Spirituality in the Orthodox Church means the everyday activity of life in communion with God. The term spirituality refers not merely to the activity of man’s spirit alone, his mind, heart and soul, but it refers as well to the whole of man’s life as inspired and guided by the Spirit of God. Every act of a Christian must be a spiritual act.
When Christ will come in glory at the end of the ages, and God will be all in all, then will come the new heaven and new earth foretold by the prophet Isaiah and described in the book of Revelation. (cf. Isaiah 65:17-66:24) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
The Kingdom of heaven is already in the midst of those who live the spiritual life. What the spiritual person knows in the Holy Spirit, in Christ and the Church, will come with power and glory for all men to behold at the end of the ages. The final coming of Christ will be the judgment of all men. His very presence will
Every man will stand judgment before God for his life in this world. Each person will be judged according to his words and his works. I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every idle word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:36) For
There is no person who will not die. The preparation for death is at the center of the spiritual life. Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is! Behold, Thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in Thy sight. Surely every man
There is no life in this world without suffering. The cessation of suffering comes only in the Kingdom of God. There are generally three sources of suffering in this world: suffering from the persecution of others in body and soul, suffering from sickness and disease, and suffering in spirit because of the sins of the world. There are only two possible ways to
Sickness exists in the world only because of sin. There would be no sickness at all, neither mental nor physical, if man had not sinned. According to Christ sickness is bondage to the devil. (Matthew 8:16, 12:22; Luke 4:40-41, 13:10-17) And Christ has come to “destroy… the devil.” (Hebrews 2:14) With Jesus the forgiveness of sins, the healing of the body, the destruction of
True love in marriage supposes the bearing of children. Those who truly love in marriage will naturally have children as the fruit of their love and the greatest bond of their union. Those who despise children and refuse to offer them care and devotion do not truly love. Of course there are those whose marriages will be childless because of some tragedy of
Marriage is a part of human life on this earth as created by God. Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, cf Matthew 19:5-6) God created male and female so that man and woman would live their lives together in marriage as one flesh. This union should be
The sexual character of human persons has a positive role to play in human spirituality. Like all things human, sexuality must be sanctioned by God and inspired with the Holy Spirit, used for the purposes God has intended. And like all things human, through its misuse and abuse, sexuality can be perverted and corrupted, becoming an instrument of sin rather than the means for
