Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior

As the Holy Fathers affirm, “ what Scripture tells us in words, the icon announces to us and makes present to us through colors ”. Holy Scripture speaks to us about the Incarnation of the Son of God, who came into the world to save us – and the icon does the same. Moreover, there is such a close connection between the act of incarnation and the icon that Saint Theodore the Studite states, in the context of the iconoclastic disputes, that “he who rejects the icon ultimately rejects the mystery of the incarnation of the Word”. We know that the Incarnation of the Son of God is the foundation and reason for the representation and veneration of icons: if Jesus Christ had not taken human form, we would not have been able to represent Him in icons. And as for the representation of saints, this would not have been possible either, precisely because through God’s work of redemption of the human race, man received the opportunity to become a saint. The saints become models of holiness that we m...

Icons, as we see from the etymology of the word (εἰκών – mirror image, living representation), are images, representations of either God in the Trinity, or of the Savior Jesus Christ, or of saints or angels. They adorn our churches and homes, not only because of their aesthetic character, but also because of their liturgical character - because, being sacred images, they give us the real feeling of the presence of God or of the saint represented in the icon. Through icons, people contemplate the Kingdom of God and enter into a direct dialogue with divinity, for as Father Dumitru Stăniloae stated, "the icon represents a true window through which man and God can look at each other face to face". Because they are representations of holy persons, they are not made just like that, but according to precise criteria, imposed not so much by the rules of art and culture as by the doctrine of the church. These criteria are contained in the so-called Ermines of painting, which show us h...

A man burdened by the cares of this world decided one day to go to a hermit, seeking peace and spiritual advice. He had heard of the wisdom of Saint Paisios the Aghiorite and hoped to find solace for his troubled soul. After a long journey, he found the abbot in a humble hut, devoid of any worldly adornments, but full of peace. “Blessed are you, father,” said the man, bowing respectfully. “I have come from afar to ask for a word from you…” “Sit down, my son,” the old man answered him gently. Let me first make you some tea. The man sat down, but instead of being silent, he began to talk about himself: – I have studied abroad for many years, I have gathered knowledge, I have seen a lot… – Let’s drink tea first, the abbot told him again, calmly. But the man continued: – Now I run a large company, I have many responsibilities… Meanwhile, the hermit was pouring tea into his cup. The cup was full, but the abbot continued to pour, and the tea began to spill onto the table and the floor. – Fat...

God will gradually reveal many mysteries to man, for whatever man asks with faith, God fulfills. We only need to humble ourselves. Complete humility is the perfection of the Christian life. The perfection of the Christian life does not lie in the resurrection of the dead, nor in the working of miracles, nor in the healing of the sick and the infirm – the full power of faith lies in perfect humility . The Lord says: “Where shall I look, but only on the meek and lowly?” Only the meek and lowly will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Humility and meekness are divine attributes, and God wants His children to be rewarded (with His attributes). And therefore, for our own good, we must be peaceful, quiet, meek, and we must endure many heartaches . Abbot Tadei of Vitovnița Monastery

Humility is a divine virtue; it is the perfection of Christian life that is acquired through obedience. He who does not have obedience can neither gain nor acquire humility. Few are on earth who have obedience. Our humility is according to the measure of our obedience. Physically, external humility is acquired more easily than humble thought, for humble thought is a special gift from God . Our Holy Father Simeon says: The wise man is such that nothing on earth could tempt him. Whatever happens, he is humble in thought, and this is perfection, a divine virtue. Pride also has its stages, like humility. The pride of life is more easily cured, while the pride of the mind is difficult and impossible to cure . There is no one to show a man like this that he is not on the right path. And the pride of life is curable, because from a rich one immediately becomes poor, and then one must humble oneself, whether one wants to or not. Abbot Tadei of Vitovnița Monastery

A common thing that we all face is anger, the anger that results from the actions of the person next to us. Often it is even our spouse, the person we love the most. When we are angry, we say and do things that we later regret. The Holy Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans: “ For what I do, I do not understand; for what I want, I do not do, but what I hate, that I do. But if I do what I do not want, I acknowledge that the law is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that what is good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. For to will is present with me, but to do what is good I do not find. For the good that I want, I do not do, but the evil that I do not want, that I practice ” (Epistle to the Romans of the Holy Apostle Paul 7:15-19). When we get angry or resentful, we are far from God. How can we, as true Orthodox Christians, react in this way towards our fellowmen? Anger results from our own selfishness. This is one of the si...