Without tortures no one is a martyr, as the Lord also has said: “In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19), and the Apostle says, “in much endurance, in sorrows” (II Corinthians 6:4).

 

-- Q: Pray for me, my Father, I am very much disturbed by thoughts of sexual sin, despondency, and fear; and a thought says to me that I should converse with a brother to whom I feel attracted when I see him, lest by my silence I give him occasion for suspicion. I feel likewise that the demons are somehow pressing me, and I fall into fear.

A: Brother! You are not yet instructed in warfare with the enemy, which is why there come to you thoughts of fear, despondency, and sexual sin. Stand against them with a firm heart, for combatants, unless they labor, are not crowned, and warriors, unless they show the King their skill in battles, do not become worthy of honors. Remember what David was like. Do you not also sing: “Test me, O Lord, and try me, kindle my inwards parts and my heart” (Psalms 25:2). And again: “If a regiment arm itself against me, I will hope in Him” (Psalms 26:3). Likewise, concerning fear: “For if I should go in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me” (Psalms 22:4). And concerning despondency: “If the spirit of the powerful one should come upon thee, do not leave thy place” (Ecclesiastes 10:4).

Do you not wish to be skilled? But a man who is not tested by temptations is not skilled. It is battles that make a man skilled. The work of a monk consists of enduring battles and opposing them with manfulness of heart. But since you do not know the cunning traps of the enemy, he brings thoughts of fear and weakens your heart. You must know that God will not allow against you battles and temptations above your strength; the Apostle also teaches this, saying: “Faithful is the Lord, Who will not leave you to be tempted more than you can bear” (I Corinthians 10:13).

Brother! I also in my youth was many times and powerfully tempted by the demon of sexual sin, and I labored against such thoughts, contradicting them and not agreeing with them, but presenting before my own eyes eternal tortures. For five years I acted thus every day, and God relieved me of these thoughts. This warfare is abolished by unceasing prayer with weeping.

And the fact that the demons are pressing you proceeds from their envy; if they could, they would chase you out of your cell also; but God does not allow them to take possession of you, for they do not have authority for this. God could swiftly relieve you, but then you would not begin to oppose another passion (when it comes). May the demons not weaken you so as to turn your attention to a brother (to whom you are attracted), or to converse with him; but If you should happen unexpectedly to come together with him, against your desire, restrain your glance with fear and decency and do not listen attentively to his voice. And if this brother, out of ignorance, should himself begin to speak with you or sit next to you, then skillfully avoid him, but not suddenly, rather with decorum. Say to your thought: “Remember the terrible Judgment of God and the shame which will then overtake those who are attracted by these shameful passions.” Compel your thought, and you will receive help, by the prayers of the Saints, and God will have mercy on you. Do not be a child in mind, “but a child in malice” (I

Corinthians 14:20); in mind, O brother, be perfect. Pay heed to yourself, as to how you will meet God. Amen.

-- If you wish to be delivered from shameful passions, do not behave with anyone familiarly, especially with those toward whom your heart is inclined by a lustful passion; through this you will be delivered also from vainglory. For in vainglory is involved the pleasing of men, in the pleasing of men is involved familiarity of behavior, and familiarity of behavior is the mother of all passions.

-- Q: What should I do, my Father? I suffer from sexual passion.

A: As much as you can, wear yourself out, but according to your strength; and have hope not in this, but in love from God and in His protection, and do not give yourself over to despondency, for despondency serves as the beginning of every evil.

-- Q: What do the words you have spoken mean: “See to it, lest you be drawn away by a thought of sexual sin?”

-- A: This happens not only with regard to sexual passion, but in other cases also. The mind is subjected to this as a consequence of distraction, and when this happens a man should cry out to himself, saying: “O Lord! Forgive me for the sake of Thy holy Name; I have been subjected to this for my negligence. Deliver me from distraction and from every net of the enemy; for Thine is the glory unto the ages. Amen.” And let the following be for you the sign by which you may know that you are drawn away: if one is speaking with others and his mind is distracted here and there, it happens that when he speaks of one thing his thought passes over to something else; this is what it is to be drawn away. Likewise, if anyone is doing something and passes over in thought to something else; in his forgetfulness he either ruins what he is doing or does something more than necessary, and this is likewise (a case of) being drawn away. In the same way a sexual thought draws us away. It happens that one is conversing with another, and if the enemy succeeds in drawing his mind away from God-pleasing sobriety, then, as a consequence of distraction, a sexual desire appears in the mind. And this is likewise a drawing away, because it has happened not from reflection or remembrance, but a man is drawn away by it out of forgetfulness. And such a one is like a traveler who, by reason of grief that comes upon him, goes away from the straight road and finds himself on another road. But coming back to himself, a man should call out to himself, according to what has been said above, and hasten to God’s mercy. The Lord is merciful and will accept him like the prodigal son; we know with what mercilessness He accepted the latter. But when this warfare arises in the mind even without distraction, one must be sober, not take enjoyment of such thoughts, no tarry in them, but all the sooner hasten to God the Master.

 

Source: Saints Barsanuphius and John: Guidance Toward Spiritual Life, trans. by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Platina, California: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1990), pp. 71 - 76, 113, 126-127 (selections).