Abba Dorotheus
Then, no matter how disinclined he is to fulfill his own will, it turns out that it is always fulfilled. For to one who does not have his own will, everything that happens to him is according to his will. In this way he becomes free of attachment, and from non-attachment, as I have said, he comes to dispassion. Do you see to what a state of advancement, little-by-little, the cutting of one's own will leads him?
Rating: 10|Votes: 2
Some of the Instructions on spiritual life of the holy Abba Dorotheos are to be found in the Philokalia (English translation in Early Fathers from the Philokalia, pp. 149 ff). A marvelous fruit of these Instructions may be seen in the life of the disciple of Abba Dorotheos, St. Dositheus. The account that follows, included as a part of the Russian edition of the writings of Abba Dorotheos, is by an anonymous writer apparently contemporary with the two saints, and is an inseparable part of the life of the great Abba himself.
Rating: 5|Votes: 6
What is one of the first books given to anyone embarking upon the path of Orthodox Christianity? What is one of the books read almost cyclically in the refectories of Orthodox monasteries, so that monks and nuns might assimilate the “ABC’s” of spiritual life with every bite of their daily bread? What is one of the most quoted books of basic wisdom on how to live in peace and harmony with our neighbor? Answer: the book of instructions on spiritual life by Abba Dorotheus of Gaza.
Fr. Stephen Freeman
Though we commonly use the word “mystery” (for example), popular speech never uses it in the manner of the Church. I cannot remember using the word “fullness,” or even “fulfilled,” in normal speech. More contemporary words have come to replace these expressions. This doesn’t mean that an English speaker has no idea of what the words mean—but, again, they do not understand these words in the manner of the Church. There is a reality to which words such as mystery and fullness refer—a reality that carries the very heart of the Orthodox understanding of the world and its relation to God.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)
Rating: 6,8|Votes: 5
On March 25, Pravoslavie.ru posted an open letter from Archimandrite Tikon to the parishioners of Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery detailing the ongoing process of the monastery’s new church building. This is a process that all of Russia is following, because this will be the first church dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia built within the boundaries of the capital city, where over 13 million people live.
