Introduction At the heart of Orthodox life lies a mystery that is not merely a “religious ceremony,” nor a “symbolism,” nor an abstract “remembrance.” Holy Communion—the partaking of the Body and Blood of the Lord—is the highest event of ecclesial existence: Christ offers Himself entirely, as the food of immortality, that man might become “of one body and one blood” with God. The Fathers of the Church speak of the Holy Eucharist with awe, because it is there that the purpose

What is discernment – How one acquires it – Where it is applied – What its results are Introduction Among all the paths of the spiritual life, none is as delicate, as refined, and as difficult as the path of discernment. All the Fathers without exception teach that discernment is: the barometer of spiritual health, the instrument by which a Christian distinguishes God’s will from deception, the mother of the virtues, the crown of spiritual maturity, the eye of the soul, the g

What Is Ecumenism? Traps, Methods, and Orthodox Positions Is Ecumenism a Heresy? What Do the Fathers and Saints Say? INTRODUCTION The 20th and 21st centuries are marked by great changes in the Christian world: dialogues between confessions, movements for “unity,” the development of interreligious relations, and a general perception that theological differences are “secondary.” These tendencies have taken institutional form through the movement of Ecumenism. The problem, howev