Orthodox Wisdom

Excerpts from her 1917 diary from the section on marriage, family, and children. The wife of Tsar St. Nicholas II, Tsarina St. Alexandra's simple and beautiful words come from her small diary bound in light blue fabric sewn by the Tsarina herself with a small cross embroidered in the corner. On the inside of the cover, written by the hand of Her Majesty, is a simple “Alix, 1917.”📖 Garden of the Heart: Spiritual Diary by Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna Romanovahttps://www.amazon.com/Garden-Heart-Alexandra-Fyodorovna-Romanova/dp/1533411999🎧 PLAYLIST: Marriage and Family Life - Teachings from Orthodox Saintshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYgkVz_d0SAUQkWSGp-L75yd⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______St. Alexandra writes:The meaning of marriage is to bring joy. It is meant to be that married life is the happiest, fullest, purest, and richest kind of life. This is God's establishment of perfection.Thus the divine intention is for marriage to bring happiness, to make the lives of both husband and wife fuller, for neither of them to lose but both of them to win. If a marriage does not bring happiness and does not make life richer and fuller, it is not the fault of matrimonial ties themselves; it is the fault of people bound with them.The wedding day should be always remembered and emphasized among the other important dates of life. This is the day, the light of which will illuminate till the end of life all other days. The joy of entering a marriage is not exultant but deep and calm.Selfless love is a duty in a family. Each should forget about their self and dedicate themselves to the other one. Each should blame themselves, not the other one, when something goes wrong. Endurance and patience are necessary, while impatience can ruin all. A sharp word can decelerate the merging of souls for months. From both sides, there should be a willingness to make the marriage happy and overcome anything standing in the way of this. The strongest love needs to be strengthened every day. The most unforgivable rude words are those said in your own house to those you love.It should be that the hands of a husband could do everything, inspired by love. It should be that every loving husband has a big heart. Many sufferers should find help in a real family. Every husband of a Christian wife should unite with her in her love to Christ. Because of this love to her, he will go through challenges of faith. By sharing her life full of faith and prayers, he too will tie his life with heaven.Between siblings there should be a strong and tender friendship. In our hearts and our lives, we should protect and nurture everything that is beautiful, true, and holy. Friendship bonds in our own house, in order for them to be deep, genuine, and cordial, should be shaped by parents by helping souls become closer. There is no purer, richer, or more fruitful friendship in the world than that in a family if such friendship's development is guided. A young man should be politer to his sister than to any other young lady in the world, and a young lady, before she has a husband, should consider her brother the closest person to her. In this world, they should protect one another from dangers and dishonest and disastrous paths._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. John Maximovitch appears in a vision and comforts a young man who was grieving the death of his mother. As the young man understood, "[St. John] affirms the Church’s prohibition of offering public prayers for the departed non-orthodox, but also affirms the teaching that private prayers for them are of great value and should be encouraged."📖 Read the text of this recording here:https://orthodoxheritage.org/2007%20Issues.pdf📖 Man of God: St. John of Shanghai and San Franciscohttps://hvcbookstore.com/St-John-of-SF/Man-of-God📖 The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God by St. John Maximovitchhttps://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/ven.htm🎧 How Should We Treat the Non-Orthodox? Fr. Seraphim Rose Respondshttps://youtu.be/6b8MgXrudPs🎧 Life After Death - St. John Maximovitchhttps://youtu.be/PdW_p4CmF2A⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______I do not know the full meaning of what I experienced… One thing I noted is that Vladika said nothing and made no promises. I was simply assured of his prayers and of the need of my own and others’. I also note that he wore a monk’s mantle and staff. This would indicate to me that he did what he didin a private capacity rather than as a bishop in official capacity, which would mean that he affirms the Church’s prohibition of offering public prayers for the departed non-orthodox, but also affirms the teaching that private prayers for them are of great value and should be encouraged. _______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

We all have times of apathy, boredom, and a general cooling off of our once fiery zeal. Elder Athanasios draws out valuable lessons from Christ’s words in Revelation to help us regain our zeal and our love for Christ.A reading from Lesson 10 (Rev. 2:4-7) on Revelation by Elder Athanasios MitilinaiosElder Athanasios Mitilinaios, a dynamic and beloved preacher, abbot of the Monastery of Komnineiou and Saint John the Theologian in Stomion, Larisa, Greece, gave 104 consecutive lessons of Revelation to thousands of faithful. This beloved elder, venerated by many in Greece and around the world, reposed in the Lord in the year 2006.The Lord said, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent." -Revelation 2:4-5📖 Revelation - The Seven Golden Lampstands (Vol. 1) by Elder Athanasios Mitilinaioshttps://www.zoepress.us/revelation-the-books📖 Remember Thy First Love by Archimandrite Zachariashttps://mountthabor.com/products/remember-thy-first-love?srsltid=AfmBOor4QP28IF3HO0I2K1FW-QzVErUTQWKoT5b7SwDmeIbiQ0T7xCy0🎧 The Cowardly Shall Suffer in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8) - Elder Athanasios Mitilinaioshttps://youtu.be/jflIrMj3TXw🎧 Freemasonry: The Depths of Satan - Elder Athanasios Mitilinaioshttps://youtu.be/CUu-6a0KhHw🎧 Idolatry of Sexual Relations: Separation of the Purpose from Pleasure - Elder Athanasios Mitilinaioshttps://youtu.be/Bg54rv4r6Zs⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Elder Athanasios teaches:The bishop of Ephesus worked extensively to cleanse the Church of evildoers and especially of heretical teachers. Somehow, the anti-heretical struggle became the focus, the main preoccupation, of the church of Ephesus and in the process something was overlooked. What was overlooked was love for the Lord Jesus. I am very much afraid that this could be the case with a number of people in our audience who fight against evil and false faiths. They fail to develop their own spirituality. I have noticed this to be the reality among many of today's Christians. I am being very sincere in saying this. We need to become especially watchful and take up the necessary measures to correct this.Many times we notice this in people who are very active in the life of the parish. They lack this spiritual ascent and vice versa, those who have this spiritual sense do not have much involvement. They do not seek any involvement; they keep to themselves. The Lord reproves both. We will see in another epistle that He reproached the church that allowed People of a heretical influence to coexist with it. So, both of these are necessary—spiritual life and active involvement in the church. We must not gravitate towards one sector; we must work in all the areas of our spiritual life. We will work to defend our faith, but we will not ignore our own spiritual development. Just because I am active in the fight against the falsehood, I can't feel content that it is an indication that I am doing well spiritually.However, when some time passes, and we live many years in the faith, then this love may fade, and the result is a superficial form of worship. Our life enters the pattern of the daily routine. There is nothing worse than to reduce spiritual life to a routine and to keep going through the motions. Believe me, this routine is the death of the spiritual life.Now, if I can find something new in all this every day, then boredom in this daily routine will not become part of my life. Protect yourselves from this danger of the routine, because we can slip into the mode of superficial worship, and simply go through the motions. Woe to us if we left our first love, which is life itself, variety, interest, excitement—everything that the word life means.

A reading of the Life of St. Olga of Alaska, published by the Orthodox Church in America who glorified her as a saint in June 2025. St. Olga's life is very accessible to us who live in the world. She was a matushka and a mother of 13 children, always offering hospitality and whatever she could to those in need. Her quiet and sacrificial labors did not end when she reposed; many have found divine help when calling upon her for heavenly assistance. She is a great intercessor especially for midwives, pregnant women, couples hoping to conceive a child, abused women, and others suffering on earth. As St. Olga said in an appearance to a victim of sexual abuse, "God can create great beauty from complete desolation and nothingness."📖 The Life of St. Olga, published by the Orthodox Church in Americahttps://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/10/27/100561-righteous-mother-olga-of-kwethluktanqilria-arrsamquqwonderworker🎥 Uncovering of Saint Olga (Arrsamquq) of Alaska's holy relicshttps://youtu.be/2YwqgN0_VO0?si=W0c3aQS71jk2a3HN🎥 Glorification Liturgy of St. Olga in Kwethlukhttps://www.youtube.com/live/k0IJxQxOqyY?si=cM8wvwEroTMvB2j3📖 Akathist Hymn to St. Olga of Alaskahttps://arizonaorthodox.com/saints-north-america/matushka-olga-michael-kwethluk/akathist-matushka-olga-michael/🎧 Another version of her life, including a detailed miracle:https://youtu.be/2qSF1wCh95k⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Troparion:God has chosen a humble mother from Alaska to be an example for all the servants of God; he has given us Saint Olga as a helper in afflictions and as a guide to leading a life of sacrificial love. Therefore we entreat thee, O holy mother Olga: pray that we, thy sinful children, may be saved and rejoice with thee in the Kingdom of Heaven.Kontakion:Guided by the heavenly light and touched by Christ’s rich mercy, thy loving hands heal the wounds of those hurt in the past. Thy soft voice encourages all to remain faithful to God, for the eternal Lord will give the steadfast a crown of life. O holy mother Olga, visit us with love and reassure us, that we may accept whatever cross we must bear as chosen by the merciful God and that, through thy prayers, we do the will of God for the salvation of our souls._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

How should Orthodox Christians share their faith? As an Athonite who spent many years as a priest in a busy Greek city, St. Porphyrios points us in the right direction.A reading from "Wounded by Love" p. 186-188📖 Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrioshttps://www.holycross.org/products/wounded-by-love-the-life-and-the-wisdom-of-elder-porphyrios?srsltid=AfmBOoorE21YcZGUDow6RQlSnMJLerM851JSD-JP01Rl_2lvrmd0tO7n🎧 The Orthodox Spirit is the True One - St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyviahttps://youtu.be/3JgzCGJtfDc🎧 Divine Eros: Insatiable Love For Christ - St. Porphyrioshttps://youtu.be/v2iwE1FVYm0📖 Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios as a Model for Our Lives by Elder Savvas Hagiorite. The St. John Chrysostom Monastery in Wisconsin publishes this book. Email them to ask how to obtain a copy:https://www.stchrysostomoscrafts.com/⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you:https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______St. Porphyrios teaches:We should be zealots. A zealot is a person who loves Christ with all his soul and who serves his fellow men in Christ's name. Love for God and for our neighbour; they go together and cannot be divorced. Passion, yearning and tears along with contrition, not for a purpose, but all as an overflowing of the heart!Fanaticism has nothing to do with Christ. Be a true Christian. Then you won't leap to conclusions about anybody, but your love will cover all things. Even to a person of another religion you will always act as a Christian. That is to say, you will show respect for him in a gracious manner irrespective of his religion. You will care for a Muslim when he is in need, speak to him and keep company with him. There must be respect for the freedom of the other person. Just as Christ stands at the door and knocks and does not force an entry, but waits for the soul to accept Him freely on its own, so we should stand in the same way in relation to every soul.In our missionary endeavour we need to employ a very delicate manner so that people accept what we are offering, whether it be words, books or whatever, without reacting negatively. And something else: use few words. Words often provoke irritation. Prayer and living example find resonance. Living faith moves people, regenerates them and changes them, whereas words alone remain fruitless. The best form of mission is through our good example, our love and our meekness.Mastery of a subject is a great thing when it is combined with meekness, graciousness and love. This is true in all fields. When you have the relevant mastery of the subject, then speak. Otherwise, speak through your example.In debates, if you say a few words about religion you will prevail. Let the person who has a different opinion give free rein to his thoughts and speak as much as he likes... Let him sense that he is addressing himself to a calm and uncontentious person. Influence him through your graciousness and prayer and then speak briefly. You achieve nothing if you speak heatedly and tell him, for example, “What you're saying is untrue, a downright lie!” What will you achieve? Be as sheep among wolves. What should you do? Show indifference outwardly, but be praying inwardly. Be prepared, know what you are talking about and speak boldly and to the point, but with saintliness, meekness and prayer. But in order to be able to do this you must become saints._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Many answers to this question are offered today. Here we have a detailed answer from a saintly bishop. His answer may leave the listener wanting more, but with patience and consideration, the wisdom contained therein shines brighter and brighter.📖 Read the text of this recording here:http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/metphil_heterodox.aspx🎧 The Life of Metropolitan Philaret of New Yorkhttps://youtu.be/4rR4jJ_23RY📖 Living According to God’s Will by Met. Philarethttps://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/products/living-according-to-god-s-will📖 Metropolitan Philaret of New York: Zealous Confessor for the Faithhttps://uncutmountainpress.com/products/metropolitan-philaret-of-new-york-zealous-confessor-for-the-faith🎧 What is Orthodoxy? - Archbishop Averky of Jordanvillehttps://youtu.be/cOIy6YaV5po🎧 Life After Death - St. John Maximovitchhttps://youtu.be/PdW_p4CmF2A🎧 How Should We Treat the Non-Orthodox? Fr. Seraphim Rose Respondshttps://youtu.be/6b8MgXrudPs⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Metropolitan Philaret writes:It is necessary to mention only one thing: that to "lead a perfectly righteous life," as the questioner expressed it, means to live according to the commandments of the Beatitudes—which is beyond the power of one, outside the Orthodox Church, without the help of grace which is concealed within it.It is self evident, however, that sincere Christians who are Roman Catholics, or Lutherans, or members, of other non-Orthodox confessions, cannot be termed renegades or heretics—i.e. those who knowingly pervert the truth... (The Greek word for "heresy" is derived from the word for "choice" and hence inherently implies conscious, willful rejection or opposition to the Divine Truth manifest in the Orthodox Church). They have been born and raised and are living according to the creed which they have inherited, just as do the majority of you who are Orthodox; in their lives there has not been a moment of personal and conscious renunciation of Orthodoxy. The Lord, "Who will have all men to be saved" (I Tim. 2:4) and "Who enlightens every man born into the world" (Jn. 1.43), undoubtedly is leading them also towards salvation In His own way.With reference to the above question, it is particularly instructive to recall the answer once given to an inquirer by the Blessed Theophan the Recluse. The blessed one replied more or less thus: "You ask, will the heterodox be saved... Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins... I will tell you one thing, however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the Truth in its fullness, betray Orthodoxy, and enter a different faith, you will lose your soul forever."We believe the foregoing answer by the saintly ascetic to be the best that can be given in this matter._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

From the publisher: In the 1790s, the brightest promises of the Enlightenment turned violent with the eruption of the French Revolution. Europe watched in shock as the French, intoxicated with promises of freedom, equality, and reason, sent their king — along with thousands of nobles, clergy, and commoners — to the guillotine. Legitimate fears that the revolution might destabilize the entire continent provoked a whirlwind of responses. Amid this upheaval, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, first confronted by undercover agents of republican ideology and later by Napoleon’s advancing armies, turned to one of its most renowned teachers, Saint Athanasios Parios, for a response.This reading is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of An Apology for Christianity by St. Athanasios Parios📖 Philokalic Library Volume 2: An Apology for Christianity by St. Athanasios Parioshttps://newromepress.com/philokalic-library-volume-2-an-apology-for-christianity?srsltid=AfmBOorC6pe_vWoFBjKuc44EYxDGo7SzKujPMSmMDP2KHttiXigp6qXg🎧 Introduction to the Philokalia - St. Nikodemos the Hagioritehttps://youtu.be/nH8--dllcbk⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______St. Athanasios writes:In order for evil to be somehow restrained, it must certainly be countered by a fear of punishment from those in political authority. We read in Leviticus the command that anyone who blasphemes the true God ought to be led out of the camp and stoned by the synagogue (cf. Leviticus 24:16). It is of course absolutely true that the law of grace does not prescribe death today, although such measures may certainly be applied to their polluted writings, that is, they may be condemned, reviled, and burned, as the holy synods defined. Indeed, Holy Scripture affirms that both the impious individual and his impiety should be equally despised (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). But it does not seem that the writings of the godless Voltaire were dealt with in this way by the royal authority in France. Thus the aforementioned Don Clémence was right to complain in his introduction, pointing out that, if the severity of the royal laws had been applied to those works to the degree that they merit-ed, that is, if they had been consigned to the outer darkness, he would not have bothered to write against them. Certainly this ought to have been carried out by the king of France, since his title professes him to be "Most Christian." He should have sought out and destroyed the God-hating books of the godless Voltaire, which concern essentially no other subject, nor have any other purpose, than to prove the entirety of Holy Scripture to be a myth and a lie and our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God to be a fraud._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Metropolitan Philaret of New York, a Russian bishop who served in the United States and Australia, describes the criteria for true Christian Patriotism and why being a patriot is virtuous.This is an excerpt from: Patriotism & War - Metropolitan Philaret of New York🎧 https://youtu.be/Za6rSKXyulM📖 https://www.orthodoxethos.com/post/patriotism-war-metropolitan-philaret-of-new-york-excerpt-from-on-the-law-of-god📖 Find the full text in his book: Living According to God’s Will by Met. Philaret of New Yorkhttps://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/products/living-according-to-god-s-will⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you:https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Met. Philaret writes:Naturally, one will love one's own family and the relatives he grew up with, most of all, and secondly, the whole country, the people to which one belongs. One is tied to this people both by state and civil obligations and by culture and customs. One is bound to one's people, to one's own homeland, and one loves them. This love for homeland is that Christian patriotism which cosmopolitanists so strongly struggle against.Christian patriotism is, of course, alien to those extremes and errors into which "super-patriots" fall. A Christian patriot, while loving his nation, does not close his eyes to its inadequacies, but soberly looks at its properties and characteristics. He will never agree with those "patriots" who are inclined to elevate and justify everything native (even national vices and inadequacies). Such "patriots" do not realize that this is not patriotism at all, but puffed up national pride - that very sin against which Christianity struggles so strongly. No, a true patriot does not close his eyes to the sins and ills of his people; he sees them, grieves over them, struggles with them and repents before God and other peoples for himself and his nation. In addition, Christian patriotism is completely alien to hatred of other peoples. If I love my own people, then surely I must also love the Chinese, the Turks or any other people. Not to love them would be non-Christian. No, God grant them well-being and every success, for we are all people, children of one God._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Paisios provides guidance on essential questions about the inner life of thoughts that we deal with our entire lives. A reading from Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 3: Spiritual Struggle by St. Paisios, p. 62-760:12 Spiritual Life is Based on Thought8:03 Cultivating Good Thoughts12:07 The Purification of the Mind and the Heart14:28 We Must Not Be Suspicious21:23 Conversing with Thoughts24:30 Consenting to Thoughts📖 Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 3: Spiritual Struggle by St. Paisios the Athonitehttps://www.athoniteusa.com/products/saint-paisios-the-athonite-spiritual-counsels-volume-iii-spiritual-struggle?srsltid=AfmBOorzehHI_pB20A84pZFWkAJxcyimzUiiZ-lhw3E6bX3XloJV4VFo📖 Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: The Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnicahttps://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/otdol.htm🎧 On Attention and Distraction - St. Ignatius Brianchaninovhttps://youtu.be/v5ZIEmv8RwQ🎧 Noetic Sound Waves of the Heart - From the Life of St. Porphyrioshttps://youtu.be/n5dWVVDDvhM🎧 Everyone Needs a Spiritual Father - St. Paisios the Athonitehttps://youtu.be/xaSeWRcJPHo🎧 Marriage or Monasticism? (The Young Facing the Two Paths in Life) - St. Paisios the Athonitehttps://youtu.be/g-LGlirprqc🎧 Holiness is in the Struggle! - Elder Athanasios Mitilinaioshttps://youtu.be/Qhm2ffdEBsc⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______St. Paisios teaches:You have to remove the worn-out machinery of your mental factory and install good machinery.The best enterprise is for someone to establish a factory of good thoughts. Then, even bad thoughts will be transformed into good ones by his mind. For example, when you look upon a person as a soul, as an angel, you can ascend angelically to Heaven and your life becomes a festival. But if you look upon a person in a carnal way, you descend into hell.All spiritual life is based on thoughts. Progress in spiritual life depends upon our thoughts.-Geronda, how can I be helped in the struggle against these sinister thoughts? -With vigilance and unceasing prayer. If you are vigilant, then you are attentive to good thoughts. For example, you look upon a glass or cup and you recall the sacred Chalice, the Last Supper, Christ and so forth; whereas if you are not vigilant, your mind may wander off to consider non-spiritual things or even wretched things. For this reason, try not to gather useless thoughts, which you will later struggle to get rid off. Concentrate and say the Jesus Prayer. And if your mind wanders, call it back again and again.-Geronda, when do we actually give our consent to these thoughts? -When you suck on them like they're candy. You must struggle not to suck on these thoughts that are sugarcoated on the outside but poison inside, causing you to despair. To have bad thoughts pass through us is not a cause for worry; only the Angels and those who are perfect have no bad thoughts. There is reason to worry when a person levels out a part of his heart to make a landing strip and accepts the little devils that come to him. And if this too happens once in a while, then go directly to Confession, plough up the landing strip, the mind and the heart, and plant fruit-bearing trees, to turn the heart again into Paradise._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

An interview with Elder Justin Parvu of Petru Vodă Monastery (Romania) given on October 7th, 2009. Elder Justin spent 16 years in prison under the communists and tirelessly served the Romanian people until his repose on June 16th, 2013. Read a brief account of his life with the text of this interview below.The vaccine Elder Justin is referring to is likely the mandated vaccine for the 2009 swine flu outbreak.📖 The Pinnacle of Nihilism: An Interview With Elder Justin Parvuhttps://www.nepsisblog.com/2025/03/the-pinnacle-of-nihilism-interview-with.html🎧 On Our Times - St. Paisios the Athonitehttps://youtu.be/0KIEmH-qt2Q🎧 Sermon on the 1910 Cholera Pandemic - St. Peter Zverevhttps://youtu.be/gBYKptqJ-pI🎧 How to Understand the Jews as Being a Chosen People: An Orthodox Analysishttps://youtu.be/Zwtcox3ivCs⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Elder Justin teaches:I urge you not to seek solutions anymore. There are no human solutions, my dear ones! The solution is death for Christ. That is why I tell you, have trust that the Lord will give you the strength to confess Him. We live in an anarchic world; the entire political class is hostile to Christ and serves evil. Therefore, simply living without renouncing our Christian principles is a daily testimony and martyrdom.So, do not accept this vaccine and anything new brought by today's political powers. The Jews rule the world, and the Americans work for them, believing they have come to dominate it because they have no more shame.Our only weapons are spiritual: prayer, humility, love, and also confession. There cannot be love without confession [of faith]. Love is sacrificial, and if we are afraid to confess the truth, what sacrifice do we have? Or if we do not care about our neighbor who is ignorant and do not inform him, letting him fall prey to this system, what love do we have? Those who still fight today to awaken their brother, who have not remained indifferent to the future of their nation and their Church, are children of God's love, who lay down their lives for their brothers.If [political rule] opposes Christ, the voice of that ruling should no longer be obeyed. What kind of rulership is this that gives us poisoned bread to eat? That kills our children?Man comes to be formed in the Church, and what formation do we give if we preach the same teachings as the anti-Christian state? The Church is not indifferent to this entire political and social conjuncture and is obliged to be involved both in society and politics, as long as political laws hinder God's commandment. The priest, at ordination, swears to submit to God and His commandments, but also to state authority. To whom do we swear? Presidents and parliamentarians who legalize prostitution and [the micro]chip?It is not enough to confess a truth only to those under your epitrachelion; it must be proclaimed to everyone. We have a duty to bring the truth to light. You can withdraw out of strategy, but how long does this strategy last? The people suffer from so much strategy, and [to the point that] we do nothing. Let us not confuse strategy with laying down arms.Our greatest problem now is that we find ourselves in the darkness of ignorance and consider the sin of ignorance a great privilege. This generation has reached the pinnacle of nihilism. And what if they do this? Ah! It's nothing! You take the chip: Ah, it's nothing! You serve with the Catholics: Ah, it's nothing, and so on… everything is nothing. Nihilism has given birth to this libertinism, and this state somehow entitles you to do anything, whatever you want; to mix light with darkness, to go with both God and Mammon. In this case, we are no longer disciples of Christ._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!