On Love and Existence

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Greek coffee shop

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Saint Luke, Bishop of Simferopol and Crimea, the Blessed Surgeon (+June 11, 1961)

  His last words:

"My children, very much do I entreat you,Arm yourselves with the armor that God gives, That you may withstand the devil's tricks.You can't imagine how evil he is.We don't have to fight with people but with rulers and powers, in effect the evil spirits.Take care!It's no use to the devil for anyone to think and feelthat he is close to him.A hidden and unknown enemy is more dangerous than a visible enemy.O how large and terrible is the army of the demons.How numberless is their black horde!Unchanged, untiring, day and night, seeking to push all of us who believein the name of Christ, to lure us on the road of unbelief, of evil and of impiety.These unseen enemies of God have made their sole purpose, day and night to seek our destruction.But do not be afraid, take power from the name of Jesus."

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The power of illumination and glorification not only withstood persecutions, but captured the Roman Empire and became the heart of its Hellenic Civilisation. The criterion by which the Roman Empire made the Orthodox faith and practice part of Roman law and its synodical system part of the imperial administration was not much different from today's legal support for genuine medicine and for the protection of citizens from unlicensed quack doctors. Religions and dogmas which lead away from illumination and glorification were not only considered dangerous for salvation, but also not conducive to producing the kind of citizens who could help transform society.

Fr. John Romanides

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Creation is completely dependent on God although there is no similarity whatsoever between them. This means that there is no difference whatsoever between the educated and non-educated when both are passing through the cure of illumination on their way to becoming Prophets by glorification. Superior knowledge about created reality does not give one any special claim on knowledge of the uncreated. Nor is ignorance about created reality a disadvantage for reaching the highest knowledge of uncreated reality.

Fr. John Romanides

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