Double Knowledge according to St Gregory Palamas by Dr. Π. Κ. Χρήστου (P. Christou)

Από: Π. Κ. Χρήστου, Θεολογικά Μελετήματα, τ. 3 (Νηπτικά και

Ησυχαστικά), Θεσσαλονίκη 1977

Icon of St Gregory Palamas in his church in Thessaloniki, Greece

Contents:
1. Philosophy and Theology
2. The Two Ways of Knowing God
3. Theology and Vision of God
4. The Teaching of Gregory Palamas on Man


During his sojourn in Byzantium Barlaam of Calabria, a distinguished
theologian and philosopher of the 14th century, took an active part in
the discussions concerning two great problems, namely those of the
procession of the Holy Spirit and of the monastic hesychia. As regards
the former he opposed the Roman Catholic view and as regards the
latter he opposed the Hesychasts. Since in both cases he employed 
gnostic criteria, equating philosophy with theology, he provoked 
strong opposition from Gregory Palamas. Palamas’ argumentation in
this controversy included a series of dual distinctions, among which 
theory of double knowledge holds a notable place. In this theory we
may note three aspects: the distinction between philosophy and 
theology; the distinction within theology of two ways of knowing God;
and finally the distinction between theology and the vision of God or
theoptia.


1. Philosophy and Theology
The first distinction is a result of the conflict between Christianity
and Greek philosophy, of which the beginnings go back to apostolic
times. This conflict reappears from time to time and during the years
of the Renaissance dominated the entire intellectual field. The further
humanistic studies advanced, the greater was the importance given to
the human factor for the knowledge divine; consequently philosophy
was appreciated the more.


Barlaam, one of the pioneers of the Renaissance, reached the point of
identifying the objects, the method and the achievements of
philosophy and theology, supporting his endeavor with arguments to
the effect that every human good is a gift of God and therefore all are
of high quality [i]. Just as, he used to say, there are not two kinds of
health, the one provided by God and the other secured by physicians;
in the same way, there are not two kinds of knowledge-the human
and the divine- but only one. Philosophy and theology, as gifts of God,
are of equal worth.


On this analogy, the Greek philosophers were raised to the same
level as Moses and the prophets; and this tendency was later
extended to the point of introducing such persons as Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle and other sages to the iconographic circle of Greek
Orthodox Churches. Barlaam maintained that, "Both the sayings of
the divine men with the wisdom that is within them and profane
philosophy, aim at a unique object and therefore have a common
purpose, the finding of truth; for truth existing in all these is but one.
This truth was given to the apostles at the beginning by God; by
ourselves, however, it is found through diligence and purity.
Philosophical studies naturally contribute to the truth given to the
apostles by God and assist greatly in reaching out to the first
immaterial principles" [ii].  In maintaining this argument Barlaam
should not be considered as a rationalistic philosopher; on the
contrary, by further elaboration of this thoughts he reaches
conclusions that approach agnosticism. Indeed, he points out the
complete inability of man in his natural state to understand the
divine and, like Plato and Dionysius the Areopagite, seeks for
purification and escape from the material body in other to achieve
the vision of God in a condition of ecstasy.


In complete contrast to these, Palamas draws a sharp distinction
between philosophy and theology. Certainly this division is not a
unique phenomenon during those times. The Averroists* of the West
were accused and condemned in 1277 because among other teachings
they maintained that things may be true according to philosophy and
erroneous according to catholic faith, as if there were two
contradictory truths [iii]. It is a matter of controversy nowadays
what position was reached by the Averroists, and especially by Siger
of Brabant, in the distinction they made between the two wisdoms
and truths. But it is obvious that they at last had a definite
predilection for such a distinction which appears again in Ockham’s
philosophy [iv].


It is extremely unlikely that Palamas had any knowledge of the views
of these western theologians. His presuppositions and purposes were
entirely different from theirs. When he was obliged to undertake
work on this subject, he had recourse to Greek theology before his
time and found satisfactory support for his position.
St. Paul, addressing himself primarily to the intellectuals of Athens
and Corinth; the sages, the scribes and the debaters of the age marked
the chasm between the two philosophies, the wisdom of the
world which as foolishness was abolished and that wisdom of God
which is eternal and brings salvation [v]. Similarly, St. James described
worldly wisdom as sensual and Satanic, and that coming from above
he calls full of virtue and pure [vi]. The attitude of these two apostles,
dictated by missionary needs of the time, did not allow a distinction
between two kinds of knowledge, because it entirely rejected the
value of worldly wisdom. Naturally this manner of dealing with the
matter had serious consequences for the evolution of theological
thought up to the end of the second century and also influenced it in
some degree in later times. For about a century no attention
whatsoever was paid to the foolish wisdom of the world.


Some of the apologists, who came from a different background and
acted under different circumstances, adopted a different attitude.
Our attention is especially called to the position which Clement of
Alexandria took towards the problem. He perceived that the initial
truth was one, but later dismembered by philosophical schools as that
unfortunate Pentheus was dismembered by Bacchus. Although
several schools maintain that they posses the whole truth, in reality
they possess only a part of it. From this last observation it already
appears that philosophy is not entirely valueless, but that the
difference between it and theology is fundamental because
philosophy has to do with names, i. e. the outward cover, while
theology has to do with things, i. e. with essentials, "Thus, since there
are two kinds of truth, he says, -one of names and the other of things,
-some people prefer the names, viz. Those that are engaged in the
beauty of speech, i. e. the Greek philosophers, while the things are
investigated by us, the barbarians" [vii]. Nevertheless knowledge
constitutes a chain in which the elementary lessons serve philosophy
as their mistress, while philosophy itself serves theology as its
mistress [viii]. Borrowing from Philo [ix], he employs as
representative types Agar the slave and Sarah her mistress, both of
whom in turn gave Abraham lovable children but of unequal worth [x].
To Sarah burning with jealousy Abraham says, "although I
embrace the worldly paideia both as younger and as your handmaid
on one hand, on the other hand I honour and respect your science as
a perfect lady" [xi]. It is obvious that, according to Clement, whereas
the philosophical systems possess a part of the truth, theology
possesses the whole of it. Diadochos of Photiκe, examining this
dismemberment from a different point of view, attributes it to the fall
of man and considers it as a division between truth and error. By his
fall man, "was divided in the duplicity of knowledge" [xii].


Basil the Great links the two kinds of knowledge with the conditions
of life which they serve. Worldly wisdom provides understanding of
the present transitory life and facilitates a successful passage through
it. Divine wisdom provides the weapons for the attainment of the
blessed life of the future [xiii]. Not being contradictory to each other,
they form, as it were, a tree in which the one provides the leaves and
the other the fruits [xiv].


Coming back to Gregory Palamas, we observe that he does not
disagree with Barlaam’s contention that everything that is good is a
gift of God and every gift of His is perfect, but he also remarks that
every gift is not necessarily completely perfect [xv]. So long as the
gifts of God are divided into natural and spiritual, philosophy is a
natural gift [xvi], and as such under the influence of evil it has gone
astray and changed and in some cases turned to foolishness [xvii]. Of
course, under certain conditions philosophy adds to the knowledge of
beings. But, since this knowledge cannot be identified with or
accounted equal to the divine wisdom [xviii], it becomes obvious that
neither is ignorance always something bad, nor knowledge always
good [xix]. For the same reason devotion to philosophy should not be
hindered, though its abuse should be strongly criticized [xx].


The objects of the two disciplines are clearly distinguished.
Philosophy aims on the one hand at the exploration of the nature and
movement of beings, and on the other hand at the definition of
principles of social life. If it moves within these boundaries, it is, "a
dissertation of truth"; if it looks for something beyond them, it
becomes an absurd, useless and dangerous occupation; because it
belongs to theology, or philosophy according to Christ, to aim at the
invisible and the eternal [xxi]. Now, since the objects of the two
disciplines are distinct, the conclusions of both may be true.


This examination shows that according to Palamas’ teaching, worldly
knowledge and theological knowledge are clearly distinguished and
proceed on parallel paths. The destination of each determines its
value. The one intended for this transient life is a useful handmaid,
but is not indispensable for salvation; the other intended for the
eternal life is more precious and is absolutely indispensable for
spiritual perfection and salvation [xxii]. This is the only distinction
for which Palamas firmly uses the term 'double knowledge',



This essay is available in full from scribd.com. You may have to
register to be able to download or print this article in its totality. 


*Note- Averroism is the term applied to either of two philosophical
trends among scholastics in the late 13th century: (a) the Arab 
philosopher Averroës or Ibn Rushd's interpretations of Aristotle and 
his reconciliation of Aristotelianism with Islamic faith; and (b) the
application of these ideas in the Latin Christian and Jewish 
intellectual traditions, such as Siger of Brabant, Boetius of Dacia,
and Maimonides. The term was originally coined by Ernst Renan.
Source, for this note only.

Church of St Lazarus the Four Days Dead in Larnaca, Cyprus

Church of St Lazarus in Larnaca Cyprus
This church in Larnaca (Kittim), Cyprus was built over the
tomb of Lazarus,in the Ninth century by Emperor Leo VI
of Byzantium. According to Tradition, Lazarus had to flee
Bethany and went to Cyprus where he was consecrated
Bishop of Kittim by the Apostles. He died there and wasburied when he was around sixty years old. Some of his
relics are still preserved in this church. The fragments of
the relics that were taken to Constantinople, were latertaken to Marseilles, France after the sacking of
Constantinople in 1204. Those relics were lost. 

Lazarus's sarcophagus in the crypt of the Church
of St Lazarus This sarcophagus bears the inscription in Greek,
Lazarus four days dead and the friend of Christ

Below the relics still kept in Larnaca.

Source

The place of the tomb in Bethany, near Jerusalem is
also preserved and it is a very popular and holy place
of pilgrimage.

Lazarus tomb in Bethany, near Jerusalem Source
It was here where the Lord Jesus Christ, "cried out
with a loud voice,“Lazarus, come forth.” The man who
had died came forth, bound hand and foot with
wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with
a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let
him go." John 11:43-44 NASB

The actual tomb in Bethany Source

Troparion to the Raising of Lazarus - Tone 1  Source

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion, 
You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God! 
Like the children with the palms of victory, 
We cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death; 
Hosanna in the Highest! 
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!

Kontakion to the Raising of Lazarus - Tone 2

Christ the Joy, the Truth and the Light of all, 
The Life of the World and the Resurrection 
Has appeared in His goodness, to those on earth. 
He has become the Image of our Resurrection, 
Granting divine forgiveness to all!

The Universality of the Church, the Body of Christ

Tree outside the gate of the Monastery of Philotheou in Mount Athos, Greece

Ethnic and national identity and interests can never be placed above the universality of the Orthodox Church. The boundaries of the local Church are defined by geographical location around its Bishop, not race or country of origin. The mission of the Church is the salvation of man, all men. If our racial and national self-awareness is so strong it excludes others on the basis of national origin, then it is sin and heresy, because it stands in opposition to the mission of the Church, canon law and more importantly the expressed command of our Lord Jesus Christ, to go and make disciples of all nations!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19

Here is the Pan-Orthodox Synod’s official condemnation of ecclesiastical racism, or “ethno-phyletism,” as well as its theological argumentation. It was issued on the 10th of August 1872 in Istanbul, Turkey;
We renounce, censure and condemn racism, that is racial discrimination, ethnic feuds, hatreds and dissensions within the Church of Christ, as contrary to the teaching of the Gospel and the holy canons of our blessed fathers which “support the holy Church and the entire Christian world, embellish it and lead it to divine godliness.”from For the Peace from Above: an Orthodox Resource Book on War, Peace and Nationalism, edited by Hildo Bos and Jim Forest (Syndesmos, 1999) 

St Justin Popovich in his book, ‘The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism’ p.5, Lazarica Press 2000, writes, “In the Church, His theanthropic (this word means God-man) Body, the Lord has united all angelic beings, all men and all God-created matter into an eternally-living organism.

In p.10, “What is the basis of the hope of our Christian calling? It is our union with the Lord Christ and through Him with those who are in Him, in His theanthropic Body, the Church. His Body is one body (Eph.  4:4), the Body of the incarnate God, the Logos; and the spirit in that Body is one spirit (Eph. 4:4), the Holy Spirit. This theanthropic unity is more perfect and complete than any other. There is no union more real, more comprehensive and immortal in the earthly world than the union of man with God and other men, and with all creation. The means to enter into this union are accessible to each and all: the holy mysteries and virtues. The first holy mystery is baptism and the first holy virtue is faith.”

In p. 23, “You are a member of the Church? This means that you are always with all the saints and through them with the wondrous and wonderworking Lord Christ. With Him you are entirely limitless holy and eternal; you are love, truth, justice and prayer. Everything of yours is of one heart and one soul with all the saints: your mind is conciliar, as are your soul, heart, truth and life. All is conciliar through the Holy Spirit, and you are not your own; you are in all and through all, and all is in you and through you. Nothing is yours, because it is yours through all the saints, and you yourself are not yours, but Christ’s and only through Him your own, and only your own through all the saints. It is they who, with unutterable joy, make you Christ’s and fill you with the fullness of Christ: from whom, by whom and in whom all things consist (Col. 1:16-17).

In p. 34, “A sense of conciliarity, of personal responsibility, is a mark of every Christian. He knows that when he falls, he pulls others down with him; when he rises, he lifts others as well. His life is not his alone, but it is interwoven with the lives of his brethren in the Faith, because we all constitute the One Body of the Church.

In his essay, ‘The Inward Mission of our Church” St Justin openly declares, “It is now high time—the twelfth hour—time for our Church representatives to cease being nothing but the servants of nationalism and for them to become bishops and priests of the One, Holy Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The mission of the Church, given by Christ and put into practice by the Holy Fathers, is this: that in the soul of our people be planted and cultivated a sense and awareness that every member of the Orthodox Church is a Catholic Person, a person who is for ever and ever, and is God-human; that each person is Christ's, and is therefore a brother to every human being, a ministering servant to all men and all created things. This is the Christ-given objective of the Church.” Source

May God open our eyes to see and to experience with awareness the reality of our union with this Body, the Body of Christ, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church and that in it, we are One.

The Significance of Fasting in the Struggle Against Fallen Spirits by St Ignatius Brianchianinov

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)Homily on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. The Significance of Fasting in the Struggle against Fallen SpiritsThe Lord said to His Apostles about the evil spirits, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting (Mk. 9:29). Here is a new aspect of fasting! Fasting is acceptable to God when it is preceded by the great virtue of mercy; fasting prepares a reward in heaven when it is foreign to hypocrisy and vainglory; fasting works when it is joined with another great virtue—prayer. How does it work? It not only tames the passions in the human body, but it enters into battle with the spirits of evil, and conquers them.For the complete homily go here

Before Thy Cross I Bow down and Worship, Oh Master!

Reliquary Cross given to me in Mount Athos. It contains relics from
St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, St Sava the New, St John the Russian,
St Spyridon of Corfu, St Dionysios of Zakynthos, St John Maximovitch,
and Elder Philotheos Zervakos.

Our religious freedom is threatened not only here in the U.S but in other
countries as well. Please read the news below about what is going on
in the United Kingdom.

From now on I am wearing my cross outside my shirt at all times.
Please join me in this effort.

Russian church parishioner in London resigns after being banned from wearing crossFrom Interfax

2012-03-19 14:24:00

London, March 19, Interfax - A parishioner of the Russian Assumption Cathedral in London had to resign after being prohibited from wearing a cross.

"This morning I talked to a woman who was forced to take off her cross at work a week ago. She preferred to resign. And the cross was not even visible! The woman asked to be allowed to wear it, promising to attach it to the body with duct tape to keep it from accidentally slipping from under her clothes, but they said it's not allowed," Archpriest Mikhail Dudko, the cathedral's sacristan, said on Facebook.

He said the position of the British government, which opposes freedom to openly wear crosses, is understood by local authorities as "a total ban" and people with poor knowledge of the language and life in the UK "have virtually no chance of defending their rights."

According to earlier reports, the British authorities intend to defend the legality of the ban on public wearing of crosses in the UK in the European Court of Human Rights.

The Strasbourg court will try lawsuits involving the religious discrimination against four Christians from the UK, who have lost their cases in British courts.

The Russian Church earlier expressed surprise about the loyalty of the British authorities, who have banned wearing crosses at work, to other symbols, for example, gay symbols.

"This decision made by the British parliament is certainly alarming, especially given the existence in modern European society of other tendencies aimed at liberating human instincts," Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Synodal Information Department, told reporters. He said he was surprised by the fact that public demonstration of affiliation with gay culture is considered normal in the UK while the wearing of crosses is not. Among the examples of double standards Legoyda named the British authorities' stance on Sikhs, saying that even London police officers are officially allowed to wear turbans, which are Sikh symbols.

Among the four cases to be tried in Strasbourg is a claim filed by a woman who was suspended from her job with British Airways several years ago for refusing to take off her cross, which she wore on top of her uniform.

The other claimants are Shirley Chaplin, who had worked as a nurse for 30 years before being fired for wearing a cross at work, Lillian Leidel, an official with a London civil registry office, who was subjected to disciplinary punishment for refusing to register a gay marriage for religious reasons, and Garry McFarlane, a resident of Bristol, a former employee of a firm providing confidential consultations to gay couples, who was fired because he had difficulty working because of his religious beliefs.

On Carrying your Cross by St Ignatius Brianchianinov

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)Homily on the Third Sunday of Great Lent. On Carrying Your CrossThe thief in the Gospels who ascended this ladder ascended from out of terrible crimes into most radiant heavenly habitations. From his cross he pronounced words filled with humility of wisdom; in humility of wisdom he entered into the knowledge of God, and through the knowledge of God, he acquired heaven. We receive the due reward of our deeds, he said. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom For the complete homily, please go here.

The Way to Christ

The Way to Christ is Within and Through the Heart

Icon of Christ in the Church of Agia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Used with permission Dick Osseman

The way to Christ is within and through the heart. If we desire to meet the Lord

Jesus Christ and have communion with Him we must first purify our nous and

our innermost being, our heart, and in this way prepare a holy habitation for 

our Lord. Fr Zacharias Zacharou, the blessed disciple of Elder Sophrony of 

Essex, explains in his book, 'The Hidden Man of the Heart' p.1, Edited by 

Christopher Veniamin Mount Thabor Publishing 2008; "All the ordinances 

of the undefiled Church are offered to the world for the sole purpose 

of discovering the deep heart (Ps.64:6) the center of man's hypostasis 

(person). According to the Holy Scriptures, God has fashioned every

heart in a special way, and each heart is His goal, a place wherein He 

desires to abide that He may manifest Himself.

     Since the kingdom of God is within us (Luke17:21), the heart is the

battlefield of our salvation, and all ascetic effort is aimed at cleansing it 

of all filthiness, and preserving it pure before the Lord. 'Keep thy heart 

of with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life', exhorts the wise

Solomon, the wise king of Israel (Prov.4:23). These paths of life pass 

through man's heart, and therefore the unquenchable desire of all who

ceaselessly seek the Face of the living God is that their heart, once 

deadened by sin, may be rekindled by His grace."

Our great father among the saints, St. Macarius, whose words are so filled 

with Grace, tells us in his Homily No. 13 that; " All visible things God created, 

and gave them to men for recreation and enjoyment, and he gave them also 

a law of justice. But ever since Christ's coming, God demands other fruit 

and another righteousness, namely, a purity of heart, a good 

conscience, profitable speech, holy and good thoughts, and all the works of 

the saints. For the Lord says: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the

Scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is 

written in the Law: Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, Do not lust or be 

angry" (Mt. 5:20 ff.).

For it is necessary that he who truly desires to be a friend of God keep himself 

from the mire of sin, but for the eternal fire which is in us, (This refers to the 

presence of the Holy Spirit as fire within the human soul that accepts divine 

grace and lives in a way that becomes a living temple of the Holy Spirit. Cf.

Homily 25:9). This makes us worthy of the kingdom. Glory to his mercy and to

his propitious will toward us, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. From 

Pseudo-Macarius, The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the  Great Letter, p 104, 

Translated and Edited by George A. Maloney, S.J., Paulist Press 1992

 And in Homily 19 p. 146-147 St Macarius states that, "The person that wishes

to come to the Lord and to be deemed worthy of eternal life and to become the

dwelling place of Christ and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be

able to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit and perform the commandments of 

Christ purely and blamelessly ought to begin first by believing firmly in the Lord

and giving himself completely to the words of his commands and renouncing 

the world in all things so that his whole mind may not be taken up with anything

ephemeral. And he ought to persevere constantly in prayer, always waiting in 

faith that expects his coming and his help, keeping the goal of his mind ever 

fixed upon this. Then he ought to push himself to every good work and to doing

all the commandments of the Lord, because there is sin dwelling within him. 

Thus let him strive to show humility before every person and to consider himself

the least and the worst. Let him not seek honor or praise or the glory of men as

it is written in the Gospel (John. 12:44).

But let him only have always before his eyes the Lord and His commands,

wishing to please him alone in the meekness of his heart , as the Lord 

says: "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart and you will find

rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). Likewise let him accustom himself to be 

merciful, compassionate and good according to his power, as the Lord says:

"Be good and kind, even as your heavenly Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36). And

again he says: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John14:15). And 

again: "Strive to enter through the narrow door" (Luke 13:24). Above all, let him

take the humility and conduct of the Lord, his meekness and conversation, as 

his model by ever remembering him.

 Let him continue incessantly in prayers, always beseeching and believing that

the Lord may come to dwell in him and may perfect and give him power to 

accomplish all his commands and that the Lord himself may become the 

dwelling place for his soul. And thus the things he now does with effort of a 

reluctant heart, he may perform one day willingly, accustoming himself always

to the good and remembering the Lord and waiting for him always in great love.

Then the Lord, seeing such an intention and his good diligence, how he strives

to remember the Lord and always seeks to do good and is humble and meek

and loving, how he guides his heart, whether he wishes or not, to the best of his

ability with force, has mercy on him and frees him from his enemies and the 

indwelling sin. He fills him with the Holy Spirit. And gradually, without force or 

struggle he keeps all of the Lord's commandments in truth. Or, rather, it is the

Lord who keeps in him his very own commandments, and then he brings forth

purely the fruits of the Spirit." From Pseudo-Macarius, The Fifty Spiritual 

Homilies and the  Great Letter, Translated and Edited by George A. Maloney,

S.J., Paulist Press 1992

Fr. Zacharias continues, " The heart is the true temple of man's meeting with

the Lord. Man's heart 'seeketh knowledge' (Prov.15:14), both intellectual and 

divine, and knows no rest until the Lord of Glory comes and abides therein. 

On His part God, Who is a 'jealous God' (Ex. 34:14) will not settle for a mere

portion of the heart. In the Old Testament we hear His voice crying out, 'My 

son, give me thy heart' (Prov. 23:26); and in the New Testament He 

commands: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy

soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.' (Matt. 12:30). He is the 

One Who has fashioned the heart of every man in an unique and unrepeatable

way, though no heart can contain Him fully because 'God is greater than our 

heart' (1 John 3:20). Nevertheless when man succeeds in turning his 

whole heart to God, then God Himself begets it by the incorruptible 

seed of His word, seals it with His wondrous Name, and makes it shine

with His perpetual and charismatic presence. He makes it a temple of 

His Divinity, a temple not made by hands, able to reflect His 'shape' 

and to hearken unto His 'voice' and 'bear' His Name (cf. John 5:37;

Acts 9:15).

In a word, man then fulfills the purpose of his life, the reason for his 

coming into the transient existence of this world. The great tragedy 

of our time lies in the fact that we live, speak, think, and even pray to

God, outside our heart, outside our Father's house. And truly our 

Father's house is our heart, the place where 'the spirit of glory and 

of God' (1 Peter 4:14) would find repose, that Christ may be 'formed 

in us' (Gal. 4:19). Indeed only then can we be made whole, and 

become hypostases in the image of the true and perfect Hypostasis,

the Son and Word of God , Who created us and redeemed us by the 

precious Blood of His ineffable sacrifice.

Yet, as long as we are held captive by our passions, which distract our mind

from our heart and lure it into the ever-changing and vain world of natural 

and created things, thus depriving us of all spiritual strength, we will not know

the new birth from on High that makes us children of God and gods by grace.

In fact, in one way or another, we are all 'prodigal sons' of our Father in 

heaven, because as the Scriptures testify, 'All have sinned and come short of

the glory of God' (Rom. 3:23). Sin has separated our mind from the life-giving

contemplation of God and led it into a 'far country' (Luke 9:15). In this 'far 

country' we have been deprived of the honour of our Father's  embrace and, 

in feeding swine, we have been made subject to demons. We gave ourselves

over to dishonorable passions and the dreadful famine of sin, which then 

established itself by force, becoming the law of our members.

But now we must come out of this godless hell and return to our Father's house

(our heart-emphasis mine) so as to uproot the law of sin that is within us and 

allow the law of Christ's commandments to dwell in our heart. For the only path

leading out of the torments of hell to the everlasting joy of the Kingdom is that 

of the divine commandments: with our whole being we are to love God and our

neighbor with a heart that is free of all sin. The return journey from this remote

and inhospitable land is not an easy one, and there is no hunger more fearful 

than that of a heart laid waste by sin. Those in whom the heart is full of the 

consolation of incorruptible grace can endure all external deprivations and 

afflictions, transforming them into a feast of spiritual joy; but the famine in a 

hardened heart lacking divine consolation is a comfortless torment. There is no

greater misfortune than that of an insensible and petrified heart that is unable to

distinguish between the luminous Way of God's Providence and the gloomy 

confusion of the ways of this world.

On the other hand, throughout history there have been men whose hearts were

filled with grace. These chosen vessels were enlightened by the spirit of 

prophecy, and were therefore able to distinguish between Divine Light and the

darkness of this world. No matter how daunting and difficult the struggle 

of purifying the heart may be, nothing should deter us from this 

undertaking. We have on our side the ineffable goodness of God Who

has made man's heart His personal concern and goal. 

From  'The Hidden Man of the Heart' p.2-3, Edited by Christopher Veniamin, 

Mount Thabor Publishing 2008

The Infirmary Called the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, Cyprus

(A talk given by Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol at the University of Cyprus)

Source

The Infirmary Called the (Orthodox) Church 

…we’ll try to have a series of homilies as a base so that we can move on to the true knowledge of the spiritual life, as the Fathers of our Church placed a lot of importance and attention on this, that a person who is to begin the spiritual life will place things correctly inside of him right from the beginning; for the spiritual life, the life in Christ, is very delicate and very specific. For example, it’s like a chemical equation, in which all the elements must be placed in the right way. Because if not placed correctly, then we will obtain erroneous results, and sometimes those results are very painful, especially in the spiritual sphere, in our spiritual course.

And so, they placed much importance on this, so that a person who’s beginning would receive accurate knowledge, the correct knowledge. That’s why I thought it appropriate for us to begin by talking about the first fundamental, this fundamental of the knowledge of man. The Holy Fathers, even though they were spiritual people and theologians―not in today’s sense of the word, where we study in universities and attain a sheet of paper saying ‘theologian’, but were theologians who spoke with God and about God from their experiences―wrote works and things concerning man. Even more so, you know that the Holy Scriptures, the Old Testament, starts by speaking about the creation of the world and the creation of man. In this way, I too will try to say a few words about this great event, so that we can understand how important it is for someone to be human and how important it is that God became man and gave us the possibility to become gods. For this reason, I will say a few things, which you obviously know from school* from your childhood, but are necessary, so that on this we can build the rest of the edifice, which we will try to achieve by God’s grace.

It is well-known to all of us that in the Church we say that God became man to deify man. We, the people of today, meaning the people after the fall of the first Adam, the first man, aren’t unaware of how man was made from God’s hands. Of course, we know from the Holy Scriptures that God made man in His image and according to His likeness. Holy Scripture is neither a scientific book, nor an anthropological nor geographical nor astronomical book nor any of that. And those fears that arise at times are ridiculous, the fear, let’s say, that if fossils are found, or astronauts discover life on other planets, then what will happen to the Church, what will happen to the Scriptures, that in a way it’s in danger of falling apart! There is no such danger, because the Holy Scriptures spoke of a different fact. The fact that concerns us Christians is that God, out of non-being, nothing, driven by endless love, created man. He created man in His image and according to His likeness. Meaning He gave him His image, all the gifts that He Himself has, meaning He created a copy of Himself, a photo of Himself, this is what ‘in the image of’ means; all that God has in His nature, He gave as gifts, free, to us. And in this way He shows the great value of man, because man is king over all creation and is the centre of all creation.

For the full essay go here.