@Aspect617 i think you're missing the larger picture. the west itself has become atheistic. there is a trek from thomism to nominalism to deism to atheism.
@Aspect617 i'm not eastern orthodox. there's no getting even. rationalism leads to atheism. aquinas started the trend. and i would agree that you could argue that orthodoxy could lead to paganism. i don't disagree with that.
@@77thTrombone I don't think reasoning is bad per se. But when you reason too much outside the Church that leads to a lack of faith. You need to reason with the heart, with the faith I would dare say. And always be cautions of what you think, because that could mislead you... That is the road I took and partly why I stopped believing being raise in the catholic Church. Although, I don't deny the work of society that truly has a big impact, it is western society very rationalist and among it TV that made people atheist... Western society evolved from Catholicism... Orthodoxy helps me getting things clearer but maybe that is only because I believe now and whatever Church brings me more knowledge of God. Frankly though, the Orthodox Church and its saints for me at least, brings me a better understanding of faith. I hope you don't feel attacked but this is indeed an easy constatation... I know problems arise from every kind of churches, and that is because want to think in their own way. That can easily leads to division of the faith that should be one. I hope I am not saying anything wrong. God bless you and have mercy of us all !
Great channel. I was born into Roman Catholicism and veered towards apathetic agnosticism - which I later identified was because of some basic theological flaws. This video is one topic that demonstrates why orthodox has withstood the march of history and the various enlightenment pathologies present in the modern world
Thank you. You keep no secrets of the church from people, and you allow people to develop as far as their heart's desire. My heart is ever grateful to you for that Fr Spyridon ☦️ And your talks, your teachings, are valid and correct. They are not lacking.
Amen.. Thank you, Father.... The following prayer also will help us greatly to be close to God and do His will.. Prayer to the Holy Spirit (St Augustine) - say it several times a day. Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen
Amen! 'I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.' -Eph 1:17
I so appreciate your thoughts on this brother. To know God and be fully known by God, well, this scratches the biggest "itch" of our very being doesn't it?:)
Thank you so much Father Spriydon , your words have illuminated my mind so that I can understand Christs word . They are true freedom . The many changes I need to make within myself and to make my steps closer to find my way back into the heart of God . You are a true brother in Christ in my eyes. My faith is truly restored . May God bless you .
jesus christ revealed to us .... when asked who will see god??? the answer is blessed "[ by god ] are the pure of heart for they shall see god.... this speaks volumes.... god help us
I love the truth of the Holy Roman Catholic Faith; however, i see where our traditions can come together in unity. Thank you for sharing. Blessings in the Name of Our Sweet Jesus by whose blood we are saved. ...Alleluia.
@JL-CptAtom And yet we share 7 sacraments and Apostolic Succession. You can see why it is so difficult to discern. God is great and I hold hope for unification some day. Nothing is impossible for Him.
@JL-CptAtom The abuse of annulments has been quite terrible. It used to be soley for a marriage that was not legitimate. Like a kidnapped bride or something. There is a book called Infiltration that I highly recommend for anybody trying to understand what has happened with Catholic clergy in the last century or so. Perhaps God is cleansing the Catholic church now. I don't know, but I pray he restores our ancient Liturgy to be the norm. The Traditional Latin Mass is so beautiful and its replacement in most parishes is truly a betrayal. Pray for us in the West as we are hurting and waiting for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart that was promised at Fatima.
@JL-XrtaMayoNoCheese No offence but there is a good reason why Catholic Church is not part of Apostolic Ortodox Church. Vatican chose satan over Jesus, that is why pedofilia is comon practice amongst Catholic priest.
Glory to the Sovereign Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. Glory to the Father, to the Son Jesus Christ, to the Holy Ghost, now and for ever and ever and ever, Amen
Thank you Father.. Very illuminating talk.. I was born a Roman Catholic but was disappointed and dissatisfied with the dry scholarship.. I was drawn to the Faith gradually for over 10 years and was received into the Church four years ago and of course the Patron I chose was St. Gregory Palamas..
i spent 3 months in complete silence during a period of severe illness. I made my purpose to be at the state of attention which silenced the mind and focus on my breath. day by day this was my practice. I had a rice cooker in the morning and cooked oatmeal as my breakfast and my mother woould quietly bring me 2 more meals and leave. By the 3rd month i was so utterly purified my inner state became a complete paradise..... My body began to heal and slowly i reentered the world. I lived like that probably a month or two at the most before i sunk into old habits and old ways and that peace left me and i attracted all sorts of other miseries but I always have this experience to guide me. I am now 38 years old and I am seeking a way to devote myself to the spiritual path and I do not necessarily need much guidance as I would speculate the number of people who have known the peace I had could be counted on fingers. It would be nice however to find a place which is conducive to my aim and if anyone can give some advice feel free to reply to this comment
@@user-ii3zs2gr6u I am pretty much a monk already. I would definitely love to be in a community of like-minded individuals however one thing my experience taught me is that Dogma is completely irrelevant and it was silence that purified me. Many of the monastic spaces have a set Dogma they adhere to. I might have to be a one-man monastery...
@@user-ii3zs2gr6u if you happen to have any knowledge of a place that would accept somebody like me. I would welcome the guidance. I have a little bit of money saved up to so I should not be a burden
@@Vpopov81 I don't know where you are, but you should seek out a monastery near you. Meeting people from there could really change a man, especially the elderly monks, who have been devoted to such a life of work, prayer, and a strict service schedule. I don't mean you should be a monk, but seek spiritual guidance. Monks were initially hermits, it was later that monasteries were established as communities. Visit an Orthodox monastery, see how it is, I am in no position to give guidance, only personal advice.
I once believed in the Einstein’s God, the One who created the Universe without interfering with it, but now I converted to Roman Catholicism, I know how much this is a stupidity. God can not create us without caring about our misery, our sad conditions. It is even against the spirit of creation, like a great painter not caring about his art, his master piece. He put so much love in his creation, into create it, that He can’t abandon it. Believing that God would create Life without caring about is a thought from the Devil, not from God. As a sciences enthusiast, i acknowledged one thing : We can not and will NEVER find God with a telescope or a particle collider, we will find God with our heart, because if we want to find Him, he will let us find Him. God is Love 🙏❤️✝️❤️☦️❤️🙏
Perhaps you might misunderstand the Roman church on this knowledge of God teaching. From what I have been taught and homilies I’ve heard we teach an intimate knowledge and relationship with God in the Roman Catholic Church. In days gone by not so. But it’s different now. Love you Fr. I have learned a lot from you and listen regularly. God bless you brother in Christ
I am Latin rite Catholic but there is something so rich about the Orthodox faith . I feel so out of place with the people when i go to mass not all the people. Some are very kind but there is a snobery i have noticed through the years there is the pretty catholics and there is the ones like me . I dont like the silly and foney giving each other the sign of peace by shaking hands a very hollow gesture that doesnt belong . I know i am not valued among people this makes me want to run and hide . I search for something stronger deaper. I know what some catholics would say your not there for the people. Than why must we pretend that we like each other by shaking hands that seems like an insult to God to be fake right there in front of him.
This is why I exclusively attend the Traditional Latin Mass now. Prior to 50 years ago it was the mass of all the Latin saints we know going back long long before the division in East and West. It was a terrible crime to hide our Latin inheritance from us as has been done. Also, no goofy sign of peace like you mentioned. Only reverence for our Lord.
Its sounds quite Gnostic. I love this teaching it really speaks to the heart. Am experience of God is exactly what people are in need of. I find church attendance so empty. But to sit in silence in an empty church is so wonderful.
This understanding of a direct experience of deity would seem to vie with the promoted veneration of icons... How is this seeming conflict of interest resolved for the Orthodox persuasion?
Gregory Palamas (Greek: Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς; c. 1296 - 1357 or 1359) was a prominent theologian and ecclesiastical figure of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies (i.e., the divine will, divine grace, etc.). His teaching unfolded over the course of three major controversies, (1) with the Italo-Greek Barlaam between 1336 and 1341, (2) with the monk Gregory Akindynos between 1341 and 1347, and (3) with the philosopher Gregoras, from 1348 to 1355. His theological contributions are sometimes referred to as Palamism, and his followers as Palamites. Gregory is venerated since 1368 as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church; some Byzantine Catholic Churches, which form part of the communion of the Church of Rome, have also included him in their liturgical books. He has also been called a saint, and repeatedly cited as a great theological writer, by Pope John Paul II. Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, and since the Ottoman period, the second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory of Gregory Palamas in the Orthodox Church. The Byzantine Synodikon of Orthodoxy also celebrates his memory and theology while condemning his opponents, including some anti-Palamites who flourished after Gregory's death.
Yes - we can know God directly. So Thomism leads to Protestantism. If we cannot know God directly we either know God through the Church (Papalism) of through Scripture (Sola Scripture). Both Protestantism and Thomism/Papalism are flawed. Sola Scriptura and Protestantism can be traced back to Aquinas.
Adrian Thomas I couldn't agree more. Can you offer any recommendations as to what books are best in describing the direct and tangible experience of God (and how to attain it)? I have a preference to Orthodoxy, but I'm open to consider other perspectives.
Smooth Steve I would recomend if it is available în english to read the life of Saint Siluan the Athonit . It is beautiful . You can also try and find Saint Ignatius Brancianinov , but I highly recommend Saint Siluan and Paisius the Athonites.
Alexandru-Vlad Curtasu Thanks for the reply! I've already put the book on St. Siluan in my cart on Amazon. St. Valadmir's has an English version of it. I will purchase it this week. I'll be sure to look into your second recommendation as well. Thanks again. May the Holy Spirit enlighten you to the fullest extent of reality, Steve.
Sounds like those ravens in the trees around him are getting angry at the fact father is preaching the good news. They'd rather have a meal or a dead carcus to feed on.
So many orthodox our day saints saint iacobus of evoia saint paisios the athonite saint porphyrious the causocalivite saint ephrem the causocalivite saint sophroinius of essex saint Justin popovitch etc etc
@@andymusicstudio2485 i wrote that in orthodox church so many people in our days got in Theosis and speak personally with Jesus Christ as they view him in his divine uncreated majestic Glory those i post are simple some names.
@@user-pj7sq7ce1f Oh yeah, now I see.. but are there any proves it was Jesus ? Regarding St Faustyna it was proved in many ways, also her prophecies - all have fulfilled in details
@@andymusicstudio2485 for sure orthodoxy is based on the divine experience of Theosis to view and be in communication with God almighty in his divine uncreated majestic Glory as it was for the apostles on the holy mount 2 peters 1:16_18. The Glory _ uncreated light of God is a true reality in the life of the orthodox church saints
God is love brother He is knowable...infinitely He lacks nothing...his attributes just enhance themselves infinetely...to love (righteously) is to know God. Be blessed.
Brother you sound cocky! I'm not a member of the Orthodox Church but I have much respect for them and consider them my brother's in Christ! You go on. Orthodox web site and insult a Orthodox priest? Your full of pride and arrogance! A typical American so called Christian your not a good example of Christ.
Father, your words are beautiful and inspiring for holiness. The only problem is that you misrepresent St. Thomas Aquinas. When you speak about the direct experience of God, that's exactly what he --- and the spirituality of the West --- means by the Beatific Vision. It's not confined to the East. There are differences but that's not one of them. Nevertheless, we in the West can fully appreciate your spiritual guidance. Ευχαριστω
Kenneth. I may be limited in my understanding but I just don't get this apparent determination in modern Orthodoxy to attack Aquinas and the Western mystical tradition. It seems to be a kind of Eastern scholastic intrusion into the mysterious interior life of union with God, and creating unnecessary controversy. The marvelous truth is that, whether Eastern or Western, Greek or Latin, God comes to us personally, and words are inadequate to describe it. I
How true, Father! Well said! In our secularized West we must find ways toward unity in the wealth of spirituality comes both Easter and Western spiritual guides.
This is unfortunately where the Catholics have missed the boat. The West tries to speculate and prove God's existence, thinking to know him intellectually is then way to understand God; however they missed what Christ said when he constantly demonstrated and thanked the father for revealing himself to the simple and unlearned and not to the wise and learned.
I agree some get too intellectual about God perhaps at the cost of simple faith. Yet, even Thomas Aquinas put down his pen and refused to write another word when he had a deep mystical encounter with Christ. He said himself all he had written was as straw compared to what he had been shown. Just about every Church approved Marian apparation in the West has been to simple poor people, so I don't think the Catholic tradition at all excludes the "simple and unlearned".
It's my understanding that Orthodox Christians partake of divine energies when they receive the Encharist. These energies are uncreated because they come from Jesus who is a divine Person. These divine energies are the same energies that deified the flesh of Christ and rose it out of the grave. If Orthodox Christians are partaking of divine uncreated power mediated through an Orthodox Preist you would think there would be some kind of charisma that flows from this energy. I'm 63 years old and I never have had one Orthodox Christian proclaim the gospel of the resurrection to me. I even went up to an Orthodox Preist at a gym and ask him to explain the gospel to me. He did not even seem to be interested in explaining anything to me. If you go to an Orthodox Church they will welcome visitors on the first visit. If you keep going they recoil back into their ethnic groups which is just a private club. Where are the Orthodox evangelists who are tearing down the paganism of Protestantism and the secularism our culture? The Church Fathers did apologetics for the first eight hundred years. Paul on Mars Hill preached the resurrection to the Greeks and he did it in the public market place. If you are really getting uncreated energy from God where is the power? If you can't witness powerfully then the claim seems empty. I think a lot of Orthodoxy has lost its power. It's just an old tradition that became empty of power. Where are these people who really know God directly? Because I don't see them.
Quietude most people in the Orthodox churches are Americans... so although they might go to church on Sunday the rest of their week is spent in the hypersecular American world which is far from ideal for cultivating God’s grace. Are you really so brazen as to attack a random man at the gym for not being as holy as the Great Apostle Paul?? Lord have mercy. Have you ever thought that the man might feel uncomfortable? I have might my fair share of ignorant Protestants and Catholics, that doesn’t mean all of them are this way. Lastly, for us Orthodox the faith is not a mental exercise or a test where you say these certain things and then you get an A. It’s about a direct and ongoing personal relationship with the Uncreated Creator who became the Circumscribed Word. It’s not a game. It’s not about proving yourself to others, only to growing closer to God. Maybe some of us are not as holy as Paul or the other Saints, but please do not judge us for it. I pray that God enlightens you brother. You have zeal, but you have pride mixed in with that zeal that is clouding your judgment
Quietude in the epistle of James we see the “By faith alone” idea completely blown out the window, so much so that Martin Luther wanted to eliminate this epistle from the Bible. It’s not the hearers of the Gospel that are saved (or those “who accept the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into their heart” WHICH IS NOWHERE IN SCRIPTURE), but the doers of the Gospel. Christ said if you love Him you will keep His commandments. The only way to love Christ is to try to have a direct relationship with Him. Only the Orthodox Church has kept fast to the Traditions which Paul commanded that his churches cling to. Protestantism and Catholicism cling to their own innovations and interpretations and so enter into a relationship with their own ideas of God
knowable/ unknowable seems to me like teological intellewctual hair splitting that causes division and alienation amongst each other . the answer, just do good in word thought deed to the best of our ability god help us
Great teaching as usual, but PLEASE STOP RECORDING THESE OUTSIDE THAT CROW WAS SO ANNOYING AND DISTRACTING!!! Do them indoors where it is quiet and we can hear you properly ❤
God reveals himself through his Spirit and his Son Jesus my brother. "He has spoken to us through his Son" ..."for the heart is desperately wicked" now i guess you ment a born again believer?
YEah you teach that to english like that directly in england in relevance to their sins and colonial and how htey believe to tach truth and righteousness and turn them away form their evil ? can you ! pofu but you must believe in the judgment of God against them to be like thta pfu amen, u fake, that they are evili like that and their colonial crimesa nd curse upon themselves right, pfu sick !
Respectfully disagree. If we experienced God directly there'd be no need for faith or prophets. There wouldn't be so many conflicting, contradictory religious doctrines. There'd be no need for priests, evangelism or theology. The fact that you feel the need to tell us about God argues against your message.
That’s because it’s not easy to experience Christ directly. You don’t just decide one day it’s gonna happen. The way to Christ is the same way He lived, ultimately a life of humility and repentance. He said we should pray and fast often not to be great, but so that we can empty ourselves of all the worldly attachements inside us so He can begin to fill us with His grace and we can become temples of the Holy Spirit. Keep searching brother. Christ Himself told us the way to Him is narrow and difficult, but there is no greater way
I think the key to the Palamas position is that you CAN experience God directly if you really give it a full, proper go, over time. Most won’t achieve that nor attempt it, so there will still be debates on this. Palamas didn’t argue that everyone experiences Theosis all of the time or your argument would be correct, but he didn’t suggest that
What a wicked heresy this is. As if you could attain a higher union with God that is outside of eucharist. Everything in the old testament points to Christ and the eucharist. Imagine thinking yoga prayer will unite you to God. What foulness.
I'm sorry, the Eucharist is a direct experience of God. The Sacrifice of Calvary, God's self gift, his complete self-emptying on the Cross, Body and Blood, Soul and Spirit. This is the Union of the Bridegroom and the Bride. This stillness, seeking an "experience" of God, rather than a union with His sacrifice, is sadly a descent into Paganism, and the misguided imbibing of the Created energies of the Earth if not worse still the apostate host itself.
Dear Mike, You are right about the Eucharist, yet if we take the Eucharist without being sober we did not achieve anything. We would just be profiteers. When we talk of energies we are not talking of "created energies" like aura's or qi. The Uncreated Light is the uncreated Tabor light. Many righteous people were honored with seeing the light like that on Mount Tabor. In the Holy Scripture and writings of the Holy Fathers the graceful light is described mostly as an internal condition received through prayer, contemplation about God, and particularly Holy Communion. Experienced internally, it is at the same time as real as the visible physical light. External shining of this light is a rarer phenomenon, yet is very real. Examples are apostle Paul seeing the Uncreated Light on his way to Damascus, his fellow travelers have seen it too, but Paul was the only one to hear Christ's voice in it as well. Saint Gregory taught that the energies or operations of God were uncreated. He taught that the essence of God can never be known by his creatures even in the next life, but that his uncreated energies or operations can be known both in this life and in the next. I would not call it "seeking an experience", we could pray the Jesus Prayer a million times in complete darkness (such as in a cave) and still not see any sign of the Uncreated Light, it is He who decides to reveal Himself with Holy grace. Having an experience of the Uncreated Light is definitely not paganism. The Tabor Light of the Transfiguration is the Uncreated Light. The Uncreated Light is the Light which Paul saw on his way to Damascus while hearing God's voice. Moses saw the Uncreated Light in the Unburnt Bush, the bush which was burning yet was not consumed, likewise the Mother of God gave birth to the Light of this world but remained a virgin. The same goes for the Three Holy Children, which were put into the furnace yet the flames felt like a cool breeze over dew. Love,
Praying 2 the dead they don't heat u or answer. U pray 2 god in Jesus name. Only them and u must include the Holy Spirit. Man You's people r lost souls. I will keep u in prayer.
Quietude “This very day you will be with me in paradise” is what Christ said to the man next to him on the cross. If a great sinner like this man is alive with Christ then don’t you think the great Apostles, martyrs, and the Mother of God will be too?
@Quietude Actually Salvation needs to be maintained, it can be lost if a believer falls back into sin. Baptism is what incorporates one into the body of Christ, and from them it is on us to live a life worthy of his kingdom.
John a finite man from earth knew what was happening in heaven on earth under the earth in the sea ch 5 revelation. so you now say those that eternal are in heaven in the uncreated majestic Glory of God cant know?
The way the birds stopped at 4:20-4:27 as he spoke of the need to let go of the noises of the world...
A Church which speaks of direct experience of God is a Church close to my heart. Thank you for that message.
It's the Church.
Confessions of an English Lopium Eater
Yeah man I'm a soon to convert too.
This faith is the way to go.
I can feel true.
Mad mechanic Congratulations!
St. Gregory warned Barlaam that if the Roman Church continued in the direction Barlaam took it would lead to atheism. What foresight!
@Aspect617 i think you're missing the larger picture. the west itself has become atheistic. there is a trek from thomism to nominalism to deism to atheism.
@Aspect617 i'm not eastern orthodox. there's no getting even. rationalism leads to atheism. aquinas started the trend. and i would agree that you could argue that orthodoxy could lead to paganism. i don't disagree with that.
@Aspect617 i agree they seem irrational. you need reason; i'm not disputing that. that was luther's mistake.
The church is under persecution. However, as a Roman Catholic I have not become atheistic.
@@77thTrombone I don't think reasoning is bad per se. But when you reason too much outside the Church that leads to a lack of faith. You need to reason with the heart, with the faith I would dare say. And always be cautions of what you think, because that could mislead you... That is the road I took and partly why I stopped believing being raise in the catholic Church.
Although, I don't deny the work of society that truly has a big impact, it is western society very rationalist and among it TV that made people atheist... Western society evolved from Catholicism...
Orthodoxy helps me getting things clearer but maybe that is only because I believe now and whatever Church brings me more knowledge of God. Frankly though, the Orthodox Church and its saints for me at least, brings me a better understanding of faith.
I hope you don't feel attacked but this is indeed an easy constatation... I know problems arise from every kind of churches, and that is because want to think in their own way. That can easily leads to division of the faith that should be one. I hope I am not saying anything wrong. God bless you and have mercy of us all !
Great channel. I was born into Roman Catholicism and veered towards apathetic agnosticism - which I later identified was because of some basic theological flaws. This video is one topic that demonstrates why orthodox has withstood the march of history and the various enlightenment pathologies present in the modern world
Guy Incognito ok jay..
'...enlightenment pathologies.' Great phrase, great point. It's what it is, isn't it.
Adam Miller jay dyer. Look him up
Adam Miller I’m making fun of him. Jay dyer is gay dyer
@🆓COGNITIVE DISSIDENT 🆓 that’s wild speculation at best
God bless you father.Thank you.
Thank you. You keep no secrets of the church from people, and you allow people to develop as far as their heart's desire. My heart is ever grateful to you for that Fr Spyridon ☦️ And your talks, your teachings, are valid and correct. They are not lacking.
Such a blessed relief to hear your beautiful words of truth, Father. Thank you. God bless
Excellent Father! Thank you.
Amen.. Thank you, Father.... The following prayer also will help us greatly to be close to God and do His will..
Prayer to the Holy Spirit (St Augustine) - say it several times a day.
Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen
Bless you father, I still have a few things to learn about what it means to be an orthodox Christian. You help me out slot God bless you ☦️☦️☦️
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Thank you for your words Father.
Thank you Fr Spyridon. Your explanation of our hearts being open to experiencing God was very touching.
Amen! 'I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.' -Eph 1:17
Thank you. Your words are very close to my heart.
Yes He does , even to us ordinary people, as long as we open our heart to Him and seek His Love.
Always a blessing to hear your homilies, father, always.
You're a gift. Please don't ever give up Father.
Thank you Fr. Spyridon, you are always a breath of fresh air.
Maravilloso! Muchas gracias! ☦️
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Hallelujah!
☦️He is so right 🛐🖤
This was beautiful, thank you father 🙏🏾
I so appreciate your thoughts on this brother. To know God and be fully known by God, well, this scratches the biggest "itch" of our very being doesn't it?:)
waw amaizing father.GOD bless
Thank you.
Spasibo. Tell us more about God!
Lord Jesus Christ , son of God , have mercy on me , a sinner
Thank you! Father so much! Pray for me. Greg Coshocton Ohio. I will pray for you too😀
Thank you!
WOW.
Thank you so much Father Spriydon , your words have illuminated my mind so that I can understand Christs word . They are true freedom . The many changes I need to make within myself and to make my steps closer to find my way back into the heart of God . You are a true brother in Christ in my eyes. My faith is truly restored . May God bless you .
God bless you Father Spyridon
Thank you!🙏
Holy Father~ I'm a member of the Church of The Nativity in Erie, Pa. Please pray for me, Sinful and Unworthy, Elizabeth. Glory to God for all things!
Silence and icons ☦️🙏🏻
Thankyou 😍
Amen! ❤️
Kept expecting a giant bird to swoop down and carry you off. Glad that didn't happen because it's a topic I care about and you explain it so well.
Very interesting thank you
jesus christ revealed to us .... when asked who will see god??? the answer is blessed "[ by god ] are the pure of heart for they shall see god.... this speaks volumes.... god help us
Powerful
I love the truth of the Holy Roman Catholic Faith; however, i see where our traditions can come together in unity. Thank you for sharing. Blessings in the Name of Our Sweet Jesus by whose blood we are saved. ...Alleluia.
Its hard for the unity to come, since both of the churches are persistent to not change their doctrine
@JL-CptAtom And yet we share 7 sacraments and Apostolic Succession. You can see why it is so difficult to discern. God is great and I hold hope for unification some day. Nothing is impossible for Him.
@JL-CptAtom The abuse of annulments has been quite terrible. It used to be soley for a marriage that was not legitimate. Like a kidnapped bride or something. There is a book called Infiltration that I highly recommend for anybody trying to understand what has happened with Catholic clergy in the last century or so. Perhaps God is cleansing the Catholic church now. I don't know, but I pray he restores our ancient Liturgy to be the norm. The Traditional Latin Mass is so beautiful and its replacement in most parishes is truly a betrayal. Pray for us in the West as we are hurting and waiting for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart that was promised at Fatima.
@JL-XrtaMayoNoCheese No offence but there is a good reason why Catholic Church is not part of Apostolic Ortodox Church. Vatican chose satan over Jesus, that is why pedofilia is comon practice amongst Catholic priest.
@JL-XrtaMayoNoCheese Amen ! Sorry brother, I wanted to send that message to brother Justin W. . ❤️☦️
❤❤❤
Glory to the Sovereign Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. Glory to the Father, to the Son Jesus Christ, to the Holy Ghost, now and for ever and ever and ever, Amen
Thank you Father.. Very illuminating talk.. I was born a Roman Catholic but was disappointed and dissatisfied with the dry scholarship.. I was drawn to the Faith gradually for over 10 years and was received into the Church four years ago and of course the Patron I chose was St. Gregory Palamas..
Barlaam > Palamas
i spent 3 months in complete silence during a period of severe illness. I made my purpose to be at the state of attention which silenced the mind and focus on my breath. day by day this was my practice. I had a rice cooker in the morning and cooked oatmeal as my breakfast and my mother woould quietly bring me 2 more meals and leave. By the 3rd month i was so utterly purified my inner state became a complete paradise..... My body began to heal and slowly i reentered the world. I lived like that probably a month or two at the most before i sunk into old habits and old ways and that peace left me and i attracted all sorts of other miseries but I always have this experience to guide me. I am now 38 years old and I am seeking a way to devote myself to the spiritual path and I do not necessarily need much guidance as I would speculate the number of people who have known the peace I had could be counted on fingers. It would be nice however to find a place which is conducive to my aim and if anyone can give some advice feel free to reply to this comment
Perhaps you should consider monasticism. It is the best path for some.
@@user-ii3zs2gr6u I am pretty much a monk already. I would definitely love to be in a community of like-minded individuals however one thing my experience taught me is that Dogma is completely irrelevant and it was silence that purified me. Many of the monastic spaces have a set Dogma they adhere to. I might have to be a one-man monastery...
@@user-ii3zs2gr6u if you happen to have any knowledge of a place that would accept somebody like me. I would welcome the guidance. I have a little bit of money saved up to so I should not be a burden
@@Vpopov81 I don't know where you are, but you should seek out a monastery near you. Meeting people from there could really change a man, especially the elderly monks, who have been devoted to such a life of work, prayer, and a strict service schedule.
I don't mean you should be a monk, but seek spiritual guidance.
Monks were initially hermits, it was later that monasteries were established as communities.
Visit an Orthodox monastery, see how it is, I am in no position to give guidance, only personal advice.
I once believed in the Einstein’s God, the One who created the Universe without interfering with it, but now I converted to Roman Catholicism, I know how much this is a stupidity.
God can not create us without caring about our misery, our sad conditions. It is even against the spirit of creation, like a great painter not caring about his art, his master piece. He put so much love in his creation, into create it, that He can’t abandon it. Believing that God would create Life without caring about is a thought from the Devil, not from God.
As a sciences enthusiast, i acknowledged one thing :
We can not and will NEVER find God with a telescope or a particle collider, we will find God with our heart, because if we want to find Him, he will let us find Him. God is Love 🙏❤️✝️❤️☦️❤️🙏
Perhaps you might misunderstand the Roman church on this knowledge of God teaching. From what I have been taught and homilies I’ve heard we teach an intimate knowledge and relationship with God in the Roman Catholic Church. In days gone by not so. But it’s different now.
Love you Fr. I have learned a lot from you and listen regularly. God bless you brother in Christ
I am Latin rite Catholic but there is something so rich about the Orthodox faith . I feel so out of place with the people when i go to mass not all the people. Some are very kind but there is a snobery i have noticed through the years there is the pretty catholics and there is the ones like me . I dont like the silly and foney giving each other the sign of peace by shaking hands a very hollow gesture that doesnt belong . I know i am not valued among people this makes me want to run and hide . I search for something stronger deaper. I know what some catholics would say your not there for the people. Than why must we pretend that we like each other by shaking hands that seems like an insult to God to be fake right there in front of him.
This is why I exclusively attend the Traditional Latin Mass now. Prior to 50 years ago it was the mass of all the Latin saints we know going back long long before the division in East and West. It was a terrible crime to hide our Latin inheritance from us as has been done. Also, no goofy sign of peace like you mentioned. Only reverence for our Lord.
Not valued amongst shallow people , very valued by Jesus Christ ❤️❤️❤️
Its sounds quite Gnostic. I love this teaching it really speaks to the heart. Am experience of God is exactly what people are in need of. I find church attendance so empty. But to sit in silence in an empty church is so wonderful.
No it doesn’t. Gnosticism is heresy
@@whiggles9203 not to me it isn't
@@retribution999 Heresy is Wrong, no matter how You feel about it!
@@Cube_Ernator1077 Amen, Gnosticism is heresy.
Its like zazen ? To live in the moment and to meditate on GOD
What is your stance on aerial toll houses. I agree with St. st Seraphim Rose
Ace 110%
fr is it enough to say "Lord, have mercy" for the prayer of the heart?
Yes
This understanding of a direct experience of deity would seem to vie with the promoted veneration of icons... How is this seeming conflict of interest resolved for the Orthodox persuasion?
What did Rabbi Yeshua ben yosef have to say of these persian/greek ideas?
Gregory Palamas (Greek: Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς; c. 1296 - 1357 or 1359) was a prominent theologian and ecclesiastical figure of the late Byzantine period.
A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies (i.e., the divine will, divine grace, etc.).
His teaching unfolded over the course of three major controversies, (1) with the Italo-Greek Barlaam between 1336 and 1341, (2) with the monk Gregory Akindynos between 1341 and 1347, and (3) with the philosopher Gregoras, from 1348 to 1355.
His theological contributions are sometimes referred to as Palamism, and his followers as Palamites.
Gregory is venerated since 1368 as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church; some Byzantine Catholic Churches, which form part of the communion of the Church of Rome, have also included him in their liturgical books.
He has also been called a saint, and repeatedly cited as a great theological writer, by Pope John Paul II.
Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, and since the Ottoman period, the second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory of Gregory Palamas in the Orthodox Church.
The Byzantine Synodikon of Orthodoxy also celebrates his memory and theology while condemning his opponents, including some anti-Palamites who flourished after Gregory's death.
John Paul 2 also kissed the Koran.
Do You believe that Jesus will return in Flesh & Blood to build the Kingdom of G_D?
Yes they do it's part of the creed.
@@druidsstone3463 Hi, Reb. Seen you on other sites. Deo Vindice! []
Are you from Shrewsbury?
+bayreuth79 Originally, yes.
Yes - we can know God directly. So Thomism leads to Protestantism. If we cannot know God directly we either know God through the Church (Papalism) of through Scripture (Sola Scripture). Both Protestantism and Thomism/Papalism are flawed. Sola Scriptura and Protestantism can be traced back to Aquinas.
Adrian Thomas I couldn't agree more.
Can you offer any recommendations as to what books are best in describing the direct and tangible experience of God (and how to attain it)? I have a preference to Orthodoxy, but I'm open to consider other perspectives.
Smooth Steve I would recomend if it is available în english to read the life of Saint Siluan the Athonit . It is beautiful .
You can also try and find Saint Ignatius Brancianinov , but I highly recommend Saint Siluan and Paisius the Athonites.
Alexandru-Vlad Curtasu Thanks for the reply! I've already put the book on St. Siluan in my cart on Amazon. St. Valadmir's has an English version of it. I will purchase it this week. I'll be sure to look into your second recommendation as well. Thanks again.
May the Holy Spirit enlighten you to the fullest extent of reality,
Steve.
Well said.If God cannot be seen as light, the consequence is atheism.
Smooth Steve
The most important is „Russian Pilgrim”.Could be online.
Sounds like those ravens in the trees around him are getting angry at the fact father is preaching the good news. They'd rather have a meal or a dead carcus to feed on.
hehe the crows in the background ❤️❤️❤️
St Faustyna , Polish nun used to meet God directly
So many orthodox our day saints saint iacobus of evoia saint paisios the athonite saint porphyrious the causocalivite saint ephrem the causocalivite saint sophroinius of essex saint Justin popovitch etc etc
@@user-pj7sq7ce1f I do not understand man what you write here and actually in which language
@@andymusicstudio2485 i wrote that in orthodox church so many people in our days got in Theosis and speak personally with Jesus Christ as they view him in his divine uncreated majestic Glory those i post are simple some names.
@@user-pj7sq7ce1f Oh yeah, now I see.. but are there any proves it was Jesus ? Regarding St Faustyna it was proved in many ways, also her prophecies - all have fulfilled in details
@@andymusicstudio2485 for sure orthodoxy is based on the divine experience of Theosis to view and be in communication with God almighty in his divine uncreated majestic Glory as it was for the apostles on the holy mount 2 peters 1:16_18. The Glory _ uncreated light of God is a true reality in the life of the orthodox church saints
God is love brother He is knowable...infinitely He lacks nothing...his attributes just enhance themselves infinetely...to love (righteously) is to know God. Be blessed.
Repent from your heresy and enter the Church
Brother you sound cocky! I'm not a member of the Orthodox Church but I have much respect for them and consider them my brother's in Christ! You go on. Orthodox web site and insult a Orthodox priest? Your full of pride and arrogance! A typical American so called Christian your not a good example of Christ.
OK, very good!....but people can develop an appreciation of inner Silence and Peace without drawing upon any doctrine or dogma.
Barlaam was right.
On what?
@@user-pj7sq7ce1f His criticism of Palamas.
@@T_frog1 so are you a braalamite now or a Catholic?
Father, your words are beautiful and inspiring for holiness. The only problem is that you misrepresent St. Thomas Aquinas. When you speak about the direct experience of God, that's exactly what he --- and the spirituality of the West --- means by the Beatific Vision. It's not confined to the East. There are differences but that's not one of them. Nevertheless, we in the West can fully appreciate your spiritual guidance. Ευχαριστω
Kenneth. I may be limited in my understanding but I just don't get this apparent determination in modern Orthodoxy to attack Aquinas and the Western mystical tradition. It seems to be a kind of Eastern scholastic intrusion into the mysterious interior life of union with God, and creating unnecessary controversy. The marvelous truth is that, whether Eastern or Western, Greek or Latin, God comes to us personally, and words are inadequate to describe it.
I
How true, Father! Well said! In our secularized West we must find ways toward unity in the wealth of spirituality comes both Easter and Western spiritual guides.
Near the end of his life, Aquinas had a direct experience of God, and as a result wanted to burn all his writings, considering them worthless.
This is unfortunately where the Catholics have missed the boat. The West tries to speculate and prove God's existence, thinking to know him intellectually is then way to understand God; however they missed what Christ said when he constantly demonstrated and thanked the father for revealing himself to the simple and unlearned and not to the wise and learned.
I agree some get too intellectual about God perhaps at the cost of simple faith. Yet, even Thomas Aquinas put down his pen and refused to write another word when he had a deep mystical encounter with Christ. He said himself all he had written was as straw compared to what he had been shown. Just about every Church approved Marian apparation in the West has been to simple poor people, so I don't think the Catholic tradition at all excludes the "simple and unlearned".
Barlaam > Palamas
It's my understanding that Orthodox Christians partake of divine energies when they receive the Encharist. These energies are uncreated because they come from Jesus who is a divine Person. These divine energies are the same energies that deified the flesh of Christ and rose it out of the grave. If Orthodox Christians are partaking of divine uncreated power mediated through an Orthodox Preist you would think there would be some kind of charisma that flows from this energy. I'm 63 years old and I never have had one Orthodox Christian proclaim the gospel of the resurrection to me. I even went up to an Orthodox Preist at a gym and ask him to explain the gospel to me. He did not even seem to be interested in explaining anything to me. If you go to an Orthodox Church they will welcome visitors on the first visit. If you keep going they recoil back into their ethnic groups which is just a private club. Where are the Orthodox evangelists who are tearing down the paganism of Protestantism and the secularism our culture? The Church Fathers did apologetics for the first eight hundred years. Paul on Mars Hill preached the resurrection to the Greeks and he did it in the public market place. If you are really getting uncreated energy from God where is the power? If you can't witness powerfully then the claim seems empty. I think a lot of Orthodoxy has lost its power. It's just an old tradition that became empty of power. Where are these people who really know God directly? Because I don't see them.
Quietude most people in the Orthodox churches are Americans... so although they might go to church on Sunday the rest of their week is spent in the hypersecular American world which is far from ideal for cultivating God’s grace.
Are you really so brazen as to attack a random man at the gym for not being as holy as the Great Apostle Paul?? Lord have mercy.
Have you ever thought that the man might feel uncomfortable? I have might my fair share of ignorant Protestants and Catholics, that doesn’t mean all of them are this way.
Lastly, for us Orthodox the faith is not a mental exercise or a test where you say these certain things and then you get an A. It’s about a direct and ongoing personal relationship with the Uncreated Creator who became the Circumscribed Word. It’s not a game. It’s not about proving yourself to others, only to growing closer to God. Maybe some of us are not as holy as Paul or the other Saints, but please do not judge us for it. I pray that God enlightens you brother. You have zeal, but you have pride mixed in with that zeal that is clouding your judgment
Quietude in the epistle of James we see the “By faith alone” idea completely blown out the window, so much so that Martin Luther wanted to eliminate this epistle from the Bible.
It’s not the hearers of the Gospel that are saved (or those “who accept the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into their heart” WHICH IS NOWHERE IN SCRIPTURE), but the doers of the Gospel.
Christ said if you love Him you will keep His commandments. The only way to love Christ is to try to have a direct relationship with Him. Only the Orthodox Church has kept fast to the Traditions which Paul commanded that his churches cling to.
Protestantism and Catholicism cling to their own innovations and interpretations and so enter into a relationship with their own ideas of God
Randy Churchill my first comment was to you not Quietude
@Quietude “Faith alone” is false. Christ himself says as much, as does St. Paul.
The "energies" of palamas are just the Proclean "henads".
knowable/ unknowable seems to me like teological intellewctual hair splitting that causes division and alienation amongst each other . the answer, just do good in word thought deed to the best of our ability god help us
Great teaching as usual, but PLEASE STOP RECORDING THESE OUTSIDE THAT CROW WAS SO ANNOYING AND DISTRACTING!!! Do them indoors where it is quiet and we can hear you properly ❤
Missed the point.
Hmmm...
Honestly, this sounds like esoteric gnosticism.
2 Peter 1:16 _18 is that what you said? For that we are talking about
God reveals himself through his Spirit and his Son Jesus my brother. "He has spoken to us through his Son" ..."for the heart is desperately wicked" now i guess you ment a born again believer?
God reveals himself personally in his divine uncreated majestic Glory 2 Peters 1:16_18
YEah you teach that to english like that directly in england in relevance to their sins and colonial and how htey believe to tach truth and righteousness and turn them away form their evil ? can you ! pofu but you must believe in the judgment of God against them to be like thta pfu amen, u fake, that they are evili like that and their colonial crimesa nd curse upon themselves right, pfu sick !
Respectfully disagree. If we experienced God directly there'd be no need for faith or prophets. There wouldn't be so many conflicting, contradictory religious doctrines. There'd be no need for priests, evangelism or theology. The fact that you feel the need to tell us about God argues against your message.
That’s because it’s not easy to experience Christ directly. You don’t just decide one day it’s gonna happen.
The way to Christ is the same way He lived, ultimately a life of humility and repentance. He said we should pray and fast often not to be great, but so that we can empty ourselves of all the worldly attachements inside us so He can begin to fill us with His grace and we can become temples of the Holy Spirit.
Keep searching brother. Christ Himself told us the way to Him is narrow and difficult, but there is no greater way
I think the key to the Palamas position is that you CAN experience God directly if you really give it a full, proper go, over time. Most won’t achieve that nor attempt it, so there will still be debates on this. Palamas didn’t argue that everyone experiences Theosis all of the time or your argument would be correct, but he didn’t suggest that
What a wicked heresy this is. As if you could attain a higher union with God that is outside of eucharist. Everything in the old testament points to Christ and the eucharist.
Imagine thinking yoga prayer will unite you to God. What foulness.
I'm sorry, the Eucharist is a direct experience of God. The Sacrifice of Calvary, God's self gift, his complete self-emptying on the Cross, Body and Blood, Soul and Spirit. This is the Union of the Bridegroom and the Bride. This stillness, seeking an "experience" of God, rather than a union with His sacrifice, is sadly a descent into Paganism, and the misguided imbibing of the Created energies of the Earth if not worse still the apostate host itself.
Dear Mike,
You are right about the Eucharist, yet if we take the Eucharist without being sober we did not achieve anything. We would just be profiteers.
When we talk of energies we are not talking of "created energies" like aura's or qi. The Uncreated Light is the uncreated Tabor light. Many righteous people were honored with seeing the light like that on Mount Tabor. In the Holy Scripture and writings of the Holy Fathers the graceful light is described mostly as an internal condition received through prayer, contemplation about God, and particularly Holy Communion. Experienced internally, it is at the same time as real as the visible physical light. External shining of this light is a rarer phenomenon, yet is very real. Examples are apostle Paul seeing the Uncreated Light on his way to Damascus, his fellow travelers have seen it too, but Paul was the only one to hear Christ's voice in it as well. Saint Gregory taught that the energies or operations of God were uncreated. He taught that the essence of God can never be known by his creatures even in the next life, but that his uncreated energies or operations can be known both in this life and in the next. I would not call it "seeking an experience", we could pray the Jesus Prayer a million times in complete darkness (such as in a cave) and still not see any sign of the Uncreated Light, it is He who decides to reveal Himself with Holy grace. Having an experience of the Uncreated Light is definitely not paganism. The Tabor Light of the Transfiguration is the Uncreated Light. The Uncreated Light is the Light which Paul saw on his way to Damascus while hearing God's voice. Moses saw the Uncreated Light in the Unburnt Bush, the bush which was burning yet was not consumed, likewise the Mother of God gave birth to the Light of this world but remained a virgin. The same goes for the Three Holy Children, which were put into the furnace yet the flames felt like a cool breeze over dew.
Love,
Praying 2 the dead they don't heat u or answer. U pray 2 god in Jesus name. Only them and u must include the Holy Spirit. Man You's people r lost souls. I will keep u in prayer.
Poor poor protestants... They will say the most blasphemous heresies without even realizing it.
Quietude “This very day you will be with me in paradise” is what Christ said to the man next to him on the cross.
If a great sinner like this man is alive with Christ then don’t you think the great Apostles, martyrs, and the Mother of God will be too?
@Quietude Actually Salvation needs to be maintained, it can be lost if a believer falls back into sin.
Baptism is what incorporates one into the body of Christ, and from them it is on us to live a life worthy of his kingdom.
@Quietude Jesus Christ said for him are no dead john 11:25_26
John a finite man from earth knew what was happening in heaven on earth under the earth in the sea ch 5 revelation. so you now say those that eternal are in heaven in the uncreated majestic Glory of God cant know?
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Thank you for your words Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Thank you for your words Father.