DEPARTMENT OF STEWARDSHIP
ALMSGIVING
THE THIRD PILLAR OF ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY
Dr. Andrew Geleris, MD, and William Morrison
PRAYER, FASTING, AND ALMSGIVING ARE THE THREE PILLARS OF ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY. JESUS DEVOTED THE MIDDLE THIRD OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, MATTHEW CHAPTER 6, TO DISCUSSING THIS TRIAD. THEY ARE ALSO THE PREEMINENT FOCUS OF GREAT LENT.
urturing the faithful in our practice of the first two of these spiritual disciplines, prayer and fasting, has produced dramatic growth in American Orthodoxy since St. Herman first brought the faith to North America over two hundred years ago. Our geographic footprint has expanded across the continent. Endogenous growth, conversions from other Christian traditions, and immigration have filled many of our parishes. More r ecently, sacramental participation has increased from infrequent to weekly communion, and many traditional liturgical materials have been translated into English and are being used in many parishes. The
availability of many valuable patristic and monastic writings has exploded. The third spiritual pillar, almsgiving, however, has received considerably less attention than prayer and fasting. By means of this article, we would promote an increase in the practice of this vital, lifegiving, spiritual discipline. Practicing almsgiving, while maintaining our attention to prayer and fasting, will undoubtedly deepen the piety of our people and increase the effectiveness of our Church’s witness to our spiritually starving culture. The resulting Spirit-filled Orthodoxy has the potential to fulfill our calling to become the hope of the world, the answer to every spiritual, financial, social, and economic problem that troubles our society.
The Word
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