| But let the fiery coal of Thy most Holy Body and Thy precious Blood be unto me for sanctification and enlightenment and health for my lowly soul and body, unto the lightening of the burden of my many sins, for preservation from every act of the devil, for the expulsion and prohibition of mine evil and wicked habits, unto the mortification of the passions, unto the keeping of Thy commandments, unto the application of Thy divine grace, unto the acquiring of Thy kingdom. For not with disdain do I approach Thee, O Christ God, but as one trusting in Thine ineffable goodness, and that I may not by much abstaining from Thy communion become the prey of the spiritual wolf. Wherefore do I entreat Thee, for Thou art the only Holy One, O Master: Sanctify my soul and body, my mind and heart, my belly and inward parts, and renew me entirely. And implant Thy fear in my members, and make Thy sanctification inalienable from me, and be unto me a helper and defender, guiding my life in peace, vouchsafing me also to stand at Thy right hand with Thy saints, through the intercessions and supplications of Thy most pure Mother, of Thine immaterial ministers and immaculate hosts, and of all the saints who from the ages have been pleasing unto Thee. Amen. Prayer of Symeon Metaphrastes, 3 O only pure and sinless Lord, Who, through the ineffable compassion of Thy love for mankind, didst take on all of our substance from the pure and virgin blood of her that bare Thee supernaturally through the descent of the Divine Spirit and the good will of the everlasting Father; O Christ Jesus, Wisdom of God, and Peace, and Power, Thou Who through the assumption of our nature didst take upon Thyself Thy life-giving and saving Passion: the Cross, the nails, the spear, and death: Mortify the soul-corrupting passions of my body. Thou Who by Thy burial didst lead captive the kingdom of hades, bury with good thoughts mine evil schemes, and destroy the spirits of evil. Thou Who by Thy life-bearing Resurrection on the third day didst raise up our fallen forefather, raise me up who have slipped down into sin, setting before me the ways of repentance. |
| Because of the dynamic nature of our lives and our hearts, and because we are always strung between good and evil, light and darkness, life and death (see Deuteronomy 30:19), the Evil One may also take up residence in the heart. We may be deluded; we may be spiritually blind; we may not think right! The Orthodox Tradition, however, insists that the Light cannot be overcome (see John 1) by the darkness that Evil brings to it. Because of baptism, our hearts are filled with the grace of God that cannot be extinguished; therefore, the Evil One cannot take up residence in the heart but must remain outside as a goad (St Diadochos of Photiki, On Spiritual Knowledge, Philokalia Vol. 1). Metaphor or not, this is a powerful image that can bring us comfort in dark moments. The heart is the seat of passion (pathos). As our Lord says, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts” (Matthew 15:19). Paul writes, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24) and goes on to list the virtues of life in the Spirit. But this is again part of the dynamic of life. There is no guarantee that we will remain in this condition; in fact we have every reason to commit ourselves to spiritual warfare for life. At the heart of this is the struggle for self-control (Galatians 5:23, Ephesians 4:22, and elsewhere) and for what the Tradition calls apatheia, which means dispassion; it does not mean that we become apathetic, but that we view all things without clinging to them. In a way it relates to our use of the icon. Our vision does not stop with the icon; if it does, then we do indeed make an idol of the icon. Our vision must pass through the icon to see the reality it embodies. At this point we must consider the process of temptation. The Fathers of the Philokalia clearly labeled this process. We should learn to recognize it in our own lives. At the core of the process is a logismos, (Greek) a thought that potentially leads to action. First there is the suggestion to sin . A temptation arises: let’s be gluttonous. Let’s gorge ourselves on food and wine. Wow! Great idea! Second, we begin to think about this suggestion , savor it, interact with it, and dwell on it. Third, we accept the premise as possible (to change the temptation: I can find a way to commit adultery with that person). Fourth, we enter into agreement with the suggestion (I want to commit adultery with that person), and we become captive to it. The thought becomes habitual and we become passionate about it . The Fathers say that this is the point when it becomes sin, in accord with Christ’s word (Matthew 5:28). We don’t have to fulfill the act. We have already stepped over the line, and we must repent and repeal our agreement to the suggestion. We must refuse the logismos with its allure. Now, back to our concern with the heart. |
| The source of every true joy, of all true tranquillity and peace of conscience, of cleansing, of spiritual and bodily healing, the source of spiritual power and boldness, flows in the temple, whilst theatres and various worldly distractions and consolations can never replace that which a true Christian receives in the temple, where God Himself comforts the souls of believers and those whose hearts are turned to Him, as a mother comforts her child. It is from the temple, too, that our departed ones receive consolation and solace, with the cleansing from their sins and forgiveness. How ardently we should love the temple, how we should adorn it! And so do all those who recognise its value; and the Church prays for them, saying: Let us pray for them that, with faith, piety, and fear of God, enter in; and further: Let us pray for them that bring forth fruit and do good deeds in this holy and all-venerable temple; or, Hallow those that love the beauty of Thine house. Glorify them in return by Thy Divine might. The world is immeasurably great, there are incalculably many beings inhabiting it, but what order there is in all its course, in all the life of the world (of nature)! Immeasurably great is the world of celestial spirits, of Angels, but what order there is in the angelic world, what strict fulfilment of the will of God! Great is the human world, too, but how much disorder, self-will, how many deformities and misfortunes proceeding from these there are in it, misfortunes of maladies, of deaths of various kinds–of wars, famine, inundations, fires, disasters through storms and bad weather, disasters through drunkenness, gluttony, covetousness, falsehood, perjury, suicide, murder! They are innumerable! Woe unto us! But how will it be there–beyond the grave, in eternity? Man is a wonderful, grand, most wise, artistic production of the most perfect Artist, God; he was not originally defiled, but incorruptible and pure; only sin, that monstrous breed of the spirit of darkness, that foul, foolish, and evil power, made him defiled, sickly, impure, and corruptible, both in spirit and body, in accordance with his double nature. However, the most wise and almighty, the all-merciful Artist did not allow His and our enemy to entirely destroy His beautiful and grand creation, and made Himself a body like unto ours, and borrowed a soul in the womb of His Most Pure Virgin-Mother; by His incarnation, His teaching, miracles, sufferings, death and resurrection, by His wonderful and most wise orderings, He again restores to the work of His hands its former and even greater beauty and glory; He again bestows upon it incorruptibility, holiness, and wonderful Divine beauty, and raises it to the highest bliss, making human nature godly, and setting it with Himself on the throne of the Godhead. Glory be to Thee, most merciful, the most wise and almighty Artist! |
| 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 It’s Not Enough Just to Defeat Evil Source: Pemptousia Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos 24 June 2021 People beyond the passions are revolted with excessive hatred by evil; those who have progressed even further beyond the passions are voracious for the riches of the virtues’ (Saint John of the Ladder) These days we’ve identified wickedness only with whatever conflicts with secular laws. Anything that hursts another person or creates bodily or spiritual wounds to ourselves is wicked only insofar as it contravenes another person’s right to life, liberty and property. Other than that, there’s great tolerance, with the result that we treat evil as a relative category. Good is seen as being self-evident and is not generally acknowledged. News is only what’s deviant, what provokes fear. News is the satisfaction of the desires of famous people. News is showing off bodies. There’s rarely a good news bulletin. This outlook arose as a counter-balance to a religious culture which functioned on the ethos of punishment, guilt and sin, with the result that people felt deprived of the ‘joy’ that a desire can bring, without being able to discern that joy is one thing and pleasure another. This way of thinking doesn’t allow us to understand that we have our conscience within us as the voice of God. The good and bad aren’t defined on the basis of the circumstances of any particular era, but have to do with whatever helps us to love, whatever it is that shows us truth, whatever leads to or prevents our separation from God and from other people. The voice of God doesn’t change depending on social factors. Nowadays we’ve stifled our conscience, so how can we explain to others, particularly those younger than us, what’s good and what’s evil? We experience this both in the upbringing of our children and in the education system. Nothing’s self-evident any more. We’re bringing up children who want an explanation about how a particular thought or action can bring a person to wickedness. But we grown-ups have no thought for anything except satisfying our desires. ‘At most’, we think, ‘we should hide our actions, but not be ashamed of them. If we take pleasure in sin, well, it doesn’t matter’. In this way we become people bound to death, the only inevitable event in our life. |
| Lord have mercy. Twelve times. Prayer I, of St. Macarius the Great O Eternal God and King of all creation, Who hast vouchsafed me to arrive at this hour, forgive me the sins that I have committed this day in deed, word, and thought; and cleanse, O Lord, my lowly soul of all impurity of flesh and spirit, and grant me, O Lord, to pass the sleep of this night in peace; that, rising from my lowly bed, I may praise Thy most holy name all the days of my life, and thwart the enemies, fleshly and bodiless, that war against me. And deliver me, O Lord, from vain thoughts and evil desires which defile me. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Prayer II, of St. Antiochus O Ruler of all, Word of the Father, O Jesus Christ, Thou Who are perfect: for the sake of the plenitude of Thy mercy, never depart from me, but always remain in me, Thy servant. O Jesus, Good Shepherd of Thy sheep, deliver me not over to the sedition of the serpent, and leave me not to the will of Satan, for the seed of corruption is in me. But do Thou, O Lord, Worshipful God, holy King, Jesus Christ, as I sleep, guard me by the Unwaning Light, Thy Holy Spirit, by Whom Thou didst sanctify Thy disciples. O Lord, grant me, Thine unworthy servant, Thy salvation upon my bed. Enlighten my mind with the light of understanding of Thy Holy Gospel; my soul with the love of Thy Cross; my heart with the purity of Thy word; my body, with Thy passionless Passion. Keep my thought in Thy humility, and raise me up at the proper time for Thy glorification. For most glorified art Thou, together with Thine unoriginate Father, and the Most Holy Spirit, unto the ages. Amen. Prayer III, to the Holy Spirit O Lord, Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, show compassion and have mercy on me Thy sinful servant, and loose me from mine unworthiness, and forgive all wherein I have sinned against Thee today as a man, and not only as a man, but even worse than a beast, my sins voluntary and involuntary, known and unknown, whether from youth, and from evil suggestion, or whether from brazenness and despondency. |
| 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 On Good Intentions Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) 27 June 2013 Question : What is the origin of the expression “the path to hell is paved with good intentions”? Is it true? Reply : This expression has now become proverbial. The closest source is the two-volume memoir-biography, The Life of Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell (1740-1795), which appeared in 1791. The author states that Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said in 1775: “Hell is paved with good intentions.” The only difference is that the proverb speaks of the path to hell, whereas Johnson speaks of hell itself. It appears that the author of the aphorism – an English critic, lexicographer, essayist, and poet – relied on a dictum made earlier by the Anglican priest and metaphysical poet George Herbert (1593-1633) in his book Jacula prudentium (Latin, “Aphorisms of the Wise”): “Hell is full of good meanings and wishings.” All three expressions share in common the idea that wishes and intentions are insufficient for salvation. This is in full agreement with the teachings of the Holy Fathers. Above all one must have faith: But without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6). In the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “without oil a lamp will not burn; and without faith no one will acquire a good thought.” How many utopias, radical movements, revolutionary programs, and the like the world has seen, the leaders and participants of which have wanted to attain human “happiness” without God and against God, relying on their fallen reason. History maintains the sad and tragic memory of this. Individuals, too, blinded by unbelief, wanting to fulfill intentions that seemed good to them, have often caused evil and pain to those around them. Faith is necessary, but it must be correct faith. Error and delusions can be many, but truth is always one. People who are motivated by mistaken religious doctrine are certain that their intentions are good, but their false spirituality leads them to ruin. All religious falsehoods are performed with the participation of demonic forces. |
| In her article entitled “Interpersonal Forgiveness from an Orthodox Perspective,” Elizabeth Gassin writes, “An important prerequisite to forgiveness is coming to terms with one’s reaction to the offense. Orthodox thinking emphasizes how the passions, especially pride and anger, impede our struggle to forgive, and how the virtues can facilitate offering forgiveness. Several Orthodox writers claim that a lack of forgiveness is due to pride (Alekseev, 1996; Aleksiev, trans. 1994; Archimandrite Sophrony, 1974; Staniloae, trans. 1982). Pride involves several elements, such as ascribing goodness to self rather than God (John Cassian, trans. 1979), assuming one ‘knows better’ than others (most profoundly illustrated in Eve and Adam’s disobedience to God’s command), and refusing to see one’s own sin.” The presence of angry pride and the absence of peaceful humility are important, if not well-known, considerations for discussing human forgiveness. They situate the problem in the context of spiritual warfare, the perfection of the soul, and the imitation of Christ in which the person who loves and forgives becomes united with the Savior and all the Saints. This blessed context is obviously quite different from that of contemporary North American psychological models, which in placing such emphasis on the psychological antecedents of severity and the presence of an apology turn the issue of forgiveness into another forum for the issue of justice. These two antecedents in particular assume that the human scales of justice are operative when any discussion of forgiveness arises. An anonymous author commenting on the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky and his disdain for western moral concepts and the tendency to divide humans into categories of good and bad writes, “The first significant observation is that by demolishing morality which differentiates people into good and evil, Dostoevsky undermines the arrogance of humanism, which believes that with morality, it can eradicate evil from the world. In this manner, Dostoevsky theologizes patristically: the salvation of man cannot come from man himself, but only from God. Secondly, by recognizing in every person the coexistence of good and evil, Dostoevsky invites everyone to refrain from censuring other people and concentrate their interest and their care on their own sins. That way, they simultaneously attain repentance and love. Dostoevsky thus moves within the spirit of the Gospel, but also of the neptic Fathers (“grant me, O Lord, that I might see my own trespasses, and not pass judgment on my brother” – a prayer by Saint Ephraim).” |
| Yea, my Lord and Creator, Who desirest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live, grant conversion also to me, wretched and unworthy; rescue me from the mouth of the pernicious serpent who is yawning to devour me and take me down to hades alive. Yea, my Lord, my Comfort, Who for my miserable sake wast clothed in corruptible flesh, draw me out of misery, and grant comfort to my miserable soul. Implant in my heart to fulfill Thy commandments, and to forsake evil deeds, and to obtain Thy blessings; for in Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, save me. Prayer IX, to the Most Holy Theotokos O good Mother of the Good King, most pure and blessed Theotokos Mary, do thou pour out the mercy of thy Son and our God upon my passionate soul, and by Thine intercessions guide me unto good works, that I may pass the remaining time of my life without blemish, and attain paradise through thee, O Virgin Theotokos, who alone art pure and blessed. Prayer X, to the Holy Guardian Angel O Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me all wherein I have sinned this day, and deliver me from all opposing evil of mine enemy lest I anger my God by any sin. Pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant, that thou mayest show me forth worthy of the kindness and mercy of the All-holy Trinity, and of the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the saints. Amen. Kontakion to the Theotokos To thee the Champion Leader, we thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and thanksgiving, as ones rescued out of sufferings, O Theotokos; but as thou art one with might which is invincible, from all dangers that can be, do thou deliver us, that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, thou Bride unwedded! Most glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, present our prayer to thy Son and our God, that through thee our souls may be saved. All my hope I place in thee, O Mother of God: keep me under thy protection. O Virgin Theotokos, disdain not me a sinner, needing thy help and thy protection, and have mercy on me, for my soul hath hoped in thee. |
| Belief in such intermediary beings was not, however, confined to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Many people in classical and late classical times believed in such beings. In the Symposium (202E–204A) Plato develops the idea of a class of beings called daemons (Greek: daimones) who are intermediaries between gods and men and carry messages between them. This idea was much elaborated in later Platonism, for example by Plutarch (AD50–c.120) and Apuleius (second century AD). There is clearly a great deal in common between the idea of angels and that of daemons, and indeed Philo tells us that ‘it is the custom of Moses [i.e., the custom of Scripture] to give the name of angels to those whom other philosophers call daemons’. 44 The idea of intermediary beings was still further elaborated in Neoplatonism, and as hierarchies of intermediary beings were developed, so the names for these beings were drawn from the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Greek philosophical tradition, and other traditions too (such as Gnosticism). So, for instance, in his work On the Mysteries of Egypt the Neoplatonist Iamblichus has (usually) four ranks of beings mediating between the gods and human souls: archangels, angels, daemons, and heroes; he also refers to them by the term beloved of the Gnostics, archons (rulers). 45 In Christian use there developed a tendency to distinguish between angels and daemons, seeing in the angels good intermediary beings and in the daemons evil intermediaries (our ‘demons’). This tendency was doubtless encouraged by the Christians’ habit of regarding pagan gods as evil spirits who sought to deceive mankind. As the pagan philosophers interpreted their gods (or their presence amongst humans) as daemons, this led Christians to regard daemons as evil. In the stories of the early monks, the Desert Fathers of the fourth century, the demons are malevolent spiritual beings who tempt men to sin and faithlessness to Christ. Denys inherits this distinction: for him demons (daimones) are evil beings (evil not by nature, but through their freewill), though he has not very much to say about them (he mentions them, for example, in DN IV.23), while the angelic beings are those heavenly beings who have remained steadfast in their love of God. The Ordering of the Angels According to Denys |
| Thus is born an irreconcilable conflict between morals and pitiless reality. Thus was spilled the blood of the holy Royal Passion-bearers and the great hosts of new martyrs and confessors of Russia. We know the holy Tsar’s prophetic words: “If needed, I am ready to give myself as a sacrifice for Russia.” It is astounding that for Machiavelli (as also for Nietzsche) a so-called moral person is considered a victim. But in what sense? In the exact opposite sense. He considers him to be weak in spirit, unarmed in battle, and his harm consists in following the beautiful rules of a perfection that is separate from earthly reality. In Machiavelli’s opinion, it is only an appearance of virtue, a dream, self-indulgence, and ambition. When drawn into the complexities of life, he says, a truly virtuous person is not afraid to do what the ordinary person calls evil; and his actions, dictated by justice, are not revenge, or cruelty in the struggle against cunning and evil enemies. How familiar this reasoning is. Isn’t that how the politicians of “practical wisdom” accused the saintly Tsar of weak will and lack of discernment? Meanwhile, they themselves were filled with “betrayal, cowardliness, and deceit”. Machiavelli teaches that patience (tolerance) is needed with regard to the evil that exists, for the sake of avoiding the greater evil, or for the sake of weakening or gradually decreasing that evil: “The lesser evil should be considered a good.” According to Machiavelli, even hiding your thoughts from your friends is not always a betrayal of them or incompatibility: “Man is given a tongue in order to hide his thoughts.” What has been said does not mean that Machiavelli denied the moral foundations of traditional values. He was a cynic with an observant and sharp mind, more the inheritor than the opponent of the rich treasure of knowledge gathered over centuries of Christianity and degenerating before our eyes. He was ready to praise the rules of virtue if in specific circumstances they help achieve success. |
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