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Quote 335
Archbishop Averky Taushev
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Quote 335 - Форум
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Quote 335
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| readeralexey | Дата: Вторник, 07.04.2026, 01:46 | Сообщение # 1 |
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| Christ explains that the narrow and sorrowful path of life preached by Him has as its natural end eternal joy, while the broad and easy path, counter to the Gospel, culminates in eternal grief, eternal torment. These are not incentives, not external pedagogical methods to force a person to act in a certain way. They are the natural results of a chosen lifestyle, which He warns against and makes abundantly clear.
Archbishop Averky (Taushev)
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| milapolyudova | Дата: Суббота, 18.04.2026, 13:26 | Сообщение # 2 |
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| It seems to me that many people live their lives without realizing WHAT they lose by taking the broad and easy path of pleasures, passions, and vices. Preaching a Christian way of life, aimed at choosing a lifestyle of struggling against sinful passions, may seem and often does seem like a way of self-affirmation, manipulation to force a person to act in a certain way. But let us now reflect a little on the motivation of the one who preaches. A Christian strives to keep the image of God and Christ in his heart and mind, because he loves Him. Such a person from time to time recalls his youth and also grieves, like many, but knows that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
However, that person who, due to foolishness, or also due to someone else’s negligence and indifference, chooses the path of earthly pleasures and, accordingly, clings to money and comfort, to his own misfortune, “eternal grief, eternal torment.”
To illustrate, let us consider C. S. Lewis' s exploration of the human struggle between worldly pleasures and spiritual growth as it offers really profound insights into Christian ethics and SELF-KNOWLEDGE. To put it straight, this famous author cautioned that, “If you are looking for a religion that will make your life more convenient and easier, I would not advise you to choose Christianity”. He also frankly admitted that a “a bottle of wine will give [happiness]more quickly”. And this reflection leads to conclusion that Lewis searched for God' s will about himself which doesn' t promise an easy path.
In The Screwtape Letters, he creatively illustrates the dangers of misplaced priorities. Through the demon Screwtape' s advice to his apprentice Wormwood, the reader is warned against treating faith as a mere tool for achieving earthly goals. The latter leads to inner emptiness. Lewis suggests that the pursuit of pleasure becomes destructive not because pleasure itself is evil, but because it loses its intended purpose when disconnected from its divine source. To summarise his insight: the more one seeks artificial or excessive pleasures divorced from their Creator, the less fulfilling they become; so is the cycle of growing desire and diminishing joy.
Thus, the theme of self-awareness is central to Lewis' s thought. What' s not less important, in Mere Christianity, he challenges the illusion of spiritual superiority, warning that, “Whenever there arises the feeling that our religious life
makes us better than others,we can be sure that this feeling is not from God, but from the devil". This statement invites to examine our motives and guard against pride.
However, there' s even more insightful idea here – Lewis' s paradox of repentance. It' s a kind of inner death, a killing of "a part of yourself" and "only a bad person needs repentance; only a good person can truly repent". So, here' s our goal as Christians: to be aware of our flaws, and to be strong enough to overcome them. And thus, seeking Christ becomes a path to authentic existence, to true fulfillment. As he puts it, "Give yourself – and you will find yourself. If you seek 'yourself', hatred, loneliness, despair, anger and destruction will be your lot. But if you seek Christ, you will find Him, and all these things shall be added unto you".
Returning to the quote, "natural end eternal joy" can be sorrowful. And then, without sorrows, would we be able to pray at all? And if not, then would we remain fundamentally empty and desperate?
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| mariaruzhitskaya11 | Дата: Вторник, 28.04.2026, 11:06 | Сообщение # 3 |
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| "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" — said Jesus Christ. Many people are often puzzled: why do Orthodox Christians have to constantly weep and grieve? Baptists say: why are you crying? You’ve already come to Christ, so you are saved. But how can we be saved when each of us has so many sins?
After Adam and Eve’s fall, God cast humanity down to earth and deprived us of His grace with which human souls were filled in paradise. Now we must beseech God for that grace and that is impossible without constant repentance. Look at our morning and evening prayers: they are full of a sorrowful spirit of repentance. You might think, how long can we keep repenting? We keep asking God over and over: forgive us. But the truth is that we sin far more than we repent and often we don’t even notice our own sins. And here is the paradox: the more firmly a person walks the sorrowful path of repentance, the more they weep over their sins, the more they begin to see those sins and the more their soul is purified.
The earthly path of Jesus Christ Himself was narrow and sorrowful. He decreed that the same path would be for His followers. The world will hate and misunderstand them, they will be persecuted and even killed. And indeed, we know of many cases of persecution against the Church and against Orthodox Christians. And even when there is no persecution, Orthodox Christians often feel lonely and misunderstood in the world. The point is that we must learn to strive not for the earthly world — which is only a stepping stone to our eternal life — but for God. For in Him we will know eternal bliss. Thus our earthly world is but a prison holding us back from God. But until we earn His mercy through our lives and our repentance we will not be freed from this prison.
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Сообщение отредактировал mariaruzhitskaya11 - Четверг, 28.05.2026, 11:06 |
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| mariafokina99 | Дата: Вторник, 28.04.2026, 21:52 | Сообщение # 4 |
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| The meaning of this quote by Archbishop Averky is that the Christian life may seem difficult, and not everyone can follow it, but at the same time, difficulties are a way to get closer to God. If you work hard, you will definitely see results. But if you don't do anything, you won't achieve your goal and you won't experience eternal joy. I believe that this quote can be a reminder that troubles on the way to the Heavenly Kingdom make us stronger, and therefore, at the end of the journey, we feel more joy from our efforts. However, there is always a temptation to choose the easy way and avoid suffering that the Lord sends. But such a path will not lead to anything good and will only destroy the soul. Of course, it is difficult to avoid temptations when they are constantly around us in the modern world. But we must follow the commandments and rely on God. Apostle Paul also warns: "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is". (Ephesians 5:15-17).
Сообщение отредактировал mariafokina99 - Понедельник, 25.05.2026, 11:17 |
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| dkirlenkova03 | Дата: Четверг, 28.05.2026, 11:56 | Сообщение # 5 |
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| The basis of this statement is the Gospel doctrine of the two ways (cf. Matt. 7:13–14): “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” In other words, there are two paths and two destinies. The narrow and painful path is the way of following Christ: repentance, self-denial, struggle against passions, taking up one’s cross (Matt. 16:24), and readiness to endure hardship for the sake of truth and love, for the sake of God. Its outcome is eternal joy in the Kingdom of Heaven. The wide and easy path is living according to one’s desires, indulging passions, seeking comfort and pleasures apart from God. Its end is more sorrowful: eternal torment, that is, final alienation from the Lord. Christ does not manipulate people by promising reward and threatening punishment. God has given human beings free will; each person chooses their path voluntarily. God warns that life lived by the commandments is not easy, that a person grows spiritually through suffering, and that the devil will tempt people on this path. But at the end of it awaits eternal life with God. The second path is easier, but following one’s passions will lead to nothing good; time and again a person will feel dissatisfaction and irritation, and in the pursuit of pleasure will fall ever lower. The end will be sad.
Сообщение отредактировал dkirlenkova03 - Четверг, 28.05.2026, 11:57 |
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| boriskorsun3 | Дата: Понедельник, 15.06.2026, 23:58 | Сообщение # 6 |
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| I completely agree with the quote, as it perfectly demonstrates a vivid and amazing example of a true Christian life. The Archbishop uses the epithets "narrow" and "broad" to describe each person's paths. "Narrow" is applied to a righteous life, thereby showing its focus on pleasing God, moral self-improvement and striving for the divine plan. The epithet "broad" is used in the context of a sinful life, when a person commits acts contrary to God's will. Such a person can do as he wants, but in the end, only eternal torment and suffering will await him. The righteous, on the contrary, will be rewarded with eternal happiness and joy. I'm not really sure what I could say about the subject of this quote from personal experience, but it has become a great inspiration for maintaining a spiritual life.
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