Innocent of Alaska, called the ‘Enlightener of America,’ brought Orthodox Christianity to North America by evangelising the native peoples, especially the Aleuts. This is what he writes in his book Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven about the Holy Scriptures, and how anyone can understand them. I offer this as my last post for a while. Greetings to all the brethren who begin the fast of the Theotokos (Mother of God) tomorrow!The Holy Spirit may be received by piously reading and listening to the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures are one of God’s greatest blessings, which can be used by anyone wishing to do so. In them, the divine wisdom is presented in such an easy, approachable manner that even the simplest and most uneducated person can understand it. Many cases are recorded throughout Church history and in the lives of the saints, in which the simplest of people, while studying Holy Scripture, were enlightened, became pious, and received abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit even while some scholars and intelligentsia read the Holy Scripture and became confused and fell into heresy.
3 comments:
I am always struck by how for all the thousands of years of striving and sophistication that goes into "intellectual" efforts that none of it yields even a piece of fruit as good as a simple teaching of God's word; and also, how nothing, no matter how brilliant or impressive, feeds my soul except, again, God's word.
Amen! brother, and again I say, Amen!
St. Innocent's words remind us that humility is essential for understanding divine knowledge. Without humility, academic knowledge can make us prideful, which blinds our hearts to the Truth God has revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.
Very good words of wisdom.
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