Written by Greg Pantelidis BSc(Hons)
gregpantelidis@gmail.com
CONTENTS
1. LEADERS 2. FAMILY LIFE 3. YOUTH AND THEIR PREOCCUPATIONS 4. ON THE GOLDEN RULE 5. ON THOUGHTS AND THE THREE PARTS OF THE SOUL 6. ON FIRST AND SECOND PLACE 7. ON THE FOUR PURSUITS (FOOD, POSSESSIONS, GLORY, ROMANCE) 8. ON THE TWO TYPES OF SORROW 9. ON LOVING OUR FELLOW PERSONS 10. ON THE FIVE PRIMARY VICES AND THE FIVE PRIMARY VIRTUES 11. A SAYING OF SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN 12. ON THE TWO TYPES OF VANITY
1. Leaders
1. We must pray that God places the virtuous and faithful in positions of authority, both within the family and elsewhere.
2. Family Life
1. Every family must maintain organization and specific roles for each member of the family. Christian families are those that have strict rules and gather in council, respect, teach, and serve one another.
2. Christian teachers and parents are the strength of society.
3. Without Christian love all things move apart and are destroyed.
3. Youth and their preoccupations
1. Youth are dynamic and so their preoccupations must be dynamic. In the first instance this involves physical activities and games. Progressively the activities move from physical challenges and adventures to activities hinging on thought and conversation.
2. Youth is very impressionable and draws inspiration from those people it encounters.
3. One cannot expect youth to aspire to things it does not know. This is why youth must be shown all things and given place to do what it is being shown.
4. Youth is in need of discipline to grow properly. Otherwise the freedom they have will lead them astray.
5. Be careful in allowing youth to invent preoccupations. Most certainly they will invent corruption.
6. Idle youth are soil for the growth of every unclean thing.
7. A youth’s dynamic nature is often the reason they are lead to corruption. Teach them all things with discretion.
8. Youth heed the simple words of experience more than the complicated words of the intellect.
9. Do not discipline youth like they are prisoners of your will.
10. Wealth and comfort corrupt youth. Simplicity and hardship tame their corrupt inclinations.
11. Do not neglect youth but use every moment to guide them away from corruption. As a tree when neglected grows in a disorderly manner, so is the youth that is neglected.
12. The preoccupations of good youth are: study, assisting their parents, and hobbies.
13. The first seed of corruption in youth is disobedience.
14. Do not trouble youth by lengthy discourse. Instead lead them away from corruption by giving them a practical role in a good preoccupation.
15. When the seeds of corruption have taken much earth in youth one must be careful. The field is now in need of a master cultivator.
16. Combat corruption with a few simple and practical things. Many problems are solved by these means.
17. Take care in noting that youth require mentors and not controllers.
4. On the Golden Rule
1. Do and it will be done to you: Greet and you will be greeted, Give and it will be given to you, Serve and you will be served, Love and you will be loved.
5. On thoughts and the three parts of the soul
1. Our soul has three parts or powers- the thinking, the desiring and the excitable. Owing to their corruption, these three give birth to three corresponding kinds of wrong thoughts. The thinking power gives birth to thoughts of unbelief, ingratitude to God and complaints, ill-judgment, forgetfulness of God, ignorance of divine things, blasphemous thoughts and all thoughts which are in general called Blasphemous thoughts. The desiring power gives birth to the thoughts of love of pleasure, love of glory, love of possessions and all thoughts which are called in general Shameful thoughts. The excitable power gives birth to thoughts of anger, murder, revenge, envy, hatred, agitation and generally to all thoughts called Evil thoughts.
You should overcome all such thoughts by their opposing virtues. Unbelief by undoubting faith in God, ingratitude and complaints by sincere gratitude, ill-judgment by discrimination of good and evil, forgetfulness by deep remembrance of God, ignorance by true knowledge and blasphemy by praise and glorification of God. Similarly love of pleasure by fasting and self-control, love of glory by humility and obscurity, and love of possessions by poverty and frugality. Similarly anger by meekness, murder by patience, revenge by forgiveness, envy by rejoicing with others, hatred by love and agitation by peace of heart.
Translated and Edited from “Unseen Warfare, Ch 13”.
6. On First and Second Place
1. An Orthodox Christian must grab the First Place.
2. That is, be First to greet, First to give, First to serve, First to love.
3. The World prefers Second Place. That is, it greets Second, gives Second, serves Second, loves Second.
4. The World waits First to be greeted and then greets, First to be given and then gives, First to be served and then serves, First to be loved and then loves.
5. An Orthodox Christian has the true First Place, and the World has Second Place.
7. On the Four pursuits (Food, Possessions, Glory, Romance)
1. Eating is necessary but overeating is not necessary.
2. Having possessions is necessary but stealing and possessing more than you require is not necessary.
3. Self-respect is necessary but vanity is not necessary.
4. Procreation is necessary but unchastity is not necessary.
8. On the Two types of Sorrow
1. The world seeks to deprive us of wealth, glory and will. This leads others to worldly sorrow which leads to death, and others to godly sorrow which leads to repentance. (2 Cor. 7:10).
9. On loving our Fellow persons
1. We must love all our fellow persons, whether good or bad.
2. It is easy to love the good, but difficult to love the bad.
3. An Orthodox Christian must love all equally, both good and bad.
10. On the Five primary vices and the Five primary virtues
1. From Gluttony arises sorrow.
2. From Love of Possessions arises sorrow.
3. From Vanity arises sorrow.
4. From Disobedience arises sorrow.
5. From Unchastity arises sorrow.
6. But from Self-control arises joy.
7. From Frugality arises joy.
8. From Humility arises joy.
9. From Obedience arises joy.
10. From Chastity arises joy.
11. A Saying of Saint Gregory the Theologian
1. “It is necessary first to be purified and then to purify, to become wise and then to make others wise, to become light and
then to make others light, to approach God and then bring others to God, to be sanctified and then to sanctify others”.
2. Addition by Gregory Pantelidis: “Be freed first and then free others. Become betrothed and then betroth others”.
12. On the Two types of Vanity
1. The first type of vanity is vanity of the body, and pertains to some aspect of the body.
2. The second type of vanity is vanity of the soul, and pertains to the knowledge, virtue, talent, or skill of the soul.
See St. Gregory Palamas, “To the most reverend nun Xenia”, Text 35, Philokalia Vol.4.