An Orthodox Christian View on Spiritual Warfare | Reflections from St. Porphyrios
As someone who came to Christ because of a demonic encounter and fell into deliverance ministries and charismatic Christianity before coming to the Orthodox Christian faith, here are some quotes from St. Porphyrios (our current Theos Sisters book club reading) that most reflect my growing view on spiritual warfare.
“You won't become saints by hounding after evil. Ignore evil. Look towards Christ and He will save you.
If evil comes to assault you, turn all your inner strength to good, to Christ. Pray, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”
“Do not fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny aperture for light to enter, and the darkness will disappear. Occupy yourself with hymns of praise, with the poetic canons, with the worship of God and with divine eros.
All the holy books of our Church - the Book of the Eight Tones, the Book of the Hours, the Psalter, the books with the Offices for the Feasts and Saint-day Commemorations - contain holy, loving words addressed to Christ. Read them with joy and love and ex-altation.
When you devote yourself to this effort with intense desire, your soul will be sanctified in a gentle and mystical way without your even being aware of it.”
“Don't struggle directly with temptation, don't pray for it to go away, don't say, Take it from me, O God! Then you are acknowledging the strength of the temptation and it takes hold of you.
Let all your strengthbe turned to love for God, worship of God and adhesion to God. In this way your release from evil and from your weaknesses will happen in a mystical manner, without your being aware of it and without exertion.”
“How can the evil one approach to bring despair, disenchantment, indolence and suchlike? Divine grace fills you and these things have no power to enter.
They cannot enter when your room is full of your aether-borne spiritual friends — I mean the angels, the saints, the martyrs and above all Christ.
The opposite occurs when you become captive to the old self. Then you are dominated by the evil spirit and you cannot do good; you are filled with malice, condemnation and anger.”
“Our disposition to love God also contains within it a certain pain.
When we wish to live spiritually we suffer pain because we need to sever every bond that links us to matter.
The sorrow which we have in our love for God contains within it joy, and on account of this joy we persevere and do not give way to soul-de-stroying depression. Where there is humility, there is no depression.”
“The most important weapon to use against the devil is the Holy Cross, of which he is terrified.
But make the sign of the cross correctly: with the three fingers of the right hand joined together, touch your forehead, your abdomen, your right shoulder and finally you left shoulder. The sign of the cross may be made in conjunction with prostrations.
Communication with Christ, when it takes place simply and naturally and without force, makes the devil flee.”
“Don't give any rights of access to the devil, I don't allow even one resentful thought to remain within me, not a single flash of egotism, in case the devil finds an open window. An open window is a right of access. When you distance yourself from God, you put yourself in danger, because Satan finds you on your own and takes dominion over you.”
“When you see the contrary spirit approaching to take hold of you, do not be afraid; neither look at it nor attempt to expel it from within you.
What do you do? The best thing is contempt. Open your arms to Christ like the little child that sees a wild beast approaching and is not afraid because his father is at his side and he throws himself into his father's embrace. That is how to deal with every attack by the evil one and with every evil thought - with contempt.”
So, it’s true. I don’t fight demons like I used to. Now, I focus my energy on learning to love Christ more.
Find Wounded by Love here, and join the Theos Sisters on Skool to read more Saint books like these together.
Porphyrios, S. (2005). Wounded by love: The life and the wisdom of Saint Porphyrios (John Sanidopoulos, Trans.). Tolleshunt Knights, Essex: Monastery of St. John the Baptist.
