By: Rodney Stark At the height of the second great epidemic, around 260, in his Easter letter, Dionysius Patriarch of Alexandria wrote a lengthy tribute to the heroic nursing efforts of local Christians, many of whom lost their lives while caring for others. Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing …
The only-begotten Son, the Wisdom of God, created the entire universe. Scripture says: You have made all things by your wisdom, and the earth is full of your creatures. Yet simply to be was not enough: God also wanted his creatures to be good. That is why he was pleased that his own wisdom should …
We must always meditate on God’s wisdom, keeping it in our hearts and on our lips. Your tongue must speak justice, the law of God must be in your heart. Hence Scripture tells you: You shall speak of these commandments when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the way, and when …
“I no longer fear God, but I love Him. For love casts out fear.” After reading this quote from Saint Antony, some of us wonder how it could be possible that we not fear God. Isn’t the “fear of God the beginning of wisdom”? What is the proper way to fear of God? This is …
“For my father Abba Shenouda of good memory whose feast we celebrate today is worthy to have his good works related, his asceticism, his way of life, his admirable virtues and the great and incredible signs, just like those of the holy prophets and the apostles of the Lord.” The life of Abba Shenouda This …
In the name of the living, holy God, Creator of the bodies and the souls, who made thanksgiving due upon us forever. And made us praise and glorify Him for his great mercy and favor for us. For as we fell down, He raises us up, and as we sinned and repented, He forgave us. …
The gift of tears is something ‘native’ to historical Christianity which distinguishes it from the ascetic or mystical traditions of other religions. There is a whole tradition in the Christian East concerning tears which can be traced back to the New Testament, then through the desert Fathers to Climacus himself, who added new dimensions to …
St. Anthony's humility took many forms. St. Anthony listened to others without insisting on his own opinion from his childhood. As an adult, St. Anthony committed himself to solitude and practiced it by living enclosed for twenty years during which he did not see a single human face. This, it is thought, is the life …
The holy look of virginity is precious indeed in the judgment of all who make purity the test of beauty; but it belongs to those alone whose struggles to gain this object of a noble love are favoured and helped by the grace of God. Now if the achievement of this saintly virtue consists in …
What then do we say about him who has begun to fear the day of judgment? If love were perfected in him, he would not fear. For perfect love would make perfect justice and he would not have a reason to fear; rather, he would have a reason to desire that iniquity pass away and …
