Great lent 2025

[GoodShepherd]

I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I do have an opinion, as I've always thought bodybuilding and posing were on the vanity spectrum. Don't you guys find this sort of stuff odd? By the way, I'm not saying myself and others don't have that, and of course women are most prone to it (that's why I think people call bodybuilders/PE takers/the like "gay"), but if you aren't actively promoting, selling, taking pictures, etc it does seem different.

I'm sure I would like Seraphim, of course, and I do like the general way Fr. Moses has presented himself.


Yes, good points. I think it shows us also that the "law" shows you that no one can keep the law, so it has an interesting and paradoxically purpose. Orthodoxy again representing paradoxy, as is life.

It can be a vanity thing if done in the wrong way, father Moses for example doesnt allow any mirrors on the walls in his gym.

To train and keep fit isnt vanity though its the opposite of being lazy and obese, for example, I want to stay fit and strong for the sake of my family, to protect them and have energy and strength for anything they might need, carry heavy loads, be able to go on far walks and carry kids on my back and their bicycles at the same time which I often do, be able to fight attackers and be intimidating to them. I want my family to feel safe when they are in my presence, they must know that when dad is around they will be protected.

father Moses has given examples that some wives have complained that they are worried that their husbands wont be able to protect them or their family. I also want to keep in shape to be physically attractive for my wife.

 

[san26]

It can be a vanity thing if done in the wrong way, father Moses for example doesnt allow any mirrors on the walls in his gym.

To train and keep fit isnt vanity though its the opposite of being lazy and obese, for example, I want to stay fit and strong for the sake of my family, to protect them and have energy and strength for anything they might need, carry heavy loads, be able to go on far walks and carry kids on my back and their bicycles at the same time which I often do, be able to fight attackers and be intimidating to them. I want my family to feel safe when they are in my presence, they must know that when dad is around they will be protected.

father Moses has given examples that some wives have complained that they are worried that their husbands wont be able to protect them or their family. I also want to keep in shape to be physically attractive for my wife.

Father Moses is walking around clinically obese ( does not matter if it's muscle), and pushing all these protein supplements and extreme lifting. I don't think the early church fathers and saints concerned themselves with such things and walked around clinically obese. How is he protecting his family , when, not if, he sustains injury, and spends all this time and money on vain pursuits?

 

[Samseau]

Father Moses is walking around clinically obese ( does not matter if it's muscle), and pushing all these protein supplements and extreme lifting. I don't think the early church fathers and saints concerned themselves with such things and walked around clinically obese. How is he protecting his family , when, not if, he sustains injury, and spends all this time and money on vain pursuits?

While true most early Church fathers were not into physical fitness like Fr. Moses, it should be noted there are many Saints who were warriors, such as St. George. There are strongmen in the Church who attain great spiritual purity.

God calls all types to his Kingdom, every type of man you can imagine is invited. Not everyone needs to be jacked or skinny, but God calls them all the same.

That said, I do not think Moses pushes himself to the point where he risks injury. He is just freakishly strong. He still keeps all the fasts and even loses muscle mass during Lent, he doesn't care because he says the Spirit is more important than the body.

 

[Lawrence87]

Do we really need to be criticising Father Moses in the Great Lent thread of all places?

 

[GoodShepherd]

Father Moses is walking around clinically obese ( does not matter if it's muscle), and pushing all these protein supplements and extreme lifting. I don't think the early church fathers and saints concerned themselves with such things and walked around clinically obese. How is he protecting his family , when, not if, he sustains injury, and spends all this time and money on vain pursuits?

Theres a big difference if a person is fat or muscular, fat is s sign of laziness and gluttony, muscle is a sign of dicipline and hard work.

I think with the current bad health and obesity epedemic encouraging people to train, keep fit and be diciplined and joining the Orthodox church all at the same time is quite helpful. It seems like its his way of evangelizing, I saw that he was busy in his church with 70 new catechumans, thats quite a high number not every Parish has that, its not a competition obviously.

Its true that father Moses as a priest is quite a rare character but I think the Orthodox church offers quite a lot of freedom when it comes to your personality and character, saint Gabriel was also quite a character as a saint and priest he used to act like a drunk man and visited bars and sang songs making people laugh etc yet he is a great saint.

Iv read about monks on mount Athos that had quite a lot of strength and carried bags of sand and cement on their backs up the mountain like a mule.

Regarding injuries in my opinion its better to get an injury while working out and being active than get injuries or sicknesses from being inactive.

 

[Lawrence87]

A couple of things I've been contemplating so far this Lent:

If it is permitted to happen by God then it is good. If we get sick or something usually we look for some secondary cause, "I got sick because I ate something bad" or "I'm sick because someone got too close to me with their germs" but the ultimate reality is that it happened because God permitted it, and if God permitted it then it must be good. So we should strive for being able to say "Glory to God for all things" and really mean all things.

The other thing is how easily we forget that the passions being dormant in us is not the same as having overcome them. We think "I didn't get angry at anyone today" and we start to think we are overcoming that passion, but it quickly comes back in the right conditions. We should never mistake the evil in our hearts being asleep for being good. We can also extend this to thinking about the kinds of evil that might be in us that just hasn't had the moment or conditions to awaken. We are very good at rationalizing ourselves as being "alright" and "not too bad" of a person, but would you commit adultery if someone was really coming on to you? Would you steal if something you really wanted was right in front of you and the opportunity arose that you could likely take it without consequence? I think this is a major reason why we constantly ask no not be led into temptation, because who really knows what the right circumstances would awaken in us.