Fathom Entertainment Sets ‘Moses the Black’ for Nationwide Theatrical Release on January 30

A stark, soulful tale of crime and redemption inspired by the true story of Saint Moses the Black — from the creators of the international hit Man of God. The film Stars Omar Epps, Wiz Khalifa, Quavo, and Chukwudi Iwuji.

Executive Produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson with Original Soundtrack by Wiz Khalifa Featuring Quavo and Other Collaborations

LOS ANGELES and DENVER — November 19, 2025 — Fathom Entertainment, in collaboration with Simeon Faith, the Nick Mirkopoulos Cinematic Fund and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, announced today it will release “Moses the Black,” a Simeon Entertainment, G-Unit Film and Television, Taylor Gang Films production, nationwide on January 30, 2026.

“Moses the Black” follows a Chicago gangster’s journey of reckoning, inspired by the true story of the fourth-century saint of the same name. Omar Epps (Juice, “House”) stars as Chicago gang leader Malik, with multi-platinum selling, GRAMMY®- and Golden Globe-nominated recording artist Wiz Khalifa (Spinning Gold, Furious 7 soundtrack) as 2wo-3ree, the confident and volatile head of Malik’s young crew, locked in a power struggle for control against rival gang leader Straw, played by multi-platinum and GRAMMY®-nominated recording artist Quavo (“Atlanta,” “Black-ish”). The role of St. Moses the Black is portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, “Peacemaker”), with direction by Yelena Popovic (Man of God).

The film draws inspiration from the real Saint Moses the Black, remembered as one of the early African saints of Christianity and a key figure among the Desert Fathers — a man who turned from violence to radical mercy.

A gripping fusion of suspense, moral courage and modern relevance, “Moses the Black” is driven by a hypnotic original soundtrack executive-produced by Wiz Khalifa featuring Quavo and other collaborators. With its emotional depth and standout performances, the film has already sparked excitement and anticipation among fans and influencers nationwide.

“This film is about redemption and real change,” said Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. “It’s raw, it’s emotional, and it’s powerful. I can’t wait for audiences to see it.”

“‘Moses the Black’ is an action-packed drama that was made to be seen on the big screen,” said Ray Nutt, Chief Executive Officer for Fathom Entertainment. “Fathom Entertainment is thrilled to partner again with Simeon Entertainment and bring this heart-pounding story with a star-studded cast to audiences nationwide.”

Fathom Entertainment first collaborated with Simeon Entertainment in 2022 for the award-winning film “Man of God.”

Tickets for Moses The Black will be available on December 19 at Fathom Entertainment and participating theater box offices (theater locations are subject to change). Fans can sign up now at Fathom Entertainment for more information and to be among the first notified when tickets go on sale.

More on “Moses the Black”
The film also stars Corey Hendrix (“The Bear”), Cliff Chamberlain (“Fargo”), Ahmad Ferguson (“The Chi”), Sambou “Bubba” Camara, Kierra Bunch (“South Side”), Skilla Baby (Tee Grizzley & Skilla Baby: Striker Music), and former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

The film is produced by Alexandros Potter and Yelena Popovic for Simeon Entertainment on behalf of Simeon Faith, with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Get Rich or Die Tryin’, “Power”) and his G-Unit Film and Television serving as executive producers. Wiz Khalifa executive produces through Taylor Gang Films, and Omar Epps also serving as an executive producer through his production company BrooklynWorks Films. Simeon Faith financed the film alongside the Nick Mirkopoulos Cinematic Fund, backed by the former owners of Cinespace Film Studios— Alex Pissios of Chicago and the Mirkopoulos family of Toronto—who also serve as executive producers. Additional producers include Brett Hays, and executive producers include Josh Schachter and William Dzombak for Taylor Gang Films; Reginald Ahkeem Berry Sr.; John Kynigopoulos and Florence Larsonneur for Simeon Entertainment and Nat McCormick and Brandon Burrows for Stoic, the film’s worldwide sales agent.

Stark, soulful and unflinching, “Moses the Black” is a modern parable of radical transformation — showing that no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy.

Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @mosestheblackmovie

Learn more about the saint (St. Moses the Black) who inspired the movie HERE.

For more details, or to schedule an interview, please contact Sharon Abercia (713-248-6229 or sharon@monarchprg.com) of Monarch PR Group.

About Fathom Entertainment
Fathom Entertainment is the leading global specialty distributor of content to movie theatres. For more than 20 years, Fathom Entertainment has pioneered theatrical distribution of events and special engagements across various genres and formats, including feature films, episodic content, documentaries, concerts, and live events. Fathom consistently ranks among the top 10 theatrical distributors in North America and distributes content to cinemas worldwide. Fathom Entertainment is owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), and Regal Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L). For more information, visit FathomEntertainment.com.

About Simeon Faith
Simeon Faith is a dedicated film fund managed by Simeon Entertainment. The fund is focused on developing, financing and producing highly commercial, award-winning faith-based films with A-list talent and worldwide distribution that focus on a strong narrative, entertain and inspire. For more information about Simeon Faith, please visit www.simeonfaith.com.

About Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has built a thriving television and film career as both a producer and star. In 2005, he founded G-Unit Film & Television Inc., which has produced a wide range of content across multiple platforms and sold numerous shows to major networks. Among its successes is the critically acclaimed No. 1 show on Starz, Power, in which Jackson not only co-starred but also served as executive producer and director. He has since expanded the Power universe with the spinoffs Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Force and Power: Origins.

G-Unit Film & Television also produced ABC’s For Life, recently aired Season 4 of the hit series Black Mafia Family on Starz, and completed production on Season 2 of the Black Mafia Family docuseries. The company is also developing scripted series including The Massacre and Queen Nzinga for Starz, as well as Trill League for BET+. Recent releases include TikTok Star Murders and The Gilgo Beach Killer:

House of Secrets for Peacock, both of which drew strong viewership. At Hulu, G-Unit Film & Television is developing Hip Hop Cop, a continuation of Ron Stallworth’s story from BlacK k Klansman. At Netflix, the company is in production on a high-profile Sean Combs documentary. G-Unit also released Hip Hop Homicides on WE tv and is in production on Fightland — its first internationally produced series — for Starz.

Expanding into the podcast space, Jackson launched G-Unit Audio, which partnered with iHeartMedia and Lionsgate Sound on Surviving El Chapo: The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug Lord. G-Unit Film & Television is now developing a docuseries based on The Twins podcast for BET+. On the acting side, Jackson will portray Balrog in Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming big-screen adaptation of Street Fighter. He is also set to host Fox Nation’s upcoming true-crime docuseries 50 Ways to Catch a Killer.

In 2024, Jackson announced a partnership with Lionsgate to launch the FAST channel 50 Cent Action, which was recently named the No. 1 action channel on Roku and LG Channels’ FAST platforms. The free, ad-supported channel features premium content from the studio’s library, including the original Power series, along with hit films such as John Wick, The Expendables, The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Rambo.

The perceived tension between faith and science has captivated thinkers across centuries, often evoking images of conflict, contradiction, or uneasy coexistence. Yet much of this presumed antagonism stems not from any inherent opposition, but rather from a misunderstanding of their respective domains, methodologies, and aims. To explore their relationship more deeply, it is crucial to begin by clarifying what is meant by the terms “faith” and “science.”

Faith is frequently considered as blind allegiance to unprovable claims, standing in contrast to reason and evidence. Merriam-Webster defines faith as “firm belief in something for which there is no proof” [1], a definition that can be misconstrued to imply irrationality or emotionalism. However, the Oxford English Dictionary offers a more refined interpretation: “strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof” [2]. This view allows room for experiential knowledge, spiritual insight, and reasoned trust.

The biblical tradition, especially in Hebrews 11:1, portrays faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” [3]. Here, faith is not a leap into the dark but a step into the light based on trust, relational knowledge, and testimony. Philosopher Alvin Plantinga supports this by asserting that faith can be a rationally warranted belief, grounded in its own epistemic framework and not reducible to empirical validation [4]. Faith, then, is not the enemy of reason, but a parallel form of knowing that addresses dimensions of life inaccessible to empirical scrutiny.

Science, by contrast, is the disciplined pursuit of knowledge about the natural world through observation, experimentation, and critical analysis. Its strength lies in its empirical methodology, which is governed by principles such as falsifiability, testability, and reproducibility [5]. Science seeks to answer questions of “how” – how natural phenomena occur, how systems behave, and how various elements of the physical universe interrelate. However, it deliberately refrains from addressing questions of ultimate meaning, ethical value, or spiritual purpose [6].

Therefore, faith and science occupy complementary domains: science explains the mechanics of the natural world, while faith contemplates meaning, value, and ultimate reality [7]. Far from being adversaries, they are distinct yet potentially harmonious pathways toward understanding the fullness of human existence.

The story of science and religion is far richer and more complex than the popular “conflict narrative” suggests. While some moments in history reflect tension, others reveal profound collaboration. Indeed, many of the pioneers of scientific thought were motivated by religious belief and sought to explore the natural world as a means of glorifying its Creator. For instance, Isaac Newton – whose laws of motion and gravitation laid the foundation for classical physics – saw his work as uncovering the rational order God had woven into creation [8]. In the Islamic Golden Age, figures like Alhazen and Avicenna exemplified a deep commitment to both rigorous scientific inquiry and theological reflection [9]. In medieval Christian Europe, Thomas Aquinas made a seminal contribution by integrating Aristotelian logic with Christian doctrine, arguing that reason and revelation ultimately lead to the same truth [10].

The rise of the so-called “conflict thesis” in the 19th century, advanced by John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White, painted religion as a suppressive force and science as its enlightened opponent [11]. Yet modern historians of science widely critique this narrative as overly simplistic and historically inaccurate. Scholars like Peter Harrison and John Hedley Brooke have revealed a more nuanced picture, characterized by moments of collaboration, co-development, and respectful independence [12].

The Galileo affair is frequently cited as emblematic of science-religion antagonism, but the reality is more intricate. Galileo, a faithful Catholic, initially received support from church officials [13]. The eventual conflict was as much about ecclesiastical politics and interpretive authority as it was about scientific evidence. At the time, the heliocentric model lacked definitive proof, and the Church’s caution reflected a desire to uphold traditional cosmology rather than to suppress truth [14].

Modern science has unveiled stunning insights into the origins and development of the cosmos, reshaping humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe. The Big Bang theory – currently the most widely accepted model for the origin of the universe – posits that all space, time, and matter originated approximately 13.8 billion years ago from an initial singularity [15]. This notion of a cosmic beginning aligns strikingly with the theological concept of creatio ex nihilo, the belief that God created the universe out of nothing [16].

Notably, Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest and physicist, was the first to propose what he called the “primeval atom,” which later evolved into the Big Bang theory [17]. Lemaître himself cautioned against conflating scientific theories with theological doctrines, emphasizing that science speaks to physical processes, not divine purposes [18] In biology, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection revolutionized our understanding of life’s diversity [19]. While evolution has been met with opposition from some religious literalists, it has also been embraced by many theologians and scientists who interpret it as the method through which God brings about life’s complexity [20]. Theistic evolution, endorsed by thinkers like Francis Collins, reconciles evolutionary science with a belief in divine intentionality [21]. Collins, who led the Human Genome Project, sees in the language of DNA a reflection of divine intelligence and order [22].

Thus, rather than undermining faith, the discoveries of cosmology and evolutionary biology can inspire awe and deeper theological reflection.

While science excels in exploring the physical universe, it is not equipped to answer all questions, especially those concerning ultimate purpose, ethical values, or existential meaning. Questions such as “Why is there something rather than nothing?” or “What is the foundation of moral obligation?” transcend empirical analysis [23]. These are not merely gaps in scientific knowledge but fundamentally different types of inquiries.

Immanuel Kant famously argued that while reason is powerful, it is limited in its ability to access metaphysical truths [24]. Concepts such as God, freedom, and immortality, according to Kant, lie beyond the scope of pure reason yet remain essential for coherent moral and existential frameworks. Blaise Pascal, in his Pensées, affirmed that the heart has its reasons, which reason does not know [25]. Faith, in this view, engages a dimension of human experience that logic alone cannot penetrate.

Even modern physics confronts mysteries that challenge reductionist explanations. The indeterminacy of quantum mechanics, the role of the observer, and the universe’s fine-tuning all raise profound questions about the nature of reality [26]. The precise calibration of physical constants necessary for life to exist has led some to speculate about a multiverse, while others see evidence of intelligent design [27]. John Polkinghorne, a physicist and theologian, argues that such mysteries invite metaphysical reflection rather than premature conclusions [28].

A growing number of contemporary scholars advocate for a symbiotic relationship between faith and science. Francis Collins, in The Language of God, describes how his scientific journey has deepened his Christian belief rather than undermined it [29]. Alister McGrath, with doctorates in both molecular biophysics and theology, proposes a model of “critical realism” that recognizes the partial, progressive nature of both scientific and theological understanding [30].

John Polkinghorne exemplifies this integrative approach. As both a physicist and Anglican priest, he contends that science and theology are complementary – not because they say the same things, but because they ask different questions about the same reality [31]. Science explores mechanisms and patterns; theology probes meaning and origin [32].

These voices represent a growing consensus that the deepest truths are not found in isolation, but at the intersection of diverse disciplines, where reason and revelation enrich each other.

In a fragmented age where intellectual life is often divided into competing domains, it is tempting to relegate science to the laboratory and faith to private devotion. Yet such compartmentalization distorts both. Human beings are not merely rational machines nor purely spiritual beings – we are integrated wholes, drawn to truth, meaning, and beauty through multiple ways of knowing. Faith and science offer complementary perspectives on reality. Where science unravels the how of the universe, faith contemplates the why. Where science charts the laws of nature, faith considers the source of those laws. These are not rival pursuits but parallel paths in the human quest for understanding. To integrate faith and science is not to dilute either but to allow each to inform and challenge the other. This integration requires intellectual humility, moral courage, and an openness to mystery. Though the journey is complex, it is deeply rewarding – for in reconciling these realms, we move closer to a holistic understanding of the cosmos and our place within it [33].

1. Merriam-Webster. Faith. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith
2. Oxford English Dictionary. Faith. Retrieved from https://www.oed.com
3. The Holy Bible, New International Version. (1978). Hebrews 11:1.
4. Plantinga, A. (2000). Warranted Christian Belief. Oxford University Press.
5. Popper, K. (2002). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Routledge.
6. Gould, S. J. (1997). Nonoverlapping Magisteria. Natural History, 106(2), 16–22.
7. McGrath, A. (2016). Inventing the Universe: Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Science, Faith and God. Hodder & Stoughton.
8. Newton, I. (1958). The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Trans. A. Motte). University of California Press.
9. Nasr, S. H. (2006). Science and Civilization in Islam. Harvard University Press.
10. Aquinas, T. (1265–1274). Summa Theologica.
11. White, A. D. (1896). A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. D. Appleton.
12. Harrison, P. (2015). The Territories of Science and Religion. University of Chicago Press.
13. Finocchiaro, M. A. (1989). The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History. University of California Press.
14. Coyne, G. (2005). Wayfarers in the Cosmos: The Human Quest for Meaning. Crossroad Publishing.
15. Hawking, S., & Mlodinow, L. (2010). The Grand Design. Bantam Books.
16. Craig, W. L., & Sinclair, J. (2009). The Kalam Cosmological Argument. In The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (pp. 183–252). Wiley-Blackwell.
17. Kragh, H. (2013). The Cosmological Ideas of Georges Lemaître. In D. S. Oderberg (Ed.), Classical Theism (pp. 311–332). Routledge.
18. Lemaître, G. (1931). The Beginning of the World from the Point of View of Quantum Theory. Nature, 127, 706.
19. Darwin, C. (1859). On the Origin of Species. John Murray.
20. Miller, K. R. (2007). Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. Harper Perennial.
21. Collins, F. S. (2006). The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. Free Press.
22. Collins, F. S. (2010). The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine. Harper.
23. Nagel, T. (2012). Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False. Oxford University Press.
24. Kant, I. (1781). Critique of Pure Reason.
25. Pascal, B. (1669). Pensées.
26. Davies, P. (2007). The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? Houghton Mifflin.
27. Barrow, J. D., & Tipler, F. J. (1986). The Anthropic Cosmological Principle. Oxford University Press.
28. Polkinghorne, J. (2005). Science and Theology: An Introduction. SPCK.
29. Collins, F. S. (2006). The Language of God. Free Press.
30. McGrath, A. E. (2011). Surprised by Meaning: Science, Faith, and How We Make Sense of Things. Westminster John Knox Press.
31. Polkinghorne, J. (1994). Science and Christian Belief. SPCK.
32. Haught, J. F. (2010). Making Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life. Westminster John Knox Press.
33. Turek, F., & Geisler, N. L. (2004). I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Crossway.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Athens, Sep 27th, 2024

The “St. Maxim the Greek” Institute, in collaboration with the Office of the Orthodox Church in the European Union, is organizing an International Scientific Conference titled POSTHUMANISM AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (PHAICON 2024), to be held at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens from November 18 to November 21, 2024.

One hundred and fifteen experts will address, among other things, the scientific and socio-economic data and achievements of Artificial Intelligence, philosophical and theological perspectives, ethics and deontology, theories of transhumanism and posthumanism in relation to theology and philosophical thought, the anthropology of transhumanism and posthumanism, deconstructive rights-based thinking, and the woke culture, as well as the Orthodox anthropology and pastoral approach in relation to transhumanism, Artificial Intelligence, and human rights.

From the humanism of Modernity and the Enlightenment, there emerged great confidence in the power of human reason and the potential of the human spirit to determine not only the course of life but also its codes of values. However, what followed in the twentieth century did not confirm the anthropological optimism of modernity. Despite significant scientific achievements and social advancements, humanity emerged deeply scarred from two World Wars, from holocausts, genocides, ethnic cleansings, divisions, totalitarian regimes, and the Cold War.

Modern societies have recognized the need for science and ethics to progress together. However, ethics has been unable to keep pace with the rapid developments in biomedical technology, the digital ecosystem, cybernetics, and robotics, all of which create new realities for life and foster expectations that are increasingly viewed less as science fiction scenarios.

Artificial Intelligence, the latest achievement of scientific applications, has already taken over a large portion of daily life, serving human needs through the digital ecosystem and automation. However, the prospect of it rising to levels where it connects with human nature and the human person raises significant questions in the fields of ethics, anthropology, science, philosophy, and theology.

The analyses by contemporary thinkers, who link Artificial Intelligence to the evolution of the human species, introduce new terms such as transhumanism and posthumanism. These terms have already been widely discussed in scientific, philosophical, and theological circles. Without a doubt, they will soon draw attention from political and legal spheres as well.

The working languages of the Conference will be Greek and English.

The PHAICON 2024 Conference will also be broadcast online via international digital platforms.

Admission for those wishing to participate in the conference is FREE. Registration will take place at the Conference Secretariat.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

‘Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine’ (1 Tim. 5:17). Saint Paul recommends us to honour our Elders and those who ‘labour in the word and doctrine’, because through the wordof God divine grace is imparted to usand renew us.In this perspective, the Mother of God holds a unique place, which no one has ever had or will ever have. Although the Holy Virgin Mariam did not labour ‘in word and teaching’, she gave her whole being in lending her human nature to Christ the Word, with which the Lord could accomplish the salvation of the world. Therefore, we should magnify the Mother of God unto all ages because she has given us the very Word of God.

At the approach of the Mother of God, Elisabeth perceived the mystery that was at work within her and ‘she cried out with a loud voice… whence isthis to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ (Luke 1:42-43).Ever since, this has been the attitude of all those who have been touched by divine grace through the word of the Lord, through His Name, through His Body and Blood; they can only burst into an outpouring of gratitude, and their only concern is to give thanks to God for such a great and unexpected gift of His goodness.

In today’s Gospel (John 9:1-38), we findrepeated the theory of the three stages of spiritual life. In other cases,such as the blind man of Jericho,those who were sick persistently asked the Lord to heal them (Mark 10:47-48). But although the blind man intoday’s Gospel had not asked to be healed, Christ approached him ofHis own will and healed him.When the Lordparadoxically anointedhis eyes with clay, as if to aggravate his blindness,Hein fact granted him healing and the pure gift of the first grace.When the Lord sent him to the pool of Siloam,the blind man showed faith, obeyed the commandment and collaborated with God. In this collaboration God’sgrandiose purpose for man is revealed:man can then become an event even for his Creator, as St Sophrony says.

Likewise in our lives, the grace of God initially comes as a pure gift.When we turn to Him and open the door of our heart,Hefreely entersin and performs the great miracle. This initial enlightenment helps us realise the utter darkness in which we live andwe turn to God ‘with strong crying and tears’(Heb. 5:7),washing ourselves in the pool of Siloam.In the first stage, God maybestow on maneven the grace of the perfect.

But then we see the blind man being abandoned by the Lord and thrown into a turmoil of judgments:he is judged by the Pharisees and by all the people who knew him; everything becomes a judgment until he is finally cast out of the Synagogue,exiled from this world. After he went through this second stage of Godforsakenness,the Lord found him againso thathe nowentered the third stage of spiritual life.This time, he received an inner healing and the eyes of his heart were opened to recognise the Lord and worship Him, which means that he became a perfect hypostasis, speaking to God face to Face.

After the baptism ofcatechumens at Easter,the Church appointed thatSt John’s Gospel should be read.After the first light of Holy Baptism,the newly illuminedhad to receive what the Fathers called‘mystagogical catechism’and see Christ presented as ‘a sign spoken against’(Luke 2:34), bringingan ever-increasing division between the Pharisees and those who would believe in Him.

When the grace of God is at work in our life, it can also become a sign spoken against, especially in the second period of spiritual life.And if the faithful are fainthearted and do not have the right theory, they may fall into the grievous temptation of doubt, being attacked by thoughts such as:‘Was graceperhapsa mere impulse of my youth? Was itmy imagination?’In this stage,the theory and teaching of our holy Fathers is for us a great weapon and a banner of incorruptible hope, based on the fact of God and on the truth that ‘Hecareth for us’ (1 Pet. 5:7). If the grace of God found us, it was because God cared for us, not because we did something to deserve it.

*  *  *

Fr Zacharias’newbook,‘Justice of God in Stages’,which speaks about the three stages of spiritual life comes at astage in his life, when he can speak of such an important theme.In my humble opinion, one cannotspeak light-heartedly about this theme. One first needs to have walked the way and known the mystery of the ways of salvation, and then speak. Even the Prophet David says:‘I believed, therefore have I spoken,’ but immediately he adds:‘I was greatly afflicted: I said in my haste, All men are liars’ (Ps. 116:10-11).

Towards the end of his life, I noticed that Father Sophronywould say in his talks: ‘Having been amonk for more than 60 years, perhaps I could allow myself to analyse and explain this or that mystery.’Our Fathers have walked this way and then they have spoken,bearing witness to the love of God for man, which gives us incorruptible hope and strength. This is the privilege we are enjoying now, to have Fathers who,after 50-60 years of monastic life, confirm what the Fathers before them have said.Therefore, we can embrace their word with total trust.

When they lose the first grace, not knowing how to live this loss, some even fall away from faith. St Sophronyuses the expression ‘the ways of the Lord’ to refer to these stages through which we all have to go in order to increase in God. A question that troubles the conscience of many Christians is:‘Is it God that withdraws His grace? Or is it man who loses it?’Often it is both. Often God waits for a moment when we make a mistake, and then He withdraws, thus making our self-emptying greater.Whoever has not gone through the ascetic struggle to reacquire grace lacks authentic spiritual knowledge.

All this instruction, all this judgment to which God subjects us, aims to transmit to us a greater knowledge; and in this life, knowledge equals sufferings. We increase in knowledge the more we dive into this shoreless ocean of the sufferings of those who follow the Lamb of God. Father Sophrony met St Silouan, when the Staretz was already in the third period of spiritual life. It is always so beautiful to read Father Sophrony speaking about his Elder. He had such obedience that he would kiss in spirit the traces of St Silouan’s footsteps. The bond of love between them is so tangible and because the words of Father Sophrony come out of such a loving heart, it makes the word about his Elder so vivid that it quickens even my dead spirit.

Why does God withdraw from the life of the Christian? The first reason is that our nature is not yet conformed to the pattern of divine life revealed to us in the first grace. Second, grace may be withdrawn as a punishment when man falls into a sin. The third reason is that the Christian can no longer keep a humble spirit and falls into vainglory and self-satisfaction. Fourth, a very important and holy reason which we often see in the lives of the ascetics, is that grace withdraws by the providence of God. Although the ascetic makes no mistake, grace recedesbecauseGod wants to initiate him into the path of Christ and to repeat in him the judgment of His Only-begotten Son (1 Pet. 4:17). The fifth reason is didactic, because it aims to teach man to appreciate the gift of God. There comes a moment inof our life when werealise with a bitter acknowledgment that we have not appreciated the gift of God. This awareness can lead us to repentance, and therefore, to life.

*  *  *

Q: What is most beneficial for man in the first period of spiritual life?

Archim. Peter:A common mistake many of us make is that we live this period like drunk, like them that dream, being carried about by the Spirit of God. However, we should bear in mind that while this grace is with us, it is time for us to establish good habits in our life:to love prayer, to have the word of God dwelling richly in us, to prepare with greater zeal for the Liturgy, and unceasingly seek even a little contact with the spirit of Christ’s prayer for the world in Gethsemane;to love humble thoughts, frequent and honest confession, to approach our spiritual fathers with the fear of God and not with the spirit of arrogance and judgment.

One ascetic made this simile: in the beginning, God places in our hands two candles:one is called asceticism, the other grace. God lights the candle of gracefreely, without our merit. While it is burning, we must use it to light the candle of asceticism in our life, so that when later the candle of grace goes out, the candle of asceticism canshed light on our path. The purpose of the first period is that we build our house on the rock and not on the sand, so that when storms come, our house will not crumble down.

Question:What is the most important thing we should keep in mind during the second period of spiritual life?

Archim. Peter:We should never forget the time of the Lord’s visitation. He came in the first period and bore witness in our heart to Himself. We should also remember that Christ is ‘the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Heb. 13:8), and that although we are liars (Ps. 116:11), He is always faithful and cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13). The spirit of self-condemnation is also of great help in this period. Turning the blame against ourselves will open our spirit to a greater knowledge of the mystery of the ways of salvation.

Archim. Zacharias:  Father Sophrony insists that the most important is to strive to learn the wisdom of God’s chastening. In this period the Lord chastens us as His sons so as to impart to us the grace of adoption. Man is called to prove to God that he belongs to Him and then he receive the grace of adoption forever.

Archim. Peter:The prophet said: ‘I will bear the wrath of God, because I have sinned against Him’ (Mic. 7:9). The three children blamed themselves in the furnace of Babylon for the apostasy of their people and because they walked prophetically the path of Christ, they immediately found Him as their Companion in the furnace.

Father Sophrony says that if we understand the second period as an assimilation into the mystery of the self-emptying of Christ, it becomes very creative. Thisis an opportunity for us to receive the chastening of the Lord, as is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 12). This Epistle speaks about the prophetic earthquake that God allows, not for us to be destroyed, but so that we may shake off from our heart everything that is still corruptible, and leave only those things that are unshakeable and eternal.

Question:The Lord says:‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see’ (John 9:39).What is it that they see not?

Archim. Peter: He speaks about the light of the knowledge of God.Those who are in the darkness of ignorance of Godbut receive Him with faith, will receive an inner illumination and the eyes of their soul will open to see the light of the knowledge of God.Whereas those who think that they see,like the Pharisees, will be blinded.And indeed,incredible miracles happened before them, He healedthe sick andraised the dead,and yet they remained blind.

Unfortunately,when the heart of man begins to harden, he is blinded.As we read in The Philokalia,‘A blurred eye sees everything blurred.’ Once the eye of our heart becomes blurred through pride, we can no longer see clearly. Then, either we will ask for help or we will perish. Every time,the Pharisees would cross an irrevocable boundary,we see from the words of the Lord thattheir judgment went deeper and deeper in afall without return. They had suchrage against Him because, explicitly and implicitly, He told them the truth that they did not believe in Him because they did not believe in God either:‘If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham’ (John 8:39).

Question:The Lord came forth to meet the blind man after He had restored his physical sight. Is this because the man had not yet seen the Face of Him Who had healed him?

Archim. Peter:He went to him after he was cast out of the synagogue. He did the same with Zacchaeus: He visited Him after he became a laughing-stock by climbing on the sycamore tree. Christ, Whowas on His way to the Cross of shame,recognised in Zacchaeussomething common with His spirit.After the Lord restored his sight, the man was on his own, but he replies to the Pharisees with great wisdom.First he explained to them how the miracle happened, but when they asked him a second time, he perceived that they were not honest and his reply was very brief.

When they sent him away, Christ approached him and asked him:‘Dost thou believe in the Son of God?’ And he said:‘And who is he, lord, that I might believe? The fact that he says ‘lord’ shows that he recognised that Christ was He Who had healed him. But when Christ revealedHimself saying: ‘Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee,’ the blind man said:‘I believe, Lord.’Here ‘Lord’ means ‘my Lord and my God’ (John 20:28). Then he worshipped Him, as if saying,‘Thine own of Thine own I offer unto Thee;’ and Christ’s reply,‘I have come for a judgment into the world that those who do not see might see,’is as if He were saying:‘The Holy Things unto the holy,’‘All that is Mine is thine.’Thus, we see an exchange of lives in the Lord’s converse with the blind man.

Question:What opens our noetic eye?

Archim. Peter:Amere touch of the grace of God immediately opens the eyes of our heart. We see this inthe Samaritan woman (John 4:5-42): despite her previousdissolute life,the longer she conversed with the Lord, the more grace she received and themore her eyes opened. She started by saying:‘How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.’Then she added:‘Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?’Then: ‘Give me this water.’Finally, she ran to Samaria to preach that she had found the Messiah, and she was no longer even ashamed to say thatHe had revealed all her sins, as if they were no longer her transgressions, which shows that she had received newness of life in Christ.

Question:How can we avoid despair when we know that God’s grace has withdrawn because we have sinned?

Archim. Peter:We must accept with faith the word of our Fathers.Even if we have sinned and grace has withdrawn, we should actlike the prodigal son:when he realised his mistake, he did not say:‘I have ruined everything, I am no longer worthy to be the son of my father, what is the point ofreturning to him?’He desired to return to the house of his father,become as one of his servants,and repent there where for many years he had enjoyed his good pleasure as a son. When grace leaves us because of a mistake we have made, we should also turn to God with faith, taking all the blame upon ourselves and repeating the words we sayat Pentecost:‘Yea, Lord, against Thee have I sinned, but only Theedo I worship. I have sinned against Thee, but Thoualone art my Lord and my God.’Both are true. If we judge our life according to our deeds, we are unworthy of Christ,but without Him, we die. We need to keep both these truths in our prayer, andthis is the science that our Fathers have passed on, of keeping our mind in hell without despairing.

May the God of our Fathers,Who visited us in our lowly state in the beginning,when we sat in the darkness of ignorance, be our Fellow-traveller in the second period, and may He increase the wound of love in our heart so that we may voluntarily embrace His chastisement. I end with the words of another Staretz of our times, who said: ‘Do not be afraid of the chastisement of God, for He does not chastise us as His enemies, but instructs us as His children.’

For others, faith is dull and indistinct, while for others it is smooth and clear, it is the way for man to reach fullness, to be free from the phenomena of the world.

The competition between Science and Orthodoxy begins in the 19th century.

It was then, that positivism prevailed and people associated scientific and technological development with the well-being of society. Until then, we saw the great scientists looking for God’s plan for the creation of the world. They were trying to explain why and how the world was created, What they didn’t understand was reduced  to a divine origin so they could have a title to ‘put’ on it.

In the 20th century this competition heats up, the search for the universe and its operation begins, the theories of things sometimes evolve and reformulate and sometimes depose one another. A race for the scientific community to put everything on paper.

However,  Orthodoxy continues to count believers. Believers who don’t ask themselves to put their questions on paper, but use the paper to light candles, write names for religion, read psalms and hymns, glorify the most High.

In order to understand the creation and the image of God, perhaps we should make a parable and apply the ‘human principle’ but with faith in God as a starting point. In this way the observer sees the world that is not understood and not interpreted, things are not understood as material, but as wisdom and providence[2]

There is no doubt that the debate unfolding in the public sphere about Science and Orthodoxy has many levels of reading and strong points of conflict.

Orthodox faith has measures and tools with which we can record and study, but it also has something else, it has faith, it has Christ, it has the word, these are not measurable elements With the stereotypical contrast between the light of science and in the darkness of religion, in the freedom of inquiry and dogma, an idealized picture of science emerges. But we forget that science changes while religion is immutable because God is immutable

It is undeniable that science is constantly evolving and trying to expand its knowledge. There is the impression that Science  has evolved so much that  has the answer to everything. But in reality we know very little. Religion on the other hand is based on the scriptures and beliefs in the Triune God. So since religion, by definition, does not work like science, why should we use the criteria of science to judge religion?

In liberal democracies, for historical, social and philosophical reasons, religion enjoys special protection and respect. Religious consciousness is given special treatment because it is linked to the individual identity, personal dignity and existential anguish of everyone. And if science comes to question the Divine and prevail as an interpretation of the world and the Universe, Theology has to answer that God has let science evolve and of course predicted its existence

Jesus Christ came to preach Eternal Truths to the world and not to get involved in the fickle and fluid political reality of the “globalized” age. Today, the gospel of the Lord is perceived as an individual and internal case, and is studied through the historical-critical, sociological and philological analysis of the sources. The science behind Orthodoxy is hidden and revealed to the believer and set forth in the Scriptures. Depending on the place that Religion has in a society, sources and interpretations are counted and translated.

Accordingly, opinions and their weight are accepted. So Science and Religion are called upon to answer the great question of the creation of the Universe and indeed with the full range of their dynamics. The study of the natural world is done through logic. But God gave the gift of reason as one of  the means to glorify Him. I believe there is no reason to torture ourselves and get into this confrontation. The content of Theology is different from that of Science. Theology talks about the Creation of the World, about God, about the fall, sickness, communion with God, salvation, while Science, as the word itself says, deals with the scientific, with what controls the senses. The problem arises when science is sanctified and Theology is secularized [3] There is no reason for insecurity in the face of scientific achievements. The scientist knows the creations while the seer knows the god and between the created and the uncreated nature there are no similarities.

 It is perhaps God’s will that we still do not understand the difference. We are not ready for the connection of soul with matter. At this point I want to submit the reflection, God foresaw and supported science and research so that man can understand and recognize His creation, scientists putting everything in rules that have a specific explanation and sequence do not find a place in inexplicable. So it is inexplicable or maybe science has not yet asked the right question and therefore does not have the answer it recognizes. If we assume that the explanation of the world is read through the prism of the science we know so far and discover every day, maybe we just haven’t been in a position to see the answers because we are not yet at that level of evolution and I will go ahead and say: maybe the “Day of Reckoning” will be present when we are scientifically advanced enough to be able to see it!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Antonarakis Stylianos: Science and Religion – Stylianos Antonarakis on Science and Religion
• John Hedley Brooke, for Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge 1991)
• John H. Evans. (Author)February 2018, Morals Not Knowledge Recasting the Contemporary U.S. Conflict between Religion and Science.
• Hierotheos Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios. Between two centuries – Chapter 4. publications of the Holy Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Pelagias)
• Christian Ethics II, G. Mantzaridis. Man and God. Man and fellow man. Existential and bioethical positions and perspectives
• Interview of H.E. Nikolaos, Metropolitan of Mesogaia and Lavreotike (in Greek
• His Eminence Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Laureotiki on the relationship between science and the Church, https://project-sow.org/node/309, retrieved 2/1/2023
• Petros Panagiotopoulos, Volumes and incompatibilities, Ropi publications
• Prediction omens oracles & prophecies – HarvardX edX online course
• Ioannis Romanidis rare speech retrieved 7-16-2023

International Scientific Conference

PHAICON 24

Athens, Greece, Nov. 18 – 21, 2024

Co-organizers

Saint Maxim the Greek Institute

Office of the Orthodox Church at the European Union

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Apostolos Nikolaidis, Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Religion and Social Ethics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Head of the Scientific Committe)

Fr. Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, Secretary General, Office of the Orthodox Church at the European Union, Director of the Institute of Orthodox Theology, Apostle Paul, Brussels

Georgios Mantzaridis, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Christian Ethics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Daniel Hinshaw, M.D. Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Geriatrics Center & Professor Emeritus of Surgery, University of Michigan

Ioannis A. Ieropoulos, Professor, Chair in Environmental Engineering Civil, Maritime and Environmental Engineering Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Research Interests: Environmental Engineering, Bioelectrochemistry, Autonomous Bio-Robotics, University of Southampton

Konstantinos KornarakisProfessor of Christian Ethics and Bioethics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Ziad Kobti, Professor and Director of the School of Computer Science, at University of Windsor, Canada

Jean-Claude Larchet, Honorary Professor of Philosophy and Theology

Adrian Lemeni, Professor, Director of the Doctoral School at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Director of the Center of Dialogue and Research in Theology, Philosophy and Science, University of Bucharest

Michail Mantzanas, Professor of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Fr. Antoine Melki, Chairman, Department of Computer Science, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Coordinator, Arab Support Center for Free and Open-Source Software (Ma3bar), University of Balamand.

Dn. Adrian Sorin Mihalache, Lecturer, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University,  Former Executive Director of the Centre for Research on Medicine and Spirituality, Providenta Hospital, Iasi, Former Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Religion, Philosophy and Science, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi

Aleksandar Petrovic, Professor, Seminar for Social Sciences, Faculty of Philology,

Vice-President – Department of the History, and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Belgrade

Fr. Alexis Torrance, Archbishop Demetrios Associate Professor of Byzantine Theology, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, Department of Theology, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame

Hank Hanegraaff, President of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast and the Hank Unplugged podcast

Nickolaos Koios, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Bioethics, Department of Theology. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Dr. Vassilios Constantoudis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INN) of NCSR Demokritos

Fr. Bassam A. Nassif, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, St John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand

Petros Panagiotopoulos, Associate Professor of Pastoral Ethics of Scientists Applications, Department of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Evaggelos D. Propapadakis, Associate Professor of Applied Ethics, Director of the NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab, Head of the Greek Unit, International Chair in Bioethics (WMA Cooperation Center), Member of the National Commission for Bioethics and Technoethics

Fr. Gregory Stamkopoulos, Associate Professor of Applications of Information Technology, School of Social Theology and Christian Culture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Dr. George Giannakopoulos, Researcher, SKEL lab, Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications of NCSR Demokritos, co-founder and CEO of SciFY, a not-for-profit AI organization bringing AI results to society.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Nikos Gouraros (Head of OC),

Fr. Pawel Cecha, Fr. Gennadios Manolis,

Eleni Xanthaki, Sofia Kolokotroni

AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE

From the humanism of Modernity and the Enlightenment there sprang great confidence in the ability of human reason and the potential of the human spirit to define not only the course of our life but also our codes of values. What followed in the twentieth century did not confirm the anthropological optimism of modernity. Despite significant scientific achievements and social gains, humanity emerged deeply wounded from two world wars, from holocausts, genocides, ethnic cleansings, divisions, totalitarian regimes and the cold war.

Modern societies recognize the need for science and ethics to make common progress. Ethics is, however, unable to keep pace with the rapid developments in bio-medical technology, the digital eco-system, cybernetics and robotics, all of which are factors which create new actualities for life and reality and which foster expectations which are ever less likely to be regarded as scenarios from science fiction. Artificial intelligence, the latest achievement of scientific applications, has already taken over a large number of everyday functions, meeting human needs through the digital eco-system and automation. However, the prospect that it may be linked to human nature itself and to the human person poses huge questions for the fields of ethics, anthropology, science, philosophy and theology.

The deductions by modern intellectuals who link AI to the evolution of the human species have introduced new terms such as trans-human and post-human. These terms have already been the subject of extensive scientific, philosophical and theological reflection. Without doubt, they will soon come under the scrutiny of politics and the law.

Of particular concern is the outbreak of a kind of deconstructionist and hostile rightsism which has become marked in the world, known as wokeism. Already, important thinkers have noted the reversal and traducement of commonly accepted values, and even of common sense, at the altar of a new attitude to life and a theory. The latter, either through fear-engendering hysteria or through a skillfully veiled mask, changes the concepts of anthropology, the socially accepted and the politically correct and thus abolishes every universal criterion of exactitude. This attitude, which a misinterpretation, misuse and abuse of the foundation of human rights, may bring with it disastrous results if it forms the anthropological basis for the espousal of artificial intelligence and what is characterized as post-humanism.

It should be stressed that Orthodox Christian Theology does not have human rights as its main theme, but rather the rights of God. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christian theologians do talk about human rights, and have put forwards certain improvements or additions to the existing theories. These do not seem to have moved or to move people to any great extent. Today we have arrived at ‘Woke Culture’.

Wokeism is perhaps particularly topical for theology. But here, being woke must be of an entirely different nature. If wokeism for post-modern people aims at their liberation from all natural, human and social restrictions, by abrogating them and consenting to absolute contrariness and wantonness, for Orthodox Christian theology it should aim at our total liberation, which is achieved through submission to the will of the Incarnate Word. Although this truth exists in Orthodox Christian theology, it is not sufficiently emphasized in its encounter with everyday reality. The total manumission proposed by wokeism removes their humanity from people, in essence leading to the destructuring of society and death at its own hand. This is easy and can be applied comfortably in everyday life, as witnessed by its wide-spread acceptance. Complete adherence to the will of the Incarnate Word is difficult, however, and is achieved through everyday sacrifice. But that does, indeed, lead to absolute freedom, to the freedom of God Who is unable to do evil, that is to deny Himself. This is our absolute freedom: the freedom of deification.

Having been made in the image of the absolutely personal God, we are stifled by the limitations of our created nature. Our nature has lost its unity. It has become alienated and fractured. The desire for absolute freedom has been undermined by the alienation of our nature. We feel chained to our self and seek total liberation from the outside world. We despair over our naive attempts at self-knowledge and hope to be redeemed through knowledge of and exploitation of the world that surrounds us. The sciences and technology are constantly discovering means of satisfying our material needs and desires, even while they are also deepening despair, as well as the concern for the tragedy we observe at the depth of our inner world and the state and prospects of our existence. We rejoice at our successes but are also wary of their consequences.

The classical Ancient Greek exhortation ‘Know thyself’ is rather intimidating because, when it is not applied with the façade of hypocrisy and narcissism, it intensifies disappointment and leads to despair. This is where the ascetic tradition of Christianity presents the way of the cross and resurrection, culminating in the charismatic despair of the ascetics. Every person knows that they are not the cause of their existence. Having accepted God as our creator, it is natural that we also seek from him the meaning and purpose of our existence. Christians are called upon to take up their cross and follow Christ ‘wherever he goes’. ‘We commend ourselves and others and all our life to Christ our God’. The common journey in this direction, with a humble outlook, offers people support in their difficulties and imbues their despair with grace.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Would those interested in taking part in the International Conference on Post-Humanism and Artificial Intelligence (ICPHAI-24), please send, by 30 January 2024, the proposed title of their paper and a brief precis of 250 words, as well as a CV in Greek or English to the following electronic mail address: phaicon24@stmaximthegreek.org. After evaluation, the International Scientific Committee will announce the speakers at the conference.

POTENTIAL THEMATIC AREAS FOR PAPERS SUBMISSION

1. Artificial Intelligence
a. History- evolution – social acceptance
b. Scientific parameters: where we are and where we are going
c. Achievements: what we aim to do
d. Socio-economic factors: Who control and who define the way forward and future developments.
e. Philosophical and theological reflections: how far is the human person protected and how far endangered.
f. What ethics and what code of conduct, what policies and legal stipulations can be applied to issues as they arise.

2. Trans-humanism and Post-humanism
a. Definition – evolution – stages
b. Theories concerning trans-humanism and post-humanism
c. Trans-humanism and post-humanism in philosophical thought
d. Trans-humanism and post-humanism in theology
e. The anthropology of trans-humanism and post-humanism (causes, aim-meaning, society, trans-humanist relationships, trans-gender relations).
f. Deconstructive rightsism (Wokeism), trans-humanism and post-humanism
g. Rightsism and self-awareness

3. Orthodox anthropology and pastoral care
a. Relations between theology and science
b. Orthodox anthropology: people in the image and likeness of God
c. The human person, the neighbor and society in Christianity
d. Orthodox pastoral approach of the Church and wokeism: Gender Ideology in Society, Authoritarianism, Critical Race Theory, LGBTQIA+ Challenges, Transgenderism, Gender and Human Identity, Christian Parenting and the Public School, Professional life and Christian conscience, Redefinition of Marriage, Aggressive Marketing -Companies/Advertising/Digital Media/TV/Cinema/-)
e. Orthodox pastoral approach of the Church and Artificial Intelligence
f. Orthodox pastoral approach of the Church and post-humanism
g. Orthodox Christian Theology and human rights
h. The rights of God and human rights

The working languages of the Conference are Greek and English. Papers should not exceed 20 minutes in length. A discussion will take place after the reading of each paper.

Information regarding the acceptance of papers and participation by the chosen speakers at the Conference will be published by 15 February 2024.

The PHAICON 24 conference will be held on the basis of physical presence but will simultaneously be broadcast over the internet through international digital media. The Saint Maxim the Greek Institute will cover the expenses of the speakers taking part in the Conference (registration, travel, accommodation, meals).

The feasts in general are a sign of the bountiful care of God for man.Every time we celebrate the world-saving events of the divine economy, the pattern of divine life is set forth before us, that is, the incomprehensible grandeur of the incorruptible and humble love of God.In this way a noble desire is stirred up within us to sing a hymn of gratitude to God for the salvation He has wrought by His ineffable dispensation.

At the same time, however, the feasts constitute a judgment, because they place us before the awesome judgment seat of the love of God. Divine love is so holy, so infinite and blameless, that under its light man is put to shame; he is judged and condemned because he is unable to duly respond.

The feasts of the Lord, as milestones during the year, help us to regain our orientation in life, to remember our calling and our destiny from before the foundation of the world, to acquire ‘the mind of Christ’,[1]to assume His life. They reignite our living hope, and in this way, they strengthen us in our struggle, because man without purpose and hope, without faith in eternity, is weakened, paralysed, and he disintegrates, losing his identity, so that he is unable to reject the patterns of the world and resist the ruler of this age.

We are on the eve of the great celebration of Christmas. Saint Ignatius the Godbearer characterises the ever-virginity of the Mother of God, the Birth of Christ and His death as, ‘three mysteries loudly proclaimed, though accomplished in the stillness of God’.[2]This feast is indeed a cry of testimony that God ‘so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’.[3]

The same Saint calls Christ ‘the word that came forth from the silence [of the Father]’.[4]Christ is the Word of the Father, because He brought to those born on earth the revelation of God, the knowledge of His love, the example of the way that fallen manmay be restored as a son in the House of the Father. But to speak about Christmas, we must go back to the beginning of the relationship between God and man.

The Triune God is self-sufficient and in need of nought. He created the world out of His exceeding love. He created man and crowned him with great glory, setting forth for him a destiny to become not merely an angel, but a son of God by grace. In Paradise, Adam lived in the Presence of God. His attention was fixed on His Countenance. God held Himself forth as a pattern before Adam, and he imitated Him. However, the enemy, the devil, insinuated himself between them.

The extreme arrogance of Lucifer, who wanted to set his throne over the throne of God, led him to his ultimate and irrevocable fall. Since then, he has never ceased to enviously endeavour to lure man into the same fall, by instilling in him the morbid and foolish desire to become a god without God. In Paradise, the wicked serpent first wounded man in his mind by falsely accusing God. He attacked his will and wounded it also, making it weak and feeble. Man accepted the suggestion of the enemy and fell. He came out from the divine Presence, saw his nakedness, and greatly ashamed, he wanted to hide from his Creator.

Ever since then, man’s psyche has been enslaved to the law of sin and death, fearing God and constantly drawing back from Him. But God never ceased to pursue His creature with His mercy. From the very first moments of man’s fall, God imparted the First Gospel, the strange promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.[5]And while man has forsaken God, God has not forsaken inconsolable and helpless man.‘God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.’[6]He gave as a prophetic sign His new Name, Emmanuel, God with us.[7]

‘For neither an angel, nor a man, but the Lord Himself saved us.’[8]In a paradoxical way, Holy Scripture uses the same terms in the Old and New Testaments to describe the creation of man and the kenosis of the divine incarnation. God created man‘according to His image and likeness’.[9]But because man failed to render the ‘likeness’, Christ came in the likeness of man, ‘taking upon Him the form of a servant’.[10]

The mind and thoughts of God are different from the mind and thoughts of man. That is why His way appears paradoxical, different. He Himself announces with the mouth of His Prophet:‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways.’^[11]As Saint Irenaeus of Lyon observes, the Lord came to earth not as He ‘could have come to us in His own incorruptible glory, but (as) we as yet had no power …therefore to us, as to babes, the perfect Bread of the Father communicates Himself as milk, for that kind of thing was His human Presence, in order that we, nourished by His Flesh as by the breast, and accustomed, by this sort of milk diet, to eat and drink the Word of God, might be able to retain in ourselves the Bread of Immortality which is the Spirit of the Father.’[12]

Christ did not come to impose Himself on mortal men with the almighty power and radiance of His divinity. He came secretly, through extreme degradation to attract them by His love, divine and supernatural. That is why the Apostle exclaims in awe:‘Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.’[13]

The Cross and the extreme self-emptying of Christ did not only take place on Golgotha and during His descent into hell. They began from the moment when the Lord Jesus, God Almighty, deigned to come to earth and to be made man. Who can measure the infinite distance between the divine height where the Lord was in the bosom of the Heavenly Father and the depth of His abasement when He put Himself beneath every creature?He Who truly Is, Who has the same Essence, the same life, as God the Father‘assumed our vile body’.[14]

‘The Word became flesh.’[15]The King of kings was revealed as a weak and defenceless babe. The Creator of all things, ‘Who holds the universe in His hand’, was laid in a manger of dumb beasts. The bearer of boundless treasure lived in indescribable poverty. The Lord of heaven and earth was registered as the servant of an earthly king.He Who is glorified by the angels in‘unstilled hymns of praise’, was persecuted by men from the very first days of His earthly life.The impassible God became ‘the man of sorrows’, the ‘suffering servant’.

It was in fact inevitable for Christ to suffer on earth, since he was righteous, pure, sinless, spotless and blameless. He revealed the light of holiness in a world that ‘lieth in wickedness’[16]and men ‘loved the darkness rather than the light’ because they were afraid that the depravity of their deeds might be reproved.[17]

Christ was born in the flesh amidst a small people, persecuted and ‘stiffnecked’,[18]in an insignificant city, Bethlehem, and in the most humble way, because for the Virgin Mary and the Joseph the Betrothed‘there was no room in the inn’.[19]He was born as a vulnerable babe, showing that those who belong to Him must become like babes ‘in malice’,[20]fed with the‘sincere milk’[21]of the ‘Lamb and Shepherd’[22]Christ.

The Lord did not recline on a royal couch draped in purple, but in a manger of dumb beasts, thus giving great hope. Indeed, man in his fall became bestial ‘like unto the senseless cattle’,[23]But however defiled his heart may be, God does not turn away from him, but it is His goodwill and good pleasure to lie in the manger of the dumb creature of his soul.  It only takes man to turn to Him and humbly seek His help and succour.

The angels who proclaimed the Nativity of the Lord to the shepherds, gave them as a sign that they would find an infant ‘wrapped in swaddling clothes’.[24]The swaddling bands of Christ foretold His burial in the tomb. This infant did not come to earth to live, but to die for the sake of man’s salvation.

We stand in awe before the self-emptying and the ineffable humility of Christ, which are presented these days in the readings and hymnography of the Church. But it is not sufficient to marvel at His divine humility. We must also go to worship it. Our call as Christians is to embrace the way of Christ. This is what the Apostle exhorts us to do:‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.’[25]Christianity is not a philosophical teaching, but a journey after the Lord, a relationship of love with Him,the ‘abundance of life’.[26]

Through the Nativity of God the Word, eternity entered into time. History was split in two, but the thread that connected God and man before the fall of Adam was joined into one.Christ through His Birth,‘from the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary’,‘made all things new’.[27]He founded a new Jerusalem, where He builds a temple with living stones,[28]with the souls ofthose who bear His Name. In this temple, His Church, He planted an unquenchable spring of grace, of sanctification, ‘of so great salvation’.[29]

The Lord through His incarnate dispensation accomplished ‘the salvific recapitulation of all things’. He marked a new era and wrought ‘a new man’.He not only restored the perfection of the First Created in Paradise, but He gave man the potential for a greater measure of perfection, because in His Person the divine and human natures were hypostatically united.

Christ assumed everything human except sin. He suffered His incomprehensible kenosis and the Cross, so that in all things ‘He might have the pre-eminence.’[30]He humbled Himself utterly, placing Himself beneath all, taking upon Himself the sin and pain of the whole world. Since then, it is impossible for there to be any fulness of suffering that Christ has not endured.Therefore, no matter how unbearable the trial we are going through may seem, we can always directly refer to the Person of Christ and walk in His footsteps.

The Lord Jesus showed us that the centre of sin is the will of man. He healed it by completely and voluntarily surrendering His human will to the Heavenly Father. In His prayer in Gethsemane, He said: ‘Not my will, but Thine, be done.’[31]Furthermore, on Golgotha He sealed His perfect surrender into the hands of the Father with His holy blood.

Not only was the love of the Heavenly Father revealed to those born on earth in the Person of Christ, but also the Man that God had in mind when He created Adam. Saint Sophrony observes:‘Christ revealed both the image of the God the Creator and the image of created man, such as he was and ever is in the creative Mind of the preeternal Father.’[32]

Christ revealed the ontological depth of man and the fact that the life of each person is inextricably linked to the life of the entire human race. The Lord was born on earth, lived among men, preached the truth of God, suffered, died, descended to the infernal regions, was resurrected, and ascended, having all Adam as the content of His heart.When man becomes an imitation of Christ, when he has Christ ‘living and walking’[33]in his heart, he also bears within him all Adam.

Christians often wish during this period that Christ may be born in our hearts. Usually, however, they are unaware that this word expresses a specific truth.What, then, might be the meaning of the apostolic word ‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith’?[34]

Christ came and was born on earth, hypostatically and bodily once and for all, borrowing flesh from the all-holy Virgin. This event is unique and unrepeatable. However, the Fathers preach that Christ can be born in the heart of every man ‘in a way which is at once spiritual and substantial’.[35]Saint Maximus the Confessor writes in relation to this:‘The divine Logos, Who once for all was born in the flesh, always in His compassion desires to be born in spirit in those who desire Him. He becomes an infant and forms Himself in them through the virtues.’[36]

These words are great. They beget gratitude in the depths of the heart and the desire to recompense thankgiving to God not only for His unspeakable self-emptying during His sojourn upon earth, but also for the fact that He longs to be incarnate in the heart of each one of us. Also, however, there arises the godly concern of how to open and fitly prepare the secret place of the heart, so that the Lord may be made flesh therein.

First of all, Christ is born as a babe in the heart, when man receives the seed of faith. Then, He continues to grow as man keeps the divine commandments – and especially the all-encompassing commandment of repentance –as he partakes in the Sacraments of the Church and conforms his will to the divine will.As Christ increases in him, so man matures spiritually and increases with ‘the increase of God’,[37]until he attains‘unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’.[38]

The acceptance with faith of the word of God crucifies the mind and unites it with the heart. And when the mind is baptised in a heart burning with gratitude for God, the divine Benefactor, man acquires great boldness in his spiritual struggle. He realises that what appears to the earthly mind as foolishness and weakness is actually ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God’,[39] life and light.He is nailed to the invisible cross of the commandments, and this cross becomes a conduit that transmits to him the knowledge and life of God.

The example that shows us how to receive Emmanuel, how to acquire the ‘young Child’, Jesus, incarnate in our hearts, is set forth before us in the Person of the most holy Mother of God, who blamelessly and spotlessly served the work of the divine dispensation for universal salvation. We ought to adorn our hearts with the virtues that adorned His immaculate Mother, her deep humility and thirst for God, her purity and spiritual virginity, her obedience and total surrender to the divine will.

In the beginning of creation, God brought all creation from non-being to being with one word, ‘Let there be…’The all-holy Virgin through the word of Her perfect surrender to God, ‘Be it unto me according to thy word,’ brought the Creator Himself to earth. The true surrender of man to the will of God accomplishes great and wondrous things in his life. God comes and renders holiness within him.However, in order to surrender to God, man must overcome a great obstacle, his will; he must also reject the delusion that the love of God and the love of the world are compatible.

Our God is a jealous God. He demands the whole heart of man without any division. As He became a stranger upon earth, He seeks for us to also become strangers, to come out of the camp of this world.[40]As He loves in an absolute way, He desires us also to prefer nothing over His love, to love Him ‘with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength’.[41]Of course, on our own, we are not strong enough either to renounce the world or to love God, but by the cooperation of grace that which is humanly impossible is made possible.[42]

The all-holy Virgin received the Annunciation during her hesychastic seclusion in the Holy of Holies, when she delighted in prayer and in the study of God’s word. Therefore, hesychastic prayer makes man the target of God’s visitation and clothes him in ‘the grace of the glory that cometh from God for ever’.[43]The Lord himself commands: ‘Be ye still and know that I am God’,[44]indicating that hesychia is the way to the knowledge of God, that is, ‘communion in being’, ontological union with Him.Hesychastic prayer is the most powerful cry of man to God, but it is also during hesychastic prayer that God imparts to the heart the most tangible witness of His presence within it.

The period before Christmas is a time to prepare ourselves in hesychia and prayer, so that we can hearken to the word of the manger of Christ that cries in silence:‘In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live inHim,’[45]and readily respond by sending forth to God hymns of thanksgiving and love.

The Church exhorts us: ‘Christ is born; glorify him. Christ is come from heaven, go to meet Him.’ At the same time, however, we, her members, realising how ‘far from salvation’ we are, and that we are more like children of hell than children of God, ask: ‘What can we offer Thee, O Christ?’ However, even if we have nothing worthy of the Lord, let us at least offer Him our humble thanksgiving in the incorruptible hope that, if the Almighty Jesus,‘the preeternal God’,became a babe in swaddling clothes,and sacrificed His life for us, how will He not do all things for our salvation?

Christ is born. Let us all come to meet Him in our hearts with gratitude. Let it be so.

Archimandrite Zacharias

[1]1 Cor. 2:16.

[2]. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, ‘Letter to the Ephesians’ in The Epistles of Saint Clement of Rome and Saint Ignatius of Antioch, 19, p. 67. PG 5, 660B.

[3]John 3:16.

[4]Saint Ignatius of Antioch, ‘Letter to the Magnesians’, in TheEpistles of Saint Clement of Rome and Saint Ignatius of Antioch, 8.2, p. 72.

[5] Gen. 3:15.

[6]Heb. 1:1.

[7] Isa. 7:14.

[8]The Prayer of the Proskomidi.

[9]Cf. Gen. 1:26.

[10]Cf. Phil. 2:7.

[11] Isa. 55:8.

[12] Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresy, Book 4, chp. 38, part 1, p. 437.

[13] 1 Tim. 3:16.

[14] Phil. 3:21;The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, Anaphora.

[15]John 1:14.

[16] 1John 5:19.

[17] John 3:19-20.

[18] Exod. 33:3;Deut. 9:6.

[19] Luke 2:7.

[20] 1 Cor. 14:20.

[21] 1Pet. 2:2.

[22]Akathist Hymn,Stasis B.

[23] Ps. 48:13 and 21 (LXX).

[24] Luke 2:12.

[25] Phil. 2:5.

[26]Cf. John 10:10.

[27] Rev. 21:5.

[28] 1 Pet. 2:5.

[29]Heb. 2:3.

[30]The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, Anaphora.

[31]Luke 22:42.

[32]Archim. Sophrony, The Mystery of Christian Life, p. 191.

[33]Cf. Levit. 26:12;2 Cor. 6:16.

[34]Cf. Eph. 3:17.

[35]Saint Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses,

vol. 1, 10, p. 55-56. SC 122, p. 252.

[36]Cf. Saint Maximus the Confessor, ‘Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy and Virtue and Vice’ in The Philokalia, vol. 2, pp. 165-166. PG 90, 1182B.

[37]Col. 2:19.

[38] Eph. 4:13.

[39] 1 Cor. 1:18.

[40] Heb. 13,13.

[41]Cf. Deut. 6:5; Mark 12:30;Luke 10:27.

[42] Matt. 19:26;Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27.

[43] Baruch 5:1.

[44] Ps. 46:10.

[45] 1John 4:9.

The details of this encounter between Joseph and Mary are not recorded in the Scripture.  A few of the Fathers of the Church have attempted to construct a possible dialog between the two, with a frustrated Joseph making accusations and a preachy Mary quoting scripture.  I find such supposed dialogs hard to imagine.  After all, the Gospels say that Mary “treasured these things in her heart,” implying that she was not wont to talk about her spiritual experiences. Also, Her Son when accused was silent. I tend to see the encounter as St. John Chrysostom does.  Sticking closely to the biblical text, as he usually does, St. Chrysostom says that Mary remained silent before her husband’s questions and doubts–whatever they were.  And we know from the iconographic tradition of the Church that Joseph did struggle with doubt.

In the icon of the Holy Nativity of Christ, usually in the lower corner, one sees a thoughtful Joseph being spoken to by what looks like a shepherd often wearing a furry coat. That fellow represents doubt.  And why wouldn’t Joseph struggle with doubt? After all, the Annunciation took place between the Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel when Mary was alone.  And according to the Gospel, Her cousin Elizabeth was the only one who knew of Her pregnancy (and that by revelation).  Joseph had gone off to work well before Mary began to show her condition, so when he came home, suddenly he was confronted with an obviously pregnant espoused wife.

Joseph. Mosaic from Rome, 8th Century

On many levels, Joseph was in a pickle. Mary was a well known consecrated Virgin.  According to Church Tradition, after She had been reared in theTemple–probably by the Righteous Anna (see Luke 2:36)–and when she reached marriageable age, Mary had to be married to a righteous man for her protection as a consecrated Virgin (Her father and mother having died and there being no near family to take her in and protect her).  According to both the Gospel of Psuedo-Matthew and the Proto-Gospel of James, lots were cast by the priest among eligible righteous widowers to determine who would have the honour of receiving the righteous Virgin into his home.  The purpose of this “marriage” was not pleasure or procreation.  The purpose of this marriage was to provide a place of safety for this well-known young woman to continue her life of prayer and consecrated Virginity.  This is why a candidate for this honor was chosen from among old widowers who had already established families.

But less than a year after the Righteous Joseph had received this great honor of protecting the Virgin Mary, she is found pregnant in his house.  What was everyone to think? Had Joseph failed to protect Mary?  Had Joseph himself violated Her? Or had everyone been deceived?  Was the Holy Virgin not the holy virgin she appeared to be?  Doubts assailed the Righteous Joseph.

In the Gospel of Matthew we are told only the following details of Joseph’s struggle: “After [Jesus’] Mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make Her a public example, was minded to put Her away secretly.”

Note it says that Joseph was a “just” man (this, indeed, is why in the Church he is called the Righteous Joseph).  Normally we associate justice with the application of the law.  But Joseph does not seek to apply the law.

According to the Law of Moses, a betrothed woman who is found pregnant is to be stoned to death in the city gate.  No, Joseph does not seek to apply the law.  The moniker “Just” does not refer to justice as we most commonly understand it.  Justice for Joseph is to show mercy.  Justice for Joseph is to quietly send Mary away (perhaps to a cousin in the countryside).  Justice for Joseph is to bear the reproach he would certainly suffer so that his betrothed wife does not suffer any more than the consequences of her presumed actions require.  Even in the face of sure ridicule and public shame, and certainly with great disappointment and confusion, the Righteous Joseph decides to show mercy and protect from severe punishment his apparently unfaithful wife.

And then the Angel comes to him in a dream.

Joseph and the Angel, manuscript, Monastery of Dionysiou, Mount Athos, 11th Century

Why did the Angel wait?  Couldn’t Joseph have had the same dream two or three days earlier–the night before he arrived home?  Why did the Angel wait until after Joseph struggled through his doubt, anger and frustration?  The Angel waited because Joseph was a just man, because in allowing Joseph to struggle to show mercy in the face of doubt, Joseph’s righteousness is manifest.  Who he is, is manifest in what he does.

And isn’t it the same for all of us?  It is only after we choose mercy, it is only after we choose kindness, it is only after we choose self control that the Angel comes to us, that we know that we have made the right choice.

Doubt in all its forms blankets our life.  There is no easy way to know what the right (the just) thing to do is.  But the Righteous Joseph provides an example for us.  No matter how loudly the “facts” cry out that justice lies in the way of punishment, mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).  Or as the prophet Zachariah says, “Execute true justice: Show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother” (7:9).

This article was posted at http://holynativity.blogspot.com/ on Tuesday, December 20, 2010 and is posted here with permission

What is really beyond understanding, of course, is the line ‘dance, world on hearing of the birth of the young child’.

Is this phrase poetic license or does the hymn-writer see and hear something else?

How does the whole of creation dance? Symbolically, metaphorically? Does it, then, experience the presence of our unapproachable God Who has impoverished Himself? How is it that the whole of creation, animate and inanimate, the mountains and dales, the rivers and waterways, the billows of the sea, the ice and rain, the light and the darkness, the sun and the moon, the planets and the stars, the plants and the trees, the tame and the wild animals, the fowl of the air and the underwater sea-creatures and everything else recorded in the catalogue of the psalmist should praise and bless their Creator, dancing unceasingly to His glory?

It makes you think of our village festivals where, on the great feasts, after the liturgy, the priest would be the first to lead the dancing and everyone would follow, in an unending circle, singing and enjoying the holiday.

The modern view is that these were merely expressions of popular exuberance. And it may be that, in their simplicity, this is what they were. But, even if they didn’t fully understand it, these rough, unsullied people were dancing for the great mystery of the joy which our incomprehensible God brought to us with His incarnation and manifestation on earth.

Their dance was transformed into an everlasting hymn of praise for the revelation of the sole truth, that God humbled Himself so greatly that He is to be found everywhere, that He enters inanimate matter as well as into the animate life of humankind. When we welcome Him freely, He wishes to save each of us fallen creatures.

And the whole of creation, experiencing this descent, responds to this encounter and, seeing and hearing His coming, dances and praises its Savior, Who, through His humility, has returned it to its first, ancient beauty, when its master-craftsman Creator formed it with His hands and His uncreated breath. And its joy is even greater, indeed boundless, at being freed from the degradation which the sin of humankind brought upon it by our fall, at being able to cast off its concomitant pain and sighing.

The dance also continues and grows in power in the hearts of those who, humbled, reduced and freed of the temptation of equality with God, fall down and worship, with the lowly beasts, the young Child, the pre-eternal God’.

* The word in Greek is οικουμένη, which may mean ‘inhabited earth’, or ‘commonwealth’. Often, though, the Fathers use it as a synonym for ‘creation’, as Fr. Serapion does here.

I met Father Serapion at the Monastery of Simonos Petras on my first visit to Athos in 1975, soon after he and the rest of Elder Aimilianos’ brotherhood had arrived from Meteora. We became better acquainted when he became Steward of the women’s monastery at Ormylia, a dependency of Simonos Petras, and we collaborated on a number of translations. He was a very likeable personality, as well as being profoundly spiritual. He was also endowed with formidable gifts as an administrator. On many an occasion I have heard Greeks say: ‘If only we had Fr. Serapion running the country’. He fell asleep in the Lord on 15 April, 2019, a mere three weeks before the demise of his beloved Elder, Aimilianos, both at Ormylia.

He features in an American documentary entitled A Visit to the Holy Mountain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D8OxrSZZU8 [WJL].

When does a temptation come from the right and when from the left? Here’s an example. If the devil presents you with the suggestion that you should cheat a co-worker for your own benefit, that’s a temptation ‘from the left’. You know where it’s coming from and you either accept it or reject it. But if the evil spirit whispers that we’re in a crisis, that your co-worker doesn’t have a family and so you’re justified in cheating them for the sake of your children, then that’s a temptation ‘from the right’. In other words, it’s dressed up as a good aim, or, at least, as a necessary evil. It’s a way of concocting pretexts for sins.

A temptation from the right can be even more ‘holy’. It appears as an angel of light, with pious thoughts and passages from Scripture. It presents a lie to the mind in the guise of the truth. It projects a virtue which, in fact, is wickedness in a mask. Thus, it may introduce ill-will into the soul, clad as defence of the faith. In such a case, the egotists and the intolerant believe that they’re being zealous for God. Or else, it may cultivate laxity and indifference, cloaked as moderation and meekness. People who are uncaring and indolent present themselves as peaceful and meek. On other occasions, cruelty may be passed off as strictness or sincerity. Uncharitable people can come across as upstanding and scrupulous. It can also take on other forms in order to hide its true nature and so can enter the heart like a thief and pillage it.

The desert fathers knew the devil’s machinations very well, which is why they warn us about an even more subtle attack from the right. When the nous reaches the point where it prays fervently, when we feel calm and well-defended, then the demons, who want to disorientate us, attack from the right. They don’t make themselves known, but fabricate praise of God and other things we love. The nous then thinks it’s achieved the purpose of prayer. This is the way the evil one sows the seeds of vainglory and pride in our brain.

Very often, the evil spirit uses truths. It tells ‘the truth’, but not the ‘whole truth and nothing but the truth’. Even occultists can manifest things unseen and ‘prophesy’, claiming to draw on the power of Christ, but they’re integrated with evil and they prophesy what the devil wants them to. This is of particular importance in our own day and age, because superstition has taken root in material societies and is now infiltrating the lives of many, even Christians. Both the saint and the occultist can tell our name or the problem that’s bothering us. But the criterion of holiness is humility and the love which people transmit as natural, fragrant incense.

How do we recognize a temptation from the right? First, there’s a general principle which holds true: If something isn’t from God, the devil will introduce proud thoughts. Secondly, we must bear in mind that very often that which seems absolutely true and right is simply a reflection of our personal will.

Saint Anthony saw the snares of the devil spread out on the ground and wondered who could overcome them. And he heard a voice saying to him: humility. Real, genuine humility is what reveals the snares of the devil. And humility isn’t just thoughts about being humble, nor, of course, sanctimoniousness and an outward show of piety. It’s a deep sense of our condition, that we’re weaker than shadows, that whatever we do and whatever we have isn’t our own.

We ought to mention here, as an example of humility, the encounter between Saint Zosimas and Saint Mary the Egyptian. The former was a venerable abbot who bore the high rank of the priesthood. The latter had previously been a harlot but had then spent the rest of her life in the wilderness and had reached the heights of sanctity. At their unexpected meeting in the desert, nether of them seems to have been aware of their stature and merit. On the contrary, each of them bowed down to the ground, in a show of respect for the other and each asking the other’s blessing. It was humility which came from two simple hearts. And a simple heart always compares itself not to others but to the infinite purity and sanctity of God. When the soul is illumined through veneration, it’s then able to discern where a thought, a feeling or an inclination is coming from.

Essentially, humility is expressed with the spirit of being under tutelage. The Cappadocian Father, Saint Gregory, was called the Theologian, but referred to himself as a life-long pupil. And the desert fathers never accepted any revelation without first subjecting it to the scrutiny of other, more experienced monks. God’s truth is revealed through a life-time of tutelage and love.

There are some who believe external deeds, an external calmness, or a rudimentary (or alleged) struggle for the faith makes them teachers, counselors and judges of the whole world. They can say ‘Forgive me’ or ‘I, the sinner’ as much as they want, but they don’t mean it. There’s no greater temptation than to think that our struggle and our faith give us the right to act as the touch-stone for Orthodoxy or as religious inquisitors. It’s strange and much to be wondered at how often the extent to which we confess our faith or defend tradition is anchored in the most uncompromising egotism. When there’s no real humility, the heart becomes as hard as flint and sinks into the abyss of obdurate opinion, sometimes even of ingratitude. And that is what we call delusion.

(Excerpt from a talk)

Source: agiazoni.gr

The possessed man is a terrible case which everyone finds appalling. This was not a psychiatric illness but rather a dreadful, hellish experience. But he’s redeemed from this maelstrom as soon as he looks at Christ. The power of the devil diminishes, is extinguished, and becomes powerless in the face of Christ the Liberator. Demons can’t tolerate the presence of their superior, the God of all, and they wither away like weeds.

In the Revelation of Saint John, the last and, perhaps, the most beautiful book of the New Testament, we’re able to recognize more clearly the utter powerlessness of the devil before Christ the Incarnate God. In chapter twelve of the Revelation, a wonderful image and event is described. A pregnant woman, about to give birth, is under attack from a dragon. The dragon stalks the woman, intending, as the text tells us, to ‘devour’ the child as soon as it’s born. In the end, a male child is born and is seized by God and brought straight to the throne, so that it can be kept from harm, since it was destined to become the saviour of the world. As soon as the woman had given birth, she went to a safe place in the desert, where she was looked after by God. Unable to bear its defeat, the dragon turned its attention for a second time to the woman. But again it was defeated. Its attacks against the woman were carried out ‘in vain’, since, whatever it did, she was invulnerable. God had her under His protection and, as it says, covered her with ‘two wings’.

It’s easy to see that the woman in the Revelation narrative is Our Lady, the male child Jesus Christ, and the dragon the devil. If the devil trembles and takes fright in the presence of someone other than Christ, that person is Our Lady. According to Saint Gregory Palamas, she’s the leading opponent of the devil, because throughout her life she was untroubled by all the temptations he subjected her to. So, if we imitate Mary, the Mother of God, we have nothing to fear from any devil. According to this narrative, the devil is unable to affect Our Lady. Because of the child she was carrying in her womb.

According to the Fathers of the Church, as Saint Symeon the New Theologian writes, we can, indeed, imitate the conception and gestation of Christ ‘spiritually’, though not, of course, literally. Such a conception and gestation protects us forever from anything at all demonic and tempting. In particular, Saint Symeon says that every time we partake of the body and blood of the Lord- after proper preparation- we conceive Christ within us, as did the Mother of God. Given that we have this Patristic confirmation, let us fight ‘the good fight’ of faith, taking part ‘perceptibly’ and consciously in the sacraments of the Church, which are the guardrooms of our life. Spiritual people who partake ‘worthily’ of Christ have no reason to fear the devil, nor the wicked traps he sets for us every day. On the contrary, they live a circumspect life, united to Him Who breaks asunder the wicked devil and sends him off to a herd of ineffectual swine, as in today’s reading.

If we read the literature of the ancient Greek sages and, indeed, that of wise people from all over the world, we see that, in their efforts to define what is just, proper, legitimate and good, they have written screeds, and have constructed long-winded dialogues and tracts. They have, on occasion, succeeded in saying and writing important things, though they’ve also, often enough, managed to confuse people thoroughly. Instead of enlightening people, much of what the sages wrote cast them further into the darkness.

On the other hand, when the most holy Word of God came to earth and assumed our flesh, he brought back to the surface the innate law of human beings, making our own will the cause of the good and the bad, of the legal and the illegal, of the just and the unjust. In other words, he told us all we need to know: ‘And as you wish that people would do to you, do so to them’ (Luke 6, 31); and ‘Therefore become merciful, as your Father is merciful’ (ibid. 36). Let us make a few observations on these words of the Lord.

People are like God

A great ascetic of our Church, Saint Neilos, makes the following observation: Just as children have features in common with their parents, that is similarities in facial and bodily  characteristics which allow us to recognize that a person is the offspring of particular parents,  the same is true of their patterns of behavior. From their words and deeds we realize that students share the same teacher. The same is true, and even more so, with the disciples of Christ, that is, the Christians. Faithful Christians are disciples of the eternal Father: ‘those who do the will of my Father in heaven are brother, sister and mother to me’ (Matth. 12, 50). And elsewhere he says: ‘… do not be anxious about your soul, what you shall eat… your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these’ (ibid. 6, 25; 32). Given that we’re his children, our heavenly Father will take care of us. We’re related to God and enjoy familiarity with him. He’s our Father and we’re his children. Through the Gospel, the Lord shows us the pointers for us to become his children, provided, of course, we want to: ‘Learn from me that I am meek and humble in heart’ (Matth. 11, 29). Since the Lord is meek and humble, his children should be like that, too. ‘You will therefore be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect’ (ibid. 5, 48). Or as he tells us in today’s Gospel reading, we should become merciful, because God is.

In what things can we imitate God?

Saint John Chrysostom observes that we aren’t called upon by God to imitate his all-powerfulness, wisdom and miracles, but his love, goodness and mercy. God is entirely merciful and charitable and, depending on what strength we have, i.e. ‘commensurately’, we, his images, can imitate him in love for our neighbor. We can forgive our enemies and those who’ve done us harm. Our kinship to God is revealed in such instances. We can also imitate God in being merciful. According to the Fathers, God is the source of grace, love and wisdom: ‘he gives everything without fear or favor’. For us, this translates as: All people, without exception, are capable of becoming like God as regards his love and mercy.

Sin is an impediment between God and us

Sin does us great harm. On the one hand, our love for our self magnifies it; but, on the other, love for God and our neighbor reduces it. As sinners, we’ve ended up being misanthropic. The message centered on love for our enemies is considered naive. In the view of many people, love is a condition you find in humble people. If we show love for others, we risk being thought of as simple-minded and of no consequence. People can’t understand they might progress in life through goodness and mercy. Those who have reached the point of praying for their enemies have scaled the peak of the virtues. Saint Mark the Ascetic says: ‘The forgiveness of wrongs is genuine evidence of love’.

My brothers and sisters,

Instead of trying to get our own way through the power of authority and weaponry, let us rather cultivate love for our neighbor, so that we’ll grow in the likeness of God and inherit his kingdom, which is a community of love.

And, of course, for a Christian the other people can’t be those outside the Church, those with a secular outlook which is not that of Christ. Because they’ve written God out of their lives. So the other people we have to use as our measuring-rod are the people of God, that is holy people and, above all, the first among all the saints, Our Lady herself. We must turn our gaze onto her, the first among us, and onto our brothers and sisters among the saints. We should see ourselves mirrored in their lives- they’re our charismatic selves, the limits we can reach. Because they’re the ones who followed in the footsteps of Christ to the greatest extent possible. This is why it’s so important to study their lives, their works and the hymns of the Church which sing their praises.

If we do this, we’ll realize two things. First that we, too, will begin to act on a charismatic level, because we’ll see for ourselves what we’ve observed in all the saints: their synergy with Christ. They wanted him in their lives in response to his love, because without him they could do nothing. Secondly, and more importantly, we’ll be constantly aware of how small and inadequate we are, that ‘we haven’t even take a step on the path of the real Christian life’. Faced with Our Lady and the saints, all we can do is beat our breast, repeating again and again: ‘God have mercy upon me, sinner that I am’. Is this not how we’re brought to holy humility, the foundation of the virtues where God acts? Saint John of the Ladder puts it in no uncertain terms:

‘Let’s not cease to discuss our Fathers and luminaries who’ve gone before, comparing ourselves to them. Then we’ll discover that we haven’t even take a step on the path of the real monastic (viz. Christian) life’ (Ladder Discourse 22, 21).

Source: pgdorbas.blogspot.com

*The traditional Scottish toast is: ‘Here’s tae us, wha’s like us? Gye few and they’re a’ deid’, that is ‘Here’s to us, who’s like us? Very few and they’re all dead’.

David’s wife, Michal, once mocked the fervent prayer of her husband. God was more affronted by this mockery than King David was. This is why the Lord most high punished Michal: ‘And Michal, daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death’ (2 Kings 6, 23 [2 Samuel 6, 23]). If you pay attention to events and the fate of people, you’ll see for yourself that today, too, God punishes severely those who mock the sacred.

And if you think that any word is stronger medicine for them than silence, say to those mocking you: ‘Are my eyes deceiving me or am I seeing straight? Every day, you entreat merchants, land-owners and law-enforcers, each for a variety of reasons, and yet you’re mocking me because I entreat our eternal Creator. Isn’t it more ridiculous to ask for something from somebody who’s incapable, instead of going to the Almighty? Isn’t it absurd to venerate dust rather than the Lord, the Giver of life?’. It says somewhere in the prophet: ‘Cursed are they who place their hope in people’ (Jer. 17, 5). Those who place their hopes in mortal people, in a fleeting bubble and don’t lay it on God Almighty are obviously cursed. And this curse on them and their houses can be confirmed through everyday experience. It’s clear that, in the same way, those people are cursed who ask things of people but not of him who sustains everything and can do everything. But take note: sometimes silence is more effective than words.

The first mockery unsettles the soul that prays. But you’ve already survived and haven’t given up on prayer. Any further mockery is an incentive. You can tell yourself you already have experience. Now you feel that God’s somehow closer to you, the Church more beloved by you and prayer is sweeter. You should know that the time will come when the mockery will cease. Then people will come round, they’ll admire and praise you and then your soul will be in greater danger than it is now. Now you’re learning humility, but then you’ll be defending yourself against pride. But that’s another issue, a different temptation.

You should know that those who torment us with their mockery are precisely those who are our enemies. These are the people Christ was referring to when he gave the commandment ‘Love your enemies’ (Matth. 5, 44). Without knowing, they’re doing us good. By hurting us and troubling us, they’re lighting the flame of divine fire within us. They bark behind our backs when we’re on our way to church, but that just pushes us closer to God. By making the earth more tiresome for us, they make heaven more attractive. Frost and the wind don’t think about the tree, but even unwittingly they do it good. So it is with your enemies and you.

So forgive them and bless them, pray to God for them and- this is the culmination- love them as your greatest benefactors after God.

Pay frequent visits to houses of sorrow. Visit the grave-yard, as well. Think about Christ’s cross and kiss it as often as you can. And think about the end of life. All of this will help strengthen your resolve to pray and you’ll reach the final victory.

Peace and the Lord’s mercy.

[Saint Porfyrios]- ‘I suggest we pray together, both of us, at exactly the same time. We’ll each pray for the other’.

We agreed and promised. We even set the time for the prayer-10 p.m. He explained that he had great faith in this kind of prayer.

‘The results of common prayer are astonishing. You’ll see for yourself. But I want you to be exactly on time for our rendezvous. Don’t fail to keep your promise even once. I’ll do the same’. I went with Father Porfyrios as far as the bus terminal for Polygono. This time he wouldn’t let me see him home as he usually did.

‘No, don’t come with me. Go home. We’ve just promised something. We have to start straight way. From tonight. We’ve got to get a move on’. I did as I was told. He boarded the bus and I waited for it to leave. As soon as it started moving, I remember, he tapped the window and said to me: ‘10 o’clock sharp!’.

I can see him and hear him now as he was then. His face shone and it was positively angelic. He was also, of course, thirty years younger. At the height of his powers.

I stayed at the terminus until the bus was lost in the chaos of bustling Athens, taking with it a then unknown saint of the Church of the Lord Christ. Then I left at a trot to get home in time to be completely ready for our rendezvous for prayer.

So at 10 o’clock I shut myself in my room and began to pray. But from the very first minute, strong currents began running through my body, starting from the lower extremities and going up to my head and then down again. There was also a strong light flooding the whole room and I had the impression I was surrounded by flames which didn’t burn me. In the beginning I was terrified and was very nearly overcome with panic.

But I soon realized that all of this was the outcome of Father Porfyrios’ prayer and so I calmed down. Not only that, but I was overwhelmed by an incredible feeling of joy which gave me the sensation of not even having my feet on the ground. All of this continued until the end of the prayer.

The next day, my first job was to get in touch with him. I was determined not to tell him anything. I wanted him to speak first. And he did. No sooner had I asked for his blessing than, with great satisfaction and loud laughter, he said:

‘You were terrified, eh? You very nearly ran away… But I saw you in an intense light which inundated your room and you were joyfully ascending… going up and up as if you wanted to reach the Lord’s throne. See what power this kind of prayer has? Continue and you’ll remember me’.

And I do, indeed, remember him. And I’ll remember him not only in this life, but in the next one, as well. Because these phenomena, over time, have become so intense that I can’t begin to describe them.

I wish he were here to pray with me now. I wouldn’t ask anything else. Amen.

Testimony from the book «Πατήρ Πορφύριος», by A. Kalliatsos, pubd. by The Transfiguration of the Savior Press.

What’s worse is that this sinful state is expanding without let or hindrance, because, according to Saint Paul, ‘wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived’ [2 Tim. 3, 13]. No Messianism- as the expectation of any improvement in the state of the world- is acceptable to us. The world is bad and it’s getting worse.

So Christians are living in a world subject to its ruler, the devil, and it’s a world in which they seem to have no place. But this is where things are turned upside down. The world of sin wishes to annihilate Christians, but it can’t manage to do so. He who determines the finest details of the universe is the Lord, our Almighty God: ‘He who is, was, and is coming’. Speaking of his personal experience, Saint Paul says: ‘What persecutions I endured; yet the Lord rescued me from all of them’. So here we have the reality of the depth of our faith: when it seems that we Christians are being defeated and are losing to the forces of darkness, that’s precisely when the light of God’s almighty power arises- our participation in Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection. Did Christ not seem weak and defeated on the Cross? But that’s where his almighty power was made manifest: he rose on the third day. ‘Our faith is the triumph which overcomes the world’.

Source: pgdorbas.blogspot.com

As we know from his other 13 Epistles, the Apostle Paul was particularly concerned with the matter of practical love.   With this Letter, he wanted to turn the attention of Bishop Titus once again to this cherished work that is love.   It is worth noting that in this short passage, the Apostle twice emphasizes the same subject; he writes:  “Those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (verse 8). And a little further: “Let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful lives” (verse 14).

Let’s look carefully at the word the Apostle Paul repeats: to “maintain” (to “lead”) in good works.  To teach Christians to lead in doing good works, and not to be last.   For the Apostle Paul, it is not enough for a Christian to simply give what he has left over to a poor man who knocks on the door for charity.   He asks Christians to take the initiative, and lead in helping the hungry, naked, sick, refugees, and other fellow human beings who cannot survive without support.   Besides, we know that Christ, in His Second Coming, will judge us based on these works of love (see Matthew 25: 31-46).

Do you know why the Apostle Paul does not write: “Do the rich know how to give and lead in good works?”  The Gospel also, in writing of Christ’s Second Coming, does not specifically mention the rich in judging whether they have helped the hungry, or the naked, etc.   This is because All people, be they rich, poor, or middle-class, will be judged together.  Why?  Because in whatever financial situation a person is in, and in whatever social class they belong, they can do much to help others if they have love in their heart.

There are many examples of people who were poor, but found ways to effectively help others.   Let’s take a look at some brief examples:   A large family that was struggling to live, decided that before each meal they would take a spoonful of food from each person’s dish.  All of those spoonfuls filled another dish, and this food went to their poor neighbor, who had nothing to eat.     A poor widow, several years ago, would go into her garbage cans every night to pick out items to sort and sell.   With this she helped 24 poor students in their studies.   A well known priest-monk, went to the hospital at night, helping serious patients who had no money to pay for a private nurse.  Workers, who lived paycheck to paycheck, had days where they were not busy, and they went to repair the roof of a poor house, waterproofing the tiles or making other repairs.   Farmers, coming together as a group, would gather the grains of elderly people who could not finish the job on their own.   We could mention many more such examples, to show that you do not have to be rich to do good works.

My brothers and sisters, a Christian without works of love is fruitless, says the Apostle Paul. This  saying reminds us of the fruitless fig tree, which Jesus wanted to get rid of.  Let us face this issue, and think of what possibilities each of us may have to do good for our brothers and sisters in need.  Let us motivate others, so that together we may be worthy on the day of Judgement to hear the words of Christ:  “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:35).

This has been true in all the centuries of the history and life of the Church, because various heretical thinkers have appeared who have arrived at anti-Orthodox teachings and have created problems for the Church of Christ.

The devil is always fighting against the Church; he hates the person of Christ and wants to alter the Lord’s teaching. It’s from this point of view that we should view heresies.

While it’s true that heretics used philosophy and speculation for theological issues, the problem is that they didn’t have the pure heart through which God acts, as Christ says in the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ (Matth. 5, 8). This means that the demons operate in unclean hearts and so, in the end, heresy is demonic action.

In the 8^th century, another heresy appeared, known as iconoclasm, which was against the painting of holy icons. Christians paint icons of Christ, the Mother of God, and the saints and they kiss them, asking for grace from Christ. But the Nestorians, the Paulicians and the Monophysites rejected veneration of the holy icons, because they had a problem with the human nature of Christ, each for their own reasons.

And so, in 726 and 730, Emperor Leo III issued two proclamations against the holy icons and forbade their veneration. This was repeated later by Emperor Konstantinos V [Leo’s son]. The Orthodox Fathers fought against these decisions because they knew, from their experience, about the great power of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints depicted and the value of their icons.

In 787, the 7^th Ecumenical Synod convened in Constantinople, on the initiative of Empress Irene the Athenian and her son, Konstantinos. It was presided over by Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople. This Synod invalidated the iconoclast Synod which had taken place in 754, in the reign of Konstantinos V, anathematized the heretical iconoclasts and enshrined the Orthodox teaching concerning the holy icons.

This Ecumenical Synod based its position on the teachings of Saint Basil the Great, Patriarch Germanos of Constantinople and, in particular, on Saint John the Damascan. According to Orthodox teaching, there is a difference between true worship (which is to be rendered only to God, the divine nature, and not to icons and the saints), and the reverential veneration paid to the holy icons. Moreover, this veneration is directed to the person depicted. This means that when we kiss the holy icons, we don’t venerate the matter from which they’re made, but the hypostasis of the person represented.

The Orthodox icon teaches the mystery of the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, and refusal to venerate the icon of Christ is tantamount to denying his incarnation. Moreover, the saints are depicted and honored because they’re members of the body of Christ and have the grace of God within them. The icons function as bearers of divine grace in the way that Christ’s human nature served to put into action that which was his divine nature. This is how they work miracles. This, briefly is the theology of the holy icons, which is, in reality, the theology of the incarnation of Christ, as confessed by the Ecumenical Synods and the saints as members of his glorious body.

Also important in this Synod is that mention is made of the fact that Christ is the betrothed of the holy Church, that he’s with his disciples throughout the ages and has granted them the light to recognize him, to redeem them from the darkness of idolatrous madness. And yet, drawn away by the deceitful enemy, the heretics abandoned this gift and the tradition of the Church.

This and much else shows the difference between the holy Fathers and the heretics. This is why, at this Synod all the heretics were anathematized by name, from Arius up to those of the time, while, at the same time, the Orthodox teaching regarding the reverential veneration of the icons was proclaimed.

At one point in the Proceedings it says: ‘And we also embrace the voices of the Lord, the apostles and the prophets, through which we have been taught to honor and magnify’. This sentence shows the great difference between the empirical theologians, the Fathers, and the philosophizing theologians, who, because their had impure hearts, were activated by the evil spirits.

Empirical theologians, such as were the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers, know from their experience that, when someone attains the vision of the glory of God in the hypostasis of the  Word, they’re seeing the divine light, beyond cognition and beyond sensation. There’s no room for speculation, imagination or delusion. After the revelatory experience, they’re in a position to depict Christ, Our Lady and the saints in icons, but they know full well that uncreated words, that is the revelatory experience is one thing and created depictions are another. The latter may allude to this uncreated glory, but can’t express it adequately.

Empirical theologians also know that those who kiss and venerate the holy icons receive grace from God, in accordance with their spiritual state, and, in this way a flame, a desire is kindled within them to see the uncreated glory of God.

It is from this perspective that we kiss the Precious Cross, the holy icons of Christ, Our Lady and the saints, holy relics, and blessed holy objects. We glorify Christ who became a human person, deified human nature and made us members of the Church, members of his glorious body.

(Saint Irenaeus ends the previous chapter, 37, by saying that God has arranged things in such a manner that we will be brought to perfection over time).

1. But what if someone should say: ‘Could God not have made us perfect from beginning?’. They should know that God is always the same and unbegotten as regards himself, and all things are possible for him. But created things must be inferior to him who created them, simply because they came later; things that were recently created couldn’t previously have been uncreated [in the sense that God is]. But given that they aren’t uncreated [in this sense], this is precisely why they fall short of perfection. Because these things are of later date, they’re, as it were, infantile; they’re not accustomed to, and not practiced in, perfect discipline. It’s certainly within the power of a mother to give solid food to her baby, [though she doesn’t do so] because the child isn’t yet able to receive more substantial nourishment. In the same way, it was also possible for God to have made us perfect from the first, but we couldn’t have borne that, given our infant status. This is the reason why our Lord, in these latter times, came to us, not as he might have done, but as we were capable of beholding him. He might easily have come to us in his immortal glory, but in that case we could never have endured the greatness of that glory. And so it was that he, who was the perfect bread of the Father, offered himself to us as milk, as to infants. He did this when he appeared as a human person, so that, nourished as it were from the breast of his flesh, and having, by such a course of milk nourishment become used to eating and drinking the Word of God, we might better be able also to ingest into ourselves the Bread of immortality, which is the Spirit of the Father.
2. This is why Paul says to the Corinthians: ‘I have fed you with milk, not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it’ (1 Corinthians3,2). That is to say, you have, indeed, learned about the advent of our Lord in human form; but, because of your fragility, the Spirit of the Father hasn’t as yet come to rest on you. ‘For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?’ (1 Corinthians3, 3). In other words, the Spirit of the Father wasn’t yet with them, on account of their imperfection and the shortcomings in their way life. The apostle certainly had the power to give them strong meat-  those on whom the apostles laid hands received the Holy Spirit, who is the food of life- but they weren’t capable of receiving it, because the sentient faculties of their soul were still feeble and not disciplined in the practice of things pertaining to God. By the same token, God had power to grant perfection to us from the very beginning; but as we’d only recently been created, we couldn’t possibly have received it. Even if we could have received it, we couldn’t have taken it in; or if we could have, we couldn’t have retained it. This is the reason why, although he was perfect, the Son of God passed through the state of infancy, in common with the rest of us. He shared this condition, not for his own benefit, but because we were at the stage of infancy, and he wanted us to be able to receive him. The fact that we weren’t uncreated as beings doesn’t mean that God was too weak or powerless to have made this happen. It’s simply that, given that we are created beings, it’s we who are weak and powerless.
3. God exhibits power, wisdom, and goodness simultaneously. His power and goodness [are shown] in that, of his own will he called into being and fashioned things which had had no previous existence; his wisdom [is manifested] in that he’s made created things as parts of one harmonious and consistent whole. Those things which, through his abundance of kindness, receive growth and a long period of existence, reflect the glory of the uncreated One, the God who bestows what is good unstintingly. From the very fact that these things have been created, [it follows] that they’re not uncreated. Nevertheless, by continuing in being throughout a long course of ages, they’ll receive a portion of the Uncreated, because God will freely bestow eternal existence on them. And so God has the primacy in all things; he alone is uncreated, the first of all things, and the primary cause of the existence of everything, while all else remains subject to him. But subjection to God is immortality; and enduring immortality is uncreated glory. So, even though we ourselves are begotten and fashioned, through this order and through these arrangements and this training, we become the image and likeness of the uncreated God: the Father who administers everything well and gives commands; the Son who carries these into effect and creates; and the Spirit who nourishes and increases [what’s been made]. And we, making progress day by day, ascend towards the perfect, that is, we grow closer to the uncreated One. And the uncreated One, God, is perfect. Now, it was necessary that we be created in the first place; once created we had to grow; as we grew we had to mature; having matured, we needed to multiply; when we’d multiplied, we had to increase in strength; once strengthened, we could be glorified; and having been glorified, we might look upon our own Lord. For God is there to be seen. The sight of God makes for immortality, and immortality brings us close to God.

Saint Irenaeus was one of the earliest Church Fathers (2^nd century). He was Bishop of Lugdunum (Lyons, in what is now France). Although he’s often presented as a Latin Father, he was too early for this distinction to be very meaningful. He was actually a Greek from Smyrna, in Asia Minor. His major work is generally known as Against Heresies, or by its Latin title Adversus omnes Haereses, though, in fact, it was originally written in Greek and therefore had a much longer title: The Rebuke and Refutation of Pseudonymous Knowledge. Only fragments of the Greek survive but fortunately one of these is the end of this extract, because the Latin translation at that point is somewhat disappointing [WJL].