Sayings of the Holy Fathers. Wise thoughts of the holy fathers

compiled by Deacon Georgy Maximov

Moscow, 2011
Orthodox Missionary Society
named after St. Serapion Kozheozersky

Preface from the compiler

One day, robbers came to an old hermit monk and said: “We will take what is in your cell.” He replied: “Take, children, everything you need.” They collected almost everything that was in the cell and left. But they did not find the wallet with the money, which was hidden. Taking it, the elder chased after them, shouting: “Children! Take what you forgot.” Surprised, the robbers not only did not take the wallet, but also returned what they had taken, saying to each other: “Truly, this is a man of God.”

This incident occurred in the 6th century AD. in Palestine, it was recorded by Saint John Moschus among many other stories and sayings of Orthodox monks that he heard first hand.

The old monk did not read sermons to his uninvited guests, did not denounce them, did not threaten, did not persuade them - what made the robbers change their minds and correct what they had done?

They saw in him another person, a man of God.

Only a man rich in God can be so free from the attachment to property and money that has enslaved humanity. Only a person rooted in God can so unshakably maintain calm and good nature in his soul when obvious evil is caused to him. But most of all they were touched by the elder’s love for them - after all, only a person who has become like God can experience such love for strangers who came to rob him that he sincerely put their interests above his own interests.

In other words, the robbers saw a man in whom the words of the Gospel became deeds. What happened could not have happened if for that monk faith was limited to rituals, a set of rules and beautiful words about God - without the real experience of life in Christ. Such people in the Orthodox Church are called holy fathers. For two thousand years, this Church has been concerned about preserving without distortion the truth received from the apostles and the experience of living communion with God. Therefore, the Orthodox Church was able to spiritually give birth to many saints who were bearers of this experience of heavenly life already on earth.

The book you are holding in your hands is compiled in order to give the reader the opportunity to touch the spiritual experience of the Christian East. Three hundred sayings of more than fifty Orthodox saints from Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Georgia are collected here. Since for the first thousand years after the birth of Christ the Western Church was part of the family of Orthodox Churches, in our collection one can also see the sayings of ancient saints who lived in the territory of modern Italy, England, France, Tunisia - all this constitutes the common spiritual heritage of the Orthodox Church. The earliest of the sayings given here was recorded in the second half of the 1st century, the latest - in the second half of the 20th century.

Wherever they live, whenever they live and whoever they are, Orthodox saints speak about the same spiritual reality, which is why their statements so harmoniously complement each other. In the 19th century, Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) expressed this observation this way: “When on a clear autumn night I look at clear sky, dotted with countless stars emitting a single light, then I say to myself: these are the writings of the holy fathers. When on a summer day I look at the vast sea, covered with many different ships, running under the same wind, towards one goal, towards one pier, then I say to myself: these are the writings of the fathers. When I hear a harmonious choir, in which different voices sing a single song in graceful harmony, then I say to myself: these are the writings of the fathers.” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)).

Deacon Georgy Maximov
January 8, 2011

I. GOD AND US

Happiness

“How mistaken are those people who seek happiness outside themselves - in foreign countries and travels, in wealth and fame, in great possessions and pleasures, in pleasures and in empty things that end in bitterness! Building a tower of happiness outside our heart is like building a house in a place that is subject to constant earthquakes. Happiness is within ourselves, and blessed is the one who understands this... Happiness is pure heart because such a heart becomes the throne of God. This is what the Lord says for those who have a pure heart: “I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people” (2 Cor. 6:16). What else could they be missing? Nothing, truly nothing! Because they have in their hearts the greatest good - God Himself! .
“The soul that loves God has its rest in God and in Him alone... In all the paths that people walk in the world, they do not find peace until they come closer to hope in God.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 56, 89).
True
“Truth is not a thought, not a word, not a relationship between things, not a law. Truth is Personality. This is the Being Who penetrates into all beings and gives life to everything... If you seek the Truth with love and for the sake of love, She will reveal to you the light of Her face as much as you can bear it without burning out.”
How does God treat us?
“God loves us more than a father, mother, friend, or anyone else can love, and even more than we can love ourselves.” (St. John Chrysostom).
“One monk told me that when he was seriously ill, his mother said to his father: “How our boy is suffering. I would gladly allow myself to be cut into pieces if this could alleviate his suffering.” Such is the love of the Lord for people. He felt sorry for people so much that he wanted to suffer for them, like his own mother, and even more. But no one can understand this great love without the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, IX.10).
“The Lord loves all people, but whoever seeks Him loves him more... The Lord gives such great grace to His chosen ones that they embrace the whole earth, the whole world with love, and their soul burns with the desire that all people will be saved and see the glory of the Lord.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, IX.8).
How to find out about God?
“In order for a person to get an idea of Egyptian pyramids, he must either believe those who were in the immediate vicinity of these pyramids, or find himself close to them. There is no third option. In the same way, a person can get an idea of God: either believe those who stood and stand in close proximity to God, or work hard to come into such closeness to God.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“Just as the sweetness of honey can be explained not so much by words as by the sense of taste itself to those who have not tasted honey, so the kindness of God cannot be clearly conveyed in teaching if we cannot comprehend the goodness of the Lord through our own experience.” (St. Basil the Great. Discourses on Psalms, 29).
-10. “Many rich and powerful would give dearly to see the Lord or His Most Pure Mother, but God does not reveal Himself to wealth, but to a humble soul... Every last poor person can humble himself and know God. You don’t need money or possessions to know God, but only humility.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, I.11,21).
“No matter how much we study, it is still impossible to know the Lord if we do not live according to His commandments, for the Lord is known not by science, but by the Holy Spirit. Many philosophers and scientists have come to believe that God exists, but they have not known God. It’s one thing to believe that there is a God, and another thing to know God... Whoever knows God through the Holy Spirit, his spirit burns with love for God day and night, and his soul cannot become attached to anything earthly.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VIII.3). How should we relate to God?
“Always have the fear of God in your heart and remember that God is with you everywhere, in every place, whether you are walking or sitting.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 14).
“Having God, fear [nothing], but cast all your cares on Him, and He will take care of you. Believe without doubt, and God will help you, according to His mercy." (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 166).
“You need to love every person with all your heart, but place your hope in God alone, and serve Him alone... For as long as He protects us, our friends (angels) help us, and our enemies (demons) are powerless to harm us. And when He leaves us, then all our friends turn away from us and our enemies take power over us.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.95).
“If a person has no concern for himself at all for the sake of love for God and acts of virtue, knowing that God cares about him, such a hope is true and wise. But if a person takes care of his own affairs and turns to God in prayer only when troubles befall him, which he is unable to cope with, and begins to hope for God’s help, such hope is empty and false. True hope seeks only the Kingdom of God... The heart cannot have peace until it finds such hope. She will pacify him and pour joy into him." (St. Seraphim of Sarov. Instructions, 4).
God takes care of everything
“Don’t say: this happened by chance, but this happened by itself. In what exists there is nothing disorderly, nothing uncertain, nothing vain, nothing accidental... How many hairs are there on your head? Not one of them is forgotten by God. Do you see how nothing, even the smallest, escapes the supervision of the eye of God?” (St. Basil the Great).
“The undoubted truth is that the highest Providence of God extends decisively to all created things: God provides for everything and takes care of everything. This is the Divine fatherly care about which the blessed Apostle Peter speaks: “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7).” (St. Elijah Minyaty. Words in Lent, 1) .
“The purpose of God’s Providence is to unite [people] separated by evil in various ways through correct faith and spiritual love. For this reason [our] Savior suffered, “so that the scattered children of God might be gathered together” (John 11:52).” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.17).
Those who know God
“The more a person leads a spiritual life, the more he becomes spiritual: he begins to see God in everything, in everything a manifestation of His strength and power; always and everywhere he sees himself abiding in God and depending on God in everything. But the more carnal a person’s lifestyle is, the more he becomes completely carnal: he does not see God in anything, in the most wonderful manifestations of His Divine power, he sees flesh, matter in everything, and everywhere and at all times - “there is no God.” before his eyes" (Ps. 35:2)" (St. John of Kronstadt. My life in Christ. I,5).
“When the soul knows the love of God through the Holy Spirit, then it clearly feels that the Lord is our Father, the dearest, the closest, the dearest, the best, and there is no greater happiness than loving God with all your mind and heart, and your neighbor as yourself. And when this love is in the soul, then everything pleases the soul.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IX.15).
“Do not be embarrassed if you do not feel the love of God in yourself, but think about the Lord, that He is merciful, and abstain from sins, and the grace of God will teach you.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IX.16).
“When you throw a nail into a flame, it [gets hot] and begins to shine like fire. So you too, when you listen to Divine teaching and live according to it, you become like God.” (St. Simeon of Daybab. Sayings, 26).
“A soul that has fully come to know the Lord will no longer desire anything else and does not cleave to anything on earth, and if it were offered a kingdom, it would not want to, for the love of Christ is so sweet and so joyful and cheerful to the soul that the royal life can no longer please her" (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IX.13).
Christ and us
“There is only one thing to seek: to be with Jesus. He who is with Jesus is rich, even if he is poor in material terms. He who loves earthly things more than heavenly things will lose both heavenly and earthly things. He who seeks heavenly things is master of the whole world.” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Fatherland, Abba Eugene).
“We are carried away by a stream of temporary things, but with this stream, as it were, a tree has grown - our Lord Jesus Christ. He took flesh, died, rose again, ascended to heaven. It was as if he agreed to be with the flow of the temporary. Does this stream carry you headlong? Hold on to the tree. Are you overwhelmed by the love of the world? Hold on to Christ. For your sake He became temporary so that you could become eternal, for He became so temporary that at the same time He remained eternal... How great is the difference between two people in prison, if one of them is accused and the other is a visitor! Sometimes a man comes to visit his friend, and then it seems that both are in prison, but between them big difference. One is kept here by guilt, the other is brought here by philanthropy. So it is in our mortality: guilt keeps us here, but Christ came out of mercy; He came to the prisoner as a liberator, not as an accuser.” (Blessed Augustine. On the Epistle to the Parthians, II.10).
“A person in this world must resolve the problem: to be with Christ, or to be against Him. And every person, willing it or not, solves this problem. Either he will be a lover of Christ, or a fighter against Christ. There is no third option" (St. Justin (Popovich). Interpretation of 1 John 4:3).
“Cleanse your mind from anger, resentment, and shameful thoughts; and then you will be able to know how Christ will dwell in you.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.76).
Fear of God
(Fear of offending the love of God with your sins)
“The fear of God enlightens the soul... destroys wickedness... weakens passions, drives out darkness from the soul and makes it pure... The fear of God is the pinnacle of knowledge; where it is not, you will not find anything good... Whoever does not have the fear of God is open to the attacks of the devil.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian).
“A person acquires the fear of God if he has the memory [of the inevitability of his] death and the memory of the [eternal] torment [of awaiting sinners]; if every evening he tests himself - how he spent the day and every morning - how the night went; and if he is not impudent in his dealings [with others].” (St. Abba Dorotheos. Soulful teachings, 4).
“Sin makes a man cowardly; and [living] according to the truth [of Christ] makes him bold.” (St. John Chrysostom. On statues, VIII.2).
“He who has become a servant of the Lord fears only his Master; and whoever does not have the fear of God is often afraid of his own shadow... Cowardice is the daughter of unbelief... A proud soul is a slave of fear; trusting in herself, she [gets to the point where] she shudders at the slightest sound, and is afraid even of the shadow.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 21.11.1,4).
“Whoever fears the Lord [becomes] above all fear, he has eliminated and left far behind him all the fears of this world, and no fear will come close to him.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian. On the fear of God and the final judgment).
Disbelief
“We are separated from God by lies, and only lies... False thoughts, false words, false feelings, false desires - this is the totality of lies that leads us to non-existence, illusions and renunciation of God.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“The Lord does not reveal Himself to a proud soul. A proud soul, even if it has studied all the books, will never know the Lord, for with its pride it does not give place to the grace of the Holy Spirit, and God is known only by the Holy Spirit.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, III.11).
“Each of us can reason about God to the extent that he has known the grace of the Holy Spirit; for how can we think and reason about what we have not seen, or what we have not heard about and what we do not know? The saints say that they saw God; and there are people who say that there is no God. It is clear that they say this because they have not known God, but this does not mean at all that He does not exist. The saints speak of what they have really seen and know.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VIII.9).
“Pride prevents the soul from entering the path of faith. To the unbeliever I give this advice: let him say: “Lord, if You exist, then enlighten me, and I will serve You with all my heart and soul.” And for such a humble thought and willingness to serve God, the Lord will certainly enlighten... And then your soul will feel the Lord; will feel that the Lord has forgiven her and loves her, and you will know this from experience, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will testify to salvation in your soul, and then you will want to shout to the whole world: “How much the Lord loves us.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, III.6).
“Only one who keeps himself from all sin can have sincere and ardent faith in God. Faith is preserved only with good morality." (St. Nikon Optina).
II. REALITIES OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

Evil and sin
“Lying is a delusion of the mind, and evil is a delusion of the will. The sign by which one and the other is determined is the judgment of God himself... what He teaches a person is truth, what He commands to desire is good, and [everything] that contradicts this is full of lies, full of evil.” (St. Nicholas Cabasilas. Seven words about life in Christ, 7).
“Our world is guided by two principles and sources: God and the devil. Everything good in the human world has its origin and source in God, and everything bad has its origin and source in the devil. Ultimately, all good comes from God, and all evil comes from the devil." (St. Justin Popovich, Commentary on 1 John 3:11).
“It is not food that is evil, but gluttony, not procreation, but fornication, not money, but the love of money, not glory, but vanity: and if so, then there is nothing evil in existing things, [it is only] in the abuse [of existing things].” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 3.4).
“God and sin are at two different poles. No one can turn his face to God without first turning his back to sin... When a man turns his face to God, all his paths lead to God. When a person turns away from God, all paths lead him to destruction. When a person finally renounces God both in word and in heart, he is no longer able to do anything that would not serve to his complete destruction, both physical and mental.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
Freedom
“In reality, there is only one freedom - the holy freedom of Christ, with which He freed us from sin, from evil, from the devil. She connects with God. All other freedoms are illusory, false, that is, in fact, they are all slavery.” (St. Justin (Popovich). Ascetic and theological chapters, II.36).
“The belief alone that not everything ends here with our earthly existence gives us the strength not to cling at all costs to our insignificant life and, for the sake of preserving it, to go to any meanness, baseness and humiliation... Only a person deeply can be truly free and a sincere believer. Dependence on the Lord God is the only dependence that does not humiliate a person and does not turn him into a miserable slave, but, on the contrary, elevates him.” (martyr Alexander Medem. Letter to his son, 1922).
“Some people want to understand by the name of freedom the ability and freedom to do whatever you want... People who have allowed themselves more into slavery to sins, passions, and vices are more often than others zealots of external freedom, as extended as possible under the law. [But such a person] uses external freedom only to plunge deeper into internal slavery. True freedom is the active ability of a person, not enslaved to sin, not burdened by a condemning conscience, to choose the best in the light of God’s truth and bring it into action with the help of the gracious power of God. This is freedom, which is not constrained by either heaven or earth." (St. Philaret of Moscow. Homily on the birthday of Emperor Nicholas I, 1851).
“The Lord wants us to love one another; This is freedom - in love for God and neighbor. This is freedom and equality. But in earthly ranks there cannot be equality, but this is not important for the soul. Not everyone can be a king, not everyone can be a patriarch or a boss; but in every rank one can love God and please Him, and only this is important. And whoever loves God more on earth will have greater glory in the Kingdom.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VI.23).
Purpose of life
“Every Christian must find for himself a duty and an incentive to certainly become a saint. If you live without effort and without the hope of being holy, then you are Christians only in name, and not in essence, and without holiness no one will see the Lord, that is, no one will achieve eternal bliss. The word is true that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). But we are deceived if we think that we will be saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves sinners by giving them the means to become saints.” (St. Philaret of Moscow. Word spoken on September 23, 1847).
“Achieving holiness is not the destiny of monks alone, as some people think; Family people, having all kinds of professions, living in the world, are also called to holiness, because the commandment of perfection and holiness was given not only to monks, but to all people.” (Holy Martyr Onuphry (Gagalyuk)).
“The main goal of our life is live communication with God. For this purpose, the Son of God became incarnate, in order to restore to us such communion with God, lost through the Fall. Through the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, [we] enter into fellowship with the Father and thus achieve our goal.” (St. Theophan the Recluse. Letters to to different persons, 24) .
“Just as people go to war not to enjoy war, but to escape from war, so we come into this world not to enjoy it, but to escape from it. People go to war for the sake of something greater than war, and so we come to this temporary life for the sake of something greater than it - for the sake of eternal life. And just as soldiers happily think about returning home, so Christians constantly remember the end of their lives and the return to their Heavenly Fatherland.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
Saints
“Blessed is the humble soul; The Lord loves her. Above all in humility is the Mother of God, and for this reason all the generations on earth bless Her and all the powers of heaven serve Her; and the Lord gave us this Mother for intercession and help.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, III.14).
-52. “I love those who love Me and those who glorify Me I will glorify.” (Prov. 8:17, 1 Samuel 2:30), says the Lord [about His saints]. The Lord has given the Holy Spirit to the saints, and they love us in the Holy Spirit. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The whole Christian race knows about this." (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XII.1,8).
“Many people think that the Saints are far from us. But they are far from those who themselves have withdrawn, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit. Everything in heaven is moved by the Holy Spirit. But on earth there is the same Holy Spirit. He lives in our Church; He lives in the sacraments; He is in the Holy Scriptures; He is in the souls of believers. The Holy Spirit unites everyone, and therefore the Saints are close to us; and when we pray to them, then in the Holy Spirit they hear our prayers, and our souls feel that they are praying for us.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XII.3).
“The saints are like the Lord, but all people who keep the commandments of Christ are like Him, and those who live according to their passions and do not repent are like the devil. I think that if this secret were revealed to people, they would stop serving the enemy, but everyone would strive with all their might to know the Lord and be like Him.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, XII.9).
“When the soul in the Holy Spirit knows Mother of God; when in the Holy Spirit she becomes dear to the apostles, prophets, and all the saints and righteous, then she is irresistibly drawn into that world, and cannot stop, but is bored, and languishes, and cannot tear herself away from prayer, but although her body is exhausted and wants to lie down to bed, but even lying in bed, the soul longs for the Lord and the Kingdom of the Saints.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, I.28).
Scripture
“The Holy Scripture leads us to God and opens the path to knowledge of God” (St. John Chrysostom. Discourses on the Gospel of John, 59.2).
“Of all the ailments that burden human nature, there is not one, neither mental nor physical, that cannot receive healing from Scripture.” (St. John Chrysostom. Discourses on the book of Genesis, 29.1).
“Just as those deprived of light cannot walk straight, so those who do not see the ray of Divine Scripture are forced to sin, since they walk in the deepest darkness.” (St. John Chrysostom. Discourses on the Epistle to the Romans, 0.1).
“[A] humble person who leads a spiritual life, reading the Holy Scriptures, will relate everything to himself and not to others.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.6).
“In everything that you encounter in the Scriptures, seek the purpose of the word in order to penetrate into the depths of the thoughts of the saints and understand them with great accuracy... Do not approach [reading] Divine Scripture without prayer and asking for help from God... Consider prayer as the key to true understanding of what is said in the Divine Scriptures" (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 1.85).
“When you begin to read or listen to [the Holy Scriptures], pray to God like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, open the ears and eyes of my heart, that I may hear Your words and understand them, and do Your will.” Always pray to God to enlighten your mind and reveal to you the power of His words. Many, relying on their own reason, were mistaken." (St. Ephraim the Syrian).
“[The proud sin gravely] are those who, after studying secular literature, turning to the sacred Scriptures, consider everything they say to be the law of God and do not try to know the thoughts of the prophets and apostles, but to their own thoughts seek out inappropriate texts [from the Scriptures], like as if it were a good thing, and not the most vicious kind of teaching, to distort the thoughts of Scripture and subordinate it to one’s own arbitrariness, despite obvious contradictions... Such attempts to teach what one does not know are typical of children and charlatans.” (Blessed Jerome. Letter to St. Paulinus).
Sacred Tradition
“If anyone wants to be protected from deception and remain sound in the faith, then he must protect his faith, firstly, by the authority of Holy Scripture, and secondly, by the Tradition of the Church. But perhaps someone will ask: the canon of Scripture is perfect and sufficient for everything, why add the authority of Tradition to it? - Because not everyone understands Scripture in the same way, but one interprets it one way and another another, so you can extract as many meanings from it as there are heads. And therefore it is necessary to be guided by church understanding... What is tradition? What everyone [in the Church] believed in, always and everywhere... What you accepted, and not what you invented... [after all] our duty is not to lead religion wherever we want, but to follow where it goes will lead, and not pass on one’s own to descendants, but preserve what was received from one’s ancestors.” (St. Vincent of Lirinsky. Notes of Peregrin).
“Do not dare to interpret the Gospel and other books of Holy Scripture yourself. Scripture was spoken by the holy prophets and apostles, not spoken arbitrarily, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. How could it not be crazy to interpret it arbitrarily? The Holy Spirit, who spoke the Word of God through the prophets and apostles, interpreted it through the holy fathers. Both the Word of God and its interpretation are the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only this one [patristic] interpretation is accepted by the Holy Orthodox Church and her true children!” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). About reading the Gospel).
“Japanese Protestants sometimes come to me and ask me to explain some passage of Holy Scripture. “But you have your own missionary teachers - ask them,” I tell them, “What do they answer?” - “We asked them, they said: understand as you know; but I need to know the true thought of God, and not my personal opinion”... It’s not like that with us, everything is light and reliable, clear and solid - because we are apart from the Sacred We also accept the Holy Tradition from the Scriptures, and the Holy Tradition is the living, uninterrupted voice... of our Church from the time of Christ and His Apostles to this day, which will remain until the end of the world. The whole of Holy Scripture is based on it.” (St. Nicholas of Japan. Diary, January 15, 1897).
Church of Christ
“Brothers and sisters! The all-merciful God wants happiness for all of us both in this life and in the next. For this purpose, He founded His holy Church, so that it would cleanse us from sin, so that it would sanctify us, reconcile us with Him and give us heavenly blessing. The Church always has open arms for us. Let us all, whose conscience is burdened, hurry into them quickly. Let us hurry, and the Church will lift the weight of our burden, give us boldness towards God, and fill our hearts with happiness and bliss.” (St. Nektarios of Aegina. The path to happiness, 1).
“The Church of Christ is one, holy, universal and apostolic. It represents one spiritual body, the head of which is Jesus Christ, with one Holy Spirit abiding in it. [Local] private Churches are members of the single body of the Universal Church, and they, like branches of one tree, are nourished from one root by the same juices. It is called holy because it is sanctified by the holy Word, deeds, sacrifice and suffering of its Founder, Jesus Christ, to what extent He went to save people and lead them to holiness. The Church is called Ecumenical because it is not limited by place, time, people, or language. She addresses all of humanity. The Orthodox Church is called apostolic because the spirit, teaching and works of the Apostles of Christ are completely preserved in it.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Catechism).
“We know and are convinced that falling away from the Church into schism, heresy, or sectarianism is complete destruction and spiritual death. For us there is no Christianity outside the Church. If Christ created the Church and the Church is His Body, then to be torn away from His Body means to die.” (St. Hilarion (Trinity). About life in the Church).
“We should not seek truth from others, which is easy to take from the Church. For into it, as if into a rich treasury, the apostles completely placed everything that belongs to the truth, so that everyone who wants can receive the drink of life from it. She is the door of life" (St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against heresies, III.4).
“The Church is holy, although there are sinners in it. Those who sin but cleanse themselves through true repentance do not prevent the Church from being holy; and unrepentant sinners, either by the visible action of church authority, or by the invisible action of the judgment of God, are cut off as dead members from the body of the Church, and thus it remains holy in this respect.” (St. Philaret of Moscow. Catechism).
-72. “When do we live with Christ? When we live according to His Gospel, [and in] His Church. After all, in the Church there is not only His Gospel, but also He Himself, with all His perfections and virtues. The Church is the ever-living Body of the God-Man Christ... One enters into it through the sacred sacraments, they abide in it through the holy virtues... Our Lord Jesus Christ abides continuously in this world with the Church. He remains with every member of the Church throughout all centuries... He left us all of Himself in the Church and constantly gives us all of Himself, so that we too could live in this world according to how He lived.” (St. Justin Popovich, Commentary on 1 John 4:9, 17). Spiritual mentor
73. “Think that the Holy Spirit lives in your confessor, and he will tell you what should be done. But if you think that the confessor lives carelessly, and how can the Holy Spirit live in him, then for such a thought you will suffer greatly, “and the Lord will humble you, and you will certainly fall into delusion?” .
“If a person does not tell his confessor everything, then his road is crooked and does not lead to salvation, but whoever says everything will go straight to the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, XIII.9).
“Tell your confessor everything, and then the Lord will have mercy on you and you will avoid delusion. And if you think that in spiritual life you know more than your confessor and stop telling him in confession what is happening to you, then for this pride you will certainly be allowed some kind of charm for the sake of admonition.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVII.13).
“Through the confessor, the Holy Spirit acts in the sacrament, and therefore, when you leave the confessor, the soul feels its renewal, and if you leave the confessor confused, then it means that you confessed uncleanly and did not forgive your brother from the bottom of your heart for his sins.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, XIII.11).
“The Lord loved us so much that he suffered for us on the cross; and His sufferings were so great that we cannot comprehend them. Likewise, our spiritual shepherds suffer for us, although we often do not see their suffering. And the greater the shepherd’s love, the greater his suffering; and we, the sheep, must understand this, and love and honor our shepherds.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XIII.2).
“The spiritual father only shows the way as a pillar, but you have to go yourself. If the spiritual father points out, and the student himself does not move, then he will not go anywhere, but will rot at this pillar.” (St. Nikon Optina). Retribution
“Do not be mistaken about the knowledge of what will happen [to you after death]: what you sow here, you will reap there. After leaving here, no one can achieve success... Here is work, there is reward, here is feat, there are crowns.” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 606).
“God gives His fellowship to all who have love for Him. Communication with God is life and light and enjoyment of all the good things that He has. And those who of their own free will depart from Him, He subjects them to excommunication from Himself, which they themselves chose. Just as removal from the light is darkness, so alienation from God is the deprivation of all the blessings that He has. But the blessings of God are eternal and without end, therefore their deprivation is eternal and without end; [so sinners themselves will be the cause of their torment] just as those who have blinded themselves do not see the light, although it shines on them.” (St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Five books against heresies, V.27).
“The Savior of our race, intending to completely free man from error, promised us, obedient to Him, heavenly and divine blessings, and showed to the disobedient that they were awaiting not temporary sorrows that diminish with time, but torment lasting throughout boundless eternity.” (St. Photius the Great. Amphilochia, 6).
“Not only men, but also women - the weaker sex - walking the narrow path [of Christ], gained for themselves the Kingdom of Heaven. For there is neither male nor female, but each one will receive his own reward according to his labor.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian. Homily on the Second Coming of the Lord). Eternal Joy of Christians
“[Christians,] rejoice always because evil, death, sin, the devil and hell have been defeated by Christ. And when all this is defeated, is there anything in the world that can destroy our joy? You are the masters of this eternal joy until you give in to sin. Joy boils in our hearts from His truth, love, Resurrection, from the Church and His saints. Joy boils in our hearts from suffering for Him, ridicule for Him and death for Him, since these torments inscribe our names in heaven. There is no true joy on earth without victory over death, and victory over death does not exist without the Resurrection, and the Resurrection without Christ. The risen God-man Christ, the Founder of the Church, continually pours out this joy into the souls of His followers through the Holy Sacraments and virtues... Our faith is filled with this eternal joy, since the joy of faith in Christ is the only true joy for a human being.” (St. Justin (Popovich). Interpretation on 1 Thess., 5).
III. WE AND AROUND

Attitude towards other people
“A Christian should be polite to everyone. His words and deeds must breathe with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which dwells in his soul, so that the name of God can be glorified in this way. The one who verifies every word verifies every deed. He who examines the words he is about to say examines the deeds he intends to do, and will never exceed the bounds of good and virtuous conduct. The grace-filled speeches of a Christian are characterized by delicacy and politeness. This is what gives birth to love, brings peace and joy. On the contrary, rudeness gives rise to hatred, enmity, sorrow, the desire to win [in disputes], unrest and war." (St. Nektarios of Aegina. The path to happiness, 7).
“It is joyful to feel that among people we do not and cannot have enemies, but there are only unfortunate brothers worthy of pity and help even when, through a misunderstanding, they become our enemies and fight against us. Alas! They do not understand that the enemy is within ourselves, that we must first expel it from ourselves, and then help others to do the same. We have one common enemy - the devil and his evil spirits, and a person, no matter how low he falls, never loses at least a few sparks of light and goodness, which can be fanned into a bright flame. But there is no benefit for us to fight with people, even if they constantly shower us with all kinds of blows and insults... To fight with people means taking their false position. Even if successful, this war would not give us anything, but would distract us from our task for a long time.” (saint. Roman (Bear). Letter to daughter from camp, 1932).
“With all your strength, ask the Lord for humility and brotherly love, for for love for your brother the Lord freely gives His grace. Test yourself: one day ask God for love for your brother, and the next - live without love, and then you will see the difference.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVI.8).
-88. “Adorn yourself with the truth, try to tell the truth to everyone; and do not confirm a lie, no matter who asks. If you tell the truth and thereby expose yourself to someone else’s wrath, do not grieve about it, but take comfort in the words of the Lord: blessed are those who are exiled for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 26.29).
“Saint Isaiah said: if anyone treats his brother with cunning, he will not escape heartbreak.” (Ancient Patericon, 10.28).
“He who has put his trust in God for something no longer quarrels with his neighbor about it.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.103).
“Get close to the righteous, and through them you will get closer to God. Deal with those who have humility, and you will learn their morals... Whoever follows one who loves God will be enriched in the mysteries of God; but whoever follows the unrighteous and proud will withdraw from God and be hated by his friends.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 57, 8).
“Saint Pimen the Great said: move away from every person who loves to argue” (Ancient Patericon, 11.59).
“If you are not able to stop the mouth of someone who slanderes your friend, then at least beware of communicating with him.” How to deal with the sins of other people?
-95. “Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not despise sinners for their shortcomings, so that you yourself do not fall into the temptation in which they are... Do not be angry with anyone and do not hate anyone, neither for faith nor for bad deeds him... Do not hate the sinner, because we are all guilty... Hate his sins - and pray for him, in order to become like Christ, Who had no resentment against sinners, but prayed for them.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 57.90).
“Find evil in yourself, and not in other people or things that you failed to handle correctly. This is how a child handles fire or a knife: he burns himself, he cuts himself.” (St. Sebastian of Karaganda).
“The brother asked the elder: “If I see my brother’s fall into sin, is it good to hide it?” The elder replied: “When we [out of love] hide our brother’s sin, [then] God will hide our sins; and when we reveal [to others] our brother’s sin, [then] God will make our sins known to [people].” (Ancient Patericon, 9.9).
“Do not be irritated by those who sin... do not have the passion to notice all sorts of sins in your neighbor and condemn him, as is usual for us; everyone will give an answer to God for themselves... especially, do not look maliciously at the sins of your elders, about which you do not care... correct your own sins, correct your heart.” (St. John of Kronstadt. My life in Christ, I.6).
“If you see your neighbor in sin, then do not look at this alone, but think about what good he has done or is doing, and often, having experienced it in general, and not judging in particular, you will find that he is better than you.” (St. Basil the Great. Conversations, 20).
“If you see a person sinning and do not have pity on him, then grace will leave you... And who scolds bad people but does not pray for them, he will never know the grace of God.” (St. Silouan the Athonite. Scriptures, VII.4, VIII.6).
“Whoever strictly investigates the misdeeds of others will not receive any leniency towards his own.” (St. John Chrysostom. About statues. 3, 6).
Should we reprove the sinner?
“It is better to pray reverently for your neighbor than to convict him of any sin.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.132).
“Do not try to benefit someone who boasts of virtues by reproach; for he who loves to show himself cannot be a lover of truth.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.222).
“Whoever admonishes and instructs a sinner with the fear of God acquires for himself virtue that is opposite to sin. But someone who is vindictive and unkindly reproaches a sinner falls, according to spiritual law, into the same passion as him.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.183).
“When you want to guide someone to goodness, first repose him physically and almost with a word of love. For nothing brings a person to shame and forces him to abandon his vice and change for the better, like bodily goods and the respect that he sees from you... [then] say a word or two to him with love, and do not become angry with him, and Let him not see a sign of enmity in you. For love does not know how to be angry and irritated" (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 85.57).
Condemnation
“He who seeks forgiveness of sins loves humility. He who condemns another secures his evil deeds to himself.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.126).
-108. “To judge sins is the work of the sinless, but who is without sin except God alone? He who thinks in his heart about the multitude of his sins will never want to make the temptation of another the subject of his conversation. Judging a person who has been tempted is a sign of pride, and God opposes the proud. On the contrary, he who prepares every hour to give an answer about his sins will not soon raise his head to consider the mistakes of others.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 53-55).
-110. " Knowledgeable person When eating grapes, he takes only ripe berries and leaves the sour ones: so the prudent mind carefully notices the virtues that it sees in someone; a crazy person looks for vices and shortcomings... Even if you saw the sinner with your own eyes, do not judge; for often they too are deceived.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 10.16-17).
“If you have a sinful habit of condemning your neighbor, then when you condemn someone, make three prostrations on this day with the following prayer: “Save, Lord, and have mercy on such and such (whom you condemned) and through his prayers have mercy on me, a sinner.” And do this always when you judge someone. If you do this, the Lord will see your zeal and deliver you forever from this sinful habit. And if you do not condemn anyone, then God will never condemn you - so you will receive salvation.” (saint Sergius (Pravdolyubov)).
“He who prays for people who offend him casts down demons, and he who resists first is hurt last.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.45).
“Whoever, being despised by someone, does not quarrel either in word or thought with the one who despises him; he has acquired true knowledge and shows strong trust in God (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.119).
About forgiveness of grievances
“This is our law: if you forgive, it means that the Lord has forgiven you too; and if you don’t forgive your brother, that means your sin remains with you.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VII.9).
“All of us, my dear brothers, will have to die, and it will be hard for us if we do not love each other while living in this world, if we do not reconcile with our opponents against whom we have a grudge, and if, while insulting one another, we do not forgive, “Then we will not have eternal peace and bliss in that world, and the Heavenly Father will not forgive us our sins.” (St. Peter of Cetinje. Message to the Radulovics, 1805).
“Forgiveness of offenses is a sign of true love, free from hypocrisy. For even so the Lord loved this world.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.48).
When we are scolded
“The one who reproaches us must be accepted as a God-sent accuser of the evil thoughts hidden in us, so that we, having accurately examined our thoughts, correct ourselves... [after all] we do not know much of the evil hidden in us; Only a perfect person can remember all his shortcomings.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 6).
“To the extent that you pray with all your heart for the one who slandered you, to the extent that God reveals the truth to those who believed the slander.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.89).
When we are praised
“When they begin to praise us, let us hasten to remember our many iniquities; and we will see that we are truly unworthy of what they say or do in our honor.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 22.42).
Grudge
“If you have a grudge against someone, then pray for him; and, by prayer, separating sadness from the memory of the evil that he caused you, you will stop the movement of passion; By becoming friendly and humane, you will completely banish this passion from your soul. When another is angry with you, be kind to him, humble and treat him kindly, and you will free him from passion.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 3.90).
“A soul that harbors hatred for a person cannot be at peace with God, who said: “If you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:15). If a person does not want to reconcile, you, however, save yourself from hatred by sincerely praying for him and not slandering him.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.35).
Love for enemies
“Whoever does not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love our enemies so that our souls will pity them like our own children.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, I.11).
“When you are offended, scolded, or expelled by someone, think not about what happened to you, but about what [has followed and] will follow from this, and you will see that the offender has become the cause of many benefits for you, not only present, but also in the next century" (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.114).
“Don’t want to hear about the misfortune of people who are hostile to you. For those who listen to such speeches reap [subsequently] the fruits of their will.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.173).
“Please try it. If someone insults you, or dishonors you, or takes away something of yours, then pray: “Lord, we are all Your creation; have pity on Your servants and turn them to repentance,” and then you will tangibly carry grace in your soul. Force your heart to love your enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good desire, will help you in everything, and experience Himself will show you. But whoever thinks badly about his enemies does not have the love of God, and he has not known God.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, IX.21).

Prayer
“Do not give up prayer, for just as the body, deprived of food, weakens, so the soul, deprived of prayer food, approaches relaxation and mental death.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 44).
-128. “Pray constantly in everything you do, so that you don’t do anything without God’s help... Anyone who does anything or cares about something without prayer does not succeed in completing his work. The Lord said about this: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.94,166).
“What we say or do without prayer later becomes either sinful or harmful, and exposes us through deeds in a way unknown to us.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.108).
“Whoever does not consider himself a sinner, his prayer is not accepted by the Lord” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 55).
“God listens and fulfills a person’s prayer when a person fulfills His commandments. “Listen to God in His commandments,” says Saint John Chrysostom, “so that He may hear you in your prayers.” A person who keeps God's commandments is always wise, patient, and sincere in his prayers. The sacrament of prayer consists in keeping the commandments of God." (St. Justin Popovich. Interpretation on 1 John 3:22).
“Commit your desire [in prayer] to God, who knows everything, even before we are born. And do not ask that everything be according to your will, because a person does not know what is good for him, but say to God: “Thy will be done!” For He works all things for our good.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 47).
“Everyone who asks God for something and does not receive it, no doubt does not receive it for any of these reasons: either because they ask ahead of time; or because they ask not according to dignity, and out of vanity; or because, having received what they asked, they would become proud, or fall into negligence.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 26.60).
“Whoever wants to practice prayer without a guide, and in pride thinks that he can learn from books, and will not go to the elder, is already half in delusion. The Lord will help the humble one, and if there is no experienced mentor, and he goes to the confessor who is available, then the Lord will cover him for his humility.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, II.1).
“If, while the mind is praying, any extraneous thought or worry about something is mixed with it, then the prayer is not called pure.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 16).
“When you pray and, having received [what you asked for], you become proud, it is obvious that your prayer was not to God, and you did not receive help from God, but the demons helped you so that your heart would be lifted up; for when help is given from God, the soul is not lifted up, but rather humbled and amazed at the great mercy of God, how He has mercy on sinners.” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 418).
“When the Lord wants to have mercy on someone, he inspires others with the desire to pray for him, and helps in this prayer.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XX.9).
“In times of grief, one must continually call upon [in prayer] the merciful God... Continuously invoking the name of God [in prayer] is a treatment [of the soul], killing not only [sinful] passions, but also their very action. Just as a doctor finds the right medicine, and it works, and the patient does not know how it [happens], in the same way the name of God, when you call on it, kills all passions, although we do not know how this happens.” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 421).
Repentance
“Every sin left without repentance is a sin leading to death, for which even a saint prays for another will not be heard [by God].” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.41).
“One who has sinned cannot avoid retribution except by repentance corresponding to the sin.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.58).
“God will cleanse your sins if you yourself are always dissatisfied with yourself and change until you achieve perfection.” (Blessed Augustine. On the Epistle to the Parthians, I.7).
“The saints were people just like the rest of us. Many of them came from great sins, but through repentance they reached the Kingdom of Heaven. And everyone who comes there comes through repentance, which the Merciful Lord gave us through His suffering.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XII.10).
“If anyone falls into any sin and does not grieve [heartily] about it, he will easily fall into the same snare again.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.215).
“If someone, having once repented of a sin, commits the same sin again, this is a sign that he has not been cleansed of the cause of this sin, from which, like from a root, shoots sprout again.” (St. Basil the Great).
-146. “Do not say: “I have sinned a lot, and therefore I do not dare to fall to God.” Do not despair: just do not multiply your sins from now on, and, with the help of the All-Merciful, you will not be ashamed. For He said: “Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.” Therefore, take heart and believe that He is pure and will purify whoever approaches Him. If you want to commit true repentance, then show it with action. If you repent of pride, show humility; if drunk, show sobriety; if in fornication, show the purity of life. For it is said: turn away from evil and do good.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 87-89).
“One man kept sinning and repenting - and so on all his life. Finally he repented and died. Evil spirit came for his soul and said: “He is mine.” The Lord says: “No, he repented.” “But even though he repented, he sinned again,” the devil continued. Then the Lord said to him: “If you, being angry, accepted him again after he repented to Me, then how could I not accept him after he, having sinned, again turned to Me with repentance?” (St. Ambrose of Optina).
“Whoever hates his sins stops sinning; and whoever confesses them will receive remission. It is impossible for a person to give up the habit of sinning if he does not first acquire hostility towards sin, and it is impossible to receive remission of sin before confessing his sins. For confession of sins is the cause of true humility." (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 71).
-150. “Former sins, when remembered in their images, cause harm. For if they bring sadness with them, they remove them from hope, and when they present themselves without sadness, they bring back the old defilement. If you want to bring a non-judgmental confession to God, then do not remember sins according to their appearance, but courageously endure the tribulations that come for them.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.151,153).
“The Lord loves the repentant sinner a lot and mercifully presses him to His chest: “Where have you been, My child? I have been waiting for you for a long time.” The Lord calls everyone to Himself with the voice of the Gospel, and His voice is heard throughout the entire universe: “Come to Me, My sheep. I created you, and I love you. My love for you brought Me to earth, and I endured everything for the sake of your salvation, and I want you to know My love and say, like the apostles on Tabor: Lord, it is good for us with You." (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, IX.27).
Our will and the Will of God
-153. “The most luminous teaching of our Savior is this: “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10). Whoever sincerely pronounces this prayer abandons his own will and places everything on the will of God... And the will inspired by demons is for us to justify ourselves and believe in ourselves, and then they easily enslave the person [who has adopted such a way of thinking].” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 40, 124).
“It is a great good to surrender to the will of God. There is then only the Lord in the soul, and there is no other thought, and with a pure mind it prays to God. When the soul has completely surrendered to the will of God, then the Lord Himself begins to guide it, and the soul directly learns from God... The proud person does not want to live according to the will of God: he loves to rule himself; and does not understand that man lacks the intelligence to control himself without God.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VI.1).
“To the extent that someone cuts off and humbles his will, to the same extent he goes to success. And the more stubbornly he adheres to his own will, the more harm he causes himself.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian. Advice to a new monk, 12)
“How do you know if you are living according to the will of God? Here is a sign: if you grieve over some thing, it means you have not completely surrendered to the will of God. He who lives according to the will of God does not care about anything. And if he needs any thing, then he betrays both himself and the thing to God; and if he doesn’t get the thing he needs, he still remains calm, as if he had it. A soul that has surrendered to the will of God is not afraid of anything: not thunderstorms, not robbers, nothing. But no matter what happens, she says: “That’s what God wants.” If I am sick, I think: that means I need illness, otherwise God would not have given it to me. And this is how peace is maintained in the soul and body.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VI.4).
“The Lord gave the Holy Spirit to earth, and in whom He lives, he feels heaven within himself. Perhaps you will say: why is such grace not with me? Because you have not surrendered to the will of God, but live according to your own. Look at the one who loves his own will. He never has peace in his soul and is always dissatisfied with something. And whoever has completely surrendered to the will of God has pure prayer, his soul loves the Lord, and everything is pleasant and sweet to him.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, VI.14).
Commandments
“Just as it is impossible to walk without legs or fly without wings, so it is impossible to reach the Kingdom of Heaven without fulfilling the commandments.”
“The commandments of God are higher than all the treasures of the world. He who acquires them finds God within himself.”
“The Holy Apostle John the Theologian says that the commandments of God are not heavy, but light (1 John 5:3). But they are easy only because of love, and if there is no love, then everything is difficult.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVI.10).
“Christ does not require doing the commandments [in itself], but the correction of the soul, for which he established the commandments.”
“God is present with His gracious power in every commandment. “The Lord is hidden in His commandments,” says Saint Mark the Ascetic. The Lord helps everyone who struggles to keep His commandments... And we know that God abides in us by the Spirit that He gave us. This means that a Christian is never alone, but he lives and works together with the Trisagion of God.” (St. Justin Popovich. Interpretation on 1 John 3:24).
How God views our affairs
“In everything we do, God looks at the intention, whether we do it for His sake, or for some other reason.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.36).
-165. “God values works according to their intentions. For it is said: “The Lord will give you according to your heart” (Ps. 19:5) ... [Therefore] whoever wants to do something, but cannot, is [counted] before God, who knows the intentions of our hearts, as having done it. This applies to both good and evil deeds." (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.184, 2.16).
“If the intention preceding the action is unclean, then the action itself will be bad, even if it seems good.” (St. Gregory the Dvoeslov. Interviews, 1.10). How should we approach our affairs?
“Do not think or do anything without a [spiritual] purpose [with which it is done] for God; For he who travels aimlessly will labor in vain.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.54).
“Fasting, prayer, almsgiving and all other Christian deeds are good in themselves, but the goal of Christian life is not their fulfillment alone. The true goal of our Christian life is to receive the Holy Spirit of God. Fasting, prayer, almsgiving and every good thing done for the sake of Christ are the means for acquiring the Holy Spirit. Note that only the good deed that is done for the sake of Christ brings us the fruits of the Holy Spirit; however, what is not done for the sake of Christ, although good, does not provide us with a reward in the life of the next century, and does not give us the grace of God in this life . That is why our Lord Jesus Christ said: “Whoever does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12.30)” (St. Seraphim of Sarov. Conversation about the purpose of Christian life).
“When the mind forgets the purpose of piety, then the obvious practice of virtue becomes useless.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.51).
“Whatever you lose in the name of God, you will keep; whatever you keep for yourself, you will lose. Everything that you give in the name of God, you will receive with profit; everything you give for the sake of your own glory and pride, you [are like] throwing into the water. Everything that you accept from people as from God will bring you joy; everything that you accept from people as people will bring you worries.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“Everything must be done with reasoning, and determine your own measure, so as not to be embarrassed later. To do alms, fasting or anything else beyond one’s strength is foolish, because it subsequently leads the doer to confusion, despondency and murmuring. And God demands that which is best for man.” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 627).
“Whoever you are, whatever work you do, give an account to yourself of the way in which you carried out your work: in a Christian way or in a pagan way, that is, relying on pride and worldly gain. A Christian must remember that every, even the smallest, deed has a moral beginning. A Christian who remembers the teachings of Jesus Christ must perform each of his deeds in such a way that it contributes to the spread of God’s grace and the Kingdom of Heaven among people.” (St. Gabriel of Imereti. Annual report).
Our good deeds
“One evil receives strength from another: in the same way, good increases from one another, and the one in whom it is, encourages more.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.93).
“Whenever we sin, we are born of the devil; and every time we practice virtue, we are born of God.” (St. John Chrysostom).
“We abide in God to the extent that we do not sin” (St. Venerable Bede, Commentary on 1 John 3:6).
“Consign your good deeds and merits to oblivion as quickly as possible... Do not write down your good deeds, for if you write them down, they will quickly fade, but if you forget about them, they will be written down into eternity.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“If you want the Lord to cover your sins, then do not show people the virtue that you have. “For what we do with our virtues, so God does with our sins.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.135).
“Whoever has any spiritual gift and has compassion for those who do not have it, preserves his gift through compassion. But he who is proud of his gift loses it through conceit.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.8).
Even a small good deed is valuable
“If you ever show any kindness to anyone, you will receive mercy for that.
If you show compassion to the suffering (and this seems to be a small thing), you will be counted among the martyrs.
If you forgive the offender, then not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will become a child of the Heavenly Father.
If you pray from your heart for salvation, even if only a little, you will be saved.
If you reproach yourself, accuse and condemn yourself before God for the sins you feel in your conscience, you will be justified for this.
If you are saddened by your sins, or shed a tear, or sigh, then your sigh will not be hidden from Him, and, as St. John Chrysostom: “If you complain only about sins, then He will accept it for your salvation.” (St. Moses of Optina).
Love
“God gave people the word “love” so that they would use this word to describe their relationship to Him. When people, having abused this word, use it to describe their attitude towards earthly things, it loses its meaning.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“Do not neglect the commandment of love; for through it you will become the son of God, and by violating it you will find yourself a son of Gehenna.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love, 4.20).
“Love for God must stand for us above any love for any person” (St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain).
“Do not say that faith in our Lord Jesus Christ alone can save you, for this is impossible if you do not also gain love for Him, evidenced by deeds. As for naked faith: “even the demons believe and tremble” (James 2:19). The work of love consists of: zealous good deeds to one’s neighbor, generosity, patience and prudent use of things.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 1.39-40).
“Just as God illuminates all [people] equally with [sun] light, so let those who [desire] to imitate God shine on everyone with a common and equal ray of love. Because where love disappears, hatred certainly takes its place. And if God is love, then hatred is the devil. Therefore, just as he who has love has God in himself, so he who has hatred nourishes the devil in himself.” (St. Basil the Great. Words on asceticism, 3).
“Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8). That is, for love for others, God forgives the sins of the lover.” (St. Theophan the Recluse. Letters, VI.949).
-187. “Love for Christ branches into love for neighbor, love for truth, love for holiness, for peace, for purity, for everything Divine, for everything immortal and eternal... All these types of love are natural manifestations of love for Christ. Christ is the God-man, and love for Him always means: love for God and love for man... Loving Christ God, for His sake we love in people everything that is Divine, immortal, Christ-like in them. We cannot truly love people unless we love them for these reasons. Any other love is pseudo-love, which easily turns into dislike, into hatred of people. True love for man comes from love for God, and love for God increases as God’s commandments are kept.” (St. Justin Popovich, Commentary on 1 John 4.20, 5:2).
“Love is the fruit of prayer... to remain patiently in prayer means for a person to deny himself. Therefore, in the selflessness of the soul, the love of God is found (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 43).
“If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do deeds of love, even if at first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and put love in your heart.” (St. Ambrose of Optina).
Who has no love
“Whoever sees in his heart a trace of hatred towards any person for some kind of sin is completely alien to the love of God. For love of God absolutely does not tolerate hatred of man.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 1.15).
“Unfortunate and pitiful are those who are far from love. He spends his days in sleepy delirium, is far from God, deprived of light and lives in darkness... Whoever does not have the love of Christ is an enemy of Christ. [He] walks in darkness and is easily ensnared by all kinds of sin.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian. A Word on Virtues and Vices).
“He who does not love, not only remains in [spiritual] death, but also every deed he does, even if outwardly it has the appearance of virtue, is dead and fruitless, and [every] word [of him] is soulless.” (St. Philaret of Moscow. Word to those taking vows). How love is shown
“He who knows the love of God loves the whole world and never grumbles about his fate, for temporary sorrow for the sake of God brings eternal joy.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, I.27).
“Love is not only through the distribution of property [to those in need], but even more through the dissemination of the word of God and helping with deeds.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 1.26).
“What is perfection in love? Love your enemies so that you want to make them brothers... For so loved the One who, hanging on the cross, said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)” (Blessed Augustine. On the Epistle to the Parthians, I.9).
“Happy is the man in whom there is the love of God, because he carries God within himself. In whom love is, together with God, above all else. He who has love in him is not afraid; never disdains anyone, does not boast about anyone, does not slander anyone, does not listen to those who slander, does not compete, does not envy, does not rejoice at the fall of others, does not denigrate the fallen, but sympathizes with him and helps him, does not despise his brother, who finds himself in need, but stands up and is ready to die for him. In whom love is, he does the will of God.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian. Spiritual and moral Scriptures, 3).
Mercy
“Let mercy always prevail in you until you feel in yourself the mercy that God has for the world... A cruel and unmerciful heart will never be cleansed. A merciful man is the doctor of his soul, because, as if with a strong wind, he disperses the darkness of passions from his insides.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 41).
“If you start saving wealth, it will not be yours; and if you begin to lavish [those in need] you will not lose.” (St. Basil the Great. Conversations, 7).
“Did the humane Lord give you a lot so that you could use what was given to you only for your own benefit? No, but so that your excess will make up for the lack of others.” (St. John Chrysostom. Conversations on the book of Genesis, 20)
“If you are truly merciful, then when what is unjustly taken from you, do not grieve internally, and do not tell about the damage to strangers. Let it be better that the damage caused by those who offended you be absorbed by your mercy."
Humility
“[Just as] there is nothing more disgusting to God than pride, because it hides the deification of oneself, one’s insignificance or sinfulness, [so] what is most pleasing to God is humility, which, considering itself to be nothing, attributes all good, honor and glory to God alone. Pride does not accept grace because it is filled with itself, but humility easily accepts grace because it is free both from itself and from everything created. God creates out of nothing: as long as we want to think that we are something, He does not begin His work in us. Humility is the salt of virtues. Just as salt gives flavor to food, so humility imparts perfection to virtues. Without salt, food is easily damaged, and without humility, virtue is easily corrupted - by pride, vanity, impatience, and perishes. There is humility that a person acquires through his own feat: recognizing his unworthiness; reproaching yourself for your shortcomings; not allowing yourself to judge others. And there is humility into which God brings a person through His destinies: allowing him to experience insults, humiliation, and deprivation.” (St. Philaret of Moscow. Glory to the Mother of God, 9).
“The elder was asked: what is humility? The elder said: when your brother sins against you, you will forgive him before he repents before you.” (Ancient Patericon, 15.74).
“He does not show humility who condemns himself (for who will not endure reproach from himself?); but he who, being reproached by another, does not diminish his love for him.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 22.17).
“As water and fire oppose each other when united; Thus self-justification and humility resist one another.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.125).
“Some people suffer a lot from poverty and illness, but do not humble themselves, and therefore suffer without benefit. And whoever humbles himself will be satisfied with every fate, because the Lord is his wealth and joy, and all people will be amazed at the beauty of his soul.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, III.9).
“Humility consists in under no circumstances considering oneself for something, cutting off one’s own will in everything, obeying everyone and enduring without embarrassment what befalls us from the outside. This is true humility, in which vanity has no place. A humble person should not try to show his humility in words, nor should he volunteer to perform low deeds; for both lead to vanity, hinder success, and cause more harm than good; but when something is commanded, one must not contradict, but fulfill it with obedience: this is what leads to success [in the search for true humility].” (St. John the Prophet. Guide, 275). Meekness
“Meekness is an unchangeable disposition of the mind, which remains the same in honor and dishonor. Meekness consists in, when insulted by your neighbor, without embarrassment and sincerely praying for him. Meekness is a rock rising above the sea of irritability, against which all the waves rushing towards it are broken, but it itself does not waver.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 24.4).
“Let them persecute you, do not persecute; let them crucify you, do not crucify; let them offend, do not offend; let them slander you, do not slander you; be meek and not zealous in evil" (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 89).
“Just as fire is not extinguished by fire, so anger is not overcome by anger, but is inflamed even more. And by meekness the most ferocious enemies are often bowed down, softened and reconciled.” (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).
Abstinence
“Love hunger and thirst [undertaken] for Christ’s sake. The more you pacify the body, the more you benefit the soul. After all, [God,] the Rewarder of deeds, words and thoughts, will reward with good even the little that we joyfully endure for His sake.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 41).
-212. “Seek the simplest things in everything, both in food and in clothing, do not be ashamed of poverty; because most of this world walks in poverty. Do not say: I am the son of a rich man; I'm ashamed to be in poverty. There is no one richer in the world than Christ, your Heavenly Father, who gave birth to you in the holy font, but He also walked in poverty and did not have where to lay His head.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 24-25).
“You need to accustom yourself to eat as little as possible, but this is with reasoning, as far as your work allows. The measure of abstinence should be such that after dinner you want to pray.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, V.8). Obedience
“By obedience a man is kept from pride; prayer is given for obedience; For obedience, the grace of the Holy Spirit is also given. That is why obedience is higher than fasting and prayer." (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XV.4).
“Obedience is needed not only for monks, but for every person. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-righteous do not allow grace to live within themselves, and therefore never have peace of mind, but the grace of the Holy Spirit easily enters the soul of an obedient person and gives him joy and peace. He who carries even a little grace within himself gladly submits to any authority. He knows that God rules heaven, and earth, and the underworld, and himself, and his affairs, and everything that is in the world, and therefore he is always at peace.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XV.2).

Sinful passions
“Passion is an unnatural movement of the soul either out of unreasonable love, or out of unreasonable hatred for something material, or for the sake of it: [for example, the movement of the soul] out of unreasonable love for food, or for women, or for wealth, or for worldly fame , or something else sensual; or for his sake, but [the movement of the soul] out of reckless hatred - when they hate someone because of something said above" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.16).
“Of the passions, some are bodily, and others are spiritual. Corporeal ones have their origins from the body, and mental ones - from external objects. But love and abstinence cuts off both passions: love is mental, and abstinence is physical.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love, 1.64).
“We must consider everything bad, including the passions that fight us, not as our own, but as from the enemy - the devil. This is very important. Only then can you overcome passion when you don’t consider it yours.” (St. Nikon Optina).
-220. “First, a simple thought [about sin] penetrates the mind, and if it lingers in the mind, then passion comes into motion; if you do not destroy the passion, then it inclines the mind to agreement, and when this happens, it brings it to committing a sin in deed... [Watch your thoughts], for if you do not sin mentally, you will never sin in deed.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 1.84, 2.78).
“Unclean spirits intensify passions [in us], taking advantage of our negligence and inciting them; and it is the holy angels who reduce [passions], encouraging us to perform virtues.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.69).
“A sinful soul, captivated by passions, cannot have peace and rejoice in the Lord, even if it owned all the riches of the earth, even if it reigned over the whole world. If such a king, happily feasting and sitting on the throne in all his glory, were suddenly announced: “Tsar, you are about to die,” then his soul would be confused and tremble with fear, and he would see his weakness. And how many poor people are there who are rich only in the love of God and who, if you told them: “You are about to die,” would answer in peace: “The will of the Lord be done. Glory to the Lord that He remembered me and wants to take me [to Himself].” "" (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IV.3).
Fighting passions
“When a person is devoted to passions, he does not see them in himself and does not separate from them, because he lives in them and by them. But when the grace of God influences him, he begins to distinguish between the passionate and the sinful in himself, admits it, repents and decides to abstain from it. The fight begins. At first, this struggle is waged with deeds, and when a person weans the habit of bad deeds, the struggle begins with bad thoughts and feelings. And here it goes through many degrees... The struggle continues, passions are increasingly torn out of the heart, it even happens that they are completely torn out... A sign that passion has been torn out of the heart is when the heart begins to experience disgust and hatred to passion (St. Theophan the Recluse. How spiritual life goes).
-226. “He who hates passions also cuts off their causes; and whoever remains with the causes that produce them, even against his will, experiences a struggle from passions... It is impossible for someone who does not love its causes to be mentally inclined towards passion. For who, despising shame, indulges in vanity? Or who, loving humiliation, is embarrassed by dishonor? Who, having a contrite and humble heart, will accept carnal pleasure? Or who, believing Christ, cares about temporary things, or quarrels about them? (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.119,122-123).
“It’s one thing to get rid of thoughts, and another thing to free yourself from passions. They often get rid of thoughts when those objects for which [a person] had a passion are not in sight: but meanwhile the passions are hidden in the soul, and when objects appear [again] they are revealed. Therefore, you need to observe the mind when things appear and find out what you have passion for.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 3.78).
“The mind [of man] who loves God does not fight against things or thoughts about them, but against the passions associated with these thoughts. That is, he fights not against [any] woman, not against the offender, and not against their images [appearing in the mind], but against the passions associated with these images." (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love, 3.40).
“Pasions are uprooted and put to flight by the constant immersion of thought in God. This is the sword that kills them... He who always thinks of God drives away demons from himself and eradicates the seed of their malice.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 8).
Spiritual Errors
“The worst kind of sin is not admitting that you are a sinner.” (St. Caesarea of Arles, Commentary on 1 John 1:8).
-232. “Avoid self-love - the mother of evil - which is unreasonable love for the body. Because from it... three main sinful passions are born: gluttony, love of money and vanity, taking their motive from necessary bodily needs; and from them the whole tribe of passions is born. That is why one should be very careful about pride and resist it... Whoever rejects pride, with the help of God, will easily overcome all other passions, such as: anger, despondency, rancor, and others. Whoever is obsessed with pride is, even involuntarily, affected by these passions.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.59,8).
“He who does not want to know the will of God walks with his mind along the path that runs over the abyss, and easily falls from every wind: being praised, he is proud; being reproached, he becomes upset; enjoying food, he is carried away by bodily passion; cries in suffering; knowing something, wants to appear to know; and not understanding, pretends to understand; getting rich, boasting; being in poverty, he is a hypocrite; when he is full he becomes impudent, but when he fasts he becomes vain; He likes to argue with those who accuse him, and he looks at those who forgive him as unreasonable.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.193).
“Remember two thoughts and fear them. One says: you are a saint, the other: you will not be saved. Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But think: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful, He loves people a lot, and will forgive me my sins.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVII.1).
“Sincere faith is the denial of one’s mind. The mind must be laid bare and presented to faith as a blank slate, so that it can inscribe itself on it as it is, without any admixture of extraneous sayings and positions. When the mind retains its own provisions, then, after writing the provisions of faith on it, there will be a mixture of provisions in it: the consciousness will be confused, encountering a contradiction between the actions of faith and the philosophizing of the mind. Such are all those who, with their wisdom, enter the realm of faith... They are confused in faith, and nothing comes of them except harm.” (St. Theophan the Recluse. Thoughts for every day of the year, 11.04).
“There are many of us who talk, but few of us do. However, no one should distort the word of God to please his own negligence, but it is better to confess his weakness, without hiding the truth of God, so that, along with violating the commandments, he will not also be guilty of misinterpreting the word of God.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.85).
“Whoever prematurely begins a task that is beyond his strength gains nothing, but only aggravates his harm.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 11).
“There are people who, when perplexity comes, do not ask the Lord; but we must say directly: “Lord, I am a sinful man and I do not understand what I should do, but You, O Merciful One, instruct me in what I should do.” And the merciful Lord [then] inspires what to do and what not to do.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, XX.4).
“No one will ever do good through evil, because [through this] he himself is overcome by evil; on the contrary, evil is corrected by good.” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Guide, 15).
“Do not try to resolve a difficult matter through argument; but with what the spiritual law commands, that is, patience, prayer and mental hope [in God].” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.12).
“If you weave during the day and unravel at night, you will never weave. If you build during the day and destroy at night, you will never build. If you pray to God and do evil before Him, you will never weave or build the house of your soul.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
You can't avoid temptation by changing places
“Amma Theodora said: a certain monk, overcome by many sorrows, said to himself: I will leave here. With these words, he began to put sandals on his feet, and suddenly he saw the devil in the corner of the cell in the form of a man who was also putting on his shoes and who said to him: “Are you leaving here because of me?” So, in every place where you go, I will already be before you.”
Thoughts
(sinful thoughts)
-244. “A certain monk asked one of the elders: “Why is my thought constantly inclined towards [committing] fornication, does not give me peace for an hour, and my soul is indignant?” The elder told him: “if demons inspire you with [sinful] thoughts, do not indulge in them; [demons] tend to constantly seduce. And although they never leave this [suggestion] behind, they cannot force you [to sin]: it depends on your will [depends] ] - listen to them, or not listen" ... The brother said in response to the elder: “What should I do? I am weak and [I feel that this sinful] passion is defeating me." The elder replied: “Watch [such thoughts], and when they begin to speak in you, do not answer them; but pray to God: [Lord Jesus Christ,] Son of God, have mercy on me [a sinner]!” (Ancient Patericon, 5.35)
“If someone does not object to the thoughts that the enemy secretly sows in us, but through prayer to God cuts off conversation with them, then this serves as a sign that his mind has acquired wisdom and that he has found a short path.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 30).
“[A person] carried away by sinful thoughts is blinded by them, and sees the actions of sin [in himself], but cannot see the reasons for these actions.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 1.168).
“It is impossible to maintain peace of mind if we do not take care of the mind, i.e. if we do not drive away thoughts that are displeasing to God, and vice versa, we hold on to thoughts that are pleasing to God. You need to look into your heart with your mind to see what is happening there: peacefully or not. If not, then consider where you have sinned.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, XIV.8).
“When bad thoughts besiege you, then cry out to God: “Lord, my Creator and Creator. You see - my soul is in torment from bad thoughts“Have mercy on me”... train yourself to cut off your thoughts right away. And if you forget yourself and don’t drive him away right away, then bring repentance. Work hard at it to get into the habit." (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVII.4,6).
Devil's Tricks
“Love for earthly things devastates the soul, and then it becomes sad and wild, and does not want to pray to God. The enemy, seeing that the soul is not in God, shakes it and freely puts into the mind what it wants, and drives the soul from one thought to another, and so the soul spends the whole day in this disorder and cannot purely contemplate the Lord.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IV.5).
“Our inhuman enemy [the devil, pushing a Christian to fornication], suggests [at the same time] that God loves mankind, and that He will soon forgive [this sin]. But if we begin to observe the cunning of demons, we will see that after committing a sin, they present God to us as a righteous and implacable Judge. The first thing they say is to draw us into sin; and the second - to plunge us into despair" (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 15.33).
“The devil diminishes [in our eyes] small sins: for otherwise he cannot lead us to great evil.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.94).
“Everyone who commits sin seems to have their thoughts numb and their discerning vision damaged by the means by which the evil one, inciting and deceiving, weakens us and clouds us. And after the act, he brings before his eyes what he has done and cruelly reveals what he had previously hidden with many tricks, and, exposing the gravity of the deed, thereby tries to push the sinner to despair.” (St. Photius the Great. Amphilochia, 14).
Spiritual struggle
“Inside we have deep-rooted infirmities, passions, flaws. All this does not end with one sharp movement, but with patience and perseverance, care and attention. The path leading to perfection is long. Pray to God to strengthen you. Accept your falls patiently and immediately, when you get up, run to God, do not stop at the place where you fell. Don't despair if you keep falling into old sins. Many of them are strong from the acquired skill, but with the passage of time and through diligence they are overcome. Let nothing deprive you of hope." (St. Nektarios of Aegina. The path to happiness, 3).
Ambition
(love of fame and honor)
“Do not seek earthly glory in any matter, for it fades away for the one who loves it. For a while, like a strong wind, it blows around a person, and soon, having taken away from him the fruit of his good deeds, she departs, laughing at his folly.” (St. Gennady of Constantinople. Golden chain, 35).
“Abba Pimen said: he who strives intensely for human love is deprived of God’s love. It is not good to be liked by everyone, for it is said: “Woe to you when all people speak well of you” (Luke 6:26).” (Ancient Patericon, 8.16).
“Often the Lord heals the vain of vanity through dishonor” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 22.38).
[You can fight ambition and vanity like this:] “When you hear that your neighbor or friend has reproached you for your absence or presence: then show love and praise him.” (St. John Climacus. Ladder, 22.15).
Lie
“The Scripture says that lies come from the evil one, and that he is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), but the truth is God, for He Himself says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14). :6) . So you see from whom we separate ourselves and with whom we unite with lies. So, if we really want to be saved, we must love the truth with all our might and protect ourselves from all lies. There are three various types lies: in thought, in word, and in life itself.
The one who lies with thought is the one who accepts his assumptions as truth, i.e. empty suspicions about one's neighbor: such, when he sees that someone is talking with his brother, makes his own guesses and says: he is talking about me. If someone says a word, then he suspects that it was said to insult him.... Never believe your guesses and suspicions, for a crooked measure makes the straight crooked. Human opinions are false and harm those who indulge in them.
But the one who lies in words is the one who, for example, being too lazy to get up for work out of despondency, does not say: “Forgive me that I was too lazy to get up”; but he says: “I had a fever, I was extremely tired from work, I was unable to get up, I was unwell,” and he says ten false words in order not to make one bow and reconcile. And if in such a case he does not reproach himself, then he constantly changes his words and argues so as not to incur reproach.
The one who, being a fornicator, pretends to be abstinent, lies with his life; or, being selfish, praises mercy, or, being arrogant, marvels at humility. So, let us avoid lies in order to get rid of the fate of the evil one, and let us try to assimilate the truth for ourselves in order to have unity with God.” (Abba Dorotheus. Soulful teachings, 9).
Pride
“Protect your mind from self-praise and avoid having a high opinion of yourself, so that [God] does not allow you to fall into the opposite [of the good that you boast of], for good is not accomplished by one person, but with the help of the all-seeing God.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.188).
Murmur
“The Lord tolerates all human infirmities, but He does not tolerate a person who always grumbles, and does not leave him without admonition.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 85).
“If any misfortune befalls you, then think: “The Lord sees my heart, and if He pleases, then it will be good for me and others,” and so your soul will always be in peace. And if someone grumbles: this is not so, and this is not good, then there will never be peace in the soul, even if he fasts and prays a lot.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Writings, IV.1).
Anger
“One monk lived in a monastery, and constantly became angry [at one of the brothers or visitors]. And he decided: “I’ll leave here to a secluded place, and since I won’t have anything to do with anyone there, the passion of anger will leave me.” Having left the monastery, he settled alone in a cave. One day, having filled a vessel with water, the monk placed it on the ground, and the vessel immediately turned down. Taking it, he filled it with water another time, and the vessel overturned again. Then the vessel filled with water turned down for the third time. The brother, angry, grabbed it and broke it. Having come to his senses, he realized that the devil was mocking him, and said: “Now I have retired into solitude, and I am defeated by him! I will go again to the monastery; for everywhere patience and God’s help are needed!” And he returned to his original place" (Ancient Patericon, 7.38).
“Abba Agathon said: an angry person, even if he raised the dead, would not be pleasing to God.” (Ancient Patericon, 10.15).
“Are you angry? Be like this in relation to your sins, beat your soul, scourge your conscience, be a strict judge and a formidable punisher of your own sins - this is the benefit of anger, for this God put it in us.” (St. John Chrysostom. Conversation on Epistle to the Ephesians, 2).
Prodigal lust
“Gluttony and satiety with food give rise to fornication, and free treatment of women kindles the fire of lust... During the war of fornication, punish your thoughts with poverty of food, so that you think not about fornication, but about hunger, and refuse invitations to feasts.” (St. Neil of Sinai).
“Do not allow your eyes to wander here and there, and do not peer into the beauty of others, lest with the help of your eyes your adversary [the devil] overthrow you.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian).
“One monk had a struggle with fornication, and, getting up at night, came to the elder and confessed to him his thoughts that were pushing him towards fornication. The elder calmed him down, and the brother, having received the benefit, returned to his cell. But then again the abuse arose against him, and he again went to the elder. And he did this several times. The elder did not sadden him, but said this: do not give up, but it is better to come to me when the demon bothers you, and expose him, revealing your thoughts. Thus convicted, he will pass by. For nothing saddens the demon of fornication more than the revelation of his deeds [in confession to his confessor], and nothing pleases him so much as the concealment of his thoughts. Thus the brother came to this elder eleven times, denouncing his thoughts, and the brother’s temptation ceased.” (Ancient Patericon, 5.16).
“Lust is, as it were, desire after desire, desire that extends beyond the limits of natural desire, passionate, not governed by law and moderation. Lusts are as diverse as sins are diverse... Lust usually approaches the soul not in the form of a warring enemy, but in the form of a friend or obsequious servant. It represents some kind of pleasure or imaginary benefit. But this is just a bait with which the evil fisher tries to seduce and ensnare the poor soul. Remind yourself of this when you are tempted by lust." (St. Philaret of Moscow. Homily on July 5, 1845).
VI. ABOUT WHAT YOU MUST SUFFER ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH

Temptations
“When you want to begin doing good, first prepare for the temptations that will befall you, and do not doubt the truth [of what you are doing for God’s sake].” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 57).
“No one can feel his weakness unless at least a small temptation is allowed upon him by something that tires either the body or the soul. Then, comparing his weakness with God’s help, [a person] will recognize its greatness. But he who knows that he needs God’s help makes many prayers. And to the extent that he multiplies them, to the extent [his] heart is humbled.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 61).
“There is no person who does not grieve during training; and there is no person who would not find the time bitter when he drinks the poison of temptation. Without them, it is impossible to acquire a strong will... By repeatedly experiencing God’s help in temptations, a person acquires a strong faith.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 37).
“Without temptations... it is impossible to learn the wisdom of the Spirit, there is no possibility for Divine love to be established in your soul. Before temptations, a person prays to God like a stranger. When he enters into temptations out of love for God, and does not succumb to them, then he is placed before God as a sincere friend; because, in fulfillment of the will of God, he fought with the enemy of God and defeated him (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 5).
“Overcome temptation with patience and prayer. If you resist it without them, it will attack even stronger.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.106).
“If an unexpected temptation comes to you, do not blame the one through whom it came, but look for why it came; and you will find correction [for your soul]" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love, 2.42).
“Temptations are brought on some to cleanse past sins, on others to stop those currently being committed, and on others to prevent future ones, except for those temptations that happen to test [faith and virtue] a person, as was the case with Job.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.45).
“Temptations are sent so that hidden passions are revealed and one can fight them, and in this way the soul is healed. And they, too, are a sign of God’s mercy, therefore, surrender yourself with trust into the hands of God and ask for His help, so that He will strengthen you in your struggle. God knows how much each of us can withstand and allows temptations to the best of our ability. Remember that temptation follows spiritual joy, and that the Lord watches over those who endure temptation and suffering for His love.” (St. Nektarios of Aegina. The path to happiness, 4).
Sorrow
“A child cries when his mother washes him, and a person of little faith murmurs against God when he finds himself in trouble, which cleanses the soul like water cleanses the face.” (St. Simeon of Daybab. Sayings, 89).
“If you wish to serve God, prepare your hearts, not for food, not for drink, not for rest, not for carelessness, but for patience, to endure every temptation, trouble and sorrow. Get ready for hardships, fasting, spiritual struggles and many sorrows, for through many sorrows we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22); The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12)" (St. Sergius of Radonezh. Life, 10).
“It is impossible to approach God without sorrow, and without it, human righteousness does not remain unchanged... If you desire virtue, then surrender yourself to all sorrow, for sorrow gives birth to humility. He who abides in his virtue without sorrow, the door of pride is open to him.” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 34).
“Sin is a disease that takes root in human nature. The sinful impression and vicious pleasure leave a mark on the soul and body, which becomes deeper with the repetition of sinful actions and which forms an inclination towards sinful action and a certain thirst for sin. Therefore, just as sometimes a physical doctor painfully burns out or separates an ulcer that has penetrated into the body and infects it with iron, similarly (the Physician of souls and bodies) uses the instrument of sorrows to uproot [from us] the roots and erase the traces of sin, and with the fire of suffering he burns out the infection of the inclination to sinful pleasures" (St. Philaret of Moscow. Homily on July 5, 1848).
“Abba Or said: Whatever sorrow befalls you, do not blame anyone for it but yourself, and say: this happened to me because of my sins.” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Fatherland)
“A prudent [man], reflecting on the healing nature of God’s Providence, endures the misfortunes that happen to him with gratitude; he sees the cause of them in his own sins, and not in anyone else. An unreasonable [person], when he sins and receives punishment for it, considers either God or people to be the cause of his misfortunes, not understanding God’s wise care for him.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 2.46).
“If we had no addiction to money or empty fame, if we were not afraid of death or poverty, if we did not know enmity or hatred, then we would not suffer either from our own or from other people’s sorrows.” (St. John Chrysostom. To those at war, 3.19).
“More precious than any prayer and sacrifice are sorrows for Him and for His sake” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Words, 58).
“God tested Abraham, that is, sent him sorrows, for his own good; not in order to find out what he is like, because God [already] knows everything, but to give him a reason to [make his] faith perfect.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 2.203).
“When we valiantly and meekly endure the sorrows sent to us, then, although not completely, we gradually participate in Christ’s sufferings.” (St. Macarius of Optina. Letters, 473).
“The righteous have no sorrow that is not transformed into joy, just as sinners have no joy that does not turn into sorrow.” (St. Demetrius of Rostov).
“Humility and suffering free a person from all sin; because the first cuts off spiritual passions, and the second cuts off bodily passions" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 1.76).
“We suffer because we do not have humility, and because we do not love our brother. For love of a brother comes the love of God. People do not learn humility, and for their pride they cannot accept the grace of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the whole world suffers.” (St. Silouan of Athos. Scriptures, ХVI.4,6).
“Everyone who loves God shows himself to be patient and steadfast in times of tribulation and trial; and whoever endures them steadfastly becomes [spiritually] strong and obedient to God, and whoever takes the path of following the will of God has overcome his natural weakness. And, on the contrary, the one who does not realize his powerlessness is proud and is not inclined to obey the will of the Lord; whoever does not obey it, but relies only on his own strength, does not receive strength and help from God, and without being strengthened in spirit, he will not be able to become patient. And whoever does not endure troubles and sorrows does not have faith, and whoever does not have faith does not love God.” (St. Alexy Senaksky. About sorrows).
“No matter what grief befalls you, no matter what trouble you have, say: “I will endure this for Jesus Christ!”, and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful. With him, all troubles subside, demons disappear. Your annoyance will also subside, your cowardice will also calm down.” (St. Anthony of Optina).
How can we be saved?
“[Orthodox Christians must] remain unshakably in Orthodoxy, maintain like-mindedness with each other and unfeigned love, preserve the purity of soul and body, beware of evil and unclean desires, eat food and drink with moderation and most of all adorn themselves with humility, do not abandon hospitality, avoid from arguing and imputing the honors and glory of earthly life into nothing, but instead expect reward from God - the enjoyment of heavenly blessings.” (St. Sergius of Radonezh. Life, 32).
“If you want to achieve salvation, learn and hold in your heart everything that the Holy Church teaches, and, receiving Divine powers through the sacraments of the Church, follow the path of the commandments of Christ, under the guidance of lawful shepherds - and you will undoubtedly achieve the Kingdom of God and be saved. All this is essential in the work of salvation; it is all necessary in its entirety and for everyone. Whoever does not accept or allow one thing, there is no salvation for him.” (St. Theophan the Recluse. Five teachings on the path to salvation, 3).
“One monk asked Saint Anthony the Great: what do I need to do to be saved? The elder told him: do not rely on your righteousness, do not regret what has passed, and bridle your tongue and belly.” (Ancient Patericon, 1.2).
“Another brother asked Abba Macarius: “How can I be saved?” - the elder answered him: “Be as dead: like the dead, do not think about insults from people, or about glory, and you will be saved.” (Ancient Patericon, 10.45).
“[In spiritual life] without repentance we cannot do anything worthy, but [the Lord] has much mercy on Us for our intention. He who forces himself [to live according to the commandments] and holds on to repentance until his death, even if he sins in some way, will be saved for forcing himself, for this is what the Lord promised in the Gospel.” (St. Mark the Ascetic. Words, 3).
“A Christian acquires [divine] wisdom in three ways: commandments, dogmas and faith. The commandments free the mind from passions, dogmas introduce it to the [true] knowledge of existing things, and faith leads it to the contemplation of the Holy Trinity.” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on love, 4.47).
“When you are rich, think whether you can endure poverty with dignity.
When you are happy, imagine how to face misfortune with dignity.
When people praise you, think about whether you can bear the reproach with dignity.
And think all your life how to meet death with dignity.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Thoughts about good and evil).
“Therefore, being the portion of a holy God, let us do all things pertaining to holiness, avoiding slander, unclean and vicious connections, drunkenness, passion for innovation [in matters of faith], base lusts, vile adultery and vile pride. For it is said: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). So, let us join those who have been given grace from God. Let us clothe ourselves with like-mindedness, let us be humble, self-controlled, far from all slander and slander, justifying ourselves with deeds, not words... let our praise come from God, and not from ourselves; God hates those who praise themselves. Let evidence of our good behavior be given from others." (St. Clement of Rome. Corinthians, 30).
“Christians, have we understood the great responsibilities that we have assumed before God through baptism? Have we realized that we must behave like children of God, that we must identify our will with the will of God, that we must remain free from sin, that we must love God with all our hearts, and look forward to being united with Him forever? Have we thought that our heart should be filled with love so that it will be poured out on our neighbor? Do we feel that we are obligated to become holy and perfect, children of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven? For the sake of all this, we must fight so as not to be unworthy and rejected. Let none of us lose our courage, let us not neglect our duty, let us not become cowardly in the face of the difficulties of spiritual struggle. Because we have God as our helper, who strengthens us on the difficult path of virtue.” (St. Nektarios of Aegina. The path to happiness, 2).

I. GOD AND US

Happiness
True
How does God treat us?
How to find out about God?
How should we relate to God?
God takes care of everything
Those who know God
Christ and us
Fear of God
Disbelief

II. REALITIES OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

Evil and sin
Freedom
Purpose of life
Saints
Scripture
Sacred Tradition
Church of Christ
Spiritual mentor
Retribution
Eternal Joy of Christians

III. WE AND AROUND

Attitude towards other people
How to deal with the sins of other people?
Should we reprove the sinner?
Condemnation
About forgiveness of grievances
When we are scolded
When we are praised
Grudge
Love for enemies

IV. ABOUT WHAT BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD

Prayer
Repentance
Our will and the Will of God
Commandments
How God views our affairs
How should we approach our affairs?
Our good deeds
Even a small good deed is valuable
Love
Who has no love
How love is shown
Mercy
Humility
Meekness
Abstinence
Obedience

V. ABOUT WHAT HINDERS US ON THE PATH TO GOD

Sinful passions
Fighting passions
Spiritual Errors
You can't avoid temptation by changing places
Thoughts (Sinful thoughts)
Devil's Tricks
Spiritual struggle
Ambition
Lie
Pride
Murmur
Anger
Prodigal lust

“Love is born from faith and fear of God, grows and is strengthened by hope, comes to perfection through goodness and mercy, which expresses the imitation of God.”

Ambrose Optinsky

“In a troubled situation, first of all, read the Gospel in a whisper, but so that your ears can hear; read, even if you don’t understand anything. The words of the Holy Spirit drive away the darkness of the soul, and especially that of the enemy.”

Ambrose Optinsky

“When trying to live piously, we must remember and never forget that everything we read and understand must be attributed to ourselves, and not to others; be prudently strict with yourself, and lenient with others. To be prudently strict means not to be stupidly embarrassed. We can see an example of this in children of different ages, who are shown leniency as they understand.”

Ambrose Optinsky

Anthony the Great

“God the Father, in His goodness, did not spare His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up to deliver us from our sins and iniquities. And the Son of God, having humbled Himself for our sake, healed us from our spiritual illnesses and arranged for us salvation from our sins. Therefore, it is necessary for us to recognize and always keep in our thoughts this great dispensation of God - that for our sake God the Word became like us in everything, except for sin. Everyone should remember this and try diligently to actually free themselves from sins with the help of the Lord.”

Anthony the Great

“When sin ceases to reign in a person, then God appears to the soul and cleanses it along with the body. If sin continues to reign in the body, then a person cannot see God: for the soul is still in the sinful body, and it does not allow the light into itself, which is the vision of God. David says: “In Your light we will see light” (Psalm 35:10). What kind of light is this in which man sees light? This is the light about which our Lord Jesus Christ speaks in the Gospel, that the whole person must become light, so that there is not a single dark part in him (Luke 11:36). The Lord also said: “No one knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). The Son does not reveal His Father to the sons of darkness, but only to those who are in the light and are sons of light, whose heart eyes He has enlightened with the knowledge of the commandments.”

Anthony the Great

“He who is not evil is perfect and God-like, he is full of joy and the Spirit of God. But just as fire burns large forests when you don’t watch it, so anger, if you allow it into your heart, will destroy your soul, defile your body and cause many bad thoughts in you. It will arouse in you unrest, envy, quarrels, hatred and similar fierce passions that will burden you and cause you great sorrow. Therefore, let us try to acquire the kindness and simple-heartedness of the saints, so that the Lord Jesus Christ would accept us to Himself and each of us could joyfully say: “For my kindness you accepted me and established me before You forever” (Ps. 40:13).”

Anthony the Great

“Like a body, while the soul is in it, three ages pass through, namely: youth, maturity and old age; Thus the soul also passes through three ages, namely: the beginning of faith, success in it and perfection. In the first, when the soul begins to believe, it is born in Christ, as the Gospel says. The Apostle John gave us the signs of this new birth, as well as the average state and perfection, saying: “I wrote to you, young men; wrote to you, children; wrote to you, fathers” (1 John 2:12-14). So he wrote not to his carnal friends, but to believers, revealing three states that those striving for the spiritual realm go through in order to achieve perfection and be rewarded with complete grace.”

Anthony the Great

“The soul has its own passions: pride, hatred, envy, anger, despondency and others. When a soul surrenders itself entirely to God, then the generous God sends it true repentance and cleanses it of all passions, teaching it not to follow them and giving it the strength to overcome them and defeat enemies who never cease to put obstacles in its way. And if the soul remains firm in its conversion and good obedience to the Holy Spirit, who teaches it repentance, then the merciful Creator will take pity on it, for the sake of its labors, carried out in all oppression and need - in prolonged fasting, frequent vigil, in the study of the word of God, in unceasing prayer, in renunciation of worldly pleasures, in humility and spiritual poverty. And if she remains firm in all this, the generous God will deliver her from all temptations and snatch her from the hands of her enemies with His mercy.”

Anthony the Great

“What a multitude of evil demons and how numerous their intrigues! Even after we have repented and try to avoid evil deeds, they do not lag behind us, but continue to tempt us with desperate effort, knowing that their fate has already been finally decided and that their inheritance is hell, for their extreme malice and disgust from God . May the Lord open the eyes of your hearts so that you can see how numerous the machinations of demons are and how much evil they cause us daily, and may He grant you a cheerful heart and a spirit of reasoning so that you can offer yourself as a living and blameless sacrifice to God.”

Anthony the Great

“Whoever fears the Lord and keeps His commandments is a servant of God. But this slavery, in which we also find ourselves, is not, in fact, slavery, but righteousness leading to adoption. Our Lord chose the Apostles and entrusted them with the gospel of the Gospel. The commandments He gave us established a beautiful slavery for us, so that we would dominate our passions and adorn ourselves with virtues. When we come closer to grace, our Lord Jesus Christ will say to us, as He said to His disciples: “I no longer call you servants, but My friends and brothers: for everything that I heard from My Father, I told you.”

Anthony the Great

“The eye sees the visible, and the mind comprehends the invisible. A God-loving mind is the light of the soul. He who has a God-loving mind has an enlightened heart and sees God with his mind.”

Anthony the Great

“If you are starting to do something and do not see in it the consent of God’s will, under no circumstances do it.”

Anthony the Great

“Evil clings to our nature like rust to copper or dirt to the body. But just as it was not the coppersmith who created the rust, and it was not the parents who created the dirt on their children, so it was not God who created the evil. He put conscience and reason into man so that he would avoid evil, knowing that it is harmful to him and leads to torment. Watch yourself carefully: when you see someone lucky in power and wealth, do not praise him under any circumstances. But immediately imagine death before you, and you will never desire anything bad or worldly.”

Anthony the Great

“When the wind blows calmly, every navigator can think highly of himself and boast. But only when the winds suddenly change does the art of experienced pilots reveal itself.”

Anthony the Great

“In our conversations there should be no rudeness, for modesty and chastity usually adorn smart people more than virgins A God-loving mind is a light that illuminates the soul, just as the sun illuminates the body.”

Anthony the Great

“Just as a body, leaving the mother’s womb prematurely, cannot live, so a soul, leaving the body, without achieving the knowledge of God through a virtuous life, cannot be saved or live in communion with God.”

Anthony the Great

“A person who lives piously does not allow evil to enter the soul. And when there is no evil in the soul, then it is safe and unharmed. Neither an evil demon nor chance have power over such people. God delivers them from evils, and they live unharmed, preserved as godlike. Whether someone praises him, he will not take the praise seriously; whether someone dishonors him, he will not defend himself and will not rebel against the offender.”

Anthony the Great

"People who don't have natural locations For the good, one should not give up in despair and neglect a God-loving and virtuous life, no matter how difficult it may be for them. But they should think and take all possible care of themselves. For, although they will not be able to reach the pinnacle of virtue and perfection, yet, by trying, they will either become better, or at least not become worse, which in itself is a considerable benefit for the soul.”

Anthony the Great

“The more moderate a person lives, the calmer he becomes, because he does not worry about many things - about servants and acquiring things. If we cling to this [earthly], then we are subject to the sorrows that occur because of this and come to the point of murmuring against God. Thus, the desire for many things fills us with confusion, and we wander in the darkness of a sinful life, not knowing ourselves.”

Anthony the Great

“Those who spend their lives in small and low feats, on the one hand, get rid of dangers, and on the other, do not need special precautions. By conquering various sinful desires, they conveniently find the path leading to God.”

Anthony the Great

“The grace of the Spirit of God is given primarily to those who enter into the struggle with all their hearts and determine from the very beginning to stand firm and not yield to the enemy in anything. However, the Holy Spirit, who called them, first makes everything easy for them in order to encourage and comfort those entering the feat of repentance, and then shows them all the difficulty of the virtuous path. Helping them in everything, He teaches them how to bear the labors of repentance, and sets limits and an image for them both in relation to the body and in relation to the soul, until He leads them to perfect conversion to God.”

Anthony the Great

“We should not say that it is impossible for a person to lead a virtuous life, but that it is not easy. And certainly, it is not achievable for everyone, but only those who participate in a virtuous life are pious and have a God-loving mind. An ordinary mind is a worldly and perverted mind; it gives birth to good and bad thoughts, is changeable and inclined towards material things, and a God-loving mind executes evil.”

Anthony the Great

“People are usually called smart by the incorrect use of this word. Not those who are smart are those who have studied the sayings and writings of the ancient sages, but those whose souls are smart, who can distinguish between good and evil; and they avoid everything that is evil and harmful to the soul, but they reasonably care about what is good and useful and do this with great gratitude to God. Only they alone should truly be called smart people.”

Anthony the Great

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“The spirit is lukewarm, there is no courage at all! We're completely screwed! How else does God tolerate us? And before that there was such dignity, such curiosity. During the war of 1940 on the border, Italians sometimes communicated with our border guards and came to visit them at Greek outposts. And look how curious the Greeks were: one day, when the Italians came to the Greek outpost, the Greeks began to make coffee for them. Then one Greek officer takes out a wad of money in front of them, notes of fifty, one hundred drachmas (and then money had a price), and throws them into the fire for kindling, to show the Italians that the Greek state is rich. The Italians swallowed their tongues in amazement. That was sacrifice!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“To receive help, we must always reverently celebrate the memory of the Saints who shed blood or sweat and tears for the love of Christ. And we must listen to the readings of the Synaxarion “On this day in memory of the Holy One...” we must stand, just as soldiers stand at attention when the names of heroically fallen fellow soldiers are read out: “On such and such a date and month, soldier such and such died a brave death on such and such a front."

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“The current spirit is one of lukewarmness. Courage and sacrifice are completely absent. With the current flawed logic, people have transferred everything to another measurement system. And you see, it’s like this: people used to volunteer for the army, but now, not wanting to serve, they get themselves a certificate saying they are mentally ill. They make every effort to avoid joining the army. Was there anything like this before? There was one lieutenant in our army, only twenty-three years old, but what a fellow he was! One day his father, a retired officer, called him and said that he intended to ask someone to transfer this guy from the front line to the rear. Oh, how the lieutenant shouted when he told him about this! “Aren’t you ashamed, father, to say such a thing? These are the drones hiding in the rear!” This man had sincerity, honesty and courage - he ran to the attack ahead of others. His entire overcoat was riddled with bullets, but despite this, he survived. And when he retired to the reserves, he took this overcoat with him as a souvenir.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“I remember in the army, if there was a need to go on some dangerous mission, all you could hear was: “Mr. Commander, I will go instead of him!” After all, he is a family man - if they kill him, the children will remain on the street!” The soldiers asked the commander to go instead of someone else on a dangerous mission, to the front line. They rejoiced that they would kill them, but some head of the family would remain alive and his children would not become orphans. And now? Do you ever see a person making such a sacrifice? If you do see it, it's extremely rare. I remember once we were left without water. The commander found a place on the map nearby where there was water. But the rebels settled there. Then he says: “There is water nearby, but it’s very dangerous to go and you can’t turn on the lights. Who will undertake to go and fill a few flasks? One soldier jumps up: “I’ll go, Mr. Commander!”, another jumps up: “I will!”, followed by a third. That is, everyone volunteered to go! It’s pitch-dark outside, it’s scary without light, it’s as if frost creeps through your skin. The commander was even confused: “You can’t all go!” I want to say that no one thought about themselves. Not one of us tried to find any excuse, for example: “Mr. Commander, my leg hurts,” or “I have a headache,” or “I’m tired.” We all wanted to go get water, but we didn’t pay attention to the fact that our lives were in danger.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“There are two types of injustice: material and moral. Material injustice is when a person is unfair to someone in a material, material way. Moral injustice is when someone, for example, turns a girl’s head and seduces her. And if the deceived girl is also an orphan, then the one who deceived her burdens his soul five times more heavily. Do you know how quickly a bullet finds such immoral people in war? In war, divine justice and God's care for people are seen especially clearly. War does not tolerate dishonor - an immoral person is quickly found by a bullet. One day our two companies had to relieve the front battalion, which was going on vacation. During the shift, the communists attacked us, and the battle began to boil. And one soldier from the departing battalion committed a vile dishonor the day before - violence against an unfortunate pregnant woman. Well, so what: in that battle he was the only one killed! Isn't it scary? Everyone later said: “That’s what this brute deserved—they spanked him rightly.” And this also happens to those who are cunning, trying to run away and sneak away - in the end it is they who are killed. Those who have strong faith naturally live honestly and Christianly. And this is what has been noticed: such people protect the honor of their body, and this protects them from enemy bullets and shrapnel even better than if they were wearing a particle Holy Cross The Lord's."

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Respect has completely disappeared. Just look what's happening now! Own parents Children are being sent to nursing homes! And in the old days they even took care of aged bulls, did not slaughter them and said: “These are our breadwinners.” And how they revered the dead!.. I remember the war: with what risk we went to bury the dead! The priest, of course, was obliged to go. But the soldiers walked with him - to carry the bodies of their dead comrades - through the snowdrifts, in the frost, under a hail of bullets. During the Civil War in 1945, before being drafted into the army, I helped our church watchman collect and bury the dead. The first to go was the priest with the censer. As soon as the whistle of a shell was heard, we fell to the ground. Come on, get up. Again the whistle of a shell - again on the ground. Later, when I was already a soldier and we were sitting barefoot in the snow, we were told that those who wanted could go take off the shoes of the dead. Nobody even moved. Ah, those good times are gone!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“When I was in the army, our bunker was often flooded with water. The batteries of the radio had to be changed, and this was not very easy, because the line was loaded. I was wet to the waist, and it was time to wring out my overcoat. However, so that others would not suffer, I preferred to do this work myself and, while doing it, I was happy. The commander told me: “When you do this work, I am calm, but I feel sorry for you. Tell someone else to do it." “No, Mr. Commander,” I answered him, “I (from this) rejoice.” There was another radio operator in our half-battalion, but when we went on operations, so as not to expose him to danger, I did not let him carry either a battery or a walkie-talkie, although it was difficult for me. He asked me about it, (offended): “Why don’t you give them to me?” “You,” I answered him, “have a wife and children. If they kill you, I will answer for it before God.” And so God preserved both of us: He did not allow either him or me to be killed.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“In the army, in the signal troops, we had a recognition table that indicated some specific signs that made it clear which radio station was ours and which was someone else’s. We knew our radio stations. For some time, during special classes on radio reception techniques, we installed an intermediate radio station and tried to recognize the identity of someone else’s station - we asked: “What is this?” or they said: “One!” and listened to what the answer would be in order to catch them on it. In other words, if we could not identify a radio station with certainty, then we did not trust it and tried to recognize it. It’s the same in spiritual life: seeing that some “radio station” is not ours, we must say to ourselves: “Why should I work with this station? What else!” When a radio operator, realizing that the radio station is someone else’s, wants to work with it, this is a serious offense. But how much more serious is his guilt when he knows that the radio station is not only alien, but also enemy - and wants to work with the enemy! My point is that in matters relating to our connection with other people, judgment and caution are necessary. And the most reliable thing is for everyone to consult with their confessor.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Very strong brotherly relationships are born in difficult years. During the war, we, soldiers of the same half-battalion, lived together for two years and were welded together more than brothers, because we experienced difficulties and dangers together. We were so united that we called each other “brother.” They were worldly people, with a worldly way of thinking, but, nevertheless, one did not want to part with the other. People had ordinary worldly things, in a good way this word, education, but they had what is higher than all - love, brotherhood. One of our colleagues recently died, and other fellow soldiers came to his funeral from all over the country. And my fellow soldier came here a few days ago to see me. How he squeezed me in his arms! I couldn't break out of them! Now we are at war with the devil. Therefore, try to become even more close to each other, to become even more brothers to each other. So, together we will walk along the path we have chosen, together we will climb the steep path to sweet Golgotha.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“I remember once in the Cavalry, before I went into the army, we learned that the rebels were coming. There were four of us: me and three Muslims. We ran into one turkish house on the outskirts of the city. One five-year-old Turkish boy understood everything and began to babble: “Come, come here, here is yours, run away through my kitchen!” We walked through the kitchen, came out behind the house and managed to hide in some storage rooms below. When the rioters arrived, the baby came out of the house, told them there was no one inside, and ran away. A five-year-old child, such a tiny little thing, didn’t really know how to speak yet - but look how intelligently he behaved. Wow, I understood everything on the fly! Look: he understood everything, he loved, and another adult could have recklessly done evil. So we, baptized, anointed with holy myrrh, taught, well-read, will not remain in an underdeveloped, infantile state! Be inspired! Do you know who the “winged ones” are? Six-winged Seraphim! They have six wings and flap them while chanting “Holy, Holy, Holy!” So fly, have six wings!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Once I asked a man: “Who are you?” Warrior of Christ or warrior of the evil one? Do you know that the evil one also has warriors?” A Christian should not be a fanatic, he should have love for all people. He who throws around words without reasoning, even if they are correct, does evil.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Now God tolerates what is happening. He endures so that an evil person cannot justify himself. In some cases, God intervenes Himself and immediately, but in other cases He waits and does not immediately indicate a way out. He expects patience, prayer, and struggle from people. What nobility God has! Take another person: how many people he killed in the war, and is still alive. In another life, God will say to him: “I have given you more to live than the good.” Such a person will not have mitigating circumstances.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“How do those who hold some responsible position and at the same time remain faithful help others? Christian principles! That’s why, when some “big” people come, I try to see them to help them, because by their example they can have a very beneficial effect on others. Here is one marshal I know - this is an example. Whatever he does, everything comes from within, from the heart, not externally. Others, seeing him, think about it and correct themselves.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“The meaning of boldness is great. If you say to a physically healthy but cowardly person: “Oh, how yellow you are! What's wrong with you? - then he will go to the doctor, while he may be yellow because he did not get enough sleep, or because he had a toothache and the like. The Greek will either rush forward or panic. Cowards are no good for anything. In war, no one needs cowards; they are not trusted. They are not taken on missions, on the front lines, so that they do not create problems. One cowardly soldier, if he does not know the battle plan, can create such a panic that he will destroy an entire division! Fear inflames the coward's imagination, and he may shout: “Here they are! Oh, they’re coming, they’re already here, cutting! Oh, where can we run?! There are so many enemies! Yes, they will swallow us! Such a person will do a lot of evil, because people easily fall under the influence of others. A brave man, seeing his enemies, will only spit: “Ugh, are these really people? Some kind of ants!” - and the rest [from these words] will also boldly run to the attack. That’s why they say in the army that a difficult task is better accomplished with composure by five brave people than by twenty cowards.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Don't panic. Women are especially easy to panic. I remember how during the occupation we happened to go to one place, a two-hour walk from Konitsa. The guys walked a little forward, found Greek soldiers' helmets and uniforms there, put them on and went to the chapel of St. Constantine. I also went there to venerate the icons. I was fifteen years old then. As soon as the mothers saw their children from afar military uniform, they started shouting: “The Italians are coming!” - and prepared to run. They didn't even look who it was! The naughty ones put on Greek helmets, and the frightened mothers, mistaking them for Italians, fled from their own children!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

"IN extreme situation the greatest harm comes from the onset of panic. In danger, the most important thing is not to get lost. Look like a chicken gets into a fight with an eagle and swoops down on it! And how a cat fights with a dog, protecting kittens! She lifts her tail like a pipe and begins to hiss threateningly! The animal goes for broke, but the man turns out to be a coward!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“I learned that those who do funerals do not write “Funeral Home” on the signs of their establishments, but “ Funeral services”, so as not to remind people of death. However, if people do not remember death, then they live outside of reality. Those who are afraid of death and love a hectic life, are afraid even of germs, they are constantly overcome by fear, which keeps them in spiritual stagnation. Daring people are never afraid of death and therefore strive with curiosity and selflessness. By putting death before them and thinking about it every day, they prepare for it more spiritually and strive with greater boldness. This is how they overcome vanity and already here begin to live in eternity and heavenly joy. And let the one who fights in war for his ideals, for the Faith and the Fatherland, cross himself with the cross and not be afraid, because he has God as his assistant! If a person crosses himself and entrusts his life into the hands of God, then God will then judge whether this person should have lived or died.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“In order to succeed, you need to have a crazy streak, in the good sense of the word. According to how a person uses this crazy streak, he becomes either a saint or a hero. However, if such a person goes astray and gets carried away by evil, he may become a criminal. Anyone who does not have a crazy streak in him cannot become a saint or a hero. Therefore, our inner engine must start, our heart and courage must work. The heart must become reckless. I know many officers who have retired and cannot find a place for themselves due to frustration. Some of them want the war to start in order to be in business - that’s how everything burns inside them. And someone, as soon as they receive a draft notice, immediately trembles all over, and someone else pretends to be crazy so as not to end up in the army. How many retirees have told me that they want to go to Bosnia and fight! Having not used their courage in spiritual life, they, hearing about war, rejoice at the opportunity to fight. Do you know what feats, what kind of spiritual struggle these mighty people would undertake if they knew spiritual life? Yes, they would become saints."

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Courage and bravery are one thing, but malice and criminality are completely different. Capturing enemies in order to cut their throats is not courage. True courage would be to grab an enemy, break his rifle, and let him go free. That's what my father did. When he caught the Chets who were raiding Faras, he took their rifles, broke them and said: “You are women, not men.” After that, he released them. And one day he dressed up as a rich Turkish woman, came to their camp and asked the leader. In advance, he agreed with his guys so that they would launch an attack as soon as they heard the signal. When the couple took him to the leader, his father said to him: “Let your men go out and leave us alone.” As soon as they were left alone, my father grabbed the leader’s rifle, broke it and said to the robber: “Now you are a woman, and I am Eznepidis!” Then he gave the prearranged signal, his fellows swooped in and drove the Chets out of the village.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“God will help you in difficulties. But in order for God to give divine power, it is necessary for man to give the little that he can give.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Often in difficult moments, even those people who at first seem to lack it show great courage. I remember there was one lieutenant in our army who never showed either sacrifice or courage. But one day, when the rebels could have captured us, he took cover behind the chapel and, with one machine gun, delayed them until we retreated. This is how we were saved. He fired bursts from there - up and down, left and right - and did not allow the rebels to move forward. And then he ran away so we wouldn’t see him. And then he didn’t even say: “I delayed them, and that’s why you were able to escape...” in order to boast about his heroism. We all said then: “One machine gun saved us!” And he repeated: “One machine gun saved us.” As everyone said, so did he. But then we figured him out: we began to remember that so-and-so was with everyone else, so-and-so too, and we realized that only this lieutenant was not there. So we found out that it was him. Do you know what would have happened to him if he had been captured by the rebels? They would not have spared him, they would have taken out all their anger on him, they would have said: “You have done us so much harm, come on, come here, we will pull out your nails with pliers!” A worldly man, yet he makes such a sacrifice! He made the sacrifice because he put himself in greater danger than the rest of us. Are you ready to make such a sacrifice? This lieutenant had neither read the holy fathers nor knew about spiritual life. I knew him, there was simplicity and honesty in him. And there were others: those who found a killed rebel, cut off his head and carried it around the village, posing as good fellows! Therefore, courage alone is not enough; a person must also have a sacrificial spirit in order for courage to have a reliable justification in the soul.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“Suppose we are going somewhere. One may know a shorter path, another may know a different one, from the opposite side, a third may know something else... “No, let’s go this way, it’s better,” one will insist. “No, let’s go there,” another will argue. Ultimately, if one person does not give the order, then hours and even days may pass, and the travelers will still not set off on the road and will be in the same place. However, if, knowing the road, someone alone is in charge, then, even if the road he proposes is a little longer, someday they will reach the goal. Of course, it is best if the one who commands knows shortest path. But even if the path he knows is the longest, still, obeying the order, the travelers will still reach their goal.”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“During a fire, everyone does not do what comes into their head; on the contrary, everyone acts on command. The one in charge monitors the situation and tells others what to do. Otherwise, people may create panic and, instead of putting out the fire, fan it even more. One day I was returning to the Holy Mountain. When our boat was between the Vatopedi and Pantokrator monasteries, a northeast wind blew and a storm arose. The shipowner steered the boat against the waves, because otherwise we would have gone down. One coward from Ierissos, who did not understand either ships or navigation - he was holding mules - began to shout: “Why are you doing this, huh? You'll drown us! Don't you see? He’s going to take us to Kavala!” Then all the passengers jumped up and surrounded the shipman, and he, poor fellow, only said: “Leave me alone, I know my business!” Fortunately, one of the passengers was a sailor and calmed the others: “Leave him alone, he knows his business!” We have to go in such a way as to cut off the wave.” If this sailor had not been there, the ship would have gone down, because the passengers would not have allowed the shipbuilder to do his job. You see how: one turned out to be a coward, panic arose, everyone who was there jumped up and could have sent the ship to the bottom. And then, for such cases, there is always a second engineer who will take the helm if the captain is [really] unable to control the ship. Greeks generally do not obey easily. Roman Catholics believe in papal infallibility, but we Greeks believe in our own thoughts, and it turns out that we all have... infallibility! Why is it believed that the Turks are leading good policy? Because there are few smart people among the Turks, most of them are not very smart people. Therefore, those few who are smart become the bosses of the Turks, and the rest obey them naturally. The overwhelming majority of Greeks, being very smart, all of them want to manage and command, but they obey with difficulty. And the Italians said: “Out of ten Greeks, five want to be commanders!”

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“And I know that God exists. But what His essence is, I place this above understanding. So how can I be saved? Through faith. But faith is content with the knowledge that “God exists” (and not what He is) “and rewards those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Consequently, the consciousness of the incomprehensibility of God is the knowledge of God’s essence, and we worship what we have comprehended not in the sense of what kind of essence it is, but in the fact that this essence exists.” More

“The brother asked Abba Isaiah: how should one remain silent in a cell? The elder answered: to remain silent in a cell means to submit oneself before God and to resist with all one’s strength every thought sown by the enemy. This means running around the world." More

“Eat bread in moderation and drink water in moderation, and the spirit of fornication will flee from you.” John of Karpafa (5)

“With threat and abuse, the devil boldly attacks a soul that has just left the body, being a bitter and terrible accuser of its downfalls. But you can also see how the soul loving God and faithful to Him, although many times before she was wounded by sins, she is not afraid of his attacks and threats, but is increasingly strong in the Lord, inspired by joy, inspired by wisdom, seeing those accompanying her heavenly powers; and like a wall, the light of faith enclosing it, and with great boldness cries out against the evil devil: “What is it to you and to us, stranger to God? What is it to you and to us, evil servant cast out from Heaven? You have no power over us. Christ, the Son of God, has power over us and everything in the world; We have sinned against Him, and we will give an answer to Him, having as a guarantee of His mercy towards us and the salvation in Him of His honest cross. You run further from us, you damned one!” More More

“Humans are changeable by nature. Therefore, just as one who has fallen into the depths of vice and is enslaved by sins can turn to good, so one who is sealed by the Holy Spirit and filled with heavenly gifts is free to return to evil. Some who have tasted God's grace and become partakers of the Holy Spirit, when they lose caution and vigilance, become spiritually extinguished and become worse than they were before. This happens not because God changes or the grace of the Spirit fades away, but because people themselves lose grace and therefore become corrupted and fall into many evils.” More

“Do not undertake to heal with reproof someone who boasts of virtues; for one and the same person cannot be both a lover of appearances and a lover of truth.” More

“The earth celebrates the days of saints, and they have a holy duty to be on earth. That’s why you need to connect with them. They ask for our prayers and say: “We will bring your prayers, already purified through our means, before the throne of the Most High.” The intercession of the saints is a link connecting the weak beings of earth with heaven... It is good for a priest to have this in his thoughts when he says dismissal. Oh, if only everyone would name the daily saint with attention, and not from memory!” More

“Whoever wants to acquire love must reject every evil and unpeaceful thought, not to mention deeds and words, must forgive everyone’s fair and unjust insults.” More (1)

“Love everyone, but don’t love anyone especially.” More

“We are all one big family and brothers among ourselves, because all people are children of God.” More

“You don’t pray enough. Take the Apostolic Rule as a guide: in prayer, remain vigilant in it. — The root of prayer is the memory of God with warm faith and feeling for God. It is in your power to initiate this, and it is your duty. From the very moment you awaken, try to build this strength within yourself. How? Reflection on the mysteries of faith and salvation. When you sleep, it’s as if you don’t exist, and when you wake up, you begin to be again, you enter the realm of conscious existence and into communication with everything that exists and happens. Yet everything that exists and happens is the kingdom of God.”

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For those who understand and accept this

Wise phrases of the holy fathers

“We have the right to judge only ourselves. Even when we talk about a person, we already involuntarily condemn him.”
Venerable Seraphim Vyritsky

“Happiness is something to which there is nothing to add.”
Monk Simeon of Athos

“We did not choose the country where we would be born, nor the people in which we would be born, nor the time in which we would be born, but we choose one thing: to be human or non-human.”
Patriarch Pavel of Serbia

“Don’t chase good grades or a good opinion of yourself. Do everything according to your strength and conscience, and leave the rest to the will of God. This is the best way; he will give tranquility and peace to the soul, which is dearer than anything.”
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)

“Love is when you can be silently close together and you don’t need to talk to communicate.”
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

“Do not look for anything outside the soul - everything is in it. Look for happiness in your own heart: if it’s not there, you won’t find it anywhere.”
Saint Philaret (Drozdov)

“I don’t wish you wealth, fame, success, or even health, but only peace of mind. This is the most important thing. If you have peace, you will be happy.”
Reverend Alexy Zosimovsky

“The longer a person sits idle, the more relaxed he becomes, and the more he works, the stronger he becomes. In addition to the fact that through work he drives away sadness from himself, he also helps himself spiritually.”
Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“There is such a great art - the ability to put up. But there is an art even higher than this - the ability not to quarrel.”
Priest Anatoly Garmaev

“Life is a precious and only gift, and we waste it meaninglessly and carelessly, forgetting about its short duration. We either look longingly at the past, or wait for the future, when, as if, real life should begin. The present, that is, what is our life, disappears in these fruitless regrets and dreams.”
Priest Alexander Elchaninov

“One of the characteristics of a wise person is the ability to forgive. We are all imperfect, and a wise person understands this. Until a person understands this, his whole life will be spent in a showdown. We must learn to forgive!”
Professor, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, nun Nina Krygina

“The sign of a person who has found God is silence and peace emanating from him.”
Monk Simeon of Athos

“Never forget, even in the darkest days of your life, to thank God for everything, He is waiting for this and will send you new blessings and gifts. A person with a grateful heart never lacks for anything.”
Elder Nikolai Guryanov

“There are no coincidences in life, but every circumstance has a higher spiritual meaning and leads to knowledge of the will of God.”
Abbess Arsenia

“So much has been given! Spending is so easy: love God, love your brother, feed the bird, have pity on the cat, give the sick a cup and others a spoon. This is how the Almighty created: we are people not when we breathe, but for now we love...”
Archpriest Andrey Logvinov

“If someone is irritated, it is better not to try to talk to him, even in a kind way. He looks like a wounded man, for whom even gentle stroking irritates the wound.”
Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“The secret of happiness is attention to each other. The happiness of life is made up of individual minutes, of small, quickly forgotten pleasures from a kiss, a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment and countless small but kind thoughts and sincere feelings. Love also needs its daily bread.”
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova

“Don’t say: today I’ll sin, and tomorrow I’ll repent, but it’s better to repent today, because we don’t know whether we’ll live to see tomorrow.”
Reverend Ephraim Sirin

“For the one who believes there are no questions, and for the one who does not believe there are no answers.”
Abba Isarius

“Always rejoice! You can’t do anything good from inner stress, but from joy you can do anything.”
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

“Fatigue can be different - bad and good. The bad one is when you realize that you are exhausted by vanity, exhausted by things that are hateful to your soul, that may be useful from a material point of view, but do not give anything to your heart. And a good one is when there is confidence that everything done for the sake of God and for the sake of one’s neighbor, when, perhaps, there is no strength left in the body, but there is peace and tranquility in the soul. Peace with God and peace from this world."
Hegumen Nektary (Morozov)

“Living simpler is best. Don't break your head. Pray to God. The Lord will arrange everything. Don't torture yourself thinking about how and what to do. Let it happen as it happens - this is living easier.”

“If something happened not according to your will, rejoice: it means it happened according to the will of God!”
Archpriest Vyacheslav Reznikov

“An overfilled vessel overflows. So a person’s overflowing heart pours out onto his neighbors what it is full of.”
Venerable Silouan of Athos

“Find at least one good trait in your neighbor, a quality that you do not have, and appreciate, love, admire, rejoice and perceive him based on this positive trait. Don’t pay much attention to the rest.”
Elder Jerome of Aegina

“Love each other, maintain peace at all costs, let the cause suffer, but peace will remain.”
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)

“No matter how heavy the cross that a person bears, the tree from which it is made grew from the soil of his heart.”
Venerable Ambrose of Optina

"God! Give me a simple, kind, open, believing, loving, generous heart, a worthy receptacle for You, the All-Good!”
Saint righteous John Kronstadt

“A person who knows what gratitude is is happy with everything. He thinks about what God gives him every day and rejoices at everything. But if a person is ungrateful, he is dissatisfied with everything, grumbles about everything and suffers... He who sows complaints, reaps complaints and accumulates fear. And he who sows praise tastes divine joy and blessing forever.”
Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

“It is impossible to give people wings from others - they must grow them themselves”
Monk Simeon of Athos

St. Apostle Paul(1 Corinthians 13:4)
“Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act outrageously, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth: it loves everything, it believes everything, it trusts everything. endures. Love never fails."

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
And it will be revealed at the Last Judgment that the only meaning of life on earth was LOVE!

It is love—neither faith, nor dogmatics, nor mysticism, nor asceticism, nor fasting, nor long prayers that constitute the true image of a Christian. Everything loses its power if there is no main thing - love for a person.

Archimandrite Rafail Karelin
When the Lord allows you to experience love, you understand that this is true life, and the rest is a gray dream. Only love makes life deep, only love makes a person wise, only love gives strength to bear suffering with joy, only love is ready to suffer for others.

Saint Nicholas of Serbia
When love rushes towards love, everything loses its meaning. Time and space give way to love.

Saint Nicholas of Serbia
“The one who truly loves you is the one who secretly prays to God for you.”

Venerable Sergius of Radonezh
“Take heed to yourselves, brothers. First have the fear of God, spiritual purity and unfeigned love.”

Monk Simeon of Athos
“Casting bells and gilding the domes of churches is good, but this is still far from Love.
Building temples and erecting monasteries is even better, and this is not far from Love.
Comforting children, the elderly, the sick and prisoners is very close to true Love.
Helping at least one suffering person throughout your life is true Love.”

You must have love, and love with wings: on the one hand - humility, and on the other - alms and all condescension towards your neighbor.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
To love means to stop seeing yourself as the center and purpose of existence. To love means to see another person and say: for me he is more precious than myself.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
"If a person carries within himself great love, this love inspires, and that's all life trials are transferred with greater ease, since a person carries within himself a great light. This is faith: being loved by God and allowing God to love you in Christ Jesus.”

About Life

Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)
“I fell in love with suffering, which so amazingly cleanses the soul. For I must testify to you that when I walked along a very difficult path, when I bore the heavy burden of Christ, it was not at all heavy, and this path was a joyful path, because I felt quite realistically, quite tangibly, that the Lord Himself was walking next to me. Jesus Christ is the one who upholds my burden and my cross.”

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova
“Life is too short to waste it fighting and quarreling, especially within the sacred circle of family.”

Venerable Ambrose of Optina
Each of us should take more care of himself, about his soul and about his own spiritual benefit, because, according to the word of the Apostle, each of us will give a word about himself to God. Our confusion stems from the fact that we are increasingly inclined to reason with others and try not only to convince, but also to dissuade and prove with various arguments.

Monk Simeon of Athos
“The true door is always open, but people fight against the doors they themselves painted on the wall.”

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov
“You need to remove despondency from yourself and try to have a joyful spirit, not a sad one.”

Venerable Ambrose of Optina
Living simpler is best. Don't break your head. Pray to God. The Lord will arrange everything. Don't torture yourself thinking about how and what to do. Let it happen as it happens - this is living easier.

The Lord does not pit us against people in vain. We all treat the people we meet in life with indifference, without attention, and yet the Lord brings a person to you so that you give him what he does not have. I would help him not only materially, but also spiritually: he taught him love, humility, meekness - in a word, he attracted him to Christ by his example.
If you refuse him, do not serve him in anything, then remember that he will still not be deprived of it. The Lord gives you an opportunity to do good, to draw closer to God. If you don’t want it, He will find another person who will give the one who demands what he deserves and needs.

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets
When a person condemns, he drives away the grace of God from himself, becomes defenseless and therefore cannot correct himself.

When you go to visit one of your relatives or friends, go not to have good food and drink, but to share a friendly conversation with them, to revive your soul from the vanity of everyday life with a conversation of love and sincere friendship, to be comforted by the common faith.

About attitude towards one's neighbor

Archimandrite John Krestyankin
May every person whom the Lord sends to you today on your life’s path become the most important, dearest and closest to you. Warm his soul!

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Accustom yourself, when you first look at a person, to always wish him well from the bottom of your heart.

Saint Nicholas of Serbia
If you can help a person - help, if you can’t help - pray, if you don’t know how to pray - think well of the person! And this will already be a help, because bright thoughts are also a weapon!

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt
When in your eyes people fall into various sins against you, against the Lord, against their neighbors and against themselves, do not be angry with them, for even without you there is a lot of evil in the world, but pity them from the heart and forgive them when they offend you , saying to himself: Lord! let them go, for they are confused by sin, they do not know what they are doing.

Venerable Ambrose of Optina
“...It is necessary to adhere to the advice of Saint Isaac the Syrian: “try not to see a person’s malice.” This is spiritual purity.”

Venerable Silouan of Athos
“I never come to people without praying for them.”

Holy Righteous Alexy Mechev
Try to do good to everyone, whatever and whenever you can, without thinking about whether he will appreciate it or not, whether he will or will not be grateful to you.

About marriage and family

Saint John Chrysostom
“A wife is a haven and the most important cure for mental illness. If you keep this pier free from winds and waves, you will find great peace in it, but if you disturb and agitate it, then you are preparing for yourself the most dangerous shipwreck.”

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
“If you let God be the master of the house, the house becomes a paradise.”

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt
A child whose parents and neighbors have not warmed him (with love) to the root of his soul, to the roots of all his feelings, will remain dead in spirit to God and good deeds.

Priest Alexander Elchaninov
Every day, a husband and wife should be new and unusual for each other. The only way for this is to deepen the spiritual life of everyone, permanent job above yourself.

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets
The greatest treasure for people living in the world is parental blessing.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
If you want your children to be pious and kind, be pious and kind yourself, and set yourself as an example to them.

Saint John Chrysostom
No matter how irritated you are, never reproach your spouse for the damage you have suffered, because he himself is your best asset.

Saint Theophan the Recluse
As much as someone loves their parents, so much will they be loved and respected by their children when God sends them.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
Children look more at the lives of their parents and reflect it in their young souls than listen to their words.

Saint John Chrysostom
Do you want your wife to obey you as the Church obeys Christ? Take care of her yourself, as Christ takes care of the Church.

Saint Gregory the Theologian
If you have an unbridled tongue, you will always be hated by your husband. An insolent tongue has often caused harm to the innocent. It is better to remain silent when the matter itself calls for a word, than to speak when the time does not allow room for an immodest word.

About God and knowledge of God

Elder Ephraim Svyatogorets
The purpose of prayer is to unite a person with God, to bring Christ into the heart of a person. Where the action of prayer is, there is Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit - the consubstantial and indivisible Holy Trinity. Where Christ is the Light of the world, there eternal light world: there is peace and joy, there are angels and saints, there is the joy of the Kingdom.
Blessed are those who have clothed themselves in the Light of the world - in Christ - even in this life, because they have already begun to wear the clothing of incorruptibility...

St. John Chrysostom
Listen to God in the commandments so that He can hear you in your prayers.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
“God always approaches us, He is always close, but we feel Him only with a loving and humble heart. We have a spark of love, but there is very little humility.”

Saint Nicholas of Serbia
For a spiritual person, there are three windows in heaven: the first is open to the believing mind, the second is open to the trusting heart, the third is to loving soul. Anyone who looks out of only one window will see only a third of the sky. Whoever looks at three at once, the whole sky is open to him. Saint Barbara cut three windows in the tower in which her pagan father imprisoned her, so that she could confess her faith in the Holy Trinity. To see the Divine Trinity in Her Unity, we must recognize ourselves as a trinity in unity. For only the Trinity can contemplate the Trinity.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
“In the Old Testament, to see God was to die; in the New Testament, meeting God means life.”

***

" GLord, "Your name is Love: do not reject me who is erring. Your name is Strength: strengthen me, weary and falling. Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions. Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul. Your name is Mercy: do not cease have mercy on me." (St. John of Krondstadt )

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" INDivine vision is born from attentive prayer, especially mental prayer."

(St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov )

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" INBy choosing evil, we ourselves become slaves of evil and violate the freedom of other people."

(bishop Vasily Rodzianko )

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" Blet's stay awake! Let us establish good sobriety in the temple of our spirit! If you have sobriety, you will improve your spirit. He who has sobriety has already become the temple of God." (St. Anthony the Great )

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" TOthat which is exalted by natural gifts, that is, wit, understanding, skill in reading and pronunciation, quickness of mind and other abilities that we acquired without difficulty, will never receive supernatural benefits, for he who is unfaithful in little things is also unfaithful and vain in many things. " (

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" EIf we are attentive to our sins, we will not look at the sins of our neighbor." (Ava Matoi)

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" GLord, have mercy on the evil, for You have provided all joys to the good!”

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"NSome asked Abba Macarius, saying: How should we pray? The elder answers them: there is no need to talk too much, but often raise your hands and say: Lord, as You want and as You know, have mercy! If temptation comes, say:

“Lord help! And He knows what is good for us, and He does the same with us.” "

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"BRat asked the elder, saying: what should the soul do in order for it to bear good fruit? The elder answers him: in my opinion, the work of the soul is silence with wakefulness, abstinence of the body, much physical prayer and inattention to the falls of people."

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" PAlways remember God, and your mind will become heaven." (Venerable Neil of Sinai )

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"BLet us listen to ourselves, then we will not condemn others; for there are many things in ourselves for which we condemn others." (Venerable Neil of Sinai )

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" INgive thanks in sorrows, and the burden of your sins will become lighter.”

(Venerable Neil of Sinai )

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" INBelieve that God Himself stands before you in all the things you do every day."

(Venerable Neil of Sinai )

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" INHe who loves love is not afraid of anything, because true love casts out fear."

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" INwhoever loves has no rivalry, no envy, no hatred; he does not rejoice at the fall of others, but sympathizes with them and takes part in them."

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"NThere is no measure of patience, if only it is dissolved by love."

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"Bugliness is precisely the loss of the image of God. And how understandable our love for icons becomes, because the image always strives for the prototype. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov gave instructions to one mother not to rush to teach her children science, but to prepare her soul first.” (Venerable Ephraim the Syrian )

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"Bratia asked Abba Agathon, saying: which virtue in asceticism has more work? He replies: forgive me, I think there is no greater work than praying to God without entertainment; for always when a person wants to pray, the enemy tries to distract him; for demons know that nothing opposes them so much as prayer to God. And in every feat, no matter what a person undertakes, while performing it he receives peace, but prayer until the last breath requires struggle."

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" Twhen each of us recognizes that there is brotherly love and true love for one’s neighbor in him, when he sees that he cries over his brother’s sins and rejoices over his successes and gifts.” (Venerable John Climacus )

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" Eif... the Lord deigns to put kindness, love, non-judgment of your neighbors, and merciful apology for them as the basis of your prayerful deed, then with special ease and speed you will defeat your opponents, you will achieve pure prayer." (Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov )

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"Zthose who are preoccupied with earthly things experience sorrow from earthly things; and those who strive for the spiritual about the spiritual get sick."

(Venerable Ephraim the Syrian )

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" Ireceived the image of God and did not preserve It, He takes on my flesh in order to save both the image and the flesh to immortalize" (Saint Gregory the Theologian. Homily 45, for Holy Easter ).

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" NDo not be deceived: God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap: he who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, and he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." ( Galatians. 6.7-8. )

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" XChrist paid much more than we owed, and as much more as the sea is limitless compared to a small drop." (St. John Chrysostom )

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" UI am amazed at those numerous people who do not tremble to theologize about God, being filled with sins... We, who know neither ourselves nor what is before our eyes, with audacity and fearlessness begin to philosophize about what is INCOMPREHENSIBLE FOR US, especially being EMPTY FROM THE GRACE of the Holy Spirit, who enlightens and teaches everything." ( Simeon the New Theologian )

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" XChrist paid much more than we owed, and as much more as the sea is limitless compared to a small drop" ( St. John Chrysostom )

"ABOUTWe feel bidu when our soul is sick. She needs to be treated with such “mud baths”. You must tolerate scolders, prepare yourself in advance, in the morning or even in the evening, that today you will be scolded. Tell yourself: “The devil sees that I am here praying, saving myself, confessing well and cleansing myself. He wants to drive me out of this temple. But I will not leave. God will help me, and I will endure.” Set yourself up like this: the day on which I was not scolded was in vain." (Archimandrite Ambrose (Yurasov)

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"INEvery person who likes to show off is vain. The fast of a vain person remains without reward, and his prayer is fruitless; for he does both for the praise of men.” (Venerable John Climacus)

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"Ta vain man is an idolater. He thinks he honors God, but in reality he pleases not God, but people." (Reverend John Climacus)

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"NJudge and do not destroy anyone, because this makes the heart weak and the mind blinded..." (Venerable Barsanuphius and John )

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"NWake continually, studying the law of God, for through this the heart is warmed with heavenly fire..." (Venerable Vasanuphius and John )

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"NDon't speak with anger. Let your words, like your silence, be filled with prudence and wisdom. The words of our wisest fathers were reasonable and wise, and their silence was similar."(Venerable Anthony Veliki th)

"NYou don’t need to change the world, change only a small part of this world - yourself, and the whole world will change after you." (Monk Simeon of Athos. "Great is the power of any humble prayer. There is no case that it will not be fulfilled, although not always so, as people want, but even better. Therefore, we must end all our requests as the Lord ended His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done.” (OK. 22.42 ). (Archimandrite John Krestyankin )

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"M )

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" P ( Elder Joseph the Hesychast)

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"A(Saint Basil the Great )

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"H(St. Anthony )

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"G(Saint John Chrysostom )

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"N(Elder Paisios of Athonite )

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"L(O. Pavel Florensky )

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. (St. John Chrysostom )

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"WITH(St. Alexy Mechev.)

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"MThe prayers composed by heretics are very similar to the prayers of the pagans: they contain many verbs; they contain the earthly beauty of words; the blood is heated in them; they lack repentance; in them there is a desire for the marriage of the Son of God directly from the fornication of passions; they contain self-delusion. They are alien to the Holy Spirit: the deadly infection of the dark spirit, the evil spirit, the spirit of lies and destruction emanates from them." (Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov )

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" Ppeople's claims to be received by monks at any time is new way, which is multiplied here on the Holy Mountain. Wherever you go, the fathers will welcome you hospitably. And our duty is to continue the sober tradition of St. Fathers such as St. Gregory Palamas. When he labored here on Mount Athos, he ran away and hid in gorges and caves, trying in every way to achieve solitude in order to skillfully cultivate mental prayer, strictly maintaining his silent charter." ( Elder Joseph the Hesychast)

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"Ad cannot be made attractive, so the devil makes the road there attractive." (Saint Basil the Great )

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"HA humble person lives on earth as in the Kingdom of Heaven, always cheerful and calm, and happy with everything." (St. Anthony )

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"Gdecide - evil; but an even graver evil is to deny it after committing a sin. This, in particular, is the weapon of the devil." (Saint John Chrysostom )

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"NWe must be careful not to appropriate the gifts that God has given us to ourselves. You need to thank God and worry about not being unworthy of such gifts." (Elder Paisios of Athonite )

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"LLove is a talent given for growth, through which everyone enriches and grows himself, absorbing the other. In what way? - Through giving of oneself.” (O. Pavel Florensky )

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WHO PRAYS WITH FASTING HAS TWO WINGS, LIGHTER THAN THE WIND ITSELF . (St. John Chrysostom )

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"WITHThe chance to do good to someone is God's mercy to us." (St. Alexy Mechev.)

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« Never talk about Christ until you are asked, but live so that you will be asked.” (Blessed Augustine)

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« There has never been, is not and never will be a carefree place on earth. A sad place can only be in the heart when the Lord is in it.”

(St. Nikon Optinsky)

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« A thought is like a ship’s rudder: the direction and, for the most part, the fate of the entire huge machine depends on a small rudder, on this insignificant plank trailing behind the ship.” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

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« When the Lord forgives dead sinners, then their sins do not fall on the shoulders of their descendants. This is the meaning of church prayers for the dead, so that the Lord forgives their sins and so that punishment does not fall on their children.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia)

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« In life, the one who is always right is the one who relies not on logic, not on common sense, but the one who proceeds from one supreme law - the law of Love. All other laws are nothing before Love, which not only guides hearts, but moves the sun and other stars. He who has this law lives in him; whoever is guided only by philosophy, by reason, dies.” (priest Alexander Elchaninov)

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« Christ with his life showed us a perfect example of true virtuous living; in Him, as if in the purest mirror, we see our shortcomings, and, having seen them, we correct them, correct them, and improve. “Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life,” leading us to the desired Fatherland.” (mpl. Moscow Plato)

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« There are many zealous Christians who make large lists of those for whom they pray every day. They must understand that if they have the boldness to ask the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ in their prayer for a solution to someone’s questions or some kind of goodness, then they must understand that they will endure great temptations for this, for nothing is ever easy in this life. It happens. And, if you ask for someone, then you will have to bear the burdens for him in full: those that this person himself did not want to bear, and he himself does not ask for mercy for himself in prayer. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ accepted the Cross for us, so you too will bear the sins of those for whom you offer your prayers. This does not mean that you should not pray for your neighbors, but you must be aware of what you are doing with complete seriousness. Mercy is a great feat! May there be great mercies from the Lord to those who carry out this feat, but first we must still be able to survive it.” (Reverend Ambrose of Optina)

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« The book of Psalms is a mirror in which the sinful human soul with all its passions, sins, iniquities, and ailments is not only reflected in its present form, but also finds healing in the Psalms.” (St. Athanasius of Alexandria)

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« When you don’t have peace of mind, know that you don’t have humility in yourself.” (St. Lef Optinsky)

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« To be angry and irritated is nothing more than punishing yourself for other people’s stupidities.” (elder Arseny Minin)

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« Imagine how hard it is for an angry person, because he has hell in his soul.” (schema Savva)

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« And fulfilling God's will“, a person is related to God, and then, without asking God, he accepts, continuously takes water from the Spring.”

(Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets)

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« Nand that, even the Holy Scripture itself, will not give a person knowledge about the Truth, about God, as soon as a pure heart. Therefore, until a person ceases to be proud, voluptuous, envious, disobedient, slanderer, traitor, etc., the truth will not be revealed to him, because the heart cannot contain this Truth, because it is filled with sin. We can be indignant at our disorganizations in life as much as we want, but we will never understand the essence until we begin to cleanse our hearts of spiritual impurities ». (Elder Silouan)

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« P the disobedient person has placed all his trust in God, and therefore his soul is always in God, and the Lord gives him His grace, and this grace teaches all good and gives strength to remain in goodness. The disobedient always acts according to his own will, rejecting the will of the Creator, which is aimed at preserving man in goodness and prosperity, and therefore suffers from his pride.” (Elder Silouan)

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« P The highest and first virtue is obedience. This is the most important acquisition for a person. Christ came into the world for the sake of obedience. And man’s life on earth is obedience to God.” (St. Nectarius of Optina)

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« P disobedience is necessary not only for monks, but for every person. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-righteous do not allow themselves to live in grace and therefore never have peace of mind, but the grace of the Holy Spirit easily enters the soul of an obedient one and gives him joy and peace.” (St. Silouan of Athos)

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« WITH The power and life of all a person’s passions are concentrated in his corrupted will: obedience, binding and killing the will, binds and kills all passions together.” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

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« P disobedience preserves a person from pride; for obedience, prayer and the grace of the Holy Spirit are given. That is why obedience is higher than fasting and prayer.” (St. Silouan of Athos)

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« ABOUT The teaching that, having descended into hell, Christ granted everyone the opportunity of salvation and opened the doors to heaven for everyone, should be recognized as universal church doctrine. Christ, by His death, trampled death, abolished the power of the devil and destroyed hell. At the same time, the devil, death, and hell continue to exist, but their power over people is not unconditional and unlimited: “Hell reigns, but does not reign eternally over the human race.” (mt. Illarion Alfeev)

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« WITH Do not judge the priest - fear this most of all. You cannot even understand in what Sacrament he is a participant. His one tear of repentance falling on the Throne is enough to wash away all his sins.” (Elder Mikhail Pitkevich)

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« E If you throw paper or garbage into the firebox, won’t they burn? It's the same in spiritual man: everything that the devil does not throw at him burns - “Consuming fire”! When the Divine flame ignites in a person, everything burns out. Bad thoughts no longer stick. That is, the devil does not stop throwing evil thoughts at him, but man has spiritual “fire” and burns them. And then the devil gets tired and stops fighting. That's why the ap says. Paul: “Everything is pure and pure.” For the pure, everything is pure, nothing is unclean. Even if you throw clean people into a swamp, they will remain clean, like the rays of the sun, which, no matter what they fall on, remain bright and clean.” (Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets)

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« IN someone stands against you, endure it, wait. After all, humility is a great strength! Be silent and don’t make excuses, even if you were right, because the Lord allowed this for our humility, for our inner healing. We are all sick: some to a greater extent, some to a lesser extent, which means there is something to heal in our soul.” (architect Ambrosy Yurasov)

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« X Christianity is not a religion of external rules - it is a religion of renewed inner man. A person must have God's law written within him. We must pay attention to our insides: “Create a pure heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb.” (Ptr. Andrey Tkachev)

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« IN All martyrs for Christ are examples of high intelligence and wisdom in that they knew the One true God, the need for the grace of Christ, its Divine power. For this, they renounced all earthly goods and sensual pleasures, and decided to endure the most severe suffering in order to keep their thoughts, conscience, heart, soul and body pure for the sake of the Glory of God, which shone in them with all its strength. Their martyrdom also shines for us on the path of Truth and Salvation.” (St. Philaret Drozdov)

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« E If your life were worth nothing, it would not have been bought at such a high price as the Sacrifice of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.” (igm. Nikon Vorobiev)

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« R my hell, where God is, there is no evil.” (St. Seraphim of Sarov)

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« I I saw all the traps the enemy had set on the ground, and said with a sigh: “Who can get around them”?! Then I heard a voice saying “humble”..." (St. Anthony the Great)

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« TO When people are dissatisfied with each other and quarrel, their hearts grow apart. In order to cover this distance and hear each other, they have to shout. The angrier they get, the louder they scream."

« L People in love speak quietly because their hearts are very close and the distance between them is very small.

If love is strong, then no words are needed, people just look at each other and understand everything without words " (St. Isaac the Syrian)

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« T Eagerly bearing the Cross is true repentance.” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

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« G The Lord forbids condemnation, not denunciation, for denunciation serves to benefit, and condemnation is an insult and humiliation, especially in the case when someone himself, having grave sins, reproaches others and condemns those who have much lesser sins, for which only God alone can judge, for “with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2) (St. Nile the Myrrh-Streaming)

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« WITH traps cannot humble us, so the Lord allows us to fall into every shame, so that a person involuntarily comes to the consciousness of his insignificance and ugliness.” (abbot Nikon Vorobyov)

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« AND Truth is not a thought, not a word, not a relationship between things, not a law. Truth is Personality, it is the Being of everything. If you seek the Truth with love and for the sake of love, She will reveal to you the Light of Her face as much as you can bear It, “without burning out”..." (St. Nicholas of Serbia)

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« AND Live peacefully not only with friends, but also with enemies, but only with your enemies, and not with the enemies of God.” (St. Theodosius of Pechersk)

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« TO when anger flares up in your heart against someone, then believe with all your heart. that it is the work of the devil operating in the heart; hate him and his offspring, and she will leave you (don’t recognize her for something of your own, don’t sympathize with her).” (St. John of Krondstadt)

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« B One who fears God is not afraid of the demons striving against him, nor their weak attacks, nor the threats of evil people. Being all like a kind of flame and scorching fire, even when he passes through dark, unlit places, he puts to flight demons who, more than he, flee from him, so as not to be scorched by the ray of Divine fire emanating from him.” (St. Simeon the New Theologian)

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« WITH“veth, entering a dark house, drives out the darkness from it and illuminates it: so the “fear of the Lord,” which has entered the human heart, disperses the darkness, fills it with all virtues and wisdom.” (St. Anthony the Great)

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« TO then he fears the Lord, he becomes above all fear, he has eliminated and left far behind him all the fears of this world, and no trembling will come close to him.” (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

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« E If someone hears an upsetting word and, instead of responding with a similar insult, overcomes himself and remains silent, or, being deceived, endures it and does not take revenge on the deceiver, then he will thereby lay down his life for his neighbor.” (St. Abba Pimen)

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« WITH The Holy Spirit teaches us to love our neighbors holy. Love fueled by the Holy Spirit is Fire. This Fire extinguishes the fire of natural, carnal love, damaged by the Fall.” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

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« L Everyone must be loved, because every person is the image of God, even if it, that is, the image of God, is contaminated in a person. He can wash himself (by repentance) and be clean again.” (St. Nikon of Optina).

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« E If love is not in God and not from God, then it is only a sensual passion that people use like a drug in order to delight a life devoid of any meaning with this little nonsense.” (St. Nicholas of Serbia)

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« G willingness to drink the cup of another's sorrow is love ». (St. Nicholas of Serbia)

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« L Love is the Queen of all feelings, noble and positive. Truly there is love shortest path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Love has destroyed the division between God and man." (St. Nicholas of Serbia)

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« TO then he does not love, he has not known God, because God is Love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

Preface from the compiler

I. GOD AND US

Happiness

True

How does God treat us?

How to find out about God?

God takes care of everything

Those who know God

Christ and us

Fear of God (Fear of offending the love of God with your sins)

Disbelief

II. REALITIES OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

Evil and sin

Freedom

Purpose of life

Saints

Scripture

Sacred Tradition

Church of Christ

III. WE AND AROUND

Attitude towards other people

Should we reprove the sinner?

Condemnation

About forgiveness of grievances

When we are scolded

When we are praised

Grudge

Love for enemies

Prayer

Repentance

Our will and the Will of God

Commandments

How God views our affairs

Our good deeds

Even a small good deed is valuable

Love

Who has no love

Mercy

Humility

Abstinence

Sinful passions

Fighting passions

Spiritual Errors

You can't avoid temptation by changing places

Thoughts (sinful thoughts)

Devil's Tricks

Spiritual struggle

Ambition (love of fame and honor)

Lie

Pride

Murmur

Anger

Prodigal lust

VI. ABOUT WHAT YOU MUST SUFFER ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH

Temptations

Sorrow

How can we be saved?

I. GOD AND US

II. REALITIES OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

III. WE AND AROUND

IV. ABOUT WHAT BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD

V. ABOUT WHAT HINDERS US ON THE PATH TO GOD

Anthony the Great

Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

About Life

About attitude towards one's neighbor

About marriage and family

About God and knowledge of God

Related articles

Read also

Fear of God
(Fear of offending the love of God with your sins)

Thoughts
(sinful thoughts)

Ambition
(love of fame and honor)