Today is the feast day of Saint Moses the black. Here is a story from Wallis Budge’s translation of the Book of Paradise It has been cleaned up to easier to read for the web. In Christ, Fr. Athanasius St. Moses the Black source Now there was a certain man whose name was Moses, who was by race an Indian (i.e., an Ethiopian), and his flesh (i.e., skin) was black, and he was the slave of a man in high authority, and because of his evil deeds and thefts his master drove him out of his house; now it is said that he even went so far as [to commit] murder.
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St. Mark the Ascetic On Those who Think that They are Made Righteous by Works Two Hundred and Twenty Six Texts In the texts which follow, the beliefs of those in error will be refuted by those whose faith is well founded and who know the truth. Wishing to show that to fulfill every commandment is a duty, whereas sonship is a gift given to men through His own Blood, the Lord said: ‘When you have done all that is commanded you, say: “We are useless servants: we have only done what was our duty” ' (Luke 17:10).
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St John Cassian On the Holy Fathers of Sketis And on Discrimination - Written for Abba Leontios The promise I made to the blessed Bishop Kastor to give an account of the way of life and the teaching of the holy fathers has been fulfilled in part by the writings I sent him entitled ‘On Coenobitic Institutions’ and ‘On the Eight Vices’, and I now propose to fulfill it completely. But having heard that Bishop Kastor has left us to dwell with Christ, I felt I should send the remaining portion of my treatise to you, most holy Leontios, who have inherited both his virtuous qualities and the guardianship, with God’s help, of his monastery.
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The Three Methods of Prayer St. Symeon the New Theologian There are three methods of prayer and attentiveness, by means of which the soul is either uplifted or cast down. Whoever employs these methods at the right time is uplifted, but whoever employs them foolishly and at the wrong time is cast down. Vigilance and prayer should be as closely linked together as the body to the soul, for the one cannot stand without the other.
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St John Cassian On the Eight Vices Written for Bishop Kastor Having composed the treatise on cenobitic institutions, I am now once more encouraged by your prayers to attempt to write something about the eight vices: gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, restlessness, self-esteem and pride. On Control of the Stomach I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat.
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St. MACARIUS the Great was born in the year 300 and died in BSD 390. Thus his life was passed entirely in the 4th century, that was an exceptional and remarkable period in the history of the Church. At its very beginning the persecution of three centuries against Christians came to an end, and there was born the great Byzantine culture which gave to the whole world for all times the greatest spiritual treasures which Orthodoxy contains.
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This is an excerpt from the book STORIES, SERMONS, AND PRAYERS OF ST. NEPHON: AN ASCETIC BISHOP. BITTER DEATH, PURE SOUL Saint Nephon lifted the people who had fallen at his feet and had them sit on stools. Then he began an amazing narration: “There lived a young man in Constantinople, Basil by name. He was crafty, filthy, and very shameless. He would spend all day and night in the dens of iniquity.
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Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of man with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world and brings about reconciliation with God;
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This book is a record of the virtuous asceticism and marvellous manner of life of those blessed and holy fathers, the monks and anchorites which inhabit the desert, (written) with a view of stirring to rivalry and imitation those who wish to realize the heavenly mode of life and desire to tread the road which leads to the kingdom of heaven.
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First, we must recognize that the starting-point of all our spiritual development is the natural knowledge given us by God, whether this comes through the Scriptures by human agency, or by means of the angel that is given in divine baptism to guard the soul of every believer, to act as his conscience and to remind him of the divine commandments of Christ. If the baptized person keeps these commandments, the grace of the Holy Spirit is preserved in him.
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