PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

Wadi Natrun and the memory of a desire that had never disappeared “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.” — Psalm 42:1 When I went on pilgrimage to the monasteries of Wadi Natrun in 1997, I carried with me, inevitably, a certain romanticism about the desert. How could one not? These were the places whose names had inhabited my imagination through the sayings and lives of the Fathers. Scetis. The desert of Macarius. The land of Abba Arsenius,

On the refusal to let hatred enter the heart “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 The world is loud with the language of justification. Every nation speaks of necessity. Every army speaks of defense. Every leader speaks of protection. Violence is wrapped in reason. Blood is explained. Fear becomes policy. Men argue about borders, history, rights, security. Each side believes itself correct. Each side invokes