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Curated discussions from radioimlemesou (Instagram) with summaries and the most thoughtful opinions.

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When You Are Wronged: Metropolitan Athanasios on Loving Those Who Hurt Us

A short reflection by Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol on how a Christian should respond when treated unjustly. Speaking plainly, he notes that Scripture and the Gospel give clear guidance: we are called to show love even to the person who slanders us, accuses us, mistreats us, or wrongs us in any way. The Christian response is not revenge, nor words of malice directed back at the offender, but patient love.

The metropolitan acknowledges that this is difficult, and his counsel is practical: begin with these simple things—refusing retaliation and evil speech—and continue onward step by step. What makes this possible, he says, is keeping always before our eyes the love of Christ toward us; His love for us sinners is both the model and the strength for loving our enemies.

The message echoes the Gospel command to love those who hate us and to do good to those who persecute us, presenting forgiveness not as an optional ideal but as the ordinary path of the Christian life. The post, shared in Greek with hashtags pointing to Orthodox faith and the Diocese of Limassol, drew no recorded discussion in the comments, leaving the bishop's words to stand on their own as a brief exhortation for anyone nursing a grievance or weighing how to answer an injustice.

  • Scripture and the Gospel give clear direction on how to respond to injustice.
  • We are to show love even to those who slander, accuse, mistreat, or wrong us.
  • Revenge and words of malice are not the Christian response.
  • Begin with these simple acts of restraint and continue onward.
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Why God Doesn't Need Our Praise — But We Do

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol answers the question of how we receive the grace of God, centering his teaching on the practice of blessing, thanking, and glorifying God's name. He is careful to make clear that God has no need whatsoever of our doxology; the praise we offer is not for Him but for us. It is the human person who stands in need of blessing the name of God, and in doing so we receive grace, strength, and what he calls the energy of grace.

The act of blessing and thanksgiving is not an empty ritual but a means by which the heart is transformed: through it, our heart acquires the right stance toward God and becomes eucharistic — a heart that gives thanks. The teaching underscores that knowing how to pray is itself an important skill for the spiritual life, and that gratitude is the proper disposition of the soul before God.

The post presents a concise Orthodox teaching on the relationship between doxology and grace: praise does not change God, but it changes the one who praises, orienting the whole person toward humility, thanksgiving, and receptivity to divine grace.

  • Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol explains how we receive the grace of God.
  • God has no need of our praise; it is we who need to bless His name.
  • By blessing God's name, a person receives grace, strength, and the energy of grace.
  • Thanksgiving and doxology give the heart the right stance toward God, making it eucharistic.
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