PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

When Silence Becomes the Most Honest Sermon There comes a moment, if grace is merciful and the heart finally yields, when a man sees that much of what he called ministry has been noise, and much of what he called service has been the ego dressed in liturgical fabric. He sees the delusion not in others but lodged in his own marrow. And in that moment he knows that the most loving thing he can do for the Church, for the world, for the souls entrusted to him, is to step back fro

The most dangerous idols are never carved. They breathe. They speak Scripture fluently. They wear vestments and titles and identities we cherish with trembling hands. I have learned this: There is no instinct more subtle or more deadly than the desire to build a name for God that is really a monument to myself. The Fathers speak without flattery. Abba Poemen once said, “A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart condemns others, he is speaking continually.” Silence can be

On Meaning, Peace of Heart, and the Work of Today The disciple arrived tired in spirit. His mind had been racing for days. Saint Paisios welcomed him with the kind of warmth that disarms all fear, motioning for him to sit on a small wooden stool near his hermitage. Disciple:  Geronda, my heart feels confused. I keep asking why I am alive and what God wants from me. I search for some great purpose and the more I search, the more restless I become. St Paisios:  My child, when a