Categorie: Articole

When the Saints Apostles put the problem of greatness in God’s Kingdom [Mat. 18, 1], the Lord spoke to them about return, ie about repentance, through which we arrive to be like the infants [Mat. 18, 2, BYZ]. For He does not ask from us the nescience of infants, but their lack of conscious malice, their lack of duplicity. And the simpleness of holiness is interior innocence, is cleansing of the heart, and just therefore it goes into the Kingdom of God.

Children play with the danger because they do not know it can kill them. Children believe in everything that we tell them. Therefore, many believe that the infants are „saints” in comparison with them. But the Church, on the contrary, believes that all the infants must be exorcised before Baptism, because all are dwellings of the demons.

And, in Baptism, every infant becomes a dwelling of God, for that the glory of the trinitarian God descends into the baptized. Fact for which, from Baptism, the infant is the saint of God, if he remains in His glory.

Why the infants are the paradigms of ghostual life? For that the simpleness and the interior cleanness are ultimate virtues of holiness.

The humbleness makes us simple. The divine love is full of simpleness and cleanness. The faith is sight of the divine, which are simple, for that and the hope expects simple things. And, in general, the life leads us to an ever greater simplification of us, for that our maturation means the contentment with all fewer things from here, from the earth.

Therefore, we are born nescient, we learn more and more things, the teaching does not complicate us, but it simplifies us, and, at elderness, we arrive again to the simpleness of infants in the face of danger. But, if we ghostually advanced, then we reach at the ghostual simpleness that God demands of us. Because the holiness is a continuous awareness of our life with God.

And who sanctifies himself, that one has to enter into the Kingdom of the heavens [Mat. 18, 3]. For that this entry in Kingdom is voluntary and conscious. And the Saints are the saved.

The people of world want to be well-grown until and in the simplest gestures. Fact for which they learn the elegant manners of world, what is done and what is not done into a given situation. But  all their care is at appearances. They want to seem mannered, educated, and not necessarily to be educated.

In respect on the ghostual people, they do not want to appear ghostual, but they are ghostual. From this motive, their gestures are natural, but, in the same time, are ghostual. For that the glory of God is in them and teaches them the things of God.

And the ghostual man speaks with seriousness, steps with prudence, looks with profoundness, understands all after God’s will. For that in everything that he does, the ghostual man is not guided by humane methods, but after his ghostual, interior state. Only that his inner state is formed from the obedience to God and from the life with God.

From this motive, a ghostual man is a godly man and not a gentleman of the world. A gentleman is often a hypocrite, a man who is hiding behind of the clothes and of the worldly customs. But the ghostual man hates to pretend to be other, fact for which he says the truth from heart, knowing to combine the firmness with the delicacy.

For in the life of the ghostual man, the supreme value in the relations with the people is the delicacy. Because he does not want to enter into force in the lives of others, but he seeks their real good. Ie he seeks to heal them of their spiritual diseases, for that they truly see their inner state. And if you want to help people, then you need to know to be their friend and father in the same time. For that they need to see in you a friend on the way of cleansing of their passions, but and a father which, with ghostual authority, shows them that this thing is possible.

Because the cleansing of passions is ontological healing, is an underspring of divine life in ourselves. Without it, without the cleansing of passions, the man is not a truly man, but a passionate man, no matter how educated would be. While the ghostual man, even if he is illiterate, he is a delicate man, for that he takes care of the health of his soul and of those who come to him. He wants their salvation and, also, he wants his salvation. And if we think any relation with others in terms of salvation, then we are on the path of ghostual delicacy.

A theologian of the present I think that must have the money divided into two: a part for everyday life and, the rest, for theology. Because the theology is a domain which needs a lot of money to study and write about it.

The books cost money. The entries to libraries cost money. You need of computer, of camera, of electric energy, of space and time, of dictionaries and diverse articles, of many books simultaneously. For all these is need of money.

But the money of the theologian is God’s money. I write books for God, for that I have the conscience that I have to write what God enlightens me. And for this motive,  I make from my theological books a gift to Church. For that all Holy Theologians of Church have done the same thing: they made from the life and the time and from their money a gift to Church.

Therefore, what I do here, on Theology for Today, when I give my books and the life to Church is a normal thing, one profound ecclesial. For that all are called to do the same thing: give ourselves to Church. Because the Lord asks us to be our soul there where is and our wealth [Mat. 6, 21].

But which is the true wealth of the theologian? His theological opera. On which he gives it for Church and through this he fulfills himself in interior mode.

But how many Orthodox theologians give their work online in gratuitous mode? I do not know anyone, besides me, unfortunately. I found a few that bestow certain books…but none that creates everything for free. And what is this telling us? That the theologians do not behave ecclesially, but commercially. That they are thinking at their money and not at Church. And that we are hypocrites when we talk about „Christian mission”, if we put money in our pocket and not build the Church with our money.

And if there is not orthodox theology in online for free, then is pornography, are bad jokes, films, commerce, politics, extremism, ideologies of all kinds. But are not and theologians of  Church here, in online! Here they only present their books.

Only that, for theologians, the online is and must be their space of creation, of mission, of evangelization. The online must be their second pulpit. Here we must preach daily, we must be present in erudite mode and convincing, because in discussion is the salvation of the world.

If the Orthodox Church is the true Church of Christ, then where are its theologians? From whom the world to hear the voice of truth? And is evident the fact that the sermon of Church no longer have to be closed in Churches, but it must penetrate to the all homes of the world. But for this, the theologians of Church must be active in online and very productive.

In Orthodox spirituality the self-love is a passion, a bad thing, which is reprimanded harshly. And this for that, the self-love is a reduction of all life and all understanding at yourself, removing on God from your life.

A man who loves on himself cannot trust in God. A man shut up in himself, a man who does nothing without a real profit, evident, material, is an inapt man for relations and, in the first row, for the highest relation, for the relation with God.

And if the man has made himself an idol, then he considers himself as „his greatest accomplishment”.  But the man cannot accomplish himself without God! Without Him the man is dead spiritually and for everlastingness. And one who loves himself is a spiritually dead, although he believes that he is a „fulfilled” man.

The one who loves himself has a high opinion of himself. And who suffers from the disease of the opinion of self is a catastrophe in theology and in the ghostual life. Because he does not want to be taught by God and His Saints, but he relies on his own „theological” imaginations. And the „theological” imaginations are catastrophic in theology and in the life of Church, for that they replace the divine enlightenednesses with the views of fallen man, passionate.

From this motive, the starting point in the Orthodox soteriology is the Holy Baptism and  the cleaning of passions. And how the love of self is a passion, the Orthodox is struggling with it to the death.

But how does the love of self die in us?  Through the obedience to God and to the Priest Confessor. If we speak and write on how we understand, then we keep ourselves into a humble opinion about ourselves. But if we are launching ourselves in theological speculations, in things which far exceed our own understanding, we show how „rich” are in opinion and self-love.

And why the opinion of self does not make us „theologians”? Because, in theology, the feeling and the sight of God are what make us theologians. God makes us theologians, if we live with Him and enlightened by Him. While the egoism is the mother of stupidity and of all sin. For that the egoist does not want to learn from God and from the people and remains in blindness of self.

In 11 years of online creation I fully realized that the people do not know to search online. Or, when they seek online, they seek things already known and not absolutely new things. Why? Because they do not hope to find surprising things.

The searches in matter of theology are often utilitaristic. People seek books, articles, sermons, theological themes, Saints, theological personalities, but not and syntagmas, expressions, personal explanations on various topics. Which means that they’re searching  like novices and not as specialists in theology.

Nor Google and Google translate do not know how „to think” theologically. You have to fight with the search engines or of translation for that „to understand” what you mean. For that the mode how is built the internet is not a theological one. And in such situation you must think empirically and to teach and on it the logic of simpleness.

But for to introduce the theological logic in online, you must follow its way of rationality. And  when you get at specialized topics, then you must search the things and more specialized. And you must keep your computer connected at online in this rhythm of deep searches for that „to know” your theological needs.

Why must we do this? For that an online who stands for nothing is like a lazy mind. But, if we teach it to think more deeply daily, then we have an online which thinks profoundly.

From this motive, I cannot work with a computer and with an online who does not know me. My theological searches are necessarily for my work. The online dictionaries need for you „to think”. I need of my bookmarks and of my notes. And if I have them all at my fingertips, then I can work in will, with peace, with joy.

The communication is a fluid problem for many. And that’s because they do not know what are the terms of communication. But a good communicator knows what must and what must not be say. And a good communicator is, undoubtedly, a man with much experience in the back.

The communication must be positive and profound. It must target the common scopes. For that a community needs of consistent and clear things.

The sermon is a theological communication, while the novel is a literary communication. But into a sermon we can have and a literary, social or philosophical message, after how a novel can have and a religious content.

The verbal communication is enriched by non-verbal communication. We communicate through our face, through the tone of voice, through the complexity of the problems  put in discussion. And a silly communication is one that offends the audience.

At a conference I am interested of what worked the speaker for his audience. I am interested of his research work. If his work is not evident, there is no a real conference, but a mockery. Because the communication is not ruptured of person, but this forms part from it.

In family, the communication is simple and straightforward. The same is and in the relation of ghostuality. For that a intim communication is one real and humble. And who wants to amaze into a such communication, amazes through sincerity.

Therefore, a real communication is a sincere communication, made in the parameters of the present and which is full of research work.

In the Orthodox theology the man is a mystery. And is a mystery, for that he is created after the icon of God [κατ᾽ εἰκόνα Θεοῦ] [Gen. 1, 27] and for this, his life has an unexpected depth. But that does not mean that man cannot be known at all. For and the theology of Church and the human sciences deal with the knowledge of the man and with its role in the world.

The Church accentuates very much the role of the Confessor in parish. For any Orthodox parish, the Confessor is the one who cleanses us from sins, but the one who guides us on the path of salvation. From this motive, the Father Confessor is the cohesion factor of parish and, in the same time, he is the one who knows the people and directs their trajectory.

But, in fact, most often the Confessor is the one who confesses the parish, without being able to know it deeply. Why? For that he does not have time, but, more often, because he may not know it. And why the Confessor cannot know his parish? For that he lacks the true knowledge of people, ie the ghostual knowledge.

For the ghostual knowledge is not enough just the hirotonia [χειροτονία]/ cheirotonia into Priest and the hirotesia [χειροθεσία]/ cheirothesia into Confessor, but you must live a holy life. Because the life with God is the true knowledge of God, the true knowledge of self and the true knowledge of others.

Therefore, the real cohesion factor of the Church is the ghostual man. And this ghostual man can be Hierarch, Priest, Deacon, Monk or Layman, male or female, for that God looks at the heart of man.

But why is the ghostual man superior to others in matters of  knowledge of the man? For that only God knows all. Only He Himself truly knows the deep of man. And God, the One who dwells in His servants, He reveals to them the ones about people. Therefore, the ghostual man knows the people in their depth, because he is helped by God to know them. But the mystery of man remains mystery and in the face of the ghostual man, for that only God truly knows who is the man.