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Wisdom of the Fathers
1524 sayings · 60 topics
On God«God alone exists for Himself, and all of us exist for God. To please God — there is your blessedness; to be i…»8 sayingsOn the Church and Salvation«Everyone who separates himself from the Church is like an adulterous wife and becomes a stranger to the promi…»25 sayingsOn Faith and Unbelief«Nothing is so needful to man as faith. On it depends not only the blessedness of the life to come but earthly…»9 sayingsOn Life and Death«One must live not “easily” but with the greatest possible exertion of all one’s strength, both physical and s…»12 sayingsOn the Spiritual Father«Spiritual fatherhood means gathering one’s own sorrows from the misfortunes of others»69 sayingsOn Monasticism«Monks are not only lamps that shine in the street so that people do not stumble, but lighthouses standing on…»11 sayingsOn Confession«What, after all, should we say about confession?! Ask yourself: if my wife, my children, my closest friend, m…»9 sayingsOn Repentance«“I will repent before I die,” some say. With such repentance one may end up in hell. Let us take care that th…»25 sayingsOn Prayer«Special attention must be paid to the sevenfold prayers. Such united, whole prayer does not exist in any othe…»11 sayingsOn Fasting and Abstinence«Because we did not keep the fast, we were driven out of paradise. Let us fast, then, so that we may return.»22 sayingsOn the Love of God and Neighbour«The radii of a circle are joined to the centre, and the nearer they are to the centre, the nearer they come t…»14 sayingsOn Illnesses and Trials«He who is patient in illness and gives thanks to the Lord receives a martyr’s crown.»8 sayingsOn Feasts«On worldly holidays what was gathered on working days is spent; on the feasts of the Church one can and shoul…»6 sayingsOn Patience and Obedience«Let us not give ourselves up to temptation of our own will, but bear with thanksgiving what is sent to us by…»16 sayingsOn Forgiveness«Forgive others everything, and forgive yourself nothing. Abba Isaiah»25 sayingsOn Wealth and Poverty«You possess riches of many kinds? Do not forget that in the end you will have a dwelling two paces long and s…»4 sayingsOn Family, Marriage and Children«It is better to speak often to God about your child than to your child about God. A young person’s soul thirs…»7 sayingsOn Sins and Virtues«What adds to our spiritual strength? A temptation overcome.»26 sayingsOn Anger«Do not insist on having your own way, for this gives birth to anger.»3 sayingsOn Judging Others«As soon as you feel pride taking hold of you because of the good works you have done, at once call to mind yo…»27 sayingsOn Falsehood and Hypocrisy«You will have noticed that a dishonest man talks endlessly about honesty. Do not trust one who praises honest…»2 sayingsOn Drunkenness«If ever a man is in the devil’s power, it is most of all when he is drunk.»10 sayingsOn Despair«In moments of despair know that it is not the Lord who leaves you, but you who leave the Lord. S. A. Nilus»3 sayingsOn Envy«Envy is equal to murder; envy was the cause of the first murder of a man, and afterwards of the killing of Go…»1 sayingsOn Pride«Other people’s opinion of us — there is the mirror before which almost everyone without exception preens. A p…»15 sayingsOn spiritual delusion«A man who boasts of his own virtue proves by this very thing that he has no true virtue. Inward contentment o…»32 sayingsOn Humility«Many have entered the Kingdom without prophecies and wonders, but without humility no one will enter the heav…»14 sayingsOn Fornication and Adultery«If the fire of fleshly passion burns you, set against it the unquenchable fire of Gehenna, and the flame of y…»9 sayingsOn the Love of Money (Covetousness)«No passion is so hateful as pride, and none deserves so much mockery as the love of money.»15 sayingsOn Desires«As a lot of wood kindles a fire, so much eating and drinking kindles evil desire.»3 sayingsOn Idle Talk and Much Speaking«You have spoken a word, and it will never die, but will live until the Dread Judgement. It will stand with yo…»30 sayingsOn Almsgiving«Help your neighbour in whatever way you can. If you cannot heal the infirmities of men by a wonder-working wo…»8 sayingsOn Smoking Tobacco«Man has distorted even the pleasures of the flesh… For taste, and partly for breathing, he has invented, and…»4 sayingsOn Various Faiths and Ecumenism«Canon 45: if a bishop, priest or deacon prays together with heretics, let him be forbidden the priesthood. If…»12 sayingsOn Patriotism«Three divine treasures have come down to us from our fathers and forefathers: homeland, language and faith. I…»8 sayingsVarious«The Church of Georgia was, is and always will be the soul of the Georgian nation. Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriar…»32 sayingsThe Teachings of Saint Zosimas of Palestine«Scant information about the life and labours of the renowned holy father Zosimas of Palestine (5th c.) has be…»5 sayingsCounsels of St Ilia the Righteous (Chavchavadze)«Three divine treasures have come down to us from our fathers and grandfathers: our land, our language, our fa…»55 sayingsFrom the Sermons of Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia«The icon of the All-holy Trinity painted by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II»21 sayingsElder Paisios the Athonite«He who labours spiritually attacks his enemy, the devil, and therefore he himself suffers attacks from him. T…»22 sayingsSayings of St Tikhon of Zadonsk«The radii of a circle are joined to its centre, and the nearer they are to the centre, the nearer they come t…»42 sayingsTeachings on the life in Christ of our holy father Anthony the Great«1. Let everyone who takes up a labour like ours care above all never to weaken in diligence and, having reste…»12 sayings13–22«13. Believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and love Him with your whole being; keep yourself from unclean thoughts…»10 sayings23–36«23. Let this also not be hidden from you, that the enemies of truth work unceasingly to blot out the truth. B…»14 sayings37–42«37. From the day when my Lord Jesus Christ in His goodness and mercy woke my mind from a deadly sleep, great…»6 sayings43–51«43. Often repeat that you are sinners, and always weep over what you have done in times of sloth and negligen…»9 sayings52–58«52. I want to tell you too, brethren, what the soul of a labourer is like in whom the fire of God has been ki…»7 sayings59–66«59. The seraph which the holy prophet Ezekiel saw is an image of the righteous and faithful souls that labour…»8 sayings67–82«67. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did not say that here, in this earthly life, we shall receive the rewar…»16 sayingsTeachings on good morals and the holy life by the holy father Anthony the Great (1–40)«1. Usually, when people say of a man that he is intelligent, they use the word in a wrong sense. The intellig…»40 sayings41–80«41. But those people who have no natural, inborn inclination to the doing of good should not despair of thems…»40 sayings81–120«81. It is impossible for a person to escape death — for this there is no means and no device. Knowing this we…»40 sayings121–169«121. If the worshippers of idols knew what they worship, they would not have departed from God and would have…»49 sayingsA rule of the hermit life, drawn up by Anthony the Great«I hand on these rules, spoken by the Lord through my mouth, to all of you who wish to bow your necks under th…»137 sayingsSayings of our holy father Anthony the Great and accounts about him«Whoever wants to enter successfully upon the monastic labour must settle his accounts with this world once an…»23 sayingsAn explanation of certain sayings of Anthony the Great, given after his repose by a certain teacher«1. A question of the monks. How are we to understand that word of Father Anthony which he said to his discipl…»33 sayingsSt Maximus the Confessor — Four Centuries of Chapters on Love«1. Love is a good disposition of the soul, by which it prefers nothing that exists to the knowledge of God; b…»100 sayingsThe second century«1. He who truly loves God prays without any distraction of mind, just as he who prays without any distraction…»100 sayingsThe third century«1. The sensible use of thoughts and things gives us dispassion, love and knowledge, while the senseless use g…»99 sayingsThe fourth century«1. The mind, when it thinks about the divine, is first of all boundlessly amazed that He is wondrously beyond…»101 sayings
Source: orthodoxy.ge · Russian and English translation — made for the Kandeli app