OUR MENTAL ILLNESS

ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

previous:

https://hristospanagia3.blogspot.com/2018/09/sinful-passions.html

Man has a sick soul and various sinful passions. So, based on this fact, we could say that man is literally a "psychopath" (psycho- is a prefix meaning of the soul, and -path comes from the Greek word pathos = passion).

So, man is a psychopath, not in terms of psychiatry, but in terms of our Patristic Tradition. We do not need to be, let's say, a schizophrenic, in order to be a psychopath. However, in terms of Orthodox Patristics, psychopathy (mental-psychic illness) exists in a person whose soul does not function properly. This person's soul-energy, the noetic energy, according to our Holy Fathers, does not function properly!

So, when our noetic energy does not function properly (and this counts for all of us, as long as we have not been healed yet inside this very hospital, called Church), we are a psychopath. Then, our nous is full of logismoí (thoughts combined with images), and this actually justifies our "filth". Concluding, according to our Holy Fathers, the nous of a psychopath or a sinfully impassioned person is filthy.

What determines our psychic illness is the following condition: our nous is full of logismoí, thoughts, not only bad, but also good ones! Do you remember what we said our nous is in the beginning?

SINFUL PASSIONS

ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

previous:

http://hristospanagia3.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-nous-of-adam-was-darkenedall-of-us.html

What are the sinful passions, after all?

They are sins, e.g. acts of disobedience against God, many times repeated! This is how we gradually let something become a bad habitude, a bad habit, and then we commit any particular sin very easily. We then acquire, as we say, the passion that is connected with this sin (hence the expression: sinful passion).

For example, if we do not control the way we eat, both in terms of quantity and quality, in other words, if we have no self-discipline and do not abstain either from eating more or from eating a necessarily tasty food, we gradually either acquire the passion of gluttony and become gluttonous (a belly-worshiper) or we acquire the passion of lickerishness and become worshipers of the palate, or even both. Consequently, these two sinful passions have been grown inside us, because we did not control this particular sin right from the start. In other words, we did not give in only once, but twice, thrice etc. and, finally, we became a belly-worshiper, gluttonous, lickerish.

THE DISOBEDIENCE OF THE FIRST-CREATED AND THE INCARNATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

previous:http://hristospanagia3.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-breath-of-life-holy-spirit.html

The first Church is the Holy Trinity; it is God Himself, Who is One, but, at the same time, also three separate Persons, discernible from one another.

Exactly there, right into this very first Church had God put Adam and Eve. This is how much He loved us! However, from the very moment we disobeyed against God, the Holy Spirit went away; we lost It. From that moment on we lost our communion with God, our communion with the Holy Trinity, and we got out of this First Church.

Nevertheless, God did not abandon us in our solitude. He did send His Son, in order to connect us with Himself again. This is the reason why God became man:

THE BREATH OF LIFE: THE HOLY SPIRIT

ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

previous:http://hristospanagia3.blogspot.com/2018/09/when-does-our-nous-operate-properly.html

The First-Created acquired the Holy Spirit from the moment they received the "breath" of God. I am sure you remember from the Old Testament, where it says that God breathed into their faces "breath of Life".

WHEN DOES OUR NOUS OPERATE PROPERLY?

ΤΗΕ ROLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

previous:http://hristospanagia3.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-purpose-of-church-is-healing-of-our.html

Proper functioning of our nous is when we are in communion with God, praying, “staring” at Him. Functioning this way, our nous has Light, receives the Light of God...

The Light we lost when we (Adam & Eve) disobeyed, we can regain, by the grace of God, by living a proper spiritual life within the Orthodox Church, in repentance, in ceaseless prayer, ascetically and participating in Her Mysteries (Sacraments).

- THE HEALING OF THE HUMAN SOUL DARKENING OF THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH

By the Grace of God, let us say a few words about the Church, Orthodoxy, and about what the role of the Church is.

It is wisely said that the role of the Church is to heal us, to make us spiritually healthy. Our Holy (Orthodox) Fathers say that the first disobedience of man (Adam), ever practiced against God, resulted in the loss of communion with Him. What happened that particular moment is what we call "darkening of the image of God in man".

As we all know, the image of Christ is imprinted in our soul.