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I find this to be a sadly revealing image of what is wrong with education these days.

Though right belief is important, It is more important to have right attitude. Humility and willingness to change ourselves rather than the Church. I think it was Saint Isaac the Syrian that said "Understanding comes through faith, rather than faith through understanding". Having a heart...

Thought it might be neat to have people tell who their patron saint is and why they chose or were given their name, and maybe a bit about them. My patron Saint is John the Theologian. His repose was celebrated yesterday (on the new calendar). Becoming Orthodox as an adult I chose him (or he...

I'm a little nervous venturing into a conversation on such a loaded topic, but I recently read about the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption that occured early in 2022. It was an unprecedented underwater eruption that greatly increased the amount of water vapour in the stratosphere. This is expected...

To me it seems easier to understand if I look at it in the way that the father's describe the progression of sin in us. It starts with a thought, or image or idea. If we entertain that, it will arouse the passions and entice us into sin. With Christ, the devil certainly presented many...

I'm not sure if it's a related issue, but I have large random spaces appear, and sometimes the blue title bar at the top will cover 3/4 or more of my screen. If I refresh it sometimes goes away. Really makes it hard to read anything or use this forum. This is on a mobile device. The upgrades...

Not quite what you asked, but approaching it from the other side, how righteousness effects the whole world. This is from Elder Sophronys' book 'Saint Silouan the Athonite'. The ontological unity of humanity is such that every separate individual overcoming evil in himself inflicts such a...

I think with the forum upgrades showing 'similar' threads, you can expect many ancient thread resurrections.

My priests house and our chapel are under evacuation alert for a forest fire. Please pray for this situation.

I don't know where you are located, but my wife works for hospice locally. Here they have many people and resources to help with all aspects of the process, both for those dying and their loved ones, including the legal/paperwork issues. Might be worth reaching out if there is something in your...

I feel your pain. I missed out on pascha this year due to covid from a careless co-worker. I hope you are able to find some joy in your holiday.

Yes I struggle with this. It does seem that there are a lot more people on the streets asking for money. There was this young guy sitting on the corner begging, who's clothes easily cost more than my car. I just don't know what to do with that. I need to see people properly, not with my physical...

In my limited experience, many icons I have seen done by non-Orthodox, tend to import a western, or perhaps modern sense of symmetry and aesthetics. I find it jarring, and detrimental to the purpose of the icon. But I'm kinda sensitive to such things, some might say picky. The image you posted...

Forgive me if I overstep; I don't know you, you don't know me, but I would encourage you to be very careful with this way of thinking. It is easy to develop an unhealthy mindset when we focus on what is wrong. We human beings seem to always find what we are looking for.

I became Orthodox after I was married and my kids were mostly grown (my youngest turns sixteen this year). None have become Orthodox, they don't seem to see the point. They are very accommodating, I will be spending all of Holy week away. Love goes a long way in making things work. That being...

This reminds me of a sentence that I think was in the sayings of the desert father's, where a monk is mentioned as one who watered his garden with a machine or mechanism of some sort. Wanting to use our talents for the glory of God is a good thing, as long as we are putting His will before our...

This topic reminds me of St. Augustine refuting Pelagius. In rejecting Pelagius's extreme views of man's role in his salvation, Augustine adopted a rather extreme view in the opposite direction. As much as Western Christendom has for the most part focused heavily on a juridical understanding of...

In my experience of various protestant denominations, there was certainly a lot of bible study. But it felt more like something external that we used to try to compress or conform ourselves to the image of Christ we perceived there. While in Orthodoxy, scripture emanates from the very heart of...

Please pray for me. My vehicle broke down two months ago. The biggest issue with this is it prevents me from getting to liturgy. I don't presently have time to fix it myself, and the mechanic I took it to is acting in a very dishonest and untrustworthy manner. Not sure what to do at this point.

OP, I think that I can relate to how you feel. For me, coming to realize that my brain is not the seat of my mind, rather the heart, was a profound revelation. There is good reason the hesychastic saints speak about bringing the mind into the heart. Living primarily in the sensory processing...