Nicodemus the Hagiorite

What a text.

I'll end with a word, a very practical word from St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in his Unseen Warfare.

This majestic text on how to succeed in the fight against the devils in 80 principles.

He articulates 80 principles, usually broken into these 80 chapters.

Acknowledge your nothingness, number one.

Step two, constantly ask God for assistance.

Be bold in speech, St. Nicodemus says.

Be bold in your speech and time and time again ask God for help.

And by the words and makes flesh his strength, it forbids him to trust in himself.

either course is considered a defection from the lord for anyone to place his trust either in himself or in anyone else is to alienate himself from the lord wow do you see how dangerous this is this self-reliance this self-trust born of conceit it's to separate us from the lord god what a text I'll end with a word, a very practical word from St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in his Unseen Warfare.

This majestic text on how to succeed in the fight against the devils in 80 principles.

He articulates 80 principles, usually broken into these 80 chapters.

Interesting, the first one simply says, except that warfare spiritual warfare is basic to every christian life and there's no acquiring the kingdom of god without engaging in the warfare so that's the general thesis and then where where does he start what's the first principle after acknowledging the reality of warfare this is it this is step two of the 80 principles in the unseen warfare that we should never rely or place rely on or place our trust in ourselves We should never rely or place our trust in ourselves.

And then St. Nicodemus gives four basic steps on how to learn to distrust yourself, to never rely on yourself and instead to always rely on God.

Four basic ways.

He says, number one, acknowledge your nothingness.

I mean, that's powerful.

And I believe it was a Father Nicodemus from Mount Athos in the 17 or 1800s.

I can't quite remember, but he's referencing writings from earlier centuries talking about this idea of essentially intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day and no figure.

There are our first intermittent fasters, and it's all within an Orthodox context.