"Christianity is not a doctrine" (Fr. Roman Braga)

Fr. Roman Braga, a survivor of torture in Communist prisons, talks about Orthodoxy as a way of life and as an encounter with the inner self and with God.
St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church, Franklin, TN, 1995
Video source: • Fr. Roman Braga speaki...
Fr. Roman:
Christianity is not a doctrine.
You became Orthodox, sure, and many priests, Orthodox priests, monks, they recommend you to read Bishop Kallistos' books and... everything is ok...
but if you don't make the experience of God, if you don't live God...
In spirituality, Orthodoxy is not knowledge only, because God is not an acquisition of our intellect.
You cannot say: "well, I understand God, now I am theologian, I know the books, well, I am a good Orthodox..."
Orthodoxy is to descend in yourself and to explore the inner universe.
In the Western countries there is a tendency to know things outside of ourselves. You explore the Universe, you go in the outer space and all the knowledge is outside...
Orthodoxy is the reverse... To discover the inner universe which is infinite like an atom and in this depth into ourselves is God... because God is not outside of yourself...
God is not spatial or material to place Him in a corner there...
If you don't discover God in yourself you will not see God anywhere...
But if you have God in you yourself you see God everywhere... You see God in the eyes of a child, in a flower, in the blade of grass, in animals, everywhere... if you have God in yourself...
So real Orthodoxy in spirituality is to explore ourselves, to go inside, but we are afraid to go inside because it is an awesome reality...
St. Paul said: "don't you know that you are the Temple of the Living God and God lives within you?"
You say in a expression: "God is in our heart", it is not in this heart, in this organism, you know, sometimes they change it with a mechanical device, temporarily...
Not here, in this heart, in the depth of our conscience that we call it "soul", in our soul is God...
Our soul is eternal, infinite and when Saint Paul said you are the Temple of the living God we really are God bearers and we are consecrated temples of God set apart for Him...
Western countries have to learn this lesson...
Not outside of ourselves is God, He is inside, but we have to to explore the inner universe, we have to to live God, because God is life...

[@kaybrown4010]

Memory Eternal, Fr Roman. ☦️

[@catherineweiler4920]

Beautiful thank you

[@tonytrevorrow1280]

Amen Amen Amen.

[@beingfrank40]

Great talk!! Thank you for such a TRUE and profound truth.

[@michelaslan5769]

Amen beutiful!

[@janakbarman5513]

Amen papa 🤝✝️🤲🏻🛩

[@monkjohn4833]

Too True!

[@SF.B]

Dumnezeu să-l odihnească în pace!

[@Vedran771]

Great!

[@mosesbauer5856]

Inner universe. Wow. That's it.

[@richruggiero750]

Amen that was great

[@hellie_el]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@sandachera9471]

De ce nu e tradus?

[@Lotterywinnerify]

How is this not Buddhism

[@sethmiller7783]

Because Buddhism doesn't believe in a deity and Messiah (God/man) and specific do's and do not's