Priest Pavel Serzhantov

5/2/2013

Psalm of Prophet Habakkuk

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Psalm of Prophet Habakkuk

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

Despite his distress and fear, he finds his secure and steadfast footing: "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD... the LORD GOD is my strength."

The Cult of Evil Spirits

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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The Cult of Evil Spirits

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

The Church knows from experience that playing with demons doesn’t end well.

Self-Pity Corrupts Everything We Do

St. Theophan the Recluse, on the Path to Christ

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Self-Pity Corrupts Everything We Do

St. Theophan the Recluse, on the Path to Christ

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

All of St. Theophan’s life was a path to Christ. Why is that so? The saint well understood that mankind’s first parents chose the path of sin, and all our problems proceeded from this. “Man fell and perished in his fall. For his salvation the Only-Begotten Son of God came to earth and showed the path of salvation.”

Let Us Live Before the Face of God

On the Prophet Haggai

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Let Us Live Before the Face of God

On the Prophet Haggai

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

Spiritual people reason from spiritual positions: “It’s time to rebuild the Temple. We went into captivity for our sins before God. Let us serve Him faithfully—He will help us, and life will gradually get better.”

Yoga - a Special Ascesis or a Healthy Workout?

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Yoga - a Special Ascesis or a Healthy Workout?

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

Yes, yoga is an ascesis (sadhana), and yogic teachings are based on soteriology. Yoga exercises are spiritual practices representing the neo-Hinduist way of attaining salvation.

The Asceticism of Growing Up: On Family Life

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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The Asceticism of Growing Up: On Family Life

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

In our days, we observe an unhealthy process of growing up: First children are encouraged to progress more quickly into the category of teenagers (this traumatizes and incapacitates children), and then the brakes are put on, and teenagers aren’t allowed to become adults (they are prevented from developing).

Ascetic Life Means Caring for Your Spiritual Health, and not Restricting Your Freedom

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Ascetic Life Means Caring for Your Spiritual Health, and not Restricting Your Freedom

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

The cultivation of the passions has led us to a dead end. The passions promise instantaneous pleasure, but they are disadvantageous in the long term.

Russian Patristics in the Age of the New Martyrs: Fr. Sergei Mechev

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

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Russian Patristics in the Age of the New Martyrs: Fr. Sergei Mechev

Priest Pavel Serzhantov

Fr. Sergei was absorbed in the spirit of the holy fathers so deeply that his talks and letters attain the level of the Fathers.

A Theologian Among the Evangelists

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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A Theologian Among the Evangelists

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

All the evangelists proclaim the “theological” good tidings of Christ. But the Gospel of John stands out remarkably even in the very distinct theological background of the New Testament.

The Lord Punished Them and They Repented

A Reflection on the Book of Joshua

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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The Lord Punished Them and They Repented

A Reflection on the Book of Joshua

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

In the nomadic camps of the desert, in the fields and pastures, in the cities of the Promised Land, they heard the Lord, and they turned away from God’s path. The Lord punished them and they repented, and the inimitable story of salvation continued. God was with them … and He is near now.

The Way of Prophet Elias

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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The Way of Prophet Elias

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

To begin with, the ascension of Elias is considered not just an extraordinary religious event, but a mystical event. One cannot argue with that. Let this be the starting point of our reflections.

Nothing Like Self-Praise

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 9.7|Votes: 18

Nothing Like Self-Praise

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

To boast about the Lord means to render praise unto the Lord for the good things we have managed to do, that God has blessed.

Two Holy Hierarchs—Like the Three Holy Hierarchs

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 12

Two Holy Hierarchs—Like the Three Holy Hierarchs

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

Our preferences… Well, how can we get by without them? They apply both to the everyday side of life, and to the most exalted side—the religious.

St. Silouan the Athonite: Holy Russian Hero

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 9.1|Votes: 28

St. Silouan the Athonite: Holy Russian Hero

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

“I read St. Symeon the New Theologian and my soul grieves over how far I am from a real Christian life. When I read Elder Silouan, then my soul is comforted in the Lord and rejoices in Him Who loves me, a sinner.”

Ceaseless Prayer, Through the Apostle Paul’s Personal Letter

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 10|Votes: 4

Ceaseless Prayer, Through the Apostle Paul’s Personal Letter

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

Then the service ends. The pilgrim leaves the church and heads to the feast in the refectory. But at the same time, he hears the Vespers hymns in his mind—“Lord I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me.”

The Evangelist Mark—Our Contemporary

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 4|Votes: 5

The Evangelist Mark—Our Contemporary

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

Look at how dynamic the Gospel of Mark is, just like our life now. One event in it is replaced by another, one after another, and all of this without any pause, without delay; but there is no hustle and bustle in sight. At the same time, there is a tangible, high degree of dynamism in all the descriptions. Therefore, a strong bond is maintained between the rapidly advancing Gospel events. Separate stories are quickly lined up in a sequence of events as Christ’s chosen path, and not scattered in a flash before the reader as incoherent episodes from the life of ancient eastern cities.

The Venerable Poet on the Prose of Life

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 4|Votes: 2

The Venerable Poet on the Prose of Life

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

There are considerations of both high and more ordinary things in St. Symeon’s hymns. These reflections put the mundane into a spiritual perspective, prompting me to think about who I am, and whether I have found my place.

John Cassian: Half-Heretic or Saint?

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 5

John Cassian: Half-Heretic or Saint?

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

St. John Cassian expressed not simply his own theological opinion, but gave voice to the experience of the hesychastic monks’ ascetical experience of synergy. Striving for their own salvation, the hesychasts saw and understood that asceticism is salvific then and only then when two powers are at work within it in harmony—the Divine and the human. God and man are co-workers in the cause of salvation; their synergy leads sinners into the Heavenly Kingdom.

The Apple of the Almighty’s Eye

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 10|Votes: 2

The Apple of the Almighty’s Eye

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

As long as there are repenting sinners on the earth, as long as there is a remnant of the people of God, the history of salvation is not finished. The Lord is continuing to save people. Do we not read about the apple of the eye of the Most High in the New Testament? The Savior says in a parable of the Heavenly Kingdom, For many are called, but few are chosen (Mt. 22:14). The Lord highly values every one of us; the hairs are numbered on the heads of the elect.

The Most-Discerning Abba Isaac the Syrian

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 6.6|Votes: 5

The Most-Discerning Abba Isaac the Syrian

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

“A Word on the Subtle Stage of Discernment” by Abba Isaac the Syrian speaks of a passion’s activity, about the assault and consent... It’s a miracle how discerning St. Isaac the Syrian is! He traces all the various ways a sinful thought takes root in the human soul. Abba Isaac reveals the gift of spiritual discernment in all its might.

Simple Images of the Kingdom of Heaven

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 7|Votes: 3

Simple Images of the Kingdom of Heaven

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

How can ordinary people like us feel what this Kingdom of Heaven is?

The Prophet Hosea’s Personal Life

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 1.8|Votes: 5

The Prophet Hosea’s Personal Life

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

The Lord showed through the prophet and through his family how the God-chosen nation lives, and what awaits them. The scene was rather horrifying: The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take to thyself a wife of fornication, and children of fornication: for the land will surely go a-whoring in departing from the Lord (Hos. 1:2).

The Favorite Book of Neo-Pentecostals

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 6.6|Votes: 7

The Favorite Book of Neo-Pentecostals

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

The book is small, only three chapters of the Old Testament. In the Neo-Pentecostals’ point of view, the book of Joel confirms their way of life.

Married Life and Asceticism

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 9.8|Votes: 6

Married Life and Asceticism

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

It all began with our forefathers, Adam and Eve. They received a commandment in paradise not to taste of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (cf. 2:17). The commandment not to “taste of this or that” is quite well known to any Orthodox Christian. This is the commandment to fast—the most ancient, beginning factor of family life.

On the Passion of Christ and the Book of Job

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

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Rating: 8.7|Votes: 6

On the Passion of Christ and the Book of Job

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

The Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. The Book of Job reveals its meaning in an amazing way. It is read during the church services during Great Lent. This book prepares us to meet with the Suffering and Risen Christ. What does the Old Testament tell us about? It tells us about the interrelationship between God and man, just as do all the other Old Testament books. The Lord rules the world, rewards the righteous, and punishes sinners. However, as we can see from the Book of Job, not every affliction is punishment for sin.

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