11/7/2019
Priest Alexei Veretelnikov
In his works, St. Stephan attaches great significance to the importance and necessity of prayer in the work of the salvation of the soul. The labor of prayer is necessary for freeing oneself from the authority of the devil and reaching the Kingdom of Heaven. Prayer is the core and breath of the spiritual life.
The general Patristic approach to battling with specific sinful passions includes not only the desire to cut off the occasions for a passion to emerge, but also forcing oneself to plant the opposing virtue in his soul.
Only the man who “listens to the words of the Lord and submits to His will” ascends to the path of salvation.
To one degree or another, all of Fr. Stephan’s works are Christocentric, as no one can be saved without Christ.
The calling of man, according to the teaching of St. Stephan, is that he glorifies His Creator in soul and body.
Disciples began to gather around Fr. Stephan. Many wanted to stay in the new monastery, but Batiushka didn’t accept even close to everyone, being very careful.
The life of St. Stephan shows us that at one time, while still a layman, he visited many monasteries, trying to find an experienced spiritual father under whose guidance he could accomplish his salvation.
St. Stephan, himself a great man of prayer who experienced the fruits of the work of prayer, inspires by his advice to go out to meet the God Who is seeking us by means of prayer, to enter into communion with God and achieve knowledge of God.
Being the heart of the spiritual life, the Eucharist requires that we should be vigilant and attentive to our actions, words and thoughts.
Unlike laypeople, who can abstain from Communion if they are feeling insulted, a priest celebrating alone does not have that option—he has to celebrate the Liturgy anyway. Therefore, we asked some Orthodox pastors to tell us how we can eliminate the feeling of resentment as soon as possible.
