Theosis: Your Life with God - Orthodox Institute 2014 from Ancient Faith Radio

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"Orthodox Institute 2014 - Theosis: Your Life with God

October 2014 8 episodes

This year’s conference offered courses on acquiring the proper tools to achieve our greatest potential as Christians: communion with God. Keynote speakers included Dan Christopulos and Dr. Kyriacos Markides. Held at Antiochian Village in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, from October 30 through November 2."
From the Ancient Faith Radio website 
Please click below for each individual lecture

Tools for Theosis by Fr Anthony Coniaris

Freedom and Your Life in God by Dr Harry Boosalis

The Jesus Prayer Part 1 by Fr David Hester

The Jesus Prayer Part 2 by Fr David Hester

Rediscovering Orthodox Spirituality in the Modern Day by Dr Kyriacos Markides

Theosis - a Woman's Perspective by Mother Christophora

Spiritual Warfare and Suffering by Dr Harry Boosalis

Love and Prayer by Dr Harry Boosalis

The Lord Jesus Christ Stands, Awaiting Your Invitation to Enter

 

 Icon of Christ of Sinai

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."
Our Lord Jesus Christ in Rev. 3:20

"At the edge of your heart the Lord is standing with a tall candle that burns without smoking or melting. The Lord is standing and waiting at your invitation, to bring the candle into your heart and enlighten it, to burn up all the fear in your heart, all its selfish passions and all its ugly desires, and to drive out of your heart all the smoke and foul stench. At the edge of your mind the Lord is standing with His wisdom and with His Word*, ready, at your invitation, to enter into it and drive out all its foolish thoughts, all its filthy fancies, and all its mistaken notions, and to erase from your mind all nonexistent images — the Lord is standing and waiting to introduce His reason, His seals, and His words." 
St Nikolai Velimirovich in  Prayers by the Lake LXXIX, Great Lakes Graphics, Skokie, IL 1999

 St Nikolai Velimirovich

Note
*The original English translation of this prayer, here reads 'tongue' but in conversation with a Serbian friend I found out that the Serbian word translated as tongue means 'logos',
Word which communicates life.

Homily On the Nativity by St Ephraim the Syrian, Translated by Dr Sebastian Brock

Icon of St Ephraim the Syrian
available from Convent of St Elizabeth

This homily is available from IOCS and posted on  Ancient Faith Radio here

I find it fascinating that St Ephraim writes that "God entered her through her ear". Jacob of Serug also writes in his first homily On the Mother of God that "The Word entered and dwelt in her within the guarded seals", and "But come and see the Watcher (Archangel Gabriel-in the Syriac tradition angels are sometimes called 'Watchers') instilling salvation into Mary's ear and removing the insinuation of the serpent from her and consoling her".

Dr Sebastian Brock in his Introduction to Mary Hansbury's translation of four homilies by Jacob of Serug (a non-Chalcedonian Syriac writer of the 5th century), notes that, "the object (of this detail of entering through her ear) being to provide a contrast with Eve's disobedience through listening to the serpent, sin being pictured as entering through her ear, like poison, as the serpent spoke" from 'On the Mother of God p.10 by Jacob of Serug, trans. by Mary Hansbury, Introduction by Dr Sebastian Brock, SVS Press, 1998.
  

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

Elder Ephraim of Arizona: On Slander & Condemnation

Source Pemptousia

 

"Slander is a great evil. Just as the little rudder steers the whole ship wherever it wants, likewise the tongue leads a person either to good or to evil. The holy fathers greatly censure judging other people’s sins, faults, or evil habits.

When we judge our brother, we condemn ourselves to a great sin. But when we cover our brother, God will also protect us from great sins. When we expose our brother, we drive the grace of God away from us and He permits us to fall into the same sins so that we learn that we are all weak and that the grace of God supports us.

Whoever guards his tongue guards his soul from great sins and grievous falls. The chief cause of criticism and slander is pride and egotism, because one considers oneself better than the others. For this reason it is very beneficial for a person to think of himself as below everyone, so that he considers his brother than him in order that, with the help of God, he may be delivered from this evil.

If something pushes you to criticism in any matter regarding a brother or the monastery, try to pray about the matter instead, without passing it under the judgment of your reason. If you turn within yourself through prayer, humility, and mourning, you will find a spiritual treasure—just keep pride and criticism far from you.

Be attentive, my child, that you not judge any soul. For God permits the one who judges his neighbor to fall, so that he learns to have sympathy for his weak brother. The mercy of God supports all of us, but if we become proud, God will remove His grace and we shall become worse than the others. It is one thing to condemn someone and another to be fought by thoughts of condemnation. To condemn is a terrible passion, but to be fought by such thoughts and to fight back—this is an occasion for crowns.

Each person must bear the weaknesses of others. Who is perfect? Who can boast that he has kept his heart undefiled? Hence, we are all sick, and whoever condemns his brother does not perceive that he himself is sick, because a sick person does not condemn another sick person. 

Love, endure, overlook, do not get angry, do not flare up, forgive one another, so that you resemble our Christ and are counted worthy to be near Him in His kingdom. My children, avoid condemnation—it is a very great sin. God is greatly saddened when we condemn and loathe people. Let us concern ourselves only with our own faults—for these we should feel pain. Let us condemn ourselves and then we shall find mercy and grace from God.

Love one another, and do not be embittered out of egotism. Humility is a sure guide; it does not let the one who possesses it hit the reefs of carelessness and be shipwrecked, but as a luminous guide it leads him faultlessly on sure ground. Egotism is the most evil of evils; it causes all our lapses through un-submissive thoughts. Fear this and strive to get rid of it, for the more it remains within us, the more it will wound us with the proportionate pain. I beg that you not criticize one another, for this is downright egotism.

Excuse your brother’s fault; this is evidence of humility and love. The brother who acts thus will find much grace from God, but he who judges and scandalizes his neighbor should know that not only will he not find grace, but even if he has something he will lose it, so that he may learn the lesson of humility through suffering. Be particularly afraid of inner criticism, that is, thoughts of criticism, because it does not come to light through the spoken word, in which case it is likely to be corrected by someone who hears it. 

Be careful, I say, about criticism from within, which imperceptibly makes us fatally guilty and deprives us of the life of divine grace and offers as a most bitter drink the death of the soul. I pray that love and freedom from criticism will reign in every expression among you, so that the Holy Spirit may rest in your souls.

To read the post in full, please go here

Why Catholic-Orthodox reunion probably won't happen: Five recent statements from Patriarch Bartholomew

Why Catholic-Orthodox reunion probably won't happen:

Five recent statements from Patriarch Bartholomew, and a reminder from 2009 Source

Compared to the reign of Benedict XVI there has been less talk in the current Pontificate of the reunification of Catholicism and the Separated Eastern Christians that accept the first Seven Ecumenical Councils (the "Eastern Orthodox") being a lot nearer or even imminent, but it has not entirely died out. We saw a bit of it when Vladimir Putin met Pope Francis last year. We are also seeing a bit of it now on the media, with Pope Francis in Constantinople on a visit that has already produced surprises such as the first papal prayer inside a mosque and the first time that a reigning Pope has publicly asked an Eastern Orthodox Patriarch for his blessing.


Do these gestures -- especially the second one -- presage an even more momentous step: the imminent reunion of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, or at least a tangible and concrete sign that such a union is imminent? We, of course, cannot predict the future, but if history is any guide what we will see tomorrow is going to be more of the same as in the last 50 years. Perhaps there will be another extravagant gesture, but by no means a declaration that the tragic division between the two is at an end.


There is also the misconception, never really spelled out but sometimes implied in Catholic reportage on Catholic-Eastern Orthodox dialogue, a reportage usually guilty of being very selective and politically correct with the news, that Bartholomew would reunite Eastern Orthodoxy with Rome were it not for Russian intransigence preventing him from doing so. Aside from the fact that the Russian Orthodox are hardly the only Eastern Orthodox who would refuse to unite with Rome at this time, we can read for ourselves some recent statements made by the Patriarch himself to his fellow Eastern Orthodox, statements that make it clear that Bartholomew is no "unionist". Below are some of those statements. (Emphases ours, and spelling corrected where necessary.)


The first is his speech in 2010 to the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the second largest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church in the world:

The holy 1st Ecumenical Synod drafted - dear brethren - the first Symbol of the Faith, which was later completed by the holy 2nd Ecumenical Synod of Constantinople in 381, with its five last articles. Both these holy Synods served the most sacred and loftiest purpose in the lives of Christians, which was none other than the unity, the concordance and the peace of the Church.

Through their dogmatic ruling, which is succinctly crystalized in the sacred Symbol, they outlined the "basics" of the Orthodox belief, every transgression of which places those who dare, outside the corpus of the Church.

At the Fanarion, in the old conference hall of our Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, among other depicted themes is artistically inscribed on its four walls the Creed of Nicea-Constantinople, which clearly denotes - in the likeness of a fiery circle - those sacred "basics", which no-one can possibly ignore or overstep.

It only took (much later on) the addition to the Symbol of one and only word: the familiar "Filioque", to create new cacodoxies and schisms and heresies, which, to this day holds Western Christianity a long way away from the Orthodox East.

The second is his speech at Mount Athos on October 2011:

The Ecumenical Patriarch said that he has repeatedly stressed in the past "the essential differences between Orthodoxy and other confessions." Referring especially to the dialogue with the Catholic Church he emphasized that the Orthodox Church always prays "for the union of all" and may not refuse herself when invited to a dialogue on the purpose of attaining this union, "as is desired by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself", but not without substantial conditions:
"Union is the ultimate goal, but before that there should be the identity in the faith."
"Speaking years ago to our Roman Catholic brothers I pointed out the path regularly followed by the Roman Catholic Church by accepting more and new doctrines, and in its journey towards our Church, instead of converging towards union, it has departed and driven further apart one another" (University of Georgetown, 21 October 1997), added Mr. Bartholomew. He said further:
"Furthermore, it is not true that we overlook the preconditions to the union of churches, nor is it true that we overlook the differences which prevent union."


The reference to his 1997 speech in Georgetown is significant as it would seem to indicate that he has not changed the opinions he expressed during that speech, where (among other things) he spoke of the "ontological difference" between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy and elucidated a very high bar for reunion between the two.

For the remainder of this post, please go to Rorate Caeli Blog

The Angel with the Fiery Lance and the Monk Who would not Forgive