Remember Thy First Love

(cf. Rev. 2:4-5) The three stages of the spiritual life in the theology of Saint Sophrony the Athonite

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God targets man and visits him from morning until evening and from evening until morning. Continually and from all eternity, God waits patiently at the door of man’s heart, and when He finds a tiny opening, namely, a little humility and gratitude, He enters in, and of course, when He does, He makes a feast with man. The book of Revelation calls this first visit of God ‘our first love’. This is the beginning of our walk with God, and we must always be mindful of walking worthily…

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Weight

0.685 kg

Dimensions

21.5 × 15 × 3 cm

Author

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Language

English

Book cover

Hardback Clothbound with Dust Jacket

Pages

463

Publisher

Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist

Edition

2nd edition

Publication year

Reprinted 2024

ISBN

978-1-874679-85-1

Remember Thy First Love is a graphic description of the three stages in Christian life according to Saint Sophrony the Athonite (1896-1993), disciple of St Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938) and founder of the Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England.

In Remember Thy First Love, which complements The Enlargement of the Heart (2006) and The Hidden Man of the Heart (2008), Archimandrite Zacharias details the nature and purpose of the first grace given at the beginning of the Christian spiritual odyssey, the experience of the apparent withdrawal of grace, and then our final adoption as children, by which we become heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ (cf. Rom. 8:17).

“The writings of Archimandrite Zacharias evince that inspiration which is born of an undistorted vision of Christ in glory.”

Christopher Veniamin Professor of Patristics Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, USA

Foreword
Editorial Preface

FOUNDATIONS
The Just Shall Live by Faith

1. From Faith to Faith
2. The Three Stages of the Spiritual Life
3. After the Earthquake, the Spirit of Truth

THE FIRST STAGE
He First Loved Us

4. Longing to see the Lord
5. Seeing Greater Things
6. Knowing the Gift of God
7. Entering into a Covenant with God

THE SECOND STAGE
The God of Glory Thundereth

8. Man Comes to Himself
9. An Invitation to Overcome Death

a. The Merciful Chastening of the Lord
b. Charismatic Despair and Creative Suffering
c. Standing Before God with Prophetic Self-knowledge

10. The Self-denial of the Mother of God

Receive not the Grace of God in Vain

11. Earthly Life for Infinite Life
12. Discovering the Deep Heart
13. The Language of God
14. Living by a Single Thought
15. The Struggle with Temptation
16. Zeal for the House of God
17. Giving Thanks in All Things

THE THIRD STAGE
This Day Have I Begotten Thee

18. Christ’s Victory over Death: Man’s Inheritance
19. Knowing the Mystery of the Way of Salvation
20. Regeneration in the Spirit
21. The Infallible Criterion
22. Charismatic Humility

APPENDIX

Questions and Answers
Index of biblical references
Index of names and subject

Weight	0.685 kg
Dimensions	21.5 × 15 × 3 cm
Author	Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou
Language	English
Book cover	Hardback Clothbound with Dust Jacket
Pages	463
Publisher	Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist
Edition	2nd edition
Publication year	Reprinted 2024
ISBN	978-1-874679-85-1

About the Author

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Father Zacharias studied theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris and at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has lived all his monastic life in the monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex where he serves as a spiritual Father and minister of the word of God to his brethren and the people that come to him. Read more…