October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: 2 Cor 11, 2 Cor 11:14, 2 Corinthians 11, angels, apparitions, ascetic theology, Christianity, contemplation, deception, deification, delusion, devil, discernment, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, experiential theology, humility, illumination, meditation, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox way, orthodoxy, plani, prelest, private revelation, purification, religion, repentance, salvation, satan, self-restraint, spiritual advice, spiritual direction, spiritual discipline, spiritual parent, spirituality, theophanies, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light, visionaries, visions, visualization
This is common and EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ADVICE for Orthodox, seemingly paradoxical considering all the talk about Uncreated Light, angels, theophanies, visions, etc. “Even the devil can appear as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). We’re even supposed to avoid visualization-meditation of any kind, which he can make use of. And if we do see some apparition, [...]
October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: apatheia, Christianity, deification, dispassion, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, fools for christ, glorification, Hesychasm, hesychia, humility, indifference, Macarius of Egypt, Macarius the Great, Makarios of Egypt, Makarios the Great, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, purification, religion, spiritual discipline, stillness, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light
From St. Feofil, the Fool for Christ’s Sake, courtesy of this blog:
If you are praised, be silent. If you are scolded, be silent. If you incur losses, be silent. If you receive profit, be silent. If you are satiated, be silent. If you are hungry, also be silent. And do not be afraid that there [...]
October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: aphorisms, Christianity, communion, deification, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eucharist, glory, glory of God, Greek Orthodoxy, heaven, hell, humility, John Romanides, liturgy, mercy, mysteries, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, prayers, purifying fire, religion, sacramental preparation, sacraments, salvation, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light, worship
Every time I made it to Divine Liturgy while he was with my parish, or just about,* the priest who Chrismated me, preceded Communion with a collective reminder about the o/Orthodox understanding of the Mysteries (sacraments) as special encounters with God’s Uncreated Energies. I can’t remember it verbatim, but he said Communion is like a fire that risks [...]
September 22, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: liturgy, prayer, worship, orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy, Christianity, religion, salvation, Eastern Orthodoxy, sin, Scripture, Bible, Patristics, doctrine, saints, monasticism, Orthodox liturgy, temptation, Theosis, Divinization, Fathers of the Church, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Hesychasm, spirituality, glorification, deification, asceticism, Mary, Theotokos, Mother of God, women saints, Blessed Mother, Early Church Fathers, mysticism, ascetic theology, religious controversy, apocryphal gospels, early Christian writings, Temple (Jerusalem), Second Temple, hymns, Immaculate Conception, Mother Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary of Nazareth, mother of Christ, mother of Jesus, religious doubt, religious questioning, Orthodox Tradition, Scripture and Tradition, St Gregory Palamas, Gregory Palamas, Palamism, free will, grace, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Energies
I know nothing about the recent controversy over this, referenced at the beginning of this article from St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Pennsylvania (anonymous), and was surprised to hear about it. But this article seems to address it well, briefly, and Orthodoxly. It also highlights the misinterpretation or misunderstanding of Patristic writings that is possible unless one [...]
September 18, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Anthony Bloom, Antony Bloom, Christianity, deification, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, glorification, glory of God, God, Gospel, Hesychasm, illumination, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, purification, religion, salvation, saved, Theosis
More from Metr. Anthony Bloom:
…we must remember that ‘to glorify’ in Greek does not mean what we understand so often – to praise or applaud; it means that his splendour, his unutterable beauty is revealed….
So how do *we* glorify God? Preliminarily by struggling to unite with His Uncreated Energies, His Glory, through all the means [...]
June 25, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodoxy, icons, images, Long Island, miracles, New York, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, religion, religious icons, religious images, saints, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas
The homepage of St. Paul’s now reports that although the Theotokos has stopped weeping, St. Nicholas has started, so they’re continuing twice-a-day Paraklesis with hymns to him also.
Recall that the original instances in 1960 were also in quick succession, as they mention.
This icon of “St. Nick” demonstrates the Orthodox experience that even store-bought print-icons (mounted [...]
April 24, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, deification, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, glorification, Orthodox Christianity, prayers, religion, saints, Theosis, translation, Uncreated Light
NEOPHYTE OPINION ALERT
Numerous Orthodox hymns and prayers include the past tenses of the verb to shine, referring in one way or another to light, often God’s Uncreated Energies as Light, as frequently discussed in this blog, whether directly from a Person of the Trinity, or indirectly through a Saint, Angel, or the Theotokos (God-Deliverer).
Allow me [...]
July 22, 2005 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: ascesis, asceticism, askesis, deification, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, doctrine, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, empirical theology, experimental theology, glorification, John 7:17, Orthodox Christianity, purification, salvation, theology, Theosis, virtue
John 7:17 (NKJV):
If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or [whether] I speak on My own [authority.]
Here was discussed the fact that those who experience Energetic Union with God/Glorification perceive fundamental o/Orthodox Christian teachings therein. Now John 7:17 seems to reinforce that testimony. If [...]
June 13, 2005 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, church, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Eastern Orthodoxy, ecclesiology, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, religion, theology
I recently gave a rather legalistic or juridical description of the Orthodox Church. (Being an ex-Catholic seminarian, that may be an occupational hazard!) Such is necessary in a world plagued by groups calling themselves Orthodox Churches that “ain’t necessarily so.”
What’s more important about the Orthodox Church than that it answers to the description I gave [...]
June 2, 2005 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Bible, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, salvation, Scripture, Theosis
From Anonymous, “To Become Orthodox You Have to Make a Paradigm Shift”:
[A]s the New Testament teaches, there is a real (ontic) unity of worshipers with Christ through their sharing His uncreated Life and Energies (Grace), in which His goodness and all that He has done for humanity’s sake is shared by His members. This is [...]
