THE SACRED MONASTERY
OF THE EXALTATION OF THE
HOLY CROSS

Orthodox Spirituality

Spirituality is, by definition, the living of one's life in the Holy Spirit. Therefore the "study of Spirituality" has for its sources all those materials which serve, one way or another, to bring us to that life: Prayer and  the lives of the saints who in every generation have provided an example of "living in the Holy Spirit".

Spirituality is thus the act of living one's life in the Life of the Holy Spirit. Thus "Spirituality" includes those writings which deal with repentance, ethics, morality, ascetic effort, fasting, prayer and all those means by which we struggle to overcome sin and accept the life of God as our own.

• Orthodox Prayers: The round of Daily Prayers and other offices which can be said in private
• Anthym...Hesychasm and Orthodox Spirituality
• Welcome to the CyberDesert: an Oasis for the Sahara of the Soul
• Impact Pray-ers: by Gregory and Frederica Mathewes-Green
• Young People and Confession: A brief explanation of the Orthodox position on Confession and penance. The title says that it is addressed to young people. In fact most of the older generation would do well to read mark, and inwardly digest its contents.
• Introduction to the Jesus Prayer by Mother Alexandra (HRH Ileana of Romania) founding abbess of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Ellwood City, PA
• Arimathea: Several pages of meditations, historical accounts, lives of Saints, hymnography, and reflections on Orthodox life in the Holy Spirit.
• St. Athanasios: Life of St. Antony: The work which set the standard for "Lives of the Saints". Sets out the spiritual Journey of St. Antony--his flight to the desert, his ascetic struggle, and his return.
• Life of St. Cyril of Alexandria
• Egeria's Description of the iturgical Year in Jerusalem: A classic text concerning the life and prayer of the early Church. Latin text with English translation.
• The Works of St. John Cassian: from the NPNF
• Divine Ascent: A quarterly journal presenting the lives of twentieth-century fathers and interviews with their spiritual children. . .
• Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzus) on Athanasios of Alexandria: On St. Athanasios Patriarch of Alexandria, and hagiographer of St. Antony the Great and defender of Nicene Christology
• St. Innocent of Alaska: A transcript from the radio program "Arctic Science Journeys".
• A Survey of Translations of Byzantine Saints Lives: A chronological listing by Alice Mary Talbot of Dumbarton Oaks.
• Zhizn (Life) The Medical Educational Pro-Life Center of Moscow for the Russian language version of this page click HERE or HERE
• Evangelism and Culture: A Paper by Fr. Michael Oleksa, Dean of St. Herman's Seminary, given at Holy Cross Seminary, Brookline. on the evangelizationn of Alaska and its paradigms for Orthodox Evangelization in general.
• Wise Sayings from some of the Fathers of Orthodox Christianity
• Orthodox Peace Fellowship: a sort of living commentary on Galations 5.
• In Communion - Major Articles from the Journal of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship
• The Saints of the Orthodox Church: A brief discussion of sanctity and sainthood as understood by the Orthodox Church, by Dr. George Bebis
• Exorcism in the Orthodox Church: A brief explanation of the Orthodox teaching about evil and the Christian response to it.
• The Jesus Prayer: A brief introduction and explanation by Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis
• The Orthodox Content in Slavic Literature: A brief introduction to Slavic (Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian) literature by Andrew Sopko of Loyola University, Chicago.
• Orthodox Fasting Practice: An outline with sources in vegetarian cooking.
• Vegetarian Pages: Not actually an Orthodox Page but gives good practical information for following a Lenten diet.
• Guide to on-line resources in Medieval Spirituality: A convenient compilation of sources from the east and west from approximately the fourth to the approximately thefifteenth centuries.
• Guide to Monastic Studies: This is divided into five main sections: Pre-Benedictine, Benedict to the Reformation, Rule of Benedict, Comps list, Other links pertinent to monastic studies. The first and last sections are particularly useful to the Orthodox.
• Guide to Great Lent
• Hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian
• Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos : Publication list
• Feasts and Saints of the Orthodox Church available thru July so far, with links to Bibliographies and other resources
• Prologue from Ochrid: Lives of the Saints along with meditations and sermons by Bishop (St.) Nikolai (Velimerovich) of Zicha. The only reasonably complete edition in English.
• The Conferences of St. John Cassian: Translation and notes by Edgar C.S. Gibson
• The Institutes of the Coenobia by St. John Cassian: In twelve books, and the remedies for the eight principal faults
• Rules of Piety: Guidelines for fasting, preparation for communion, veneration of Icons, etc. A subpage of the Church of the Nativity (Old Rite), Erie Pennsylvania.
• Russian Saints and their sermons: From Russia in English
• St. Herman of Alaska: Ascetic and Wonderworker
• St. Innocent : the Orthodox Chiurch in America page celebrating the 200th anniversary of St. Innocent (Veniamenov) of Alaska
• The Genealogy of Christ: A Sermon by Metropolitan Antony (Bloom)
• Pages Saint-Silouane l'Athonite: In French, devoted to St. Silouan of St. Panteleimon Monastery, Mt. Athos.
• Selected Sayings from the Saints and Fathers