| Silouan furthermore mentions the experience of St. Seraphim of Sarov, who was completely transformed as soon as he was graced with the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. But when Seraphim was subsequently deprived of divine grace, he went out to the desert and for the next three years he prayed atop a rock, saying “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Bereft of the Spirit’s Grace, man is downgraded to the status of the animals. Apart from the benefit of Grace, the soul falls ill. In their ignorance, people display an exorbitant appreciation for the secular sciences, and are similarly overjoyed on the occasion of meeting earthly rulers in person. Nevertheless, the truly important feat for all of us would be to come to know the Lord and His will through the Holy Spirit. Surely, this precious encounter with the living Lord cannot be compared to anything that secular knowledge and worldly benefits can endow us with. Without the Holy Spirit, the soul is dead, even if is totally filled with all the knowledge in the world. The time period marked by God’s absence from one’s life is excruciatingly painful, a long moment of rough spiritual struggle. This phase signals the beginning of an onslaught of dark thoughts and temptations. Prayers and supplications are now going unheard. Heaven appears to be closed and God likewise seems to be deaf to human entreaties. Every aspect of life becomes a hardship. The body is now more easily afflicted by disease, while everything surrounding the suffering person (from nature itself to animals and other humans) appears hostile. In such instances, the sorrow felt by the soul in its total ignorance of Christ’s eventual return, is literally unbearable. This traumatic period of the loss of divine Grace lasted in Silouan’s case for fifteen whole years. Yet, bereft as he may have been of God’s presence throughout this whole time, Silouan was afforded access to various affairs that for the vast majority of people are to remain inexplicable mysteries beyond comprehension, and just as resistant to verbal account. |
| On 11/24 September, 2015, the day of memory of Venerable Father Silouan the Athonite , His Eminence KYRILL , Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, consecrated a new men’s monastery for the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in honor of this modern-day Saint. Signing the monastery " s Antimins The solemn dedication was also participated in by His Grace Theodosy, Bishop of Seattle; the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Irenei; many clergy of the Western American Diocese; other local clergy from various Orthodox jurisdictions; and approximately 180-210 pilgrims. At the end of the Divine Liturgy a sermon about Saint Silouan and the purpose of monasteries for the world was given by Archimandrite Irenei ; and the Divine Services were completed as the faithful participated in a Cross Procession through the grounds of the monastery property. With lamp, cross and banners, holy relics of the Saint and the monastery’s newly-commissioned Patronal Icon, the clergy, choir and faithful trekked in orderly formation across the expanses of the monastery, at which time the sites for new cells, the cemetery and a new cross high upon a ridge were blessed. This new monastery is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, not far from the historical Gold Rush town of Sonora, California. From the heights of the monastery’s 47-acre parcel of land one can glimpse parts of the renowned Yosemite National Park. Possessing both peaks and lowlands, and with a natural year-round water supply, the site is well suited for the monastic life. The fathers will live in individual cells that will dot the hillsides above the entrance and current complex. On the hills’ inclines, plans are being made for the construction of a chapel for daily prayers and perhaps, in time, a new refectory. Below, towards the entrance to the monastery, are existing structures currently serving the needs of the brotherhood. In this area, a catholicon will be constructed for use on the major feasts of the Church. |
| As members of the Church, of Christ’s extended body in history, Christians partake of the Lord’s grace and glory. The essence of Christianity is not its moral teachings but the very person of Christ Himself, who inaugurates the new creation. Accordingly, to live the Christian life is to let Christ dwell within us, after the example of St. Paul, in which case human nature is restored to original splendor as temple of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The life of St. Silouan aptly demonstrates that Christianity cannot be associated with theories of morality which reduce salvation to “good works” and various more human accomplishments. What truly matters for human salvation is the Christian’s partaking of the new creation, their transference from time and temporality to eternity, from creation to the uncreated realm and the sharing into the uncreated energies of God. A further lesson we can draw from St. Silouan’s life is that all the ethical precepts and commandments which he strived to fulfill were never ends in themselves but only signposts on the way to salvation. Salvation, properly speaking, is the faithful person’s openness and receptivity to the Grace furnished by the Holy Spirit, the physical glimpse of the uncreated light as experienced in the aforementioned first and third stages of the monastic life. Only thus can we account for the last-minute salvation of the thief on the cross as a result of a mere repentance, however genuine or sincere, just as we can also begin to realize how it can be possible for prostitutes and tax collectors to lead others to salvation, while the Pharisees, the so-called pious observers of the Law, can well be excluded from God’s Kingdom. Virtues are a natural trait of the human being when being graced with the presence of the Holy Spirit, while in the earlier stages of monasticism, virtues are yet but a goal to be reached. Their accomplishment presupposes a life filled with strife and deprivation, to be sure – it is for this reason precisely, that moral commandments can never be disregarded as “superfluous,” although it is just as true that they must be adjusted to the particular, concrete circumstances of each Christian’s life, in accordance to the pastoral spirit of the Church. |
| Since Fr. Sophrony spoke of a differing anthropology in relation to these two disciplines, I would like to also comment on this. In his book, “Orthodox Spiritual Life, According to St. Silouan the Athonite ” Harry Boosalis writes simply and clearly concerning Orthodox Anthropology. This will also further explain the Orthodox concept of deification and healing: Orthodox anthropology teaches that man is created to participate in the life of God. This is the essential meaning of the Scriptural account of the creation of man, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him…” (Gen. 1:26-7) (p. 27) For Orthodox anthropology, the term “image” has a different meaning from the term “likeness”. “Image may be seen as the potential inherent in man for sanctification, while “likeness” refers to its perfection. Or in other words, one could say “image” implies “potentiality”, whereas “likeness” implies “actuality”. (Here Harry adds a footnote: Elder Sophrony alludes to this distinction between image and likeness, “When it is God’s good pleasure to unite with the human being, man perceives within himself the action of a Divine force which transfigures him and makes him no longer just potentially godlike—in the image of God—but actually godlike in likeness of being.” Saint Silouan the Athonite, p. 184) (p.29) Man was not originally created in a state of completed perfection. He was, however, endowed with the unique freedom to choose either to live in pursuit of achieving his full potential, or else to digress toward the desecration and defacement of his true dignity as man. Only through the proper use of his God-given freedom can man cooperate with divine grace in restoring the image of God within him and attain to the likeness with God for which he was created…. (pp. 29-30) According to Orthodox teaching, sanctification—which is also referred to as perfection, theosis or deification—is not to understood as a static state, where man maintains or preserves a particular high level of spiritual virtues. The human person is called to grow ceaselessly and progress continually into the likeness of God. Thus, perfection has no limits. It continuously advances, not only on earth, but also in the life to come. (p. 30) |
| “At the very onset of his academic work, the Metropolitan chose to focus on patristic studies, and he has been faithful to this filed for many decades of his academic endeavours… Quite a few hundreds of academic papers that influenced the current development of the Orthodox theology were prepared and defended under his guidance. “During his years at Oxford, Metropolitan Kallistos equipped many scholars of Orthodox theology and patristic heritage, and his graduates represent Orthodox Church around the globe, in the East, as well as in the West, from New York to Moscow. Among his disciples are hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches, renowned theologians working in the fields of patristic studies and church histories, and members of other Christian denominations. “During the years of his ministry, the Metropolitan has participated in many important projects aimed at developing Orthodox scholarship and making Orthodox Christianity better known in the West. His Eminence is the chairman of the group Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona (in Scotland) and of the Friends of Mount Athos. Besides, the Metropolitan chairs the Committee on Orthodox-Anglican dialogue and is a member of the Committee on dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. “The Metropolitan discusses Russian spiritual tradition as well. It was in Russia that the heritage of Byzantine hesychasm was revived in the ascetic life of such great saints as Sergius of Radonezh, Nil Sorsky, Seraphim of Sarov and Silouan the Athonite. Metropolitan Kallistos wrote a few papers on the heritage of St. Silouan, and his interest in the life of this saint originated not only from reading St. Silouan’s writing but from a personal acquaintance with one of St. Silouan’s closest disciples, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov).” In a solemn atmosphere, the rector of Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate Studies handed over to Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia the Doctor Honoris Causa diploma and a doctoral cross. |
| Tweet Нравится Clash of Paradigms: The Doctrine of Evolution in the Light of the Cosmological Vision of St. Maximos the Confessor Vincent Rossi This paper of Vincent Rossi comes from his time as a student at Oxford under the tutelage of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. He has a deep passion for Orthodox cosmology, as well as its environmental implications. He has served as the U.S. Director of the U.K.-based Religious Education and Environment Programme and has authored two books and nearly a hundred articles on spirituality, theology, and the environment. He founded and served for twelve years as the editor of the journal Epiphany and has served as the Director of Education for the American Exarchate of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. At one time he was a Roman Catholic pre-seminarian student and worked as a Chinese specialist for the Intelligence Section of the U.S. Navy, and was instrumental in guiding a group of hundreds into the Orthodox faith in the 1980’s, which led to his studying under Metropolitan Kallistos. Vincent currently resides at St. Silouan the Athonite Monastery (ROCOR) in Sonora, CA. St. Maximos the Confessor In accordance with that sound hermeneutical attitude which seeks dialogue between patristic writers and the concerns of our own time, some Maximian scholars have attempted to find the relevance of St. Maximos the Confessor for today. Because of the pervasive cosmological orientation in the theology of St. Maximos, it seems natural to seek for affinities between the thought of the Confessor and contemporary natural science. Since the ruling idea in natural science today is the doctrine of evolution, it is perhaps inevitable that scholars are led to reflect on the relevance of Maximos’ cosmological vision to the world-picture which is supported by the notion of evolution. Thus, P. Nellas opines that evolution does not create a problem for a thinker like Maximos because evolution is concerned with matter and the essence of man does not lie in the matter from which he was created but in the archetype on the basis of which he was formed. Lars Thunberg speculates that Maximos might be of help in interpreting contemporary evolutionary cosmology in a Christian way by means of his logos doctrine which emphasizes Christ as both Creator and Consummator. He also recognizes an affinity between the evolutionary speculations of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and those of Maximos, in particular their common positive evaluation of movement as a creative force. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Holy Fathers The Living Reality of an Immortal Teacher: St. Theophan the Recluse 23 January 2015 Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky) He " prayed out " for us an answer to how the once-Christian soul of modern Western man could return to the essential, life-giving spiritual laws and live in full accord with them, just like ... Why Read the Church Fathers? 09 December 2014 Archpriest John Breck Why read the writings of the Holy Fathers? Because those venerable elders perceived what each of us needs and longs to perceive. How to Approach the Reading of the Holy Fathers 03 November 2014 St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) Make the thoughts and spirit of the Holy Fathers your own by reading their writings. The Holy Fathers attained the goal: salvation. And you will attain this goal in the natural course of events. As ... “Condemned” to Be Immortal 24 April 2014 St. Justin (Popovic) of Celije For without the Resurrection, there is nothing more senseless in the heavens or under the heavens than the present world; nor is there greater despair than this life without immortality On Confession 14 March 2014 St. John of Kronstadt A Model for Priests: St. John of Kronstadt 02 January 2014 Fr. Edward Pehanich A Cure for Depression from St. Silouan the Athonite 20 December 2013 Fr. Vasile Tudora The Trinity: Scripture and the Greek Fathers 25 June 2013 Archpriest John Behr The Holy Fathers on Prayer 26 February 2013 admin The Great Fathers of the Fourth Century and Their Significance for Us Today 23 January 2013 Fr. John Nankivell Previous 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 Next News 30 September His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Contracted the Coronavirus 4th Plenary Session between ROC and Coptic Church Held 29 September His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Calls for Prayer for Those Facing Hurricanes Ian and Fiona 28 September Patriarch Kirill: The Church Prays for the Fraternal Strife to End as Soon as Possible Besides intellectual instruction, young people also need prayer, Patriarch Daniel says as new academic year begins 27 September The Synodal Residence in New York hosts the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Voluntary Blood Donation Takes Place in Churches in Serbia 26 September The work of the Church in society is quiet, but full of hope and love, says the Director of Lumina Publications 25 September Epistle of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia 23 September “The models par excellence are the great hesychast saints,” says Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Oradea Commentary All commentary Other media The Word of the Day How to Deal with Sin |
| She makes choice of the works God is to do.” Thus to learn wisdom (Sophia) is to be united to God. She exists as the choice of God, and yet she makes God’s choices. Baruch 3.31–2 declares that “no one knows the way to her, no one can discover the path she treads. But the one who knows all knows her, for God has grasped her with God’s own intellect.” The Sophiological tradition in Orthodoxy, with various degrees of success, is the continuing contemplation of this ambiguity – the mystical path of the study of wisdom. Sophia is manifested as teacher, bride, lover, and Christ; both as within and without the human mind and soul. To acquire Sophia is not to acquire scientific knowledge but to begin to see the totality of knowledge from the right perspective. SEE ALSO: Berdiaev, Nikolai A. (1874–1948); Bulgakov, Sergius (Sergei) (1871–1944); Florensky, Pavel Alexandrovich (1882–1937); Florovsky, Georges V. (1893–1979) REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS Bulgakov, S. (1993) Sophia, the Wisdom of God: AnOutline of Sophiology. Library of Russian Philosophy. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books. Donskikh, O. A. (1995) “Cultural Roots of Russian Sophiology,” Sophia 34, 2: 38–57. Florensky, P. (1997) The Pillar and Ground of Truth, trans. B. Jakim. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Sergeev, M. (2007) Sophiology in Russian Orthodoxy: Solov’ev, Bulgakov, Losskii, Berdiaev. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. Sophrony, Archimandrite (1896–1993) JULIA KONSTANTINOVSKY Archimandrite Sophrony (Sergey Symeonovich Sakharov) was an outstanding Christian Orthodox ascetic, spiritual director, and theologian of the 20th century. Spiritual son of St. Silouan of Athos, Archimandrite Sophrony was the founder in 1959 of the Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist (Essex, UK) under the jurisdiction of the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople. He is the author of several major works on the spiritual and ascetical life in Christ and on Christian personhood, among them Saint Silouan the Athonite, His Life is Mine, We Shall See Him As He Is, and On Prayer. |
| 187 See P. Bouteneff, " The mystery of union: elements in an Orthodox sacramental theology» in G. Rowell and Christine Hall (eds.), Gestures of God: Explorations in Sacramental Theology (London and New York: Continuum, 2004), pp. 91–107. 189 See P. Nellas, Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of the Human Person (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1987), esp. pp. 115–59. 190 These suggested readings vary in character, and to a degree in content as well. But they collectively provide a sense of the main lines along which Orthodox theologians today conceive Christ and salvation. 191 Fr. G. Florovsky, " The last things and the last events» in Florovsky, Collected Works of Church History, vol. III: Creation and Redemption (Belmont, MA: Nordland Publishing Co., 1976), pp. 243–5. 194 See N. A. Berdyaev, " Eschatological metaphysics» in Berdyaev, The Kingdom of the Spirit and the Kingdom of Caesar (in Russian) (Moscow: Respublika, 1995), p. 277. 205 Florovsky, " The last things and the last events», in Florovsky, Collected Works, I, pp. 245–6. 207 Cf., inter alia, Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 5.10; 9.41; Commentary on the Gospel according to John ; Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew 13.17. 218 Archimandrite Sophrony, St Silouan the Athonite, trans. R. Edmonds (Tolleshunt Knights: Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist, 1991), p. 226. 223 See V. Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (London: James Clarke & Co., 1957; repr. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1998), p. 181. 224 So the extensive hierarchical theology of, for example, (Ps-)Dionysius the Areopagite; cf. A. Louth, Denys the Areopagite (London and New York: Continuum International, 1989). 226 See his important " The Church which presides in love» in J. Meyendorff (ed.), The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1992). 227 J. Zizioulas, Being as Communion. Studies in Personhood and the Church (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1985). |
| Сети богословия Мнение Богословие и личное благочестие никогда не должны разлучаться Дорогие читатели портала! Годичный богослужебный круг почти завершил свой оборот, и мы вновь вошли в период Великого поста, который служит преддверием Пасхи, воскресения Христова. Читать дальше Кирилл (Зинковский) епископ Сергиево-Посадский и Дмитровский, ректор Московской духовной академии Тема недели: Монастыри и монашество на Руси. Монашеская и аскетическая письменность Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Статья Новые материалы 1 января Metropolitan Hilarion visits Athos 16 октября 2012 02:04 – 1 января 1970 03:00 События On 9 October 2012, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, arrived in the Holy Mountain of Athos, leading a group of pilgrims. The pilgrim group also includes Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries; Bishop Feofilakt of Dmitrov; Rev. Kirill Tatarka, secretary of the Hungarian diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church; DECR staff members hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), hierodeacon Ioann (Kopeikin) and Anatoly Churyakov; and several laymen from Russia and Great Britain. In the beginning of their trip, the pilgrims visited the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on the Holy Mountain of Athos. The brethren and the father confessor of the monastery, hieromonk Macarius, met Metropolitan Hilarion at the quay. The pilgrims venerated the shrines of the monastery, including the foot of St Andrew the First-Called Apostle and the holy relics of St Silouan the Athonite who lived and performed his monastic deeds at the monastery’s mill. Metropolitan Hilarion addressed the brethren with words of greeting, saying in particular: “Very Reverend Father, dear Brothers, I am very glad to step over the threshold of the Monastery of St Panteleimon, Great Martyr and Healer, once again. I come to this holy abode every time I visit Athos. |
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