Rating: 6,5|Votes: 2

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Laypeople. Part 18

You are impatient. For, only those who endure to the end will be saved. Yes, and after all, there is reason to endure. The Holy Fathers say that the living children of mothers who killed their own infants take revenge upon their mothers for their brothers and sisters who never saw God’s light. Yes, and there are many other sins, known and unknown, and sorrows are a penance from God, but you have to bear them without murmuring.

Rating: 6|Votes: 2

Preaching the Gospel of Christ in the Modern World

Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen)

In discussing what it means to bear witness to our Faith, we should emphasize that, in all situations, we must act and speak with love. Christ told His disciples: By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:35). We have the fullness of Truth, yes, but this Truth must be spoken and given in love, lest it be corrupted in the very manner in which it is presented. People will look for God in us, and if they see no love there, they will not recognize the presence of God, even if we know all the Orthodox dogmas and can recite Scripture verses and the Nicene Creed by heart.

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Monks and Nuns. Part 7

He who turns back is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. But the enemy is warring against you, and you need to experience all of this, pass through this, to conquer his intrigues by patience.

Rating: 7|Votes: 3

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Clergymen,To Those Desiring the Priestly Rank, and to Priests’ Wives. Part 5

We are obligated to pray for baptized people, for they received the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism. We cannot pass judgment on these people before God’s judgment, and only the Lord sees the inner man. How did they live, what made them tick, whose prayers upheld them in this life?

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

May God Give You Wisdom! The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin. Letters to Monks and Nuns. Part 6

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

You want to introduce a monarchical-patriotic spirit into the monastery. This would be wittingly destroying the monastic spirit, and therefore I have only one piece of advice for you — live at home and do the work God has blessed you to do for the moment: teaching.It is better to participate in something constructive bit by bit than by one broad sweep; you might even demolish it by your ignorance or misunderstanding.