“Before His visible advent in the flesh the Logos of God dwelt among the patriarchs and prophets in a spiritual manner, prefiguring the mysteries of His advent. After His incarnation He is present in a similar way not only to those who are still beginners, nourishing them spiritually and leading them toward the maturity of divine perfection, but also to the perfect, secretly pre-delineating in them the features of His future advent as if in an ikon.” IfsWayStillsChristianSpiritualPerfectMysteryDivinePerfectionFleshFeaturesMaturityProphetVisibleOrthodoxIncarnationOrthodox ChristianBeginnersAdventLogos Author:Maximus the Confessor
“...the aim of every hierarchy is always to imitate God so as to take on His form... the task of every hierarchy is to receive and to pass on undiluted purification, the divine light, and the understanding which brings perfection.” LightChristianFormUnderstandingDivinePerfectionTasksAimOrthodoxHierarchyOrthodox ChristianPurificationDivine Light Author:Maximus the Confessor
“What brings us to perfection? An ingrained faith in God, the 'faith that makes real the things for which we hope' (Heb. 11:1), the faith whereby Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain and was commended as righteous (cf. Heb 11:4). It is such faith that fills those assiduous in the search for truth with great aspiration for the exalted gifts of God, and leads them to the spiritual knowledge of created beings; and it pours into their hearts the inexhaustible treasures of the Spirit.” HeartRealChristianSpiritualSpiritSacrificePerfectionTreasureAspirationOrthodoxRighteousFaith In GodOrthodox ChristianExaltedGift From GodCfsCainSearch For TruthSpiritual KnowledgeAbel Author:Niketas Stethatos