Universe
“So then, when we ask about whether there is a God in this sense, we are not asking whether there is some specific superhuman entity that orders or governs the universe. That is thinking far too small. We are asking about the arché of all being: the source, the principle, the thing that is being itself. This is the highest and most important of all questions; there is nothing the answer does not affect.” (Dr. Zachary Porcu)
“The Hellenic world, which was developing its philosophy, understood the term “logos” as the law of the universe. But John the Evangelist speaks about something more important: the Logos that was with God is the Creator of the universe and not just the highest law of nature. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made (Jn. 1:3). The rational order of the universe originates from God the Logos. He is the Creator and Organizer of the entire world. It is not a mere intrinsic law of all things; rather, it is the living Person of God Who is above and before all things. The Son of the Most High came to earth, became a human being, and revealed Himself to people: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (Jn. 1:14). What did He come for? The Logos was God from the beginning; then the Logos became incarnate and assumed the human nature, while remaining fully God. He became what we are so that we could become what He is.” (Deacon Pavel Serzhantov)
“Death is anti-modernity. It mocks progress and the project of a better world. At the grave, we have everything in common with a pre-historic figure and nothing in common with the schemes of our modern world. Everything has come crashing to its ironic conclusion. As we bustle about with slogans of a better world we force ourselves to be oblivious to the fact that our Sun is dying and our planet will someday grow cold or be dissolved in fire, or, much sooner, endure yet another extinction-level visitation from a modest-sized asteroid. It is, of course, utterly astounding that the Creator of the universe Himself walked among us, speaking Aramaic, sweating beneath the heat of the noon-day Sun. His visitation alone makes us, the merest specks in a near infinity, remarkable and of significance.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“I asked my Spiritual Father one day about the efficacy of prayer—i.e. if two people are going in for surgery, and thousands pray for one and no one prays for the other, do they get a different outcome. He said that maybe more people know one person, or maybe no one know the other person is having surgery. There are a myriad of reasons why no one is praying for a particular person. My Spiritual Father sent me a video about quantum physics, which caught my surprise because we generally don’t link faith and science like this. The video was produced by a Christian company and made the point that everything in the universe is connected. Thus, when we offer a prayer for anyone, we are putting something good into the universe. We are putting something Godly into the universe. When we sin, when we hurt someone else, we are putting something evil into the universe. If Christ teaches us to do good and not to harm, to see Him in those around us, then when we pray for others, we are serving them, we are doing good to them. Since I watched this video, I don’t think as much about the outcomes of prayer, either for myself or for others, as much as I think of offering prayer, of putting something Godly into the universe for myself or on behalf of others.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“For that which is divine is not bounded by space and is not far from anything that exists but fills and pervades the universe. And though it is present in all things, it is contained by none.” (St. Cyril of Alexandria)
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