THIS SITE IS PRIMARILY FOR ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS AND TRADITIONAL ANGLICANS WHO WISH TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF CHRIST, HIS APOSTLES AND THE ANCIENT CHURCH FATHERS.
HOWEVER, OTHERS, INCLUDING THE UNCHURCHED, ARE WELCOME. MAY OUR HEARTS BE SPIRITUALLY TRANSFORMED BY THE WITNESS OF THE UNDIVIDED CHURCH.
Use below translator for many languages including Russian:
I have decided to leave institutional Orthodoxy. I will continue my Orthodoxy within the jurisdiction of a Traditional Anglican Church. This church is not one of the heretical episcopal ones. It does not ordain women, does not allow practising homosexuals to be ordained or communed, does not allow same-sex 'marriages' or such ceremonies of any kind, believes in The Creed and purports to follow the faith of the Fathers of the Undivided Church and the First Seven Ecumenical Councils.
I will be able to continue my orthodoxy path without the ethnicity problems, not to mention the hierarchical incivility practises, that plague contemporary orthodoxy. I plan to concentrate on my own inward spiritual development without distraction.
Please do not write me to explain that this is highly irregular. Yes, it is, but I am throwing myself on God's mercy. His mercy many times 'trumps' His justice. I can only pray that my case might be one of these at the end of this life's struggle.
I will continue to update this site and write homilies and articles throughout each year. The main thrust will be as it has been the past two years: featuring the Fathers of the Undivided Church. Fr. Photios +
March 23, 2008
Amish Grace & Martyrdom
"He said, 'I'm angry at God and I need to punish some Christian girls to get even with Him.'... He then turned to the girls: 'I'm going to make you pay for my daughter.' One of two thirteen-year-olds in the room quickly assumed leadership of the younger girls, doing everything she could to help them. Realizing he planned to kill them, she said, 'Shoot me first,' hoping to save the others and fulfilling her duty to watch over the little ones in her care." [She died there that day as well as four others.]
The massacre at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2006, see the book Amish Grace by Kraybill, Nolt, Weaver-Zercher, John Wiley & Sons, 2007, pp. 25-27.
"But I will confess that I am somehow suspicious of the Greeks. They have no lack of zeal or freedom (the two great reproaches brought against them by the Latins); but they cannot get rid of a dangerous inheritance from Antiquity. They are Christians, but they are, perhaps, unconsciously too proud of their having been useful to the Church; Christianity belongs too much to their national history, and their hearts are not completely free from a certain un-Christian aristocratic feeling which makes them look down on other Christian nations, though Orthodox, as their inferiors. This feeling is akin to the one that has given rise to the Latin usurpation. Though being checked by a deeper understanding of the true doctrine, it cannot go the whole lengths it has gone in the West, yet it is not completely conquered; and it gives the Greeks that unbending stubbornness and that unamiable disposition which you have noticed and experienced."
Eighth Letter to William Palmer from Alexei Khomiakov
"Remember that the Lord is in every Christian. When your neighbour comes to you, always have great respect for him, because the Lord is in him, and often expresses His will through him. 'It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure' (Phil. 2:13). Therefore, do not grudge anything to your brother, but do unto him as unto the Lord; especially as you do not know in whom the Lord will come and visit you; be impartial to all, be kind to all, sincere and hospitable. Remember that sometimes God speaks even through unbelievers, or disposes their hearts towards us, as it happened in Egypt when the Lord gave Joseph favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Gen. 39:21)."
St. John Kronstadt
"The significance of the Catacomb Church does not lie in its 'correctness'; it lies in its preservation of the true spirit of Orthodoxy, the spirit of freedom in Christ."
Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) in the Introduction to RUSSIA's CATACOMB SAINTS by I.M. Andreyev, St. Herman of Alaska Press, 1982, 650 pages
[still out of print it is believed]
"Humility is constant forgetfulness of one's achievements."
St. John Climacus
"The suffering and misfortune that the Lord allows to fall on the righteous is not the work of evil but a medicine, both for the righteous themselves and for those around them who understand that their suffering is sent from God for their good.
"The suffering that comes from the attacks of evil spirits on man, or as a consequence of sin, is evil. But the suffering that God allows to fall on men, in order to cleanse them completely from sin, pluck them out from under the devil's tyranny and bring them close to Himself - this purifying suffering neither comes from evil nor is in itself evil, but is from God and for the good of men.
" 'It is good for me that Thou hast afflicted me; that I might learn Thine ordinances' (Ps. 118:71), says the discerning King David."
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich
"Today the tares are very many and the ears of wheat very few, but the field is God's field, and in spite of the variety of tares, the wheat remains the same from generation to generation, from seed to seed, the same as that first wheat which the Holy Spirit planted in that same divine field on the day of Pentecost."
Dr. Alexandre Kalomiros, AGAINST FALSE UNION, p. 23.
...
COMPROMISE WITH HERETICS?
THE FATHERS DID NOT ENTER INTO DISCUSSIONS WITH HERETICS. THEY CONFESSED THE TRUTH AND REFUTED THEIR CLAIMS WITHOUT COURTEOUSNESS AND COMPLIMENTS. THEY NEVER ARRIVED AT MUTUAL UNDERSTANDINGS WITH HERETICAL "churches". THEIR DIALOGUE WAS ALWAYS PUBLIC AND HAD A VIEW TO THE SALVATION AND EDIFICATION OF SOULS. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH DID NOT CONVERSE WITH 'churches" OF THE HERETICS. IT WAS NOT A DISCUSSION OF THE CHURCH WITH churches, BUT A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND SOULS WHO HAD LOST THEIR WAY. THE CHURCH DOES NOT DISCUSS, FOR SHE DOES NOT SEEK. SHE SIMPLY GIVES - BECAUSE SHE HAS EVERYTHING.
Dr. Alexandre Kalomiros, AGAINST FALSE UNION, p. 6.
CHRIST DOES NOT ASK FOR DEBATERS, BUT FOR CONFESSORS. THE TRUTH WHICH HE TAUGHT US IS NOT THE KIND THAT IS DEBATABLE.
Kalomiros, ibid.
WELCOME!
Welcome to our True Orthodox site! We use "True Orthodoxy" in the sense of Archbishop Averky of Blessed Memory's explanation in his True Orthodoxy: It is even much more necessary today than when "True Orthodoxy" was translated from the French and published in The Orthodox Christian Witness in 1968. Archbishop Averky wrote that emphasis should be placed upon True Orthodoxy as opposed to anything lukewarm. Our zeal must be intense; yet, at the same time, compassionate to those who oppose the writings of the Fathers or are indifferent to them. The Church is a hospital where ailing souls receive spiritual therapy. We pray that the powerful witness of the ancient holy Fathers, particularly in their martyrdoms and sufferings for the True Faith, warms your heart and ultimately leads you to the Orthodoxy of the Fathers. Fr. Photios+ (W)
If we expect to withstand the world, it is first necessary to understand it and keep sensitively in mind that in this present age all that which carries the most holy and dear name of Orthodoxy is not in fact Orthodox. Rather, it is often 'A fraudulent and usurped Orthodoxy' which we must fear and eschew as if it were fire. Unlike this spurious faith, true Orthodoxy was given and must be received without novelty and nothing must be accepted as a teaching or practice of the Church which is contrary to Holy Scriptures and the dogma of the Universal Church.... We choose the way of fidelity to the true Faith and not the 'modern way'.
Iconography
n= 20 spiritual articles/links on Orthodox Iconography
Jesus Prayer & Hesychasm
n= 23 spiritual articles on the Jesus Prayer & Hesychasm
A Short Biography of St. James the Just
Christ the Cornerstone
[Orthodox Spiritual Links (n=80)]
Archive (Features) 2 [n = 263]
WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU BOOKMARK THIS
PAGE AS A RESOURCE YOU CAN RETURN TO FOR MORE INFORMATION.
(PRESS ctrl-D TO BOOKMARK THIS PAGE NOW.)
Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton's translation of THE SEPTUAGINT WITH APOCRYPHA (in Greek and English, Hendrickson Publishers)
THE GREEK-ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT,
THE AUTHORISED KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE (WITH APOCRYPHA) OF 1611
CANONS OF THE HOLY FATHERS [WITH INTERPRETATIONS, FROM "THE RUDDER (PEDALION)"]
CANONS OF THE FIRST SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS [WITH INTERPRETATIONS, FROM "THE RUDDER"]
CANONS OF THE REGIONAL SYNODS [WITH INTERPRETATIONS, FROM "THE RUDDER (PEDALION)"]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. XIV,
THE FIRST SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS .
[Individual selections changed throughout the month! Past articles and homilies are available via the "Archives (Features)" links above.]
SPECIAL ITEM:
NEW ITEMS: UP FOR TWO TO THREE WEEKS (unless specified longer)
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), FORGIVENESS
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), PATRISTIC THERAPY FOR WESTERN 'BAGGAGE'
PERMANENT ITEMS: ADDED TO BUT ARTICLES ARE NEVER REMOVED
Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton's translation of THE SEPTUAGINT WITH APOCRYPHA, (in Greek and English, Hendrickson Publishers)
ST. GREGORY THE GREAT OF ROME, SECOND DIALOGUE (LIFE OF SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA)
FREE MASONRY COMPARED TO CHRISTIANITY
PATRIARCH JEREMIAS II & OTHERS
IN COUNCIL, THE SIGILLION OF 1583
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), NUMBERS MEAN NOTHING: RETREAT TO THE CATACOMBS!
The Calendar Year Homilies can continue to be read by utilising the Index of Church Calendar Homilies
The Real Enemy Of Bringing The West Back To The Fullness Of True Orthodoxy Is, And Always Has Been, Rationalism:
"There is a way of rendering evil for evil not only in actions but also in words and in attitude. St. Dorotheos of Gaza "We do not have one faith in Seleucia, another in Constantinople, another in Zelis, another in Lampsake, and a different one in Rome. The faith that is professed today is not different from the one that came before it; it is the one and same faith (emphasis supplied)." St. Basil the Great "The filioque, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son with the result that the monarchy of the Father is diminished, the final equality of the Persons of the Holy Trinity is compromised, the Son is diminished in His own character in having been born, if there exists a oneness between Father and Son then the Holy Spirit is subordinated as not equal in power and of the same glory with the other Persons of the Holy Trinity, with the result that He is shown as the 'unproductive (steiro) Person' (all italics supplied)." Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) in his BASIC POINTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AND PAPISM "The Church in her fullness, as a spiritual organism, is neither a collective nor an abstract entity; she is the Divine Spirit, who knows Himself and is unable not to know. The whole Church wrote the Holy Scriptures and then gave life to them in Tradition. To put it more accurately, Scripture and Tradition, as two manifestations of one and the same Spirit, are a single manifestation. Scripture is nothing but written Tradition, and Tradition is nothing but living Scripture (emphasis supplied). Lay Theologian Alexei Khomiakov in his On the Western Confessions of Faith "Although the commandment of love for God is far superior to the commandment of love for God's image (man) as God is superior to His image, yet the commandment of love for our neighbour serves as a foundation for the commandment of love for God. He who has not laid the foundation labours in vain to construct a building; it cannot possibly stand without the foundation. By love for our neighbour we enter into love for God. A Christian's love for God is love for Christ, and love for our neighbour is love for Christ in our neighbour. By loving our neighbour - by loving him in the Lord, that is, as the Lord commands us - we acquire love for Christ, and love for Christ is love for God." St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in The Arena, pp. 59-60. "The idea of the unity and solidarity of peoples is purely a Christian idea. The great structure of international law rests on this Christian ideal. In its social relationship, the charitable influence of Christianity is irrefutable. It created Christian marriage and the Christian family. It has elevated to an extraordinary degree the ethical dignity of woman: maiden, mother, wife. In contrast to the pagan neglect of children, Christianity set up the precepts of Christ, dooming to the most bitter fate of drowning with a millstone round the neck, every tempter and corrupter of children's innocence." Professor I.M. Andreyev (with a biography of the Author by Fr. Seraphim Rose), ORTHODOX APOLOGETIC THEOLOGY, St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, St. Paisius Missionary School, Platina and Forestville, California, 1995, p.159. [inserted on May 11, 2007] "Christianity is an ascetic religion, a teaching on gradual liberation from the passions, on the means and conditions of gradual acquistion of virtues, conditions both internal, that is, personal struggle, and external, that is, dogmatic tenets and grace-filled Mysteries, all having one purpose: to heal human sinfulness and lead us to perfection." St. Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev and Galich, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORTHODOXY AND WESTERN CONFESSIONS? [inserted on May 12, 2007] "Very often many things are said by the Holy Scriptures and in it many names are used not in a literal sense... those who have a mind understand this." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily 83, p. 317), cited by Dr. Alexandre Kalomiros in his RIVER OF FIRE "Do not say that you are the temple of the Lord, writes Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 7: 4); nor should you say that faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ can save you, for this is impossible (emphasis supplied) unless you also acquire love for Him through your works. As for faith by itself, 'the devils also believe, and tremble' (Jas. 2: 19)." St. Maximos the Confessor, THE PHILOKALIA, Volume Two, p. 56. ALSO ON FAITH AND WORKS St. Seraphim of Sarov [inserted on May 28, 2007] "Faith alone, without works, does not make us righteous; we must also work good deeds. Only then (emphasis supplied) is our faith true." Blessed Theophylact in his Explanation of the Gospel of St. John, Chrysostom Press, 2007, Chapter 5: 25-29, for this quote see p. 90. From the Venerable Bede "You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and they tremble." (James 2:19) They alone know how to believe in God who Love God, who are Christians not only in name but also in action and way of life, because without Love Faith is empty. With Love, it is the Faith of a Christian — without Love, the faith of a demon.
St. James the Just True Orthodox Spiritual Center intends to be a true Orthodox web site but will not engage in jurisdictional disputes. The underlying principle here is we serve Christ and everything is His jurisdiction. We will not answer abusive mail or engage in verbal or written 'jousts' with other Orthodox groupings. That being said, this Center stands up for True Orthodox meaning those who really accept and try to follow the Orthodox Path as revealed by Christ, His Apostles, the Fathers of the Church and the confirmation of the 'Mind' of the Fathers by the First Seven Ecumenical Councils. This site proclaims the true Orthodoxy of both the East and West of PreSchism Orthodoxy. In short, we follow Christ's Church. A WORD ABOUT DONATIONS We do not solicit or accept any. This site is entirely free!
will be up for three weeks [inserted on May 15, 2008]
(The Patristic Witness of Orthodox Philosopher-Theologian Ivan Kireyevsky, 1806-1856)
will be up for four weeks [inserted on May 10, 2008]
R. Monk Zachariah (Liebmann), TSAR-MARTYR NICHOLAS II
will be up for four weeks [inserted on May 9, 2008]
ST. JOHN OF KRONSTADT, WHAT HAS THE FEAST OF PASCHA LEFT IN OUR SOULS?
will be up for three weeks [inserted on May 8, 2008]
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE UNITED!
will be up for three weeks [inserted on April 28, 2008]
Frederica Mathewes-Green, SIN: INFECTION OR INFRACTION? will be up for three weeks [inserted on April 23, 2008]
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FASTING
"... real fasting; not merely an abstinence from meats; but from sins too".
will be up for three weeks [inserted on April 22, 2008]
AUTHORISED KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE OF 1611 (Old & New Testaments plus the Apocrypha)
CANONS OF THE HOLY FATHERS (with interpretations from THE RUDDER)
CANONS OF THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS (with interpretations from THE RUDDER)
CANONS OF THE REGIONAL SYNODS (with interpretations from THE RUDDER)
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. XIV
THE FIRST SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
THE GREEK-ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT
THE WORKS OF JOSEPHUS
THE DIDACHE (late first century)
EUSEBIUS, THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS
(Lightfoot translation)
ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS, AN EXACT EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH
PATRIARCH JEREMIAS II, THE THREE ANSWERS
to the Lutheran Scholars of Tubingen in the 16th century
ST. ATHANASIUS, THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
CATECHISM OF ST. PHILARET (DROZDOV) OF MOSCOW
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE MONKS ON MT. ATHOS (DECEMBER, 2006)
ABOUT THE GREATEST HERESY OF ALL - ECUMENISM -
AND THE PERSECUTION OF GOD-FEARING MONKS
Protopresbyter Fr. Michael Pomanansky, ORTHODOX DOGMATIC THEOLOGY
ST. BASIL THE GREAT, ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
ST. PHOTIOS THE GREAT,
MYSTAGOGY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
ST. IGNATIUS (BRIANCHANINOV),
ON PRACTICING THE JESUS PRAYER
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), THE 'REBEL' NUNS OF SHAMORDINO: THEY SHAME US ALL!!
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, PREPARING FOR THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH
[Invaluable information for us as we enter the last days - we need this advice from one who suffered for 14 years under Communist tyranny. The days of Christian persecution are coming to America: be ready! Russians: Return to the Catacombs! Your 'freedom' is illusory!]
ALEXEI KHOMIAKOV, THE CHURCH IS ONE
DR. ALEXANDRE KALOMIROS, THE RIVER OF FIRE
DR. ALEXANDRE KALOMIROS,AGAINST FALSE UNION
THE VENERABLE BEDE'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
ENCYCLICAL OF THE EASTERN PATRIARCHS, 1848
THE WORKS OF ST. JOHN CASSIAN
OLD JORDANVILLE PRAYERBOOK
CONVERSATION OF ST. SERAPHIM OF SAROV WITH NICHOLAS MOTOVILOV
ST. INNOCENT OF ALASKA, THE WAY INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Hieromonk Patapios, A TRADITIONALIST CRITIQUE OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH
ALEXEI KHOMIAKOV, ON THE WESTERN CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, EARLY CHURCH FATHERS, ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, VOL. I
THE PILGRIMAGE OF ETHERIA
ST. VINCENT OF LERINS, EXCERPTS FROM HIS A COMMONITORY
ARCHBISHOP CYPRIANUS OF CYPRUS, THE APHORISM AGAINST FREE MASONRY (FEB 2, 1815)
Patrick Barnes, THE NON-ORTHODOX
(The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church)
PATRISTICS MASTER LIST
CONFESSIONS OF ST. PATRICK
Miriam Lambouras, THE MARIAN APPARITIONS: DIVINE INTERVENTION OR DELUSION?
Maturshka Katherine Swanson, JOURNEY TO MEDJUGORJE
THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP
THE PROTOEVANGELIUM OF JAMES (THE JUST)
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM'S HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM'S HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW
VARIOUS WRITINGS OF ARCHBISHOP AVERKY OF BLESSED MEMORY
Fr. Seraphim Rose, HOLY FATHERS OF ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY
(Part I: The Inspiration and Sure Guide to True Christianity Today
Part II: How to Read the Holy Fathers
Part III: How not to Read the Holy Fathers)
ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, THE MYSTAGOGICS: FIVE POST-BAPTISMAL CATECHETICAL ORATIONS
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, WITH MY OWN EYES
Ludmilla Perepiolkina, Dr. Phil., ECUMENISM - A PATH TO PERDITION
Rene-Francois Guettee, THE PAPACY
Fr. Dr. Photios (W), DEVELOP OUR OWN 'VIRTUAL CATACOMBS'!
BROTHER JOSEPH: A MAN CHOSEN BY THE VIRGIN MARY
(keeper of the Wonder-working Iverian icon of Montreal and one martyred in blood)
Church (Julian) Calendar Homilies
Two pages of Fr. Dr. Photios' 67-page compilation of Fathers' sayings will be featured every two weeks (fortnight) until the work is exhausted.
ASCETICALLY SPEAKING, pp. 39-40 [inserted on May 2, 2008]
Since the time of her foundation by the apostles, the Church has been one. Embracing the whole world as it was then known, connecting the British Isles and Spain with Egypt and Syria, this unity was never violated. When a heresy arose, the whole Christian world dispatched its representatives and highest dignitaries to solemn assemblies known as councils. By their world-wide character, because of the importance of the questions submitted for their decision, and in spite of the disorder and even violence which sometimes marred their purity, these councils stand out in the history of mankind as the noblest of all its undertakings. The whole Church accepted or rejected the decisions of the councils depending on whether she found them compatible or incompatible with her faith and tradition, and she gave the name of ecumenical to those councils whose determinations she acknowledged as the expression of her inner thought (all emphases supplied). [The great lay theologian Alexei Khomiakov (1804-1860) in his On the Western Confessions of Faith.]
A council is impossible until the Western world returns to the idea of the council and condemns its own infringement of this council principle and all the consequences stemming from this infringement. Or, to put it another way, until it returns to the original Creed and submits its opinion, by which the Creed was impaired, to the judgment of the Ecumenical Faith. In a word, when rationalism is clearly understood and condemned, then and only then will a council be possible. So it is not a council which will bridge the chasm; the chasm must first be bridged before the council can assemble. This was the conviction of the great Mark of Ephesus who, at the Florentine Council, demanded that the Creed be restored to its original purity and the insertion be declared an opinion standing outside its formula. Excluded from the list of dogmas, the error would become harmless. This was what Mark wanted, leaving the actual correction of the error to God's providence. Thus the heresy would have been removed and the possibility of communion restored. But the pride of rationalism has not yet permitted Rome to go this far.... As with papism, so also with the reform: everything leads to externality. Such is the nature of all the children of rationalism. The unity of papism is an external unity, deprived of living content; the freedom of the protestant mind is also an external freedom, without real content... A true understanding of the Church, as freedom in unity and life in reason, is equally inaccessible to both [all emphases supplied]. [ibid.]
"A man may not seem to render evil for evil by what he does, but he is found, as I say, to do so in word or in his attitude [general behaviour].
"For there are times when a person, either by his attitude, his movements, or his looks, disturbs his brother - and does so on purpose - and this is to render evil for evil."
[inserted on August 1, 2007]
[inserted on July 17, 2007]
[inserted on July 10, 2007]
[inserted on July 5, 2007]
[inserted on June 23, 2007]
[inserted on May 12, 2007]
[inserted on May 14, 2007]
"Faith without works is dead (St. James 2: 26), and the works of faith are love, peace, long-suffering, mercy, humility, rest from all works (as God rested Himself from His works), bearing the Cross and life in the Spirit. Only such faith can be considered true. True faith cannot (emphasis supplied) be without works; one who truly believes will unfailingly have works as well."
[inserted on August 26, 2007]
[inserted on April 30, 2008]