ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
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What
does it mean to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit?
Let
us take a look at this state right now. When a person is a Temple of
the Holy Spirit, the following takes place: The Holy Spirit is in
this person's heart, and prays to God, communes with God! This is the
restoration of the old Adam (before
the ancestral sin)
in
this person. Because this is how Adam was before his fall; he had the
Holy Spirit and was in constant communion with God.
Now,
this takes place again in our Church, in all those who want and
proceed with their purification and illumination, by the Grace of
God.
Through
purification, when we get rid of all our logismoí (as mentioned
earlier), we create the proper conditions to host the Parakletos
(Comforter), the Holy Spirit, in our very being. The Holy Spirit
comes and dwells inside us. What actually happens is what Christ said
to us [John 14:23]: "...and
we
(Him and His Father) will
come unto him
(us) and
make our abode with him
us)",
and that's when man becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. When we go
through this process, and get purified, make our heart free from
thoughts
(both bad and good), then we allow for the Holy Spirit (who wants to
be united and longs for this sacred union) to be reactivated inside
us and do the praying.
Hence,
what we call a prayer, noetic prayer, is not what WE do, but what the
Holy Spirit does, when it is being activated. Until then, what WE do
is just incomplete; it is simply an effort of ours preparing our
union with God. However, in order for this bridging, in order for
this union of man with God to take place, it is God Himself Who must
come and make it happen.
Our
ceaseless prayer begins with our mouth: "Lord
Jesus Christ, have mercy on me".
Then our intellect takes this prayer and brings it down to our heart.
Slowly but steady, when this monológistos (consisting of one
logismós) prayer, Lord
Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,
grows old inside our heart, when we repeatedly call upon his Devine
Name, we drive away all our logismoí. This is the way to achieve
this.
f. Savvas Agioreitis
To be continued...
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