The Lord says to His disciples, 'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven' (Matt. 5:16). He does not say this to urge them to show off, but to urge them to organize their lives as is pleasing to God. Just as light effortlessly attracts people's gaze, so a way of life pleasing to God draws their minds along with their eyes. We do not praise the air which shares in the brilliance of the sunlight, but the sun which is the source of this brilliance and bestows it on us. Even if we do praise the air for its brightness, we praise the sun much more. So it is when someone makes the brilliance of the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2) visible through his virtuous deeds. As soon as anyone looks at him, they are immediately led towards the glory of the Father in heaven of Christ, the Sun of righteousness.

#StGregoryPalamas

Homilies Vol. 1, Homily Ten para. 14; Saint Tikhon's Seminary Press pgs. 110-111, 14th century

#Christianity #OrthodoxChristianity #ChristianOrthodoxy #Catholicism #Catholic #FathersOfTheChurch #ChurchFathers

@ThisWeekInAS

This is an important and thoughtful discussion. To add a layer to it - note that the early quotes of Jesus himself in the #Gospels are different than how they're understood in the rest of the #NewTestament and #ChurchFathers.
Compare these "Pharisee" teachings (mainstream Rabbinic Judaism in the #Mishnah, #Midrash, and #Talmud) with Jesus's ideas - many are the same.

#Jesus may have been closer to Pharisee than to other groups of Jews at the time.

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/rabbinic-judaism-and-the-new-testament-parallels/

Good morning #Episcodons!

Today is the feast day of Saint #ClementOfRome

I had to look him up as I didn't know anything about him beyond the fact that he was an early Pope/ Bishop of Rome.

I found lots of interesting info here:
https://overviewbible.com/clement-of-rome/
(caveat, not a website I am familiar with, so can't vouch for anything, and almost definitely wouldn't agree with its views, so please be discerning!)

#SaintsDays #ChurchHistory #ChurchFathers

The Ascetic Life by #MaximusTheConfessor, as his first major work (preceding On Love), may be read and viewed as a lens from which our perception of his schema and theory finds continuity and expansion as we read his later works. Nearly all his themes are there in seminal form.

Excepting the long diatribe (if one may be pardoned for the expression) on judgement, the dialogue is very balanced and can serve as a good introduction to the thinking of Maximus.

#Patristics #ChurchFathers

Hello! By way of #Introduction, I am Scott, an Orthodox Christian. I have always lived in the #Midwest of the USA. In what I have comfortably termed undergraduate seminary I fell in love with #Patristics (reading the #churchfathers) and the study of #LateAntiquity. By day I am a Customer Service Associate in retail.

I am also a #musician. I sing in my community chorus, and I write my own compositions on occasion. I've been married seven years.

I am part of the latest #TwitterMigration.