The Apostolic Church

'Give ye them to eat!' Did this mean physical food only? No. It meant everything that the God-Man has brought to earth: salvation of the human race, spiritual food, all the sacraments which were established by the Lord, the entire Church of Christ, Catholic and Apostolic. But the Apostles were mortal and the Church is eternal. The Apostles would need successors: deacons, priests, bishops. In such a way the Church will exist eternally and feed believers. She will give them that which no one and nothing on earth can give. With the words: 'Give ye them to eat!' Christ makes His Church Apostolic. And at that moment, when Christ commanded the people to sit down on the grass in groups — this is the great moment of the organization of the Church.
Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko)

To some small end

...money would never keep that man out of mischief. He is such an incarnate hypocrite, that whatever object he pursues, he must pursue crookedly. It's his only compensation for the outward restraints he puts on himself. Always creeping along the ground to some small end or other, he will always magnify every object in the way; and consequently will hate and suspect everybody that comes, in the most innocent manner, between him and it. So, the crooked courses will become crookeder, at any mooment, for the least reason, or for none.
Thomas Traddles in David Copperfield

The "Christianization" of atheism

Now it is not what is pleasing to God or the Church that is good, but what is 'progressive,' 'liberal,' revolutionary; that which is 'right-leaning' is the concatenation of all evils. 'It is in agreement with Marx!' - this is the highest praise for any teaching, for any opinion. Even holy Christian doctrine is assessed on the basis of this new standard. Thus, all of Christianity's fundamental teaching concerning the personal struggle of repentance and humility is cast aside, while only some sort of 'social teaching' is taken up and given consideration, and in it only that which one can reinterpret in a liberal-revolutionary way is approved.

...they wish to 'correct' the Church's understanding of Christianity, replacing it with their own, in which the teaching of Christ is shown to bear a remarkable resemblance to all the most recent teachings and actions of the godless, up to and including revolutions, expropriations, and bombings. On the basis of such interpretations of Christianity, in renunciation of the authority of Church, there have appeared a 'Christian Brotherhood [?!] of Struggle' and a 'Christian Socialism,' and who knows whether there will appear at some point 'Christian' brigandage, etc., etc.

If socialism looks upon itself as a world-view, what, then, is this world-view? It is, first of all, a consistent materialism. A materialistic understanding of history, as acknowledged by the socialists themselves, comprises the essence of the entire theory of their teaching, its cornerstone, according to the expression of Bernstein. "One must seek the basic reasons of all social changes and revolutions not in the heads of men and not in their views on eternal righteousness and justice, but in changes in the means of production and distribution" (Engels). If socialism is so closely bound up with materialism, how can it bear any relationship to religion? Crudely distorting the moral and educational significance of religion, the materialistic criticism of Marx and Engels sees religion as the mere 'handiwork of man,' the product of ignorant imagination or profit motives; and God Himself as a reflection of economic relations. Even in the Christian God they dare to see an 'anthropological idealization of a capitalism which thirsts for power and satisfaction.' Religion is called forth, in the words of Engels, 'by the dark, primordial ideas of man concerning his personal nature and that which surrounds him,' and is defined in its permutations "by class, and consequently economic, relations". Religion seemed to Marx to be a superstition which has outlived its time, 'a dead question for the intelligentsia, but an opium for the people.' According to this, Marx considered 'freedom of conscience from the charms of religion' to be 'the assistance of the people toward real happiness.'

Socialism is the 'mystery of iniquity' which the holy Apostle Paul prophesied (II Thess. 2:7). Is there any need to refute socialism? No, it is sufficient merely to say what socialism is, and those who have still kept their faith in Christ to any degree will reject this ungodly scandal with horror. The believing man is absolutely unable speak of any agreement between socialism and Christianity whatever. Socialism is not only not ours, it is our declared and dangerous adversary. It is guilty of enmity toward Christianity and deserves no condescension. It is our enemy. Every member of the Church must be aware of this, and it is essential that the Church explain this for all the world to hear. If passing into heresy entails separation from the Church, passing into socialism is an error more grievous than any heresy, and is even more deserving of punishment. 'If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema' (I Cor. 16:22). We have already seen how socialism 'loves' Jesus Christ. It is necessary to commit all inveterate socialism to anathema. Ravening wolves must be driven from the flock, else the whole flock will perish. How can one speak of the 'Christianization of socialism'? These are empty words. Can one Christianize atheism? 'Christian socialism' is a contradiction in terms. What is Christian cannot be socialist. If we do not loudly and openly declare that socialism is the enemy of Christianity, nothing will result except harm and scandal. All compromises are inappropriate here. One must look one's enemy in the eye. To underestimate danger is always deleterious.
St. Hilarion (Troitsky)

The height of stupidity

"But the Pharisees said, He casteth out demons through the prince of demons." (Matt 9:34) These words are the height of stupidity, for no demon casts out other demons. But let us suppose that He cast out demons as one who served the prince of demons, that is, as a magician. How then did He heal diseases, forgive sins, and preach the Kingdom? For the demon does just the opposite: he brings on diseases and separates man from God.
Blessed Theophylact

Modern breeding specifications

...when society is the name for such hollow gentlemen and ladies, Julia, and when its breeding is professed indifference to everything that can advance or can retard mankind, I think we must have lost ourselves in that same Desert of Sahara, and had better find the way out.
David Copperfield

Is your rowboat secure?

When man alienates himself from God in his heart he usually trusts in men and in himself, for in who else can he otherwise trust when he untied his rowboat from God's boat? Since he has already untied his rowboat from God's boat, nothing else remains for him except to trust in his rowboat or in the rowboat of his neighbors. Weak trust, but there is no other for him! Weeping trust above the abyss of destruction, but there is no other!

But, O heaven and earth, why did man untie his rowboat from God's boat? What happened to man that he flees from his security? What kind of calculation did he calculate when he discovered it would be better for him alone on the tempestuous waves than in the household of God and near the hem of God! With whom did he make an alliance when he breached the alliance with God? Is it with someone stronger than God? Foolishness, foolishness, foolishness!
St. Nikolaj (Velimirovic)

St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 20/ July 3

(1 Cor. 1:1-9; Matt. 13:24-30) The good seed had been sown but the enemy came and sowed tares in with the wheat. Tares are heresies and schisms in the Church and in every one of us bad thoughts, feelings, desires, and passions. A man that accepts the good seed, the words of God, decides to live a holy life and begins to live such. When such a man sleeps, that is, relaxes attention to himself, then comes the enemy of salvation and embeds in him bad thoughts which, not having been repelled in the beginning, ripen in desires and dispositions and they take their circle of deeds and propositions, having intermixed with good actions, feelings and thoughts. They are as such, both together, until the harvest. This harvest is confession. The Lord sends angels, feelings of destruction and fear of God and they, having appeared like a sickle, gather up all the tares and throw them in the fire of self-condemnation. The pure wheat remains in the granary of the heart to the joy of man, the angels and the all good God worshiped in Trinity.

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Ferocious doctrine

"Does he gloomily profess to be (I am ashamed to use the word in such association) religious still?" I inquired.
"You anticipate, sir," said Mr. Chillip, his eyelids getting quite red with the unwonted stimulus in which he was indulging. "One of Mrs. Chillip's most impressive remarks. Mrs. Chillip," he proceeded, in the calmest and slowest manner, "quite electrified me, by pointing out that Mr. Murdstone sets up an image of himself, and calls it the Divine Nature. You might have knocked me down on the flat of my back, sir, with the feather of a pen, I assure you, when Mrs. Chillip said so. The ladies are great observers, sir?"
"Intuitively," said I, to his extreme delight.
"I am very happy to receive such support in my opinion, sir," he rejoined. "It is not often that I venture to give a non-medical opinion, I assure you. Mr. Murdstone delivers public addresses sometimes, and it is said,--in short, sir, it is said by Mrs. Chillip,--that the darker tyrant he has lately been, the more ferocious is his doctrine."
"I believe Mrs. Chillip to be perfectly right," said I.
"Mrs. Chillip does go so far as to say," pursued the meekest of little men, much encouraged, "that what such people miscall their religion, is a vent for their bad-humours and arrogance. And do you know I must say, sir," he continued, mildly laying his head on one side, "that I don't find authority for Mr. and Miss Murdstone in the New Testament?"
..."as Mrs. Chillip says, sir, they undergo a continual punishment; for they are turned inward, to feed upon their own hearts, and their own hearts are very bad feeding."
Mr. Chillip in David Copperfield

Let us not be carried away

What is written by every holy writer is written from his spiritual level (attainment) and from his practice (experience), in conformity with his level and practice. We must pay special attention to this point. Let us not be carried away and enraptured by a book written as if with fire that tells of high states and activities for which we are unfit. The reading of such a book, by firing the imagination, can harm us by communicating a knowledge of and desire for labours that are untimely and impossible for us. Let us apply ourselves to the book of a Father nearer to our state in the matter of attainment.
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Somersaults for God

When bodily exertion - prostrations, vigils and sacrifices - takes place with love, with passionate eros, the body is not harmed. When this effort is made freely and with love towards the loved one, towards Christ, you show how much you love Him. No one takes account of exertion and fatigue for the person he loves. For example, a monk climbs up a mountain, he struggles and sweats and tires himself out. 'Why did you do it?' people ask him. 'For the person I love,' he replies. 'Because I knew that I would make him happy.' The person with faith displays his love, his devotion and his adoration of Christ in tangible ways. That's why bodily exertion is made. That's why we make prostrations. Not to gain anything, but because your love for Christ doesn't allow you to do otherwise.
Perhaps someone will say, 'I have love in my heart.' That's all very well, but prostrations and all the other exercises are still required, because, although they are external forms, through those formal actions we are able to penetrate to the substance. It we don't penetrate to the heart of the matter, all is a waste of time. Should I turn somersaults now for God to see and be pleased? God takes no delight in these things. Nor do we add anything to Christ with the worship which we offer Him. It is we who receive the fruits of our efforts; we have need of those things. ...when prostrations are made for Christ, grace works directly on the soul and brings penitence, serenity, peace and joy.
Elder Porphyrios

St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 9/ June 22

(Rom. 11:25-36; Matt. 12:1-8) "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless." So, in order to be delivered from the condemnation of sin it is necessary to develop a merciful heart. A merciful heart not only doesn't convict apparent violation of the law but even violations that are obvious for all. In the place of judgement it perceives regret and is quickly ready to weep than reproach. Actually the condemnation of sin is fruit of an unmerciful heart, spiteful and delighted in the humiliation of those close to it, slander is it's name, in bringing others down is its honor. This is the case: the murderous business happens according to the spirit that is the murderer from time immemorial. There is much calumny which is from it's source the devil, for the devil slanders and everywhere spreads slander. Hasten to awaken within yourself compassion every time there comes evil desire of condemnation. With this compassionate heart turning with prayer to the Lord so that He will have mercy on us all, not only the one who wanted to condemn but even us and mabye more than that stop short evil desire.

Spiritual guidance

The carnal and natural man, on hearing spiritual guidance, understands it in conformity with his state, twists and distorts it, and by following it in his distorted sense, takes a wrong course and holds to it stubbornly as a course given by holy guidance.
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

The good and beautiful

...if we are Christians laboring and toiling for what is good and beautiful, we must leave our requests up to God's judgement. If God sees that our requests will truly be to our benefit, He may then give them to us; otherwise He will not.
Bishop Augustinos (Kantiotes)

A new social system

I shall now invent an entire social system and you will not believe how easy it is! All you have to do is isolate yourself off in a corner or even end up inside a crocodile, close your eyes and immediately you will invent an entire paradise for all of mankind. ... True, at first everything must be refuted. But it's so easy to refute from within a crocodile. Moreover, it all seems to be much clearer from inside a crocodile.
Fyodor Dostoevsky

St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 5/ June 18

(Rom. 9:18-33; Matt. 11:2-15) "...the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." The Kingdom binds itself, that is with poverty with labour, with effort and podvig; therefore, the one who reaches the Kingdom is the one who lives life through much labour and podvig. With this, on the way to the Kingdom, is the denial of every type of consolation. Pleasures of every kind take away from the Kingdom, and now we even have only worries that are about pleasures, rarely spiritual, more fleshly: to eat, to drink, to be happy, to walk and to live in luxury in all ways. The Kingdom said, "I ask you, excuse me," though in it is a feast, a kingly feast, to which no one comes prepared, the taste we have isn't right. What is sweet we consider bitter, what is pleasing we are against, what is joyful to us is irksome - it completely clashes with us. The Kingdom with the poor, enrapturing him, moves away from us. We, joyful and ready, quickly would drive them away and our speech about that already leads us away, yes, everyone is crafty that doesn't manage to accomodate this.
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St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 4/ June 17

(Rom. 5:1-10; Matt. 6:22-33). "If therefore your eye is good [pure, clean], your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." The eye here stands for the mind and the body the whole soul. Thus, when the mind is simple then in the soul it will be light; when the mind is evil then in the soul it will be dark. What is a simple mind and what is an evil mind? A simple mind is one which accepts everything written in the word of God and indesputably is convinced that all is so as it is written: there is no cunning, no wavering or doubts in it. And evil mind is one which comes to the word of God with craftiness, cunning words and disregard. It is not able to believe correctly but submits the word of God under it's own understanding. It comes to the word not as a disciple but as a judge and critic in order to test what it says and then whether to sneer or to haughtily say, "Yes, that's not bad." Such a mind doesn't have a strict position for the reason that it obviously doesn't believe the word of God and it's own understanding is always unstable - now such a way and tomorrow another way. From this it has fluctuation, perplexity, questions without answers; its possessions are not in the same place and it walks rummaging in the dark. The simple mind sees everything clearly: it's well-defined character has all of its possessions, formed with the words of God, therefore, all of its possessions are in the same place and it knows exactly how it is in relationship to what to hold on to, it walks, it knows with comple assurance, by the open visible roads that they lead to the genuine goal.
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The power of the tongue

O my brethren, we cannot whisper anything here to the earth that the heavens are not going to hear. Our every word comes before the assembly of the angels of God. Hades receives our every evil word and retains it as a guarantee of our eternal death and Paradise receives every good word and retains it as a guarantee of our eternal life. Truly, does the Old Testament sage wisely speaks and promptly reminds us with the words that: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue."
St. Nikolaj (Velimirovic)

This day in history

On this day of St. Vitus let us remember St. Prince Lazar and his countrymen who perished in a battle that still rages.

And don't forget Blessed Augustine:

…the end of the world will admit us to life everlasting, and then the souls of the just will no longer be subject to the vicissitudes of time.

For the blood of Christ was shed so efficaciously for the remission of all sins, that it could wipe out even the very sin of shedding it.

In the earliest times, "the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed: and they spake with tongues," which they had not learned, "as the Spirit gave them utterance." These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to shew that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away. In the laying on of hands now, that persons may receive the Holy Ghost, do we look that they should speak with tongues? Or when we laid the hand on these infants, did each one of you look to see whether they would speak with tongues, and, when he saw that they did not speak with tongues, was any of you so wrong-minded as to say, These have not received the Holy Ghost; for, had they received, they would speak with tongues as was the case in those times?

St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 2/ June 15

(Rom. 9:6-19; Matt. 10:32-35(36), 11:1) "Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven." Is it difficult to confess the Lord? In no way is it difficult. How is it difficult to say, when it is demanded, that our Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and God, Who for our sake came to earth, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, was crucified, suffered, was buried, arose on the third day, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, who will come again to judge the living and the dead, who sent the Holy Spirit upon the holy apostles, who by His power built the holy Church, which teaching truth and performing the mysteries, ... all of its believing children to the Heavenly Kingdom? All of this we repeat every time we hear and say the symbol of faith. So take these truths, imprint them upon your heart and be ready, not being afraid of any human being who comes against you that so, and not otherwise, it is necessary to believe so that you will be saved, prepare to be patient and so that in another situation it will be well with you. Fill your mouth with the words of truth of the teachers of Christianity - and receive what the Lord promises. Confess Him as God and Saviour before man and He will confess you before God the Father, in that you are His true follower and confessor.
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St. Theophan: Thoughts: June 1/ June 14

(Rom. 8:22-27; Matt. 10:23-31) "...there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." Consequently, as we hide ourselves with our sins there is no profit. The time approaches - is it long in coming? and everything will come into the open. How will we be? It is not necessary to hide. You sinned - go and reveal the sin to your spiritual father. When you receive absolution the sin disappears as if it had never been. If you hide your sin and don't repent and keep it in yourself it will be revealed in it's own time as your denunciation. Everything, first of all, is revealed to us by God, in order that we can now manage to disable His righteous and terrible judgement on us sinners.
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