Orthodox Christian tradition is not defined by its ethnocentric politics nor by the reactionary fundamentalism that narrows its conventional shallows into sectarian nationalisms. True Orthodoxy is right-glorification of God the Father, by God the Son, in God the Holy Spirit, glorification which glorifies the saints who awaken to wisdom’s vision of glory in the Kingdom of God. Ethnocentrism is not definitive in Orthodoxy because… Read more »
Love of wisdom can mean many things in the schools, but in the desert, glory’s love of wisdom unveils ineffable mysteries that are never divulged as shallow gossip but preserved with wonder in stillness. Wisdom is loved by glory, her divine beloved, because wisdom hallows the Name which reveals God’s glory in the Holy of Holies. The Father reveals his glory through the Son… Read more »
Wisdom sings at the heart of the Church, unveiling the Bride of Christ hidden in the Holy of Holies. She awakens union in the Bridal Chamber so as to communicate communion, gifts of Christ her Beloved in mysteries of glorification. Wisdom sings through the heart of the Beloved Disciple, inspiring the Fourth Gospel which imparts illumination and glorification through revelation of… Read more »
Wisdom is not only love of beauty, philokalia, but is in love with beauty, wedded to glory that is beautiful and loves beauty. Saint Denis sees this glorious co-inherence as wisdom’s vision of theadrocosmic radiance, a resplendent icon of divine beauty that embraces the cosmos with Christ’s divine-human glory. Visible worlds are theophanies of invisible glory, but this is visible through Christ’s grace… Read more »
Glory reigns when Christ shares union with the Father with those who who turn and see him in the midst. For ‘I AM,’ which is God’s Name, ‘I and the Father are one,’ (John 10.30), revealing the mystery of glory which Christ opens with the words, ‘the Father is in me and I in the Father’ (John 10.38). The Name ‘I… Read more »
Confusion and division corrupt perception but wisdom stands steadfast in the midst, calling to her children to come out from corruption into undying light, saying: ‘Turn and see God here at centre, healing the corruption of the usurper. Listen to the Word that names the Name and awaken in the Spirit who hallows by unveiling glory, curing the corruption of confusion… Read more »
On Monday March 18th 2019, the Harmony Project in the University of Lampeter, inspired by the Sophia Harmony Initiative of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, published an essay on the Harmony Project Website by Father Silouan, entitled: ‘The Practice of Harmony in Orthodox Christian Wisdom,’ There is a link to this at the bottom of the Wisdom… Read more »
In chapter 45 of his Life of St David, (c 1081-1095), Rhygyfarch tells us that St David visited the Patriarch of Jerusalem with St Teilo and St Padarn. St David returned with a portable altar, a bell, a staff and a coat, gifts which according to Rhygyfarch worked great miracles. The historical veracity of this tradition has often been contested but its… Read more »
An Orthodox Christian hermitage nestles among old stone walls, abiding unnoticed within the Cathedral City of St Davids, grounded in centuries of hallowing prayer. There is nothing spectacular to see here yet heavens open on earth when wisdom turns and sees, unveiling the Name so God’s kingdom comes. Hidden in the silence of the early hours, prayer arises to meet… Read more »
True holiness does not reside in externals but in purity of heart, which is ineffable but real. It is an offering of the heart to God, a living sacrifice that fulfils renewing prophecy in the royal priesthood of prayer of the heart. The heart offers God to God through God, which is the mystery of Holy Trinity lived in the Spirit, loved… Read more »