"Orthodox Social Thought: A Primer," by Nicholas Sooy
Orthodox Social Thought: A Primer

"Learning to Love: St. Maximus on the Virtues," by Emma Brown Dewhurst
Learning to Love: St. Maximus on the Virtues

This is the sign of our love for God, as the Lord Himself shows in the Gospels: He that loves me, He says, will keep my commandments. And what this commandment is, which if we keep we love Him, hear Him tell: This is my commandment, that you love one another. Do you see that this love for one another makes firm the love for God? (The Ascetic Life, 107; PG90 917A.)This passage tells us something interesting. It tells us that all the ethical directives we’ve got, be they the commandments, the virtues, or any other parts of Scripture, all conform to love. They are all a kind of love. We are not being asked to do a hundred different things, we are being asked to do one thing, which is to love. (more…)