Durham, England, March 24, 2026
Photo: roarch.org.uk
Asceticism is inseparable from genuine Christianity, His Eminence Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said in a homily delivered Sunday at the Parish of Sts. Cuthbert and Bede the Venerable in Durham, England.
“We’re called to a new lesson, which will show us that there’s no authentic Christianity without asceticism,” the hierarch said, reports the Basilica News Agency.
On the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, commemorating St. John Climacus, the Archbishop described his Ladder of Divine Ascent as “a spiritual manual whose purpose is to guide man toward eternal life.” Though originally written for monks, Abp. Atanasie emphasized that its teachings are applicable to all Christians: “The teachings of St. John can guide the life of any Christian toward the Kingdom of Heaven.”
He described the Ladder as both a spiritual and ascetic treatise, tracing a path from the renunciation of sin to the ascent through virtue. “The first rung is self-denial, a virtue we learn during Great Lent, and the last is perfect love—intertwined with faith and hope—which unites man with God.” The Ladder, he said, teaches “how our life should not become a path descending toward hell, but a ladder ascending toward Heaven.”
Turning to the broader meaning of fasting, the Archbishop called Great Lent a universal invitation to holiness: “In every fast we’re all called to be monks—to choose voluntary poverty, to learn obedience, and to become pleasing to the Lord on the path of perfection.”
He stressed that human effort alone is insufficient without Divine assistance. “Without God’s help, our faith can’t be active, can’t bear true fruit,” he said, adding that fasting offers the opportunity to experience “the faith that moves mountains.”
Abp. Atanasie concluded by connecting perseverance in the spiritual life with healing and the knowledge of God, calling for “mystical prayer, a sorrowful cry to God, perseverance, and much ascetic struggle.” Through repentance, he said, man arrives at true healing: “We come to truly know Divine grace and mysteries, and thus to sanctify our lives.”
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