How should we understand the Eternity? What is that – after-death sufferings? Can God give a life to him, who, as He knows, will go to the eternal torments? Do our passions remain in action after the death? Are there any real means to help the departed? What is the influence of the pray on the after-death state of a soul? Nobody can remain indifferent

Orthodox Christianity itself— what is it and its historic roots? The first is a category important for all Christian people: doctrine. Did she maintain the truth of God as given by Christ and His Apostles? Second, what about worship? Is there a discernible way in which the people of God have offered a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to Him? Third, consider Church government. What

The conversation with God is called prayer. The soul, while uniting with God in prayer, simultaneously is united with the whole spiritual world — with the angels and saints. During prayer a Christian pours out his soul before God: he glorifies Him for His great perfection, thanks Him for His mercy and goodness, and makes requests for his needs. Hence there are 3 main forms

“He who follows me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord. /John 8:12/ By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather

Who among us doesn't know that Mother Teresa's main objective has been to do all the good she could for the least of Jesus' brothers and sisters? Her feelings for the less fortunate were not arrived at by abstract reasoning, however. All she did, in her own words, was "follow Jesus' word." The histories and sayings included are Mother Teresa’s massages to those involved in

Every person is familiar with his inner voice which on occasion accuses and oppresses him, and on occasion brings him joy. This small subtle voice, an inborn feeling, is called conscience. Conscience by its nature is a spiritual instinct, which more clearly and quickly differentiates between good and evil than does the mind. He who listens to the voice of his conscience will never regret

It is crucial to understand, however, that the Kingdom of Heaven is not so much a place as a state. When the scribes asked when the Kingdom of Heaven would be revealed, Christ answered: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here!, or Lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). Saying so, the

A mother of one pupil telephoned me and angrily declared that she was going to withdraw her girl from our school because we were distorting the Christian faith. To support her contention, she cited the fact that we were requiring children to learn a prayer which reads, “and cleanse us of every impurity” (the prayer “Heavenly King”): “We are Christians,” the woman said, “and therefore

Monasticism had a strong influence on the Orthodox Church. The monastic life is not for everyone, but rather for those who, like St. Anthony the Great, desire to live only for God, abandoning the spiritual emptiness of everyday business and the evil that dominates secular life. Monastics are inwardly called to serve God alone. In essence, the purpose of the monastery is to create the