Elder Sophrony: "The World Does Not Need a Political Church"

By Elder Sophrony Sakharov

Every international or class war is associated with violence: "Strike the enemies." But Christ commands: "Love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44). The latter does not deteriorate at all the gospel at the level of the fratricidal division of material goods. When bishops, theologians and faithful Christians in general enter the ranks of militants, they consider those who avoid participation in these kinds of activities as petty and cowardly. The more dangerous the clash with the oppressors, the more this humanitarian mission is considered as "martyrdom" for Christ.

Elder Sophrony and Major Tom

By John Sanidopoulos

Many years ago I had an existential crisis that seemed to separate me from my surrounding environment, and it felt as if I was living in a state of non-reality and disconnection. I came to call this Major Tom Syndrome, because when I listened to the song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, which describes the tragic and lonely demise of the fictional cosmonaut Major Tom in outer space, it reminded me of that state I was in. Years later I came to find out that Major Tom Syndrome is actually a term used to describe a persons disconnect with reality, but it is more of a willful disconnection, such as through drug use, which had nothing to do with what I had felt.

Man's Creative Power and the Knowledge of God

By Elder Sophrony of Essex

Many-sided is the image of God in man. Man's creative power is one aspect, manifesting itself in various spheres and branches of culture - civilization, art, science, and so forth. This creative power does not rest here but continues to transcend the visible and temporal in its striving to attain to the origin of all that exists - God the Creator.