The Orthodox Way

1. God is an Incomprehensible Mystery, Yet Intimately Near

God is both further from us, and nearer to us, than anything else.

The Paradox of God. The spiritual journey reveals two contrasting truths: God's radical otherness and his profound nearness. God is a mystery, beyond human comprehension, yet simultaneously fills all things and dwells within us personally. This paradox doesn't negate faith but deepens it, as we find God growing ever more distant and intimate, known and unknown.

Apophatic Theology. Recognizing God's transcendence requires us to use negative statements (apophaticism) alongside affirmative ones. Saying what God is not helps us avoid limiting him to our human standards. This "way of unknowing" leads not to emptiness but to a luminous darkness, a deeper experience of the living God beyond language and thought.

Faith as Relationship. Belief in God is not logical certainty but a personal relationship, an act of trust and love. Doubt and faith can coexist, signifying a living, growing faith that takes risks and embraces the unknown. This personal love is the entry point into the divine mystery, knowing God not as a theory but as a friend.

2. The Trinity: God as a Communion of Love

The final end of the spiritual Way is that we humans should also become part of this Trinitarian coinherence or perichoresis, being wholly taken up into the circle of love that exists within God.

Unity and Diversity. The Christian God is not a solitary unit but a triune community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This doctrine emphasizes diversity within unity, a "society" within God where three equal persons dwell in mutual love. The ultimate goal is for humans to participate in this Trinitarian coinherence, becoming one in God's love.

Personhood and Love. The Trinity reveals that God is personal and love, implying sharing and reciprocity. A person is not an isolated individual but exists through relationships with others. Love cannot exist in isolation but presupposes the other. The Trinity shows that God eternally knows himself as "I and Thou" in a threefold way, continually rejoicing in this knowledge.

Living the Trinity. Faith in the Trinity should revolutionize daily life, urging us to reproduce the mystery of mutual love on earth. Every social unit should become an icon of the Triunity, committing us to sacrificial service and combating oppression in the name of the Holy Trinity. This is what it means to live the Trinity.

3. Creation: A Manifestation of God's Love and Goodness

“Thou hast brought us into being out of nothing”.

Creation from Love. God created the universe by an act of free will and love, not out of necessity. Creation is an act of sharing, allowing other beings to participate in the divine life and love. Each of us has always existed in God's heart, with a special plan from eternity.

Continual Creation. God's creative act is not a one-time event but a continuous relationship. At every moment, the world depends on God's loving will for its existence. God is always at the heart of each thing, maintaining it in being.

Intrinsic Goodness. The creation in its entirety is God's handiwork, and in their inner essence, all created things are "exceedingly good." Evil is not a substance but the twisting and misappropriation of what is in itself good. Evil resides not in the thing itself but in our attitude towards the thing—that is to say, in our will.

4. Incarnation: God Becomes Human to Bridge the Divide

God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.

God-Man. The eternal Logos and Son of God became true man, Jesus Christ, to heal and restore our humanity. He is both truly divine and fully human, the Theanthropos or "God-man" who saves us from our sins precisely because he is God and man at once.

Sharing in Our Condition. Christ's Incarnation is an act of identification and sharing, carried to the utmost limits on the Cross. He shares not only in the fullness of human life but also in the fullness of human death, bearing our griefs and sorrows. He accepts the consequences of Adam's sin, including weariness, bodily pain, and the separation of body and soul in death.

The Virgin Birth. The Virgin Birth is a sign of Christ's uniqueness, pointing to his heavenly origin and the divine initiative in his birth. It emphasizes that the Incarnation did not involve the coming into being of a new person but the pre-existent person of the Son of God now began to live according to a human as well as a divine mode of being.

5. The Holy Spirit: God's Active Presence Within Us

The Spirit of God which has been given to this our flesh cannot endure sadness or constraint.

The Elusive Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like the wind and fire, elusive and hard to define. He is a person, coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son, yet his divine person is not revealed in human form. The Spirit's action cannot be defined verbally but must be lived and experienced directly.

The Spirit and the Son. The Spirit sends Christ into the world, and Christ sends the Spirit to us. The Spirit's task is to bear witness to Christ, rendering the risen Lord ever present among us. The aim of Pentecost is the continuation of Christ's Incarnation within the life of the Church.

Gifts of the Spirit. The gift of the Paraclete on the day of Pentecost is a gift to all God's people, a gift of unity, and a gift of diversity. The Holy Spirit makes the many to be one Body in Christ, transforming individuals into persons.

6. Prayer: The Path to Union with God

There is no life without prayer.

Three Stages of Prayer. The spiritual Way can be divided into three stages: the practice of the virtues, the contemplation of nature, and the contemplation of God. These stages are not strictly consecutive but simultaneous, representing three deepening levels of the spiritual life.

The Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," is a powerful tool for entering into stillness and union with God. Through rhythmic repetition, the prayer moves from the lips to the intellect to the heart, becoming a prayer of the whole person.

Apophatic Prayer. The apophatic method, or way of negation, is essential for advancing in prayer. By laying aside thoughts and images, we reach out towards the eternal Truth that lies beyond all human words and thoughts, waiting upon God in quietness and silence.

7. The Last Things: Resurrection and the Life to Come

Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The Second Coming. Scripture and Holy Tradition speak of the Second Coming of Christ, a direct intervention from the divine realm that will bring the course of history to a sudden and dramatic end. We are to be always prepared and expectant, watching for the Lord's return.

Resurrection of the Body. As Christians, we believe not only in the immortality of the soul but in the resurrection of the body. At the Second Coming of Christ, we shall be raised from the dead in our soul and in our body, appearing before our Lord for the Last Judgement.

Eternity and Infinity. The resurrection kingdom is a kingdom which shall have "no end." Eternity signifies an inexhaustible variety and unending progress, a never-ceasing advance into the divine mystery.

Last updated: February 23, 2025