Fourth Ecumenical Council
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach people to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
* Taken from Creeds of Christendom.
Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev
The liturgical texts used in many non-Orthodox churches, except for the Eucharistic prayers and certain ancient hymns still in use, are often characterized by a low level of theological content: as a rule they contain much “piety” that often borders on the sentimental, and very little theology. Orthodox divine services, whether it be the Liturgy, vespers, matins, hours, nocturnes or compline, are a totally different matter. From the priest’s exclamation at the very beginning of the service we are immersed in an atmosphere of uninterrupted prayer, in which psalms, litanies, stichera, troparia, prayers and the celebrating priest’s invocations follow one another in a continuous stream. The entire service is conducted as if in one breath, in one rhythm, like an ever unfolding mystery in which nothing distracts from prayer. Byzantine liturgical texts filled with profound theological and mystical content, alternate with the prayerful incantation of the psalms, whose every word resonates in the hearts of the faithful. Even the elements of “choreography” characteristic of Orthodox services, such as solemn entries and exits, prostrations and censing, are not intended to distract from prayer but, on the contrary, to put the faithful in a prayerful disposition and draw them into the theourgia in which, according to the teaching of the Fathers, not only the Church on earth, but also the heavenly Church and even te angels participate.
* Taken from Orthodox Worship as a School of Theology.
Father Daniel Sysoyev
People think, in error, that the sects are easier than the Orthodox. Recently, I had a chance to associate with Pentecostals. I learned that it is their practise to pray five hours during the day. What Orthodox Christian prays for five hours a day? Sectarianism is the consequence of the Church not informing people of the commandments of the Lord, commandments that our Lord Christ expects us to fulfil. The Gospel is seen as nothing but a collection of pious sayings; it is not seen as a means of real contact with God. We so fear being seduced by the world that we end by doing nothing. This is a terrible spiritual problem. If we do not overcome it, very many Christians shall be ruined. It is an ideology of rigor mortis. It is not conservatism; rather, it is the murder of the Church.
* Taken from Free Republic.
Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi Monastery
There are some monks that confess every day. Monks receive the Communion four times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On other days, there is a strict fast – food is prepared without oil; and on Saturdays food is prepared with oil. In our monastery, sometimes even ten liturgies are served every day and every monk knows when he can receive the Holy Communion. In Greece, the Holy Communion has nothing to do with the Holy Confession. If a man did not commit death sins that can not be absolved, then he can receive the Holy Communion. The Holy Communion comes from love of the heart; it is straining of one’s heart. A prayer before the Holy Communion is a Canon before the Holy Communion. Indeed, canons do exist, but their fulfillment must not be taken as a law. As for the preparation before the Holy Communion, there must be no constraint. The same can be said for the fast. A man is obliged to fast according to the fasting period prescribed by the Church; there is no special fasting rule for the receiving the Holy Communion.
* Taken from Milk & Honey.
St. Simeon the New Theologian
Thou, O Christ, art the Kingdom of Heaven; Thou, Oh Christ, art the kingdom of Heaven; Thou, the land promised to the meek; Thou, the meadowland of paradise; Thou, the hall of the celestial banquet; Thou, the ineffable bridal chamber; Thou, the table set for all, Thou, the bread of life; Thou, the unheard of drink; Thou, both the urn for the water and the life-giving water; Thou, moreover, the inextinguishable lamp for each one of the saints; Thou, the garment and the crown and the One Who bestoweth the crowns; Thou, the joy and rest; Thou, the delight and glory; Thou, the gladness and mirth; And Thy grace, the grace of the Spirit of all sanctity, will shine like the sun in all the saints; And Thou, the unapproachable Sun, wilt shine in their midst; and all will shine brightly, according to the measure of their faith, their asceticism, their hope and their love, their purification, and their illumination by Thy Spirit. Amen.
* Taken from Monachos.
Saint John of Damascus
Angels have no need of tongue or hearing, but without uttering words they communicate to each other their own thoughts and counsels. They are circumscribed: for when they are in the Heaven they are not on the earth; and when they are sent by God down to the earth they do not remain in Heaven. They are not hemmed in by walls and doors, and bars and seals, for they are quite unlimited….Further, apart from their essence they receive the sanctification from the Spirit: Through the divine grace they prophesy; They have no need of marriage for they are immortal, seeing that they are minds in mental places, and are not circumscribed after the fashion of a body. They have not a bodily form by nature, nor are they tended in three dimensions, but to whatever post they may be assigned, there they are present after the manner of a mind and energize….They are mighty and prompt to fulfill the will of the Deity, and their nature is endowed with such celerity that wherever the Divine glance bids them there they are straightway found. They are the gaurdians of the divisions of the earth: they are set over nations and regions, allotted to them by their Creator: they govern all our affairs and bring us succor….They behold God according to their capacity, and this is their food. They are above us for they are incorporeal, and are free of all bodily passion, yet they are not passionless: for the Deity alone is passionless. They have Heaven for their dwelling-place, and have one duty, to sing God’s praise and carry out His divine will.
*Taken from the Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
Saint Diadochus of photice
Evil does not exist by nature, nor is any man naturally evil, for God made nothing that was not good. When in the desire of his heart someone conceives and gives form to what in reality has no existence, then what he desires begins to exist. We should therefore turn our attention away from the inclination to evil and concentrate it on the remembrance of God; for good, which exists by nature, is more powerful than our inclination to evil. The one has existence while the other has not, except when we give it existence through our actions.
* Taken from On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: One Hundred Texts.
Saint Dismas the Good Thief
It is always possible to make a new start by means of repentance. ‘You fell,’ it is written, ‘now arise’ (Proverbs 24:16.) And if you fall again, then rise again, without despairing at all of your salvation, no matter what happens. So long as you do not surrender yourself willingly to the enemy, your patient endurance, combined with self-reproach will suffice for your salvation. ‘For at one time we ourselves went astray in folly and disobedience,’ says St. Paul. ‘…Yet He saved us, not because of any good things we had done, but in His mercy’ (Titus 3:5.) So do not despair in any way, ignoring God’s help, for He can do whatever He wishes. On the contrary, place your hope in Him and He will do one of these things: either through trials or temptations, or in some other way which He alone knows, He will bring about your restoration; or He will accept your patient endurance and humility in the place of works; or because of your hope He will act lovingly towards you in some other way of which you are not aware, and so will save your shackled soul. Only do not abandon your Physician, for otherwise you will suffer senselessly the twofold death because you do not know the hidden ways of God.”
*Taken from the Philokalia, Volume 3.
Saint Gregory Palamas
God is identical within Himself, since the three divine hypostases mutually co-inhere and inter-penetrate naturally, totally, eternally, inseparably, and yet without mingling or confusion, so that their energy is also one. This could never be the case among creatures. There are similarities among creatures of the same genus, but since each independent existence, or hypostasis, operates by itself, it’s energy is uniquely its own. The situation is different with the three divine hypostases that we worship, for there the energy is truly one and the same. For the activity of the divine will is one, originating from the Father, the primal Cause, issuing through the Son, and made manifest in the Holy Spirit.
* Taken from Topics of Natural and Theological Science.
St. Macarius the Great
Let us therefore, set aside such matters and seek rather, as skilled merchants, to possess the heavenly inheritance and those things that are of profit to our soul. Let us learn to lay hold of the good possessions that will remain always with us. But if man were to begin to investigate the mind of God and say: “I have discovered something and truly understand it,” the human mind would be found transcending the mind of God. Truly you wander far into error in such thinking. For the more you wish through knowledge to search and penetrate God, the more deeply you descend away from him and you comprehend nothing.
Those visits of God to you that happen each day, they are so mysterious and incomprehensible. You can receive them only with gratitude and belief. Have you been able to know your own soul from the moment of your birth until now? Tell me, then, from morning to night what are the thoughts that spring up in you? Tell me your thoughts over three consecutive days. If, then, you cannot understand the thoughts of your own soul, how can you scrutinize the thoughts of God and his very mind?
*Taken from Fifty Spiritual Homilies.
