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Beyond Truth as We Judge It
Entering the Mercy Revealed in Christ Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Evergetinos Volume II Hypothesis XLV G2 and Hypothesis XLVI A These texts from the Evergetinos unsettle us because they refuse to remain within the boundaries of what feels morally tidy or intellectually manageable. They do not ask us to refine our ethical reasoning. They ask us to relinquish it. Not because truth no longer matters, but because truth in Christ is no longer possessed or deployed by us. It
Father Charbel Abernethy
16 hours ago3 min read
The Christianity That Refuses the Cross
Why a Faith That Costs Nothing Heals Nothing “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” — Luke 9:23 There is a way of being religious that never repents. It practices devotion while guarding the self. It speaks of humility while remaining intact. It kneels often and dies never. This is the Christianity Pope Shenouda refused to bless. He knew how easily faith becomes a method of survival rather than a consent to death. When h
Father Charbel Abernethy
4 days ago3 min read
Dialogue with St. Sophrony on Holy Pain
The night was quiet in that strange and heavy way it sometimes is before dawn, as though the world were holding its breath. I sat in the silence with the ache in my chest like a stone I could not swallow. Out of the shadows, not dramatic, not radiant, just present, like a memory sharpened into flesh, St. Sophrony stood beside me. ⸻ Disciple: Father, I am tired of hurting. It feels like my heart never has a day without ache. Prayer comes like dragging a broken limb. Why is th
Father Charbel Abernethy
Nov 29, 20253 min read
A Meditation on Love, Suffering, and the Folly of the Cross
To love is to suffer. Everyone says this, yet no one really believes it until the truth begins to bruise the heart. To love the Church, to give yourself over to her with the simplicity of a child and the seriousness of a vow, is to suffer at her hands. They never tell you this in seminary. There are no courses on how to bear praise without pride or how to endure humiliation without despair. They speak of kenosis and self emptying love. They teach the vocabulary. But no format
Father Charbel Abernethy
Nov 13, 20253 min read
The Royal Road: Bearing Wrong, Refusing Retaliation, Loving Enemies
Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Evergetinos Hypothesis Section E paragraphs 1-9: The Evergetinos sets the bar of freedom in a surprising place: anger without cause is not when we flare up over trifles, but whenever we react to any ill-treatment aimed at us. Abba Poimen sharpens the point: even if a brother were to gouge out an eye or cut off a hand, anger would still be without cause, unless he were separating us from God. In other words, the only justified “anger” is zea
Father Charbel Abernethy
Nov 10, 20252 min read
When God Shuts, None Can Open
“These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and none shall shut, who shuts and none shall open.” — Revelation 3:7 There are moments when the soul stands before a closed door, not one barred by sin or negligence, but sealed by a providence that is at once inscrutable and tender. All one can do is stand, palms open, heart emptied of expectation, and let the silence do its slow work of purification. For the first time in a long while,
Father Charbel Abernethy
Nov 3, 20254 min read
When God Opens, None Can Shut
“These are the words of the Holy One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut.” — Revelation 3:7 There comes a time when what seemed sealed forever begins to breathe again. It is not that the old door reopens, but that another threshold appears — one hidden within the very wall of impossibility. The heart, once pressed in silence, begins to sense movement beneath the stillness, like sap rising unseen in winter. This is the mystery of divine reversal, the mom
Father Charbel Abernethy
Nov 3, 20253 min read
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