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To: kosta50
I do not know if you have a reputation for causing trouble - if so, certainly never with me.

But I do testify that I see in your posts an overwhelming devotion and love of God. And you have always been tender hearted and loving to me.

I see Christ in you, kosta50. That is why I so often call you my brother in Christ.

12,974 posted on 04/17/2007 10:13:05 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl; Quix
I wish I could agree with tou, A-G, and you are my sister in Christ, but it is you who is always kind to everyone, not just to me. Your love goes out to all the posters.

Even Quix recognizes that. :) He calls you Angel-Girl.

We are incredibly blessed to recongize His goodness, but I don't know how to say "thank you" with sufficient depth and veracity that I feel in my heart to the One who has been so incredibly merciful to me.

12,976 posted on 04/17/2007 10:30:25 PM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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To: Alamo-Girl; kosta50; annalex; Quix
" I do not know if you have a reputation for causing trouble - if so, certainly never with me."

Trust me on this one AG, Kosta is a BIG troublemaker...it comes from the air in our Balkan mountains, hence we are called Balkan Mountain Bandits (Alex is one too, by adoption and in recognition of his many years in our mountains and his fluency in the Mother Tongue). We just can't help ourselves. Some say its genetic, but I think its the air! :)

Your comments about you experiencing the indwelling of the HS for decades interests me. The Orthodox Church is quite clear, especially nowadays, on the possibility of theosis outside the bounds of the Orthodox Church. From what little I can understand about you from FR, it does appear that you are rather more advanced in theosis than me, but I assure you that might be taken as damning with faint praise. But please allow me to suggest that the further one advances in theosis, the greater an attraction to the demons one becomes. In Orthodoxy we have the practice of "noetic prayer" prayer of the heart its sometimes called. The prayer is quite simple, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The prayer is repeated unceasingly until it sort of becomes unconscious, the background music of one's life. But even that little practice is usually only undertaken with spiritual guidance because of the demonic dangers associated with hesychastic prayer and life. There is a constant possibility that what one is hearing is not the HS at all, but rather demons appearing as beings of light. The Greek Fathers say that the greatest of spiritual virtues is discernment and their writings are full of examples of people who otherwise appeared to be very holy, very advanced in theosis, people who believed themselves to be holy and advanced and yet they were unbeknownst to them in the clutches of demons and were destroyed. In Greek we call Satan "Ο Πονηρος", the Evil One with implications of slyness, like a fox is sly. Anyway, pray for discernment.

12,997 posted on 04/18/2007 3:59:42 AM PDT by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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