The Spiritual Director: A Guide and Mentor

The Spiritual Director: A Guide and Mentor

^{by Khalil Samara}

“A brother asked Abba Poemen, ‘Some brothers live with me; do you want me to be in charge of them?’ The old man said to him, ‘No, just work first and foremost, and if they want to live like you, they will see to it themselves.’ The brother said to him, ‘But it is they themselves, Father, who want me to be in charge of them.’ The old man said to him, ‘No, be their example, not their legislator.’”

This anecdote from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers speaks about the relationship between the spiritual child and the spiritual director. Abba Poemen tells his brother that he should not be the legislator for others but rather lead them by example. He suggests that the brother will teach and guide his disciples through his own actions and how he leads his own life. This is a model that spiritual directors in society, outside of a monastic setting, could also employ to guide and teach their spiritual children.

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The Doctrine of Man

The Doctrine of Man

^{by Fr. Thomas Hopko}

Man is God’s special creature. He is the only one “created in the image and likeness of God” ^{(Gen 1:26)}. He is created by God from the dust at the end of the process of creation (the “sixth day”) and by the special will of God. He is made to breathe “the breath of life” ^{(Gen 2:7)}, to know God, to have dominion over all that God has made.

God created humans as male and female ^{(Gen. 1:27; 2:21)} in order “to be fruitful and multiply” ^{(Gen 1:28)}. Thus, according to Orthodox doctrine sexuality belongs to the creation which God calls “very good” ^{(Gen 1:31)}, and in itself it is in no way sinful or perverse. It belongs to the very nature of humanity directly willed by God.

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Alexander Hotovitzky

St. Alexander Hotovitzky New Hieromartyr of Russia and Missionary to America

Commemorated on December 4 by the Orthodox Church

The New Martyr of Russia Alexander Hotovitzky was born on February 11, 1872 in the city of Kremenetz, into the pious family of Archpriest Alexander, who was Rector of the Volhynia Theological Seminary and would later be long remembered in the hearts of the Orthodox inhabitants of Volhynia as a good shepherd. Young Alexander received a good Christian upbringing from his parents, who instilled in him love for the Orthodox Church and for the people of God.

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The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer

^{(by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom)}

Those who have read The Way of the Pilgrim are familiar with the expression “The Jesus Prayer.” It refers to a short prayer, the words of which are: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” constantly repeated.... The prayer is profoundly rooted in the spirit of the Gospel, and it is not in vain that the great teachers of Orthodoxy have always insisted on the fact that the Jesus Prayer sums up the whole of the Gospel. This is why the Jesus Prayer can only be used in its fullest sense if the person who uses it belongs to the Gospel, is a member of the Church of Christ.

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