Відео

@@FightingMyPassions Hello dear stranger. I’m sorry you’re struggling. Know that God’s mercy can cover all. But I understand that feeling of lowliness and like you’ll never be able to stop a certain sin that has a hold of you. Try not to despair, make small steps. God gave us many tools, and we must use them. We can’t expect change without our participation. Are you attending church regularly? Do you have a prayer routine? Do you confess or have an accountability partner?

@ I’m confessing tomorrow with my priest. It’s not even just one sin. It’s all of them. I am a terrible sinner. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, He is so good. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One have mercy on us!

@@Will_Highlander I’m SO happy you found me! God bless you ♥️☦️

@OrthodoxChristianArticles ♥️☦️

@@carolflower9672 I’m still learning with you! I’m glad you found it helpful

@@rezagatchpazian977 This is a beautiful story! Seriously, thanks for sharing. Love hearing about what God does for people who love Him and love others. So cool!

@@Lulu-rw4rm Yes, I relate to that. Glad you found it helpful!

@@fathermosesmcpherson Hello Father! Good question. Some clips are sped up because I listen to podcasts often on 1.25 or 1.5 speed, and so I recorded some of these that way to be more condensed/digestible on my phone storage. Thanks for the work you do on your channel ♥️

@@Ph1lokal1a He’s truly wonderful. I look forward to his inevitable canonization. God bless you; glad you enjoyed!

@@antonwisbiski Right?! I loved this article. I wish it had more views, it’s great for clergy who has never dabbled in yoga especially to know.

@@OrthodoxChristianArticles And even those who think yoga is harmless exercise. There are many christians that practice yoga as a form of exercise. It's sad how in a way these yogis hide or disguise their worship... I found that strange after learning what was shared in this video! ( i just became orthodox after spending 13 years in the new age)

@@kiraform you’re welcome! Thanks for listening ♥️

​@@OrthodoxChristianArticlesgreat video, thank you.

@@jessemiller6318 I’d lean in to look closer, they aren’t the same size. Or, I’d suggest skipping the presidential election-if this is what you’re insinuating-and voting for more local positions like judges and school board. These have a large local impact and those running for those positions often have smaller horns and a smaller number of people affected by their decisions. Recall just how differently counties and states responded to Covid. Most importantly-pray about it and seek your spiritual father’s guidance. God bless you.

@@birukhailu7113 God bless you! Thanks for listening

@@CenterPorchNP If you want to take the advice of these Saints, as both St. Paisios and Elder Ephraim suggested- it seems you should vote for the one who has the smaller horns, the one who is least infected by the rot of evil. From local elections to larger ones.

Post #2: I do not write this to insult my/our Orthodox faith (or any other version of Christianity) and/or the Founding Fathers and American government. I write this because these things are TRUE! As an Orthodox Christian, I am obligated to speak the truth. The U.S. Constitution allows American government to side with Muslims against Serbian Orthodox Christians. It also allows American government to side with Zionist Israel against Antiochian Orthodox Christian Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. It does NOT acknowledge the Orthodox Church as God's holy and chosen people or Christianity in general as the "true faith." It mandates church-state separation. It allows for the Death Penalty, corporate greed, an individual's right to reject Christianity, homosexuality and yes, even abortion- at least until the point of infant viability. I'm fully aware of your religious arguments. What are your Constitutional arguments? If there's something about the Constitution that you don't like, you have options. It can be amended or even replaced with a new Constitutional Convention. But do not give your support to people and policies that undermine the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The end result is worse than the problem! So what should one do? 1st, learn about and come to a firm understanding of the Constitution and American government, Would you wire your home without an understanding of electricity or try to fix your car without understanding of an internal combustion engine? No? Then why vote if you don't understand the Constitution and American government? Accept input from multiple sources, right, left and center- and especially from secular, academic sources and judge wisely. The Constitution IS a secular, humanistic document. You don't need to agree with anyone on any matter but, at least, acknowledge facts as facts. 2nd, research the parties, the candidates and their proposed policies. Make sure you judge in light of the Constitution and Rule of Law. Live your life as a Christian but vote as an American. If that creates a conflict of interest for you, then don't vote. It's that simple. Quit expecting politicians to be aligned with God's Law and accept the reality that they all swear an oath to the Constitution. To put it bluntly, stop trying to pound the square peg of American government into the round hole of the Orthodox faith. You're only going to mess both of them up! 3rd, understand that you will NOT solve moral problems with legal, political solutions! It is written, "If the Law had been sufficient, then Christ died for nothing!" You can pass and enforce all the laws you want but you will NOT solve the fundamental problems of sin, pain, suffering and death without the Gospel of Jesus Christ! At all times, keep in mind that you can't wrestle a pig without getting muddy! I am convinced that any level of political involvement WILL result in moral injury. Always ask yourself, is it worth it? The more time one spends on politics (of this world) the less time and energy one has for the faith and the life of the age to come. Recently, I attended the Divine Liturgy with the intent to receive Communion. I was "ready" in terms of prayer, fasting and recent confession. At peace with and forgiving my neighbor as it is up to me? No. I had issues with a fellow man in the church. So I got up and walked out. To turn one's back and walk away from the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is a SERIOUS matter. But even worse is to partake with hate and anger spewing out from me! Now, if there are conditions in which abstaining from Communion is the "lesser evil" then how much more staying away from the voting booth! That's not to say, "Don't vote or be involved in politics." I vote. This post (hopefully) is proof itself that I have spent time researching American Government and politics in general. Go ahead and vote if you are so inclined- but again, remember that you're voting in the Constitutional system of American government and not according to Church tradition and/or the Bible. If you can't bring yourself to vote according to the Constitution, then don't vote. If it helps, I too squirm sometimes when I realize that a candidate's goals are not in line with my Christian faith. How do I deal with it? 1st, I ask the question, "Is this proposal Constitutional or not?" If yes, keep going. If no, then stop. 2nd, assuming the 1st answer was yes, the next question is, "Would this result in an attempt to compel me to act against my faith?" In other words, would this policy result in allowance or compulsion? (They're not the same) For example, allowing others to practice homosexuality does not compel me (or them) to do so. Allowing free speech that is ungodly and blasphemous does not compel anyone to say or write such things. Allowing non-Christian religions to practice openly does not compel me to shipwreck my faith. And allowing abortion does not compel me to have one. (Or rather, participate in one. I don't pass the physical to have one myself.) Finally, consider "alternate means" to accomplish your goals. Instead of trying to legislate homosexuality and abortion out of existence, how about doing everything in your personal power to champion "social justice?" For more details, I highly recommend "On Social Justice" by Saint Basil the Great. Again, government is NOT going to solve our moral problems- only the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Be like Christ and let God deal with the rest. Bring Christ into the world through yourself and let the "dead bury their dead." The world is fallen into sin, pain, suffering and death. Only Christ's church is the pillar and ground of truth- not American (or any other) government. There's nothing unconstitutional about starting and running a business where everyone, even the lowest tier of labor earns a real, living wage. Nor is it unconstitutional to support a mother and child as long as it takes- not just long enough for an ultrasound and a bag of diapers. It’s well within the bounds of the Constitution to buy or build a rental property home and rent it out at less than market value as well- to help ease the housing crisis. Another idea so crazy it might just work: Orthodox Christian communities in which lay people, married and single, live together in "modified monasticism." The early Christians did such things and transformed the world. Imagine if we lived that way again? Trying to legislate and enforce our way out of this mess is only a short cut. Remember the 1st short cut of humanity? You know, "Ye shall be as gods." How'd that work out? Let's avoid making that mistake again.

@@mudbug7175 Thank you for sharing your detailed thoughts! God bless you and that very knowledgeable mind God has clearly gifted you. When reading this, I kept thinking how well you and a good church friend of mine would get along. Wish y’all could meet!

@@mudbug7175hope you’re ok lol

@eddiedelisio nothing funny about a dictator and traitor being elected

@@DelicateCheese This seriously made my day! I do this especially for people like you ♥️ and thank you for the compliment, God bless you. If there’s any topic or specific article, you’d like me to read for you, just let me know

What? She’s reading an article… she’s preaching nothing. Women can speak on topics, give lectures, or “preach” from a podium, they just can’t be priests. It’s not demonic that she speaks, don’t be absurd. This woman does a great job reading, let her read to my dyslexic self

If anyone ran as anti gay and full on anti abortion they would never win in the US. Ever. Smaller horns. Trump 2024. Vance is an excellent VP pick as well that will hopefully make an excellent president someday. Politics in America will never be the way we hope, and the “lesser of two evils” is all we will ever get unfortunately.

trump still gets credit for overturning roe v wade, he is not as insane as harris

So don't vote on them

For starters, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same (the Constitution- not the enemies)...so help me God. Trump is, at his core, a dictator and a traitor. He wants to be President for life, has claimed to have total power and authority to do "anything he wants" and even the power to pardon himself- which would elevate him above the law. He attempted to overthrow the U.S. government on 1/6/2021. He is a domestic enemy of the Constitution, plain and simple. How he is on the ballot this time is beyond my comprehension. It would violate my oath, so help me God, to vote for him. Why couldn't the Republican Party pick a better candidate? (Like any mature, reasonably intelligent and educated adult?) Next, I do not attempt to solve moral problems with legal, political solutions. Jesus did not institute U.S. Government as "the pillar and ground of truth." He started his one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church for that. Early Christians transformed the world, not by voting but by living out their faith- even to gruesome martyrdom if necessary. Not wishing that on you or anyone but its much more effective than your vote. Third, the Constitution is a secular, humanistic document. It was not based on the Bible or the living tradition of the Orthodox Church. All government officials are bound by oath to the Constitution- not the church. Like it or not, most immorality seen in our country is legal by the Constitution. (Including fornication, adultery, homosexuality, pornography and yes, even abortion) Yes, I'm Orthodox, so I'm fully aware of your Orthodox tradition/ scriptural arguments; but what are your Constitutional arguments? If you have none, then you are voting against the very system that allows you to vote and voting for a candidate who promises to violate the Supreme Law of the Land. Remember, governmental allowance for sin does not compel one to sin. Do you really need a law to prevent you from committing sin? As if life in Christ isn't enough? And those who are outside of the church will not be controlled by morality laws anyway! Finally, I actually do like Harris overall. No, I don't agree with her 100% but that's not necessary. Does she stay within the bounds of the Constitution? Yes. That's enough. She advocates health care, reining in corporate greed, investments in small business and other policies I care about.

If you can’t see that trump is much better for pro life cause you are not paying attention. He will out pro life judges in SC.

@@andrewward5891 Forgive me but this comment makes no logical sense. Just because someone “got crushed” doesn’t mean that they were the person with the smaller horns. The Elder wasn’t giving a prediction on who was going to win, but stating who he believed had the smaller horns and thus who deserved the Orthodox Christian vote.

@ - too Bad the othdox vote is less then 1 percent of thd American population

@@XavierFerguson-pp6uv It addressed this in the video as being the common response. However, Elder Ephraim was directly referring to elections in the United States with his advice and agreed with St. Paisios’ advice to vote for the person with the least amount of decay/evil in them. “They both have horns, you must vote for the one with the smaller horns”. This is in alignment with St. Paisios’ advice on how to vote.

The Greek government has locked up Abbots from Mt Athos for not complying with land sales they wanted. Greek government has been corrupt and anti Orthodox many times before. Sure, they’re “Orthodox,” during elections, but will gladly lock up Abbots and whoever else gets in their way if they can get away with it. It’s possibly even more corrupt, just in a smaller country. No different.

@@mjs397 Thank you for tuning in!

[I am using my husband's phone so the name you see isn't mine. I am Linda/Mary] Thank you to St. Paisios and Elder Ephraim. Orthodox wisdom and common sense. I very much like that Elder Ephraim gave a specific answer for whom to choose. He had holy insight, but those differences were well known, so he clearly was not isolated in a monastic island but found it important to be aware of the stands of each candidate.. and to give an answer. In the first Trump campaign, I believe, someone wrote in on a political site that his father had always voted for the candidate who had the most to lose if he won.. Feel free to copy and paste and post these words on any site any of you want to. I marvel at the man's wisdom every time i remember that story.. ❤

@@juarbemike77 God bless you! If you have any suggestions, I’d love to read for you