Ortho Lounge

Iakobos said:
Orthodoxy preserves this through the tradition of hesychasm & the Philokalia which you may want to look into if you're not familiar. However I've been advised that these types of meditative prayer practices should only be pursued with the blessing and guidance of an Orthodox spiritual elder as there is danger of prelest or delusion when taken on independently (and from our perspective some of the Catholic mystics certainly fall into this category).
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The Jesus prayer is the one aspect of this that is accessible to all Christians. It's great to say it throughout the day as it keeps the mind from wandering and promotes stillness as the Eastern religions also try to do. It's still good to talk to a priest about any prayer rule though, some would say especially concerning the Jesus prayer.

The key I've learned is just to focus on the words and their meaning. Jesus means Savior, and the Christ is the anointed one. You are simply asking our Lord and Savior, sent by the Father, to heal your sinful soul through His great love and thus save us. You don't visualize anything, don't change your breathing, and especially don't seek altered states without an experienced elder.
 
analyst_green said:
The Jesus prayer is the one aspect of this that is accessible to all Christians. It's great to say it throughout the day as it keeps the mind from wandering and promotes stillness as the Eastern religions also try to do. It's still good to talk to a priest about any prayer rule though, some would say especially concerning the Jesus prayer.

The key I've learned is just to focus on the words and their meaning. Jesus means Savior, and the Christ is the anointed one. You are simply asking our Lord and Savior, sent by the Father, to heal your sinful soul through His great love and thus save us. You don't visualize anything, don't change your breathing, and especially don't seek altered states without an experienced elder.
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I was discussing with a priest how "mercy" is not quite an adequate translation of eleison. Mercy has connotations of "please don't punnish me!" But actually its more like "heal me, annoint me with oil to heal my wounds"

With this understanding I think the Jesus Prayer becomes a lot more universal. You're not just asking that the Lord overlook your sins (although there definitely can be this element to it in certain situations) but that He give you what you need, heal your injuries and save you.
 
Lawrence87 said:
I was discussing with a priest how "mercy" is not quite an adequate translation of eleison. Mercy has connotations of "please don't punnish me!" But actually its more like "heal me, annoint me with oil to heal my wounds"

With this understanding I think the Jesus Prayer becomes a lot more universal. You're not just asking that the Lord overlook your sins (although there definitely can be this element to it in certain situations) but that He give you what you need, heal your injuries and save you.
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Indeed, mercy can also mean "love" here. Western Christianity became very legalistic so I believe the Latin and Germanic languages like English lack the perfect translation. The French translation of mercy is "pitié", which is maybe a bit better but also missed the mark. Only the Orthodox refer to God as a "physician" of souls and bodies.

In the Slavonic "Господи, помилуй", the imperative "помилуй" also carries connotations of compassion and a softening of the heart. Through prayer, God's love intertwines with our desire and need for Him, drawing us closer to Him.
 
My wife was baptized Catholic and took the name Rosalia after Saint Rosalia of Palermo. She's a catechumen now and will soon be baptized into the Orthodox church.

Because of the split, would she still be able to keep that name since I don't see any reference to her in the Orthodox church?
 
Brebelle3 said:
My wife was baptized Catholic and took the name Rosalia after Saint Rosalia of Palermo. She's a catechumen now and will soon be baptized into the Orthodox church.

Because of the split, would she still be able to keep that name since I don't see any reference to her in the Orthodox church?
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Unlikely I'm afraid as she appears to be an Italian saint after the schism.

Some people however do get obscure baptismal names and just get referred to in most contexts by their name given at birth.
 
analyst_green said:
In the Slavonic "Господи, помилуй", the imperative "помилуй" also carries connotations of compassion and a softening of the heart. Through prayer, God's love intertwines with our desire and need for Him, drawing us closer to Him.
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Etymologically the Slavonic root word for mercy actually means to stroke or caress, that's how soft it is.
 
Iakobos said:
Does anyone have a good link to a resource that gives the daily Scripture reading according to the Orthodox calendar and also names it according to the Church calendar? I.E. 31st week after Pentecost, and so on. I know I could calculate this myself but looking for a quick reference. Or a well-featured online Church calendar in general.

I found these:

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

www.antiochian.org www.antiochian.org
www.oca.org

Scripture Readings

www.oca.org www.oca.org

But I can't easily correlate them with some of my reference books without knowing the week we're in.
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GoodShepherd said:
but Turkey striking Greece.
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There is currently a riff between these two (who'd a thunk?) about the dividing lines between them in the Mediterranean.

As for the Israeli strike on Iran and nuclear, that's a long term reality that's actually happened several times. Is this bigger? Yes, but mostly because it wasn't going to happen from before and through the last Trump years.
 
Blade Runner said:
There is currently a riff between these two (who'd a thunk?) about the dividing lines between them in the Mediterranean.

As for the Israeli strike on Iran and nuclear, that's a long term reality that's actually happened several times. Is this bigger? Yes, but mostly because it wasn't going to happen from before and through the last Trump years.
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We should take this as a warning sign to encourage repentance. But also, to stay vigilant. All eyes are on Turkey now.
 
Blade Runner said:
There is currently a riff between these two (who'd a thunk?) about the dividing lines between them in the Mediterranean.

As for the Israeli strike on Iran and nuclear, that's a long term reality that's actually happened several times. Is this bigger? Yes, but mostly because it wasn't going to happen from before and through the last Trump years.
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The saint have warned us that when Turkey strikes Greece thats the second sign that the great world war is going to start. They have also said that Turkey will no long exist, 1/3 will die, the other 1/3 will convert to Christianity and the rest will flee, I think its Russia thats going to be invloved in helping Greece to wipe them out and Turkey will become Christian again.
 
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