Idoloclast Idol-Smasher | Jesus NIKA Fist w/ Sledgehammer on Red Background | Smash Your Passions | Orthodox Christian Gym Duffel BagAvoid making idols either of things or of practices. + St. Macarius of Optina The passions are uprooted by keeping the commandments. + St. Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love, 2. 31 You cannot pass a day tranquilly unless you mortify the passions. + St John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 26: On Discernment He who has conquered the passions has conquered nature, but he who is conquered by the passions is a slave, even if he

but who ever is still tied to the world does not cease plotting against himself

- Elder Ephraim of Arizona and Mt Athos

Greece on the night of October 31

But what one could not see was the way He filled the guards with deadly fear

we must learn to use the best things the world has to offer

In the beginning

give rest to those whom Thou hast chosen

And his soul heard

and to be baptized

but only keeps you in an endless circle of self-delusion

The Comforter is holy

The Royal Path: True Orthodoxy in an Age of Apostasy