Wisdom from the Desert

Monastery of Karakalou in Mount Athos, Greece

Do Not Move from Place to Place because of the Trials, Temptations, and Sorrows that Assail You

Athonite Orthodox monasteries are strange places. All of it, the monk's clothing, praying in the middle of the night, obedience, the absence of small talk, no eye contact, silence and their attitude towards daily life, conflict and suffering; it all shocks us and reminds us that visiting a monastery is an experience of another world. 

Where did it all start? How can it all be so remarkably similar regardless of time and place? If one has had the opportunity to visit monasteries in Athos, Greece, Serbia or Romania, one can clearly see that the way of life is the same. I recently finished reading the first volume of the Evergetinos. and I am stunned to realize that the way of life of the Greek monks in the Monastery of St Anthony in Florence, Arizona, for example, is a detailed and faithful recapitulation of the experience of the desert fathers. It is wonderful to recognize, while reading this ancient literature, that I know exactly what they are talking about because I have seen it all enacted, in humility and without fanfare, in our Orthodox monasteries.

Speaking with Geronda Ephraim or Abbott Paisios of St Anthony's monastery is the same as if I was listening to Abba Pambo, or St Synkletike, St Pachomios or St Anthony of the desert, as preserved for us in the Evergetinos. How these elders deal with the sin in the lives of their apprentice monks, disobedience, anger, lust, envy, pride, etc., is not the expression of arbitrary power play or willfulness of the elders but the affirmation and reenacting of a proven way of life. The renunciation of the world is madness for those without eyes to see. 

As Fr Zacharias Zacharou of Essex tells us in his talks, in the life of a monk, repetition is a most creative act. Again and again we behold the transforming power of a way of life oriented towards God and lived in the communion of love with the brethren. 

There are no words to describe the serene, humble and loving gaze of a holy monk. I tremble as I stand before a holy priest holding in his hands the chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ, and when he lifts up his eyes to bless me and nourish me with the Bread that comes down from Heaven (John 6:51), it is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself who loves me through his eyes.  

The desert fathers know our broken humanity very well. They also know how the evil one is able to suggest to us solutions to our problems that could even sound reasonable and wise but are death dealing. Listen to the following story from St Ephraim the Syrian (which is easily applicable to the life of a lay person in a parish),

"When the evil one wants to snatch yet another brother away from the monastery, he will put different thoughts in his mind, saying to him, 'Look, your disorderly conduct is well known here, and all the brothers are aware of your negligence; this is why you cannot live any longer in this place. For even if you yearn for virtue, the men with whom you live are the very ones who know what kind of a person you have been from the beginning. Go somewhere else, where people do not know you, and make a new start in the spiritual life, and in this way you will be pleasing to God and men.'

'Now listen, brother: Are you going to leave your spiritual Father and the brothers, in whose presence you made your monastic promises to God, because of derision on the part of men? You should call to mind the words of the prophet: My soul hath expected reproach and misery, ...and because for Thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face (Psalm 68:21,8) from the Septuagint.

When you reflect on these words of the Prophet (King David), you will endure dishonor and contempt with joy. For the Lord says in the Beatitudes: 'Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake' (St Matthew 5:11). The derision which a man withstands for the Lord's sake contributes greatly to the cleansing of that man's sins....

Furthermore, do what is good, and you will see that the Lord will unfailingly turn the attitude of your brothers toward you to the good. Remain firm in that place where the enemy attacks you and stand up straight and fight him, so that your accomplishments may be revealed before those who are familiar with your shortcomings; in this way, you will receive great glory from our Lord Jesus Christ,...

In other words, when a soiled garment is washed, it will no longer be set aside with the dirty ones; if anyone, out of envy or evil jealousy, calls what is clean dirty, he will have no credence, for the appearance of the garment will contradict him. As a well-known and beautiful verse says, 'Thou shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow' (Psalm 50:9) Evergetinos Vol.1 p. 346-347

Also from St Ephraim the Syrian who hear these words. "O monk, do not say, 'Here there is affliction, but elsewhere there will be respite and freedom from care.' Tell me, if you know, who it is that wars against us. Is it not our enemy, the Devil? Listen, then, to what is said in the Book of Job: 'And the Lord said to the Devil, Whence comest thou? And the Devil said before the Lord. 'I am come from going through the world, and walking about the whole earth' (Job 2:2) 

Know then that the world is greater than you and that wheresoever you may go, there is no place under the sky where the common enemy has not set foot. Remain in the place to which you were called and resist the Devil, and thereby he will flee from you; draw near to God and He will draw near to you." from the Evergetinos, Vol. 1,p.354

The Evergetinos A Complete Text (4 Volumes), Edited and Translated by Archbishop Chrysostomos and Hiewromonk Patapios, Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies 2008
ISBN 978-0-911165-8-07

The Evergetinos can be purchased here.

The Spiritual Heart by Fr Zacharias Zacharou

Fr Zacharias Zacharou

Fr Zacharias from Holy Momastery of John the Forerunner, Essex, England, speaks on the nature of what the Church Fathers call the Spiritual Heart, the Nous* (Intellect); and their union through prayer. Please click here for the video talk, courtesy of Pemptousia

Note

*The word 'mind' or 'intellect'(nous) as used by Fr Zacharias in  this talk, does not refer to reason, discursive thinking or logical thinking, but to the organ of the soul by which the soul can 'know', that is directly apprehend, spiritual realities; not by drawing conclusions, but directly under the inspiration of divine Grace. The Greek language makes a distinction between nous (translated as 'mind' here) which is the spiritual organ of knowledge of the soul; and diania or 'reason' the organ of knowledge of the brain through the senses and discourse (logical thinking). Orthodox Christian anthropology affirms that man has both organs of knowledge. Thoughts, reason and the senses can interact with the nous, both in a positive and in a negative manner, and in that way affect the heart, the spiritual center of man.

The Gift of Speaking in Tongues, How the Holy Spirit Initiated the Church into the Spirituality of the Heart

Icon of Pentecost

Fr Zacharias Zacharou in his book The Hidden Man of the Heart, explains the gift of speaking in tongues and why it was given to the Church on the day of Pentecost. "We know that the gift of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) was given to the nascent Church for a specific purpose. 

The old Israel had become accustomed to worshiping and praying in a largely external manner, and when the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, He wanted this to change. His intention, therefore was to teach the people to pray in spirit, in the 'hidden man of the heart' (I Peter 3:4). p.176 

Those who prayed in tongues were happy being certain of one thing: God had broken into them and was at work in them. St Paul distinguishes between prayer in the spirit (pneuma) and prayer in the mind (nous* - see note) and identifies prayer in the spirit with praying in foreign tongues. (1 Cor. 14:15 and 1 Cor 14:14).

"For St Paul, spirit and mind are almost identical: he sometimes says that the highest purpose of Christianity is the renewal of the spirit and sometimes the renewal of the nous* (mind). Nevertheless in trying to distinguish between the two, I would say that the spirit is present in the mind as something higher, deeper than the mind itself - that is revealed through the mind, just as the soul can be said to be revealed through the emotions". p.177

Prayer in the spirit is identified with prayer in tongues, when man's spirit is aware of the irruption of God into his life. In this kind of prayer the highest faculty of the human being is inspired by God, receiving his energy. Man then surrenders to the breath of the Holy Spirit, .., and the Spirit intercedes with unutterable groanings (Rom. 8:26) for those in whom He dwells, sometimes with words which are beyond the understanding of the psychological man.

In prayer of the mind, by contrast, the mind rises toward God in pious thought and godly desire. Such prayer is characterized by holy contrition or joy, but it is not liable to surrender to the great impetus and boundless spiritual exaltation we have just described. A degree of control is exercised by the person who prays in the mind (nous*): he is able to direct his thoughts, desires and feelings.

Total surrender to glossolalia (speaking in tongues) involves a certain loss of control: it is an explosion of grace and joy, and while we are fully aware that God is within us, somehow we deny ourselves any awareness of our fellow members of the Body.

The best explanation for God's gift of tongues to the early Church lies in the necessity of teaching newly converted Christians to pray with their heart rather than just externally, as they were likely to have been used to doing, But the Church soon discovered a deeper way to educate the heart, for She was concerned to cultivate the inner man. She discovered the invocation of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And little by little, the Prayer of the Heart replaced the gift of speaking in tongues. The Jesus Prayer is a way of praying in the spirit without loosing any control of the spirit, and therefore, without running the risk of usurping the space of the other members of the Body of Christ.

In conclusion to speak in tongues or to pray in the spirit is indeed to immerse our nous in the sea of the Spirit. But the Apostle himself prefers to draw us in to shore, that we avoid even the possibility of disorder in the Body of the Church, and that everything be done for the sake of the edification of the people.

If this gift (speaking in tongues) has indeed been given temporarily to some people, perhaps it will enable them to discover the true unbroken Tradition of the Church, the Tradition of the Prayer of the Heart, which is the surest and humblest prayer in the edification, inspiration and salvation of man.. Through this prayer we receive the greatest of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift which will heal our nature and strengthen it 'guiding us into all truth' (John 16:3). It will enable us to bear the fullness of divine love. And this gift will never outlive its purpose - indeed it will accompany us beyond the grave.

It is important that we understand this phenomenon of glossolalia- we must not be seduced by it. But let us above all be gracious to those who believe they have experienced this gift and gently point out to them that it is the beginning of something far greater that will lead them to the heart of the Tradition. 

Selections from 'The Hidden Man of the Heart' by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou, Mount Thabor Publishing 2008 p. 176 to p.189.

Note

*The word 'mind' (nous) as used by Fr Zacharias in  this text, does not refer to reason, discursive thinking or logical thinking, but to the organ of the soul by which the soul can 'know', that is directly apprehend, spiritual realities; not by drawing conclusions, but directly under the inspiration of divine Grace. The Greek language makes a distinction between nous (translated as 'mind' here) which is the spiritual organ of knowledge of the soul; and diania or 'reason' the organ of knowledge of the brain through the senses and discourse (logical thinking). Orthodox Christian anthropology affirms that man has both organs of knowledge. Thoughts, reason and the senses can interact with the nous, both in a positive and in a negative manner, and in that way affect the heart, the spiritual center of man.

This book is available from Mount Thabor Publishing

The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation by Dr Christopher Veniamin

The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation is available from Amazon.com

Dr Christopher Veniamin just published his essay on the
Orthodox understanding of salvation in the teaching of
St Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex.
It is available in digital form in Kindle format.

This is a very important subject and Dr Veniamin manages 
to explain theological concepts with ease. He writes,

"There are, described in this passage, four stages of love, the
fourth and highest of which is that which is attested to by the
penetration of Divine Grace into the body, into the very marrow
of a person's being. And this is identified by Saint Silouan as the 
highest state of holiness. 'He who feels grace in both soul and
body is a perfect man, and if he preserves this grace, his body
is sanctified and his bones will make holy relics.'

As with Christ's voluntary death, in which it was not possible for
the Body of the Logos of Life to see corruption, and which was 
thus raised together with His human soul on the third day, so too
will it be with the bodies of those saints which have known great
grace in this life, and who have been able to preserve it. They too,
even after death, are not separated from the grace and love of 
God, neither in soul nor in body, and hence their bodies are 
revealed as holy relics." Kindle location 226 of 341.


The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: "Theosis" in St. Silouan the
Athonite and Elder Sophrony of Essex [Kindle Edition]
by Dr. Christopher Veniamin, 

Mount Thabor Publishing (August 23, 2013)

Fr Zacharias Zacharou on "The Prophetic Gift'

Video streaming by Ustream
Please ignore the commercial at the beginning of the talk.

Fr. Zacharias (Zacharou) Source

Archimandrite, Ph.D.

Archimandrite Zacharias, Ph. D., is a disciple of Elder Sophrony
(of blessed memory), who was a disciple of St. Silouan of Mount
Athos.

Presently, Fr. Zacharias is a monk in the Monastery founded by
Elder Sophrony: The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of
St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights by Maldon, Essex, England.

The publication of Fr Zacharias' lectures is perhaps one of the most

significant events in the life of the Orthodox Church in the twentieth

century. The lectures are available in both audio and printed form.

Please go to Mount Thabor Publishing to purchase this indispensable

spiritual talks.

Human Relationships in the Light of Christ by Fr Zacharias Zacharou

"Human Relationships in the Light of Christ", talk given by Archimandrite Zacharias in the Orthodox Christian Church in Edinburgh, on 8th of November 2012.

Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) is a spiritual Father at the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, UK. He is a disciple of Elder Sophrony Zacharov, one of the most significant Orthodox Elders of our times, himself a disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite. Based upon the authentic spiritual legacy of Sophrony's, Fr Zacharias has written some of the most important books on Christian spirituality available today.

Lecture in 5 videos (15 min. each)

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

Fr Zacharias Zacharou on the Life & Teaching of St Silouan

Source

Archimandrite Zacharias, Ph. D., is a disciple of Elder Sophrony (of blessed memory), who was a disciple of St. Silouan of Mount Athos. Presently, Fr. Zacharias is a monk in the Monastery founded by Elder Sophrony: The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights by Maldon, Essex, England.

Fr. Zacharias was born and raised in Cyprus in an Orthodox Christian family. His mother became a nun toward the end of her life. As a young man, Fr. Zacharias left Cyprus to study Chemistry in London. Before he completed his studies, he became acquainted with Father Sophrony and his Monastery. Fr. Zacharias abandoned his studies in Chemistry and preferred instead to answer God’s calling and follow the monastic way of life in the Orthodox Church.

Elder Sophrony sent Fr. Zacharias to study at the Theological Institute of St. Serge in Paris where he spent five years, and then moved to Thessalonica for a further fourteen months, in order to obtain a second degree in Theology. Fr. Zacharias is fluent in Greek, Russian, French and English, and has translated Father Sophrony’s books from Russian into Greek.

Elder Sophrony gave Father Zacharias the blessing to write a doctoral dissertation under Professor George Mantzarides (who is a leading authority in Christian ethics in the Orthodox world) entitled Christ, Our Way and Our Life, published by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press. He is also the author of The Enlargement of the Heart, and The Hidden Man of the Heart (1 Peter 3:4): The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology, both of which have been enthusiastically received throughout the English-speaking world, and beyond.

Fr. Zacharias has lectured in various places around the world on the theology of St. Silouan the Athonite and Elder Sophrony. He has lectured at St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the University of Balamand in Tripoly, Lebanon, as well as at Cambridge in England, in Finland, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Fr. Zacharias was the inaugural guest speaker of the first lecture series devoted to St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony in the English-speaking world at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in September 1997. Fr. Zacharias also spoke to the clergy in private session and has led retreats in the Antiochian Archdiocese under Bishop Basil of Wichita in 2001 and 2007. He was also invited by the Athonite Monastery of Vatopedi to be the keynote speaker at the first International Conference held in Athens in October of 2007 devoted exclusively to the life and work of Elder Sophrony of Essex.

In his Monastery Fr. Zacharias lives according to his primary vocation which is that of a monastic, and functions as one of the spiritual fathers, humbly ministering the word of God to his brethren and the visitors. Source

The Foolishness of the Cross - Love your Enemies!

Icon of Christ carrying His cross, Church of Panagia Dexia,
Thessaloniki, Greece

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
NASB BibleGateway.com

I have always read the following passage from the Gospel according to St Luke,  with a sense of astonishment;
"“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your
coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what
credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the
same.If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful."Luke 6:27-36 NASB Source-BibleGateway.com 
The commandment has a sense of absoluteness. It demands total and unconditional surrender of oneself. And I have to confess that I did not understand it. What Christ is asking seems inhumane!

Does He mean this literally?, I continually asked myself. What kind of a person behaves in this way and is able to survive? And I thought, "there is no way I can fulfill this commandment!"

I read St Silouan, "Blessed is the soul that loves her brother, for our brother is our life. Blessed is the soul that loves her brother: the Spirit of the Lord lives manifest within her, affording peace and gladness, and she weeps for the whole world." From 'St Silouan the Athonite' by Archimandrite Sophrony p.371, St Vladimir Seminary Press 1991

Such words sound so simple but it takes a heart full of the Holy Spirit to understand. I thought, "Alright, maybe finding out what St Silouan means by 'love' will help, and immediately recalled 
1 Corinthians 13, where it reads,

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” NASB 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 And I despaired of ever been
able to live and experience this love.

Then I read this passage from St Silouan;
"The soul cannot know peace unless she prays for her enemies...The Lord taught me to love my enemies. Without the grace of God we cannot love our enemies. Only the Holy Spirit teaches love,..."
And I realized that my feelings of impotence are warranted, that is, if I  think I am called to have this love in the power of my human strength. The beloved Elder knows this and he has words of
encouragement for us, "To begin with, constrain your heart to love enemies, and the Lord,
seeing your good will, will help you in all things, and experience itself will show you the way. But the man who thinks with malice of his enemies has not God's love within him, and does not know God."

"If you cannot love, then at least do not revile or curse your enemies, and things will already be better; but if a man curses and abuses his
enemies, it is plain that an evil spirit lives in him, and if he does not repent, when he dies he will go to the place where evil spirits dwell.

May the Lord preserve every soul from such adversity!"  
From, 'St Silouan the Athonite', p377 to p.378


The words are comforting but also bring fear, hopefully the fear of God. It is this fear that moves me to constrain myself and struggle towards God and not away from Him. God loves us so much, that His Providence makes a plan for us. How, you may ask? 

The beloved Bishop of Zicha knows very well how, as revealed by his prayer,

"LORD, BLESS MY ENEMIES, A Prayer by St. Nikolai of Ochrid

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from Earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Enemies have
made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter
than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your
tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed
to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. 

Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, Ο Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitter against me: so that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; so that my heart may
become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; ah, so that I may for
once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what
hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself. One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize
that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, Ο Lord, both
my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them."
From 'Prayer LXXV, Prayers by the Lake p.142-144, Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, Trans. by Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Todor Mitka, 1999 ORTHODOX HERITAGE. APRIL 2005. BROTHERHOOD OF ST. POIMEN Source

Immediately two things seem very clear, I must pray to God with perseverance to be able to learn to love my enemies, and I must trust in, and submit to God's Providence as revealed in the 
circumstances of my life.

Father Zacharias Zacharou explains, "God's commandments are beyond man's conception and power to fulfill. We are humbled from the moment we come in contact with them. The commandments of God have the specific effect of crushing the arrogance of our darkened minds and hearts as to clear the way for grace to dwell 
within us. They shed light on our imperfection, on our spiritual poverty and weakness, so that we cry out to God from the heart, asking Him to come and fulfill His own commandments in us. This
is the only way, as He Himself said, "Without Me ye can do nothing." John 15:5
From 'Remember Thy First Love' p.318, by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou, Stravopegic Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex, England, 2010

"The very greatness of loving our enemies is obvious from this simple example: if we have a misunderstanding with someone and we ourselves are to blame, how difficult we find it to humble ourselves and say, 'Forgive me, I made a mistake' But how much greater the crucifixion of ourselves if we are to love someone who has provoked us, even as our conscience tells us that we are blameless. This, however is the way of Christ, Who loved us unto the end even while
we were His enemies. ..

Love for one's enemies, then, is the 'madness' of our faith, 'the foolishness of the cross'. And woe unto him who does not accept this foolishness! His is foolishness of a different kind: 'The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God' Psalm 14:1. There is indeed no God for him, for he is unmoved at seeing Christ-God with arms outstretched
upon the cross in love for His enemies. Such a fool is so  hardened that the word of life, the word of the cross, no longer penetrates his heart.
And this word is the one that speaks most eloquently to us of what love for our enemies truly is." Ibid p.320-321

I am speechless! With pain of heart I acknowledge that I do not yet possess this love. But I can pray, I can ask, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Transform my heart of stone. I believe, help my unbelief!"

And while I pray, there is also something else I can do, I can start to act as if I had this love... 

Orthodox Monasticism - A new Book by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

Available from St John's Bookstore

Orthodox Monasticism is the latest translation of the work by
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos. In Part 3 of the book, the 
section on "The Mystery of the Cross in the Monastic Life" 
p.368 to 369, Metropolitan Hierotheos writes a moving tribute
to Elder Sophrony of Essex and his disciple, Archimandrite
Zacharias Zacharou,


"Archimandrite Zacharias' whole book (Christ Our Way and 
Our Life) is a hymn of praise to the living, robust, manly, 
apostolic and patristic theology of Elder Sophrony. This text
conveys simply, plainly and clearly the figure of a great Elder
of our time, who is comparable to major prophetic, apostolic
and patristic figures. Reading it we rejoice, glorify God and
are moved to contrition. We pray, repent, bewail ourselves,
mourn, hope and give thanks.

The sanctity of Elder Sophrony is clearly demonstrated. How
can he not be a saint when in the earthen vessel of his human
frailty he experienced theoria of the Uncreated Light to the 
highest possible degree?

I have no hesitation  about writing once again that Elder
Sophrony  is a saint, with extraordinary experience and 
an extraordinary record of this experience"

From 'Orthodox Monasticism as the Way of Life of Prophets, Apostles
and Martyrs', Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, Translated by Sister
Pelagia Selfe, Birth of the Theotokos Monastery 2011, Levadia Greece.