“In the tradition of the early Church, the focus was on the healing of the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, accomplished by a synergy between medical science and the Holy Mysteries of the Church.” (Father George Morelli)
“It interests me that modern discussions of anxiety and depression tend to alternate between a very physical account (“you have a chemical imbalance”) to very a psychological/emotional account (as in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The truth is that it is both/and. We do not have moods, thoughts and emotions that have no basis in the electrical chemical components of our brain. Our thinking and feeling is not detached from our body. However, our bodies are not unresponsive to our thoughts. The complex of our existence means that we can and should deal with our health in a manner that involves the whole person.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“The goal in Christianity is salvation of the whole person. Therefore, diet and lifestyle are important to one’s physical and spiritual health…Taking care of the body is as important as taking care of the spirit because the body and spirit together comprise a human being. Man is responsible to be a good steward of what has been entrusted to him, including one’s own body and the bodies of those he cares for. Importantly, Christ wills for us to be well, as is obvious from the common reference to the Lord as the “physician of souls”. However, the Faith does not have a specific position on many medical and political situations. Many throughout history have used religion to justify their opinions on social issues, even to the point of war…Religious zeal that harms and kills life does the opposite of what God wills. Life is sacred, and preservation of each human creature is God’s will. Being a Christian begins and ends with living love, which is the way to being well within one’s self and the way of helping others to be well. Holistic wellness…is a matter of seeking to be well in body and spirit. When one is well enough, then reaching out to others in need is more likely—and the world is full of many with great needs.” (Lea Povozhaev)
“Our generation is not alone in finding it difficult to appreciate the spiritual significance of the human body. Across the centuries, an abiding temptation for many is to believe that physical things simply cannot become holy. Of course, that perspective often serves as an excuse to justify living as we please in daily life while giving God only our thoughts and feelings. Whatever such a spiritual path may be, it is not the genuine Christian faith and lacks the power to heal us as the whole persons God created us to be… Christ’s healing ministry showed that His salvation encompasses every dimension of the human being: body, soul, and spirit. He demonstrated how His gracious love restores broken, weak people to their dignity in the image and likeness of God. Were our bodies spiritually irrelevant, intrinsically evil, or otherwise not integral dimensions of who we are, the Savior would surely not have devoted Himself to blessing the sick.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“Health care professionals should work alongside the clergy of the Church to ensure that the whole person receives care for the healing of both body and soul from the time of conception until physical death.” (Bishop Thomas and Sdn. Symeon Dana Kees)
“Christ invites us into a wholeness of being. We are given the right faith, but the right faith must rest in a right heart. Over the years, it has been my observation that the right facts are easy. Any compendium of doctrine or collection of patristic quotes can summarize the faith we hold. But no compendium can easily describe how we hold the faith.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“The heart or nous is the primary and direct spiritual conduit that connects us with God and God with us. It contains our conscience and our spiritual eye to see the things of God. That is why the nous is sometimes called the “eye of the heart”…In our fallen state, our brokenness keeps us separated from God, for our darkened nous cannot see clearly. Repentance changes our nous, clearing the way for complete union with Christ and making us whole.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD, Abbot Tryphon)
“All who open their hearts, repent of their sins, and ask God to come into their hearts will be made whole…confession and belief are more than simply mental acknowledgment that something is true. Rather, this belief refers to placing one's whole trust in the resurrected Christ and living with Jesus as one's Lord. Only the giving of the whole self to Christ is belief unto righteousness.” (Abbot Tryphon, Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 10:9, 10)
"…the Spirit of Christ is present with integral wholeness in all who are members of Christ, activating and generating life in all capable of participating in it; and in His compassion He still sustains even those who through some weakness do not actively participate in the life of the Spirit." (St. Gregory of Sinai)
“In the end faith always moves beyond mental assent and duty and will involve the whole self—mind, will, and emotions.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)