Epistles

The Cross, persecution, sorrow, temptation are the legacy of the Church and of a true Christian. There is not an Orthodox Church that has not experienced her own persecution; neither has a saint lived that has not gone through his own furnace of afflictions, persecutions and temptations. A moving witness to the Cross is also the figure of Saint Luke, Archbishop of Simpheropol and Crimea, physician, professor of topographic anatomy and surgery; a man with rare talents and spiritual gifts, with a stunning scientific training, who ministered to human beings as pastor and doctor, with an admirable self-denial and love. This book has attempted to delineate his stormy life, the incredible torments and adventures, as well as his multifaceted work, in the hope that the suffering and his valuable testimony will offer a plenitude of gifts to God’s people and especially to doctors, those of the souls as well as those of the bodies.

Prologue 9
An Introduction to the Elder’s Counsels 19

PART ONE
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LOVE
CHAPTER ONE
The Indifferent Generation 33
CHAPTER TWO
The Presence of a Christian Is a Confession of Faith 49
CHAPTER THREE
To the Pure All Things Are Pure 68
CHAPTER FOUR
Actions With Prudence and Love 81

PART TWO
STRUGGLE AND DEVOUTNESS
CHAPTER ONE
The Good Fight 103
CHAPTER TWO
How the Devil Works 123
CHAPTER THREE
The Benefits of Good Fellowship 134

CHAPTER FOUR
Devoutness Moves God 147
CHAPTER FIVE
Self-Offering Provides Divine Oxygen 171

PART THREE
SPIRITUAL BRAVERY
CHAPTER ONE
The Signs of the Times 197
CHAPTER TWO
Sacrifice Brings Joy 218
CHAPTER THREE
Bravery Is Born of Trust in God 241
CHAPTER FOUR
For the Faithful, Martyrdom Is a Festival 257

PART FOUR
DEPENDENCE UPON HEAVEN
CHAPTER ONE
God’s Providence For Man 277
CHAPTER TWO
Faith and Trust in God 294
CHAPTER THREE
Where Man Cannot Reach, God Provides Help 315

PART FIVE
SPIRITUAL WEAPONS
CHAPTER ONE
Prayer Is a Powerful Weapon 333

CHAPTER TWO
Monasteries Are the Fortresses of the Church 355
CHAPTER THREE
The Deeper Meaning of Life 3 81

INDEX
Scriptural Index 399
General Index 403