The Immediate natural and physical fruits of the Jesus Prayer

The Immediate natural and physical fruits of the Jesus Prayer

When the bitter cold pierces me, I start saying the Jesus Prayer and a sweet warmth spreads in my entire body. When hunger begins to overcome me, the Jesus Prayer makes me to forget my wish for food.

Excerpt from: What is The Greatest Spiritual Challenge Facing the Church Today?

Quotations from the writings of our Father Among the Saints, the great Hierarch and Confessor, MARK OF EPHESUS, whose memory we keep on this day (Jan. 19):

''Κανεὶς δὲν ἐξουσιάζει τὴν πίστη μας, οὔτε βασιλιάς, οὔτε ἀρχιερέας, οὔτε ψευδοσύνοδος, οὔτε κανένας ἄλλος, παρὰ μόνο ὁ Θεὸς...''

~ Ἅγιος Μάρκος o Εὐγενικός

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“‘But if,’ they say, ‘we had devised some middle ground between the dogmas (of the Papists and the Orthodox), then thanks to this we would have united with them and accomplished our business superbly, without at all having been forced to say anything except what corresponds to custom and has been handed down (by the Fathers).’ This is precisely the means by which many, from of old, have been deceived and persuaded to follow those who have led them off the steep precipice of impiety; believing that there is some middle ground between the two teachings that can reconcile obvious contradictions, they have been exposed to peril.”

+ St. Mark of Ephesus, “Encyclical Letter, July 1440”

From Orthodox Word , March-April-May, 1967

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“All the teachers of the Church, all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures, exhort us to flee those who uphold other doctrines and to separate from communion with them.”

— St. Mark of Ephesus, Confession of Faith, XII, 304

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“These people admit with the Latins that the Holy Spirit proceeds and derives His existence from the Son. Yet, with us, they say the Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Latins imagine that this addition to the Creed is lawful and just, but we will not so much as pronounce it. They state that unleavened bread is the body of Christ, but we dare not communicate it. Is this not sufficient to exhibit that they came to the Latin council not to investigate the truth, which they once possessed and then betrayed, but simply to earn some gold and attain a false union? Behold, they read two Creeds as they did before. They perform two different liturgies – one on leavened and the other on unleavened bread. They perform two baptisms – one by triple immersion and the other by aspersion; one with Holy Chrism and the other without it. All our Orthodox customs are different from those of the Latins, including our fasts, Church rites, icons, and many other things. What sort of union is this then, when it has no external sign? How could they come together, each retaining his own?”

A short story of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia

A short story of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia

A certain woman came to the patriarchate with the request to speak with the Patriarch concerning an urgent matter, about which she needed to speak with him personally. This request was unusual and she was not immediately admitted, but the visitor’s persistence bore fruit, and an audience took place. Seeing the Patriarch, the woman said with great excitement that that night she had dreamed of the Theotokos, who told her to take money to the Patriarch so that he could buy himself new shoes. Saying this, the visitor took out an envelope full of money.

Protection when enemies are attacking. Psalms 26, 90

 Protection when enemies are attacking. Psalms 26, 90

"... And the bomb will not burst" 

(What the Elder John of Optina told me)

Sergei Alexandrovich Nilus and his wife Elena Alexandrovna came to the Optina to  father John (Salov). The elder accepted us with joyful caress 

"Take the stool," he said, embracing me, "sit next to me." 

"Are you reading the psalms?" he asked me. I was embarrassed then I did not even have a short prayer rule, I did not read any psalms.

" I know" I answered,  «Save me», «Have mercy on me, God» ... 

-"And what else?"

-"Yes, father, I read all the psalms and, at least not by heart, but I know everything..."

The elder interrupted my self-justification: 

"It's not that I want to ask you what your rule is, but whether you are still reading Psalm 26 the Lord is my enlightenment? " 

"No, sir, I do not read."

"Well, that's what I'm going to tell you. "You once told me that your enemy is sending his arrows against you. Do not fear! Not one of them will touch you; do not fear any trash, as trash will remain trash. Only accept my advice as a rule: before your morning and evening prayers read Psalms 26 and 90 — and before them, the Archangel’s rejoicement : Rejoice, Virgin Theotokos...If you do this, no conflagration will ever consume you, nor water will drown you… A bomb will not blow you apart"

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos- Defining “Orthodox Spirituality”

It is necessary first to define the terms: “orthodox” and “spirituality”. We cannot speak about “Orthodox spirituality” unless we know exactly what we mean by these two words. This is what the Holy Fathers of the Church have done. In his exceptional book “The Fountain of knowledge”, and more specifically in the sections entitled “Philosophical Chapters”, St. John of Damascus analyses the meanings of these words: Substance, nature, hypostasis, person, etc. Because these terms can be defined differently within other contexts he explains why they are so defined here.
The adjective “orthodox“ comes from the noun “orthodoxy” and shows the difference between the Orthodox Church and every other Christian denomination. The word “Orthodoxy” manifests the true knowledge about God and creation. This is the definition St. Athanasios of Sinai offers.
The term Orthodoxy consists of two words: “orthos” (true, right) and “doxa”.