That which is required of every Orthodox [Christian] is to pass on the good uneasiness to the heterodox, in order that they may understand that they are in delusion, so as not to falsely be at peace with their thoughts and be deprived in this life of the rich blessings of Orthodoxy and in the next life the much greater and eternal blessings of God.
Elder Paisios the Athonite
truisms
I wonder if hell - as a state or condition of one who is no longer able to bear the reality of themselves or God - will be devoid of regrets. An ongoing state of denial and immersion into utter selfishness. I recall the sinners in CS Lewis' classic work "The Great Divorce" in which the sinners are utterly miserable and yet seem to have no real notion of why. Blame , for all their misery, is always ascribed to someone or something else - they are the eternal and entitled victim. That is hell.
Musings of an Orthodox brother
Here is the truth: however we may meet our physical demise, we all die spiritually in the same way. Not in one thrust of the enemy, but in the moral version of death by a thousand cuts. A tiny slice here, another there. We scarcely feel each individual cut, but the cumulative effect of slights and hurts, of disappointment and rejection, leads us to destruction. And we not only bear our own chains. We forge the chains of others.
Reflections of an Orthodox Lawyer
Some of the wisest among the fathers assure us that a true contemplative state is best discovered amidst the cares of everyday life. Severed from the tangible work of living, contemplation turns too easily into predation, and self-predation. Hence, after they’d succumbed to the disease, God’s prescription for our first parents was labor and service. “By the sweat of your brow…”
The Scrivener
Once we have in some measure acquired the habit of self-control, and have learnt how to shun visible sins brought about through the five senses, we will then be able to guard the heart with Jesus, to receive His illumination within it, and by means of the intellect to taste His goodness with a certain ardent longing.
St. Philotheos of Sinai.