"You shall be perfect, even as your Father Who is in the heavens is perfect." (Mt 5:48) These words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ represent one of the most daunting of the commandments he has given his followers. But how are we to accomplish such a lofty task, living in a world full of turmoil, distractions, and challenges to our spiritual progress? In simple but powerful language, Discussion at a Monastery addresses questions about the meaning of Orthodox Christian monasticism, and of the spiritual life in general, based on the real-life experiences of a contemporary...

"More tolerable is the sky without stars, or spring without flowers, than a person without faith and hope." Writing a little less than two decades before the turn of the present century, Fr. Daniel Gouvalis expressed this view of one of the most fundamental and critical problems of our time-namely, not only the dearth of faith in many people (or its weakness in those not lacking it altogether), but also the absence of hope that all too often accompanies its loss. Indeed, it is a condition that makes life intolerable for so many in an increasingly complex and pressurized world,...

Non licet esse Christiani ... ""Christians are not permitted to exist "" In the year 68 A.D. it is a dangerous time to be a Christian. The Apostles Peter and Paul have recently been brutally executed as martyrs for their faith, and now the bloodthirsty Emperor Nero is determined to rid his dominion permanently of all the followers of Christ. Christians are being hunted down in droves, and are being tortured and executed for their faith. But where the raging maw of the beast roars, the silent love of God prevails and gives strength, so that we are reminded: ""A rose can't be heard when it...