The Refuge: Anchoring the Soul in God

by Ignatius Brianchaninov, Nicholas Kotar (Translator)

Overview

"Prayer is a refuge of God’s great mercy to the human race." The refuge is a place of inner stillness and peace where the heart is fully opened to the embrace of God’s love. It is a return to the ancient paradise from which the human race, in Adam, had to depart because of disobedience to the command of God. The Refuge is an exposition of the concrete actions we should take if we truly desire to live with and in God. It weaves together meditations on scripture (from the Psalms in particular) and amplifies these with the wisdom of early Christian saints, in particular the ascetical writings of St. John of the Ladder, St. Macarius the Great, and St. Isaac the Syrian. It is an active exhortation for us to reacquire the original nobility with which God fashioned us in the beginning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884654292
Publisher:	Holy Trinity Publications
Publication date:	12/01/2019
Series:	Collected Works of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) , #2
Edition description:	None
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867) was a prolific author of Orthodox Christian ascetical works. Published toward the end of his life, his writings continued to grow in popularity long after his death. Along with his contemporary, St. Theophan the Recluse, Ignatius is now considered a foremost authority on Orthodox spirituality. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988. His writings have previously appeared in English as The Arena and On the Prayer of Jesus. Nicholas Kotar is a graduate of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, New York. He is an translator of many spiritual works in the Russian Orthodox tradition.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Part I

1 Blessed Is the Man (Psalm I) 3

2 Joseph: An Edifying Story Taken from the Book of Genesis 11

3 A Letter to the Brotherhood of the Sergiev Hermitage from the Nikolo-Babaev Monastery 40

4 The Fear of God and the Love for God 43

5 The Judgments of God 64

6 A Meeting of the Soul and the Mind 90

7 Seeing One's Sins 98

8 The Image and Likeness of God in Man 106

9 A Reflection on the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Timothy, Referring Primarily to the Monastic Life 114

10 The Essential Work of a Monk 123

11 The Spirit of a Beginner's Prayer 134

12 The Cell Rule of Prayer 142

13 Prayer in Church 148

14 Spoken Prayer 153

15 Remembrance of God 158

16 The Prayer of the Mind, the Heart, and the Soul 168

17 The Jesus Prayer 194

18 A Wanderer 262

19 A Mystical Interpretation of Psalm 99 269

20 Salvation and Christian Perfection 274

Part II

21 The Various States of Human Nature in Relation to Good and Evil 305

I Introduction 305

II The Three States 305

III Human Nature after the Creation of Man 306

IV Human Nature after the Fall 306

V Human Nature after the Redemption 316

VI The Renewal of Redeemed Human Nature by Repentance 330

VII Renewed Human Nature and Evil 340

VIII Conclusion 343

Appendix 1 A Short Biography of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) 345

Notes 347

Subject Index 362

Scripture Index 368