Questions
Copy these questions into an email, provide brief answers, and send to Fr Charles who will comment on them. After you have received you comments, then you can go onto the next lesson.
Questions for Lesson 9: The Orthodox Way of Life
The Orthodox life is a Christ-centered journey of transformation aimed at union with God. Rooted in repentance (metanoia), it calls us to reorient our hearts away from self-centered living and toward communion with Christ. This chapter explores spiritual warfare, the passions, watchfulness, and ascetic discipline, showing how healing comes through prayer, sacramental life, and synergy—our cooperation with God’s grace—leading us toward theosis.
1. Purpose and Orientation
What is the purpose of human life according to Orthodoxy, and what should be central in the life of an Orthodox Christian? How does modern culture pull us away from this?
2. The Fall and Free Will
What is the main spiritual message of the Fall, and why is free will both a gift and a struggle in our journey toward God?
3. Christ and Our Healing
Why did Christ come, and how does His life, death, and Resurrection restore our ability to live in communion with God?
4. Spiritual Warfare
What is spiritual warfare, and where does this struggle primarily take place?
5. The Passions
What are the passions, how do they influence our thoughts and actions, and which passions do you recognize most strongly in yourself?
6. How Sin Takes Root
How do sinful actions develop within us, and why do repeated thoughts and behaviors become habits that are difficult to change?
7. Askesis and Discipline
What does askesis mean, and why are spiritual discipline and repetition essential for healing the soul and reshaping our inner life?
8. Watchfulness of the Heart
What does it mean to ‘guard the heart’ through Watchfulness (Nepsis), and how do our thoughts affect our spiritual state?
9. Repentance
What is true Repentance (metanoia) and how is it more than simply feeling sorry for our sins?
10. Inner Healing
How do anger, resentment, & misplaced desires separate us from God, and what must change within us for true healing to occur??
11. Life in the Church
How do prayer, fasting, confession, Holy Communion, and life in the Church help heal the soul and restore communion with God?
12. Synergia
What does Synergia mean in the Christian life, and how do God’s grace and our daily personal choices work together to shape our spiritual transformation?
13. Integrative Reflection Question
How does understanding repentance as spiritual healing—through watchfulness, ascetic effort, sacramental life, and cooperation with God’s grace—reshape your sense of purpose and the way you approach daily life in Christ?