St John Climacus On Repentance, and the Perseverance of Winston Churchill’s Wartime Speeches

Today we will learn and reflect on Step 5 of the Ladder of Divine
Ascent, on Repentance, how we should persevere in repentance,
and how the World War II speeches of Winston Churchill can
inspire us to persevere in living a godly life.
We will ponder many questions. Is repentance a swift pardon, or
is it a lengthy penance? Does repentance lift a heavy burden off
your soul, or do you sweat the blood of Gethsemane? Is
repentance like the bright sun beginning a new morning, or is it
living through a dark night of the soul? Does repentance bring joy
and gladness, or does it bring melancholy and despair?

At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources used
for this video. Feel free to follow along in the
PowerPoint script we uploaded to SlideShare.
Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!

St John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 5, Repentance
YouTube Channel (please subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg
https://amzn.to/3iLgPyl
https://amzn.to/3jMLomA
© Copyright 2021 Become a patron:
https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
https://amzn.to/3M9QVQF
https://amzn.to/3zstAUv
https://amzn.to/3xAbhhO

Repentance is not merely a quick apology to St John Climacus.
Repentance is not quick in the Ladder of Divine Ascent. The first four
rungs, where we renounce the world, detach ourselves from worldly
things, become an exile and pilgrim from the affairs of the world, and
with daily discipline internalize God’s will in holy obedience, these first
four rungs prepare us for the rung of repentance. An attitude of humility
and repentance will prepare us for the slow ascent up the remaining
twenty-five steps of the Ladder of Divine Ascent. Without daily heartfelt
repentance we cannot continue the climb to a godly life.

As St John Climacus says,
Step 5.2. “Gather together and
come near, all you who have
angered God; come and listen to
what I expound to you; assemble
and see what He has revealed to
my soul for your edification.” We
repent because we have fallen.
We are encouraged to “rise and
be seated, you who through your
falls are lying prostrate.”

We will also be quoting from the commentaries
from Father John Mack and Father Vassilios
Papavassiliou, their comments reflect their
experience as priests hearing confessions.

Father Vassilios teaches us that “the Greek word
for repentance, metanoia, means ‘to have a
change of heart or mind,’ while the Greek word
for sin, hamartia, means ‘to miss the mark.’ If sin
means missing the mark, then repentance means
getting back on target.”
Father Vassilios also teaches us, “Repentance,
like obedience, is rooted in humility. A proud
person cannot repent, for repentance allows no
room for ego and conceit. Pride blinds us to our
own sins, while we go on hating those very same
sins when we see them in others. Humility alone
is capable of seeing the truth, of enabling us to
see ourselves as we really are.”

Father John Mack teaches us, “Not all are willing to
endure the suffering and pain that comes from
embracing the truth about themselves. Only the humble
and patient can be saved, because only the humble and
penitent are willing to embrace despair of themselves.
And it is only despair of self which leads to true faith in
the Infinite Other, who alone can save.”
Father John Mack also teaches us, “We should try harder
to repent. We should be more concerned with finding
our faults than noticing our accomplishments. We
should sorrow more for our failures than we rejoice in
our successes. We should blame ourselves rather than
others. We should accept the disappointments and
difficulties of life without complaint.” Repentance is as
much an attitude as it is an action.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is about repentance, and
forgiveness. The story is the prodigal son demands his
inheritance, leaves the family farm, squanders the money his
father had earned by his hard labor of many years, on wine and
women in a foreign land. Now that he is broke, he can only find
work as a swineherd, and is forced to eat what has been fed to
the hogs. Here in this painting the Prodigal Son is looked down
by the well-dressed owners of this farm, who no doubt judge
that he should be grateful for whatever scraps are thrown his
way for his services.

The prodigal
son, by
Jacob
Jordaens,
circa 1640

The Prodigal Son, a 1618 painting by Rubens of the son as a swineherd At length the Prodigal Son
comes to his senses, and
says:
“I will get up and go to my
father, and I will say to
him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before
you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your
son; treat me like one of
your hired hands.’ So, he
set off and went to his
father. But while he was
still far off, his father saw
him and was filled with
compassion; he ran and
put his arms around him
and kissed him.” Luke 15

The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Govert Flinck, circa 1642
“Then the son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before
you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your
son.’ But the father said to
his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring
out a robe—the best
one—and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger
and sandals on his feet.
And get the fatted calf and
kill it and let us eat and
celebrate; for this son of
mine was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is
found!’” Luke 15

THE PRISON OF REPENTANTS
The Ladder of Divine Ascent is written for monastics, as we read
this work, we read of a life that is utterly impossible to live as a
layman. St John Climacus was visiting another monastery, and he
asked to visit a separate abode for those monks who especially
needed repentance, an abode called the Prison, which was a
spiritual rather than a physical prison, for those who entered this
prison entered willingly, so when reading this account, we should
read it as an allegory of the prison we voluntarily inhabit when we
neglect repentance and forgiveness. Our dear saint visited this
Prison for thirty days, what did he see there?

The Prodigal Son, by David Teniers the Younger, circa 1650
The Prodigal Son
shares a rich meal
with two prostitutes
in a tavern, a large
bed behind them.
Completing the
theme of wine,
women and song,
two street musicians
play a flute and a
violin. The clothed
monkey is eating an
apple, an ancient
symbol of love, and
dragging a ball and
chain. The red cloak
symbolizes his
temporary stay.

St John Climacus remembers:
Step 5.5 “I saw some of those guilty yet
guiltless men standing in the open air all night
till morning, and never moving their feet; by
force of nature pitifully dazed by sleep, yet they
allowed themselves no rest, but reproached
themselves, and drove away sleep with
dishonors and insults.”
Step 5.6 “Others lifted up their eyes to
Heaven, and with wailings and outcries,
implored help from there.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773) by Pompeo Batoni

St John Climacus continues:
Step 5.7. “Others stood in prayer with their hands tied
behind their backs like criminals; their faces,
darkened by sorrows, bent to the earth. They
regarded themselves as unworthy to look up to
Heaven. Overwhelmed by the embarrassment of their
thoughts and conscience, they could not find anything
to say or pray about to God, how or with what to
begin their prayers. But filled with a darkness and a
blank despair, they offered to God nothing but a
speechless soul and a voiceless mind.”
Step 5.8. “Others sat on the ground in sackcloth and
ashes, hiding their faces between their knees, and
they struck the earth with their foreheads.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son,
by James Tissot, circa 1894

This may strike the modern reader with concern. Should the
abbot encourage this type of behavior? Does this sound like
cultish behavior? Is this extreme behavior spiritually healthy?
Our saint does reassure us that most stay in this Prison but a
short time, sometimes only a week, to get their spiritual life
back on track. And this discourse goes on for several pages, but
we learn that evidently some monks stay at this Prison for
quite some time:

St John Climacus remembers:
Step 5.19 “This is what these blessed ones who
had been called to account were actually doing.
From the number of their prostrations, their knees
seemed to have become wooden, their eyes dim
and sunk deep within their sockets. They had no
hair. Their cheeks were bruised and burnt by the
scalding of tears. Their faces were pale and
wasted. They were quite indistinguishable from
corpses. Their breasts were livid from blows; and
from their frequent beating of the chest, they spat
blood. Where was to be found in this place any
rest on beds, or clean or starched clothes? They
were all torn, dirty and covered with lice.”

St John Climacus then reminds us that this is
both an allegory of how seriously we should
seek repentance from our sins, and also that
this is a true account.
Step 5.19. “In comparison with them, what
are the sufferings of the possessed, or of
those weeping for the dead, or of those living
in exile, or of those condemned for murder?
Their involuntary torture and punishment are
really nothing in comparison with this
voluntary suffering. I ask you, brothers, not to
regard all this as a made-up story.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Leonello Spada, 1600s

Our dear saint witnessed the scene when
monks died during their stay in the Prison:
Step 5.22 “Most terrible and pitiful was the
sight of their last hour. When his fellow-
convicts learnt that one of their number was
ready to precede them by finishing his
course, they gathered around him while his
mind was still active, and with thirst, with
tears, with love, with a tender and sad voice,
shaking their heads, they would ask the dying
man, and burning with compassion, would
say to him, ‘How are you, brother and fellow
criminal? What will you say?’”
Last Judgment, by Leos Moskos, circa 1653

Here they are asking him what he
will say to Jesus when he stands
before Him on the Day of
Judgment, when the lambs are
separated from the goats.
“‘What do you hope? What do you
expect? Have you accomplished
what you sought with such labor,
or not?” “Have you felt any
enlightenment in your heart, or is
still dark and ashamed?’”
Last Judgment, by Michelangelo, circa 1541

Those Protestants listening to this will question whether this dying convict is
somehow relying too much on his labor of repentance and not permitting Jesus to
simply forgive him. That indeed is a spiritual danger; but the opposite modern
tendency, not to deeply repent, perhaps is the greater spiritual danger.
What is also true is if a modern monastery were to follow this example literally,
there would be complaints that this is a cult and the authorities would quickly
close down such a prison, perhaps charging the Abbott with mistreatment and
murder, possibly placing a few of the inmates in a mental institution, and those
guilty of felonies in a real prison. Curiously, we read that the Catholic Monk
Thomas Merton admired the Ladder of Divine Ascent but balked at the extreme
description of this prison.

St Catherine’s monastery in the mountains of the Sinai desert.

But there is also a spiritual teaching behind the lesson, and also an
historical reminder that the ancient world was, in many ways, different
from the modern world.
One spiritual lesson is we do not read that St John Climacus was eager
to establish such a prison in his or other monasteries. Elsewhere in this
classic our saint is quite reasonable in his advice to both the layman and
the monk, emphasizing that inner repentance and devotion is far more
important than the outward show and rituals. But our dear saint is not
quick to condemn this Abbott for this prison for repentants but is willing
to keep an open mind to see if the Prison yields spiritual benefits.

Father Vassilios agrees with this assessment,
he note that the practices in this monastic
prison of repentants “are by no means typical
of Orthodox monasticism, such practices are
generally rejected as contrary to the
Orthodox understanding of monastic
spirituality. St John Climacus, while not
condoning such practices as a norm, clearly
regards the severity of this prison of
repentants as an example of uncompromising
repentance. It is their zeal rather than their
method that St John Climacus is praising.”

Historically, monasteries were much larger in ancient Christian Egypt than
they are today, they may have filled the same role that the Armed Forces
play in American society today, the place where young men go if they
have nowhere else to go. We know monks were numerous, ancient
accounts tell us how bands of monks occasionally rioted in the streets of
Alexandria. In the ancient world there were no prisons, as we learned in
our video on ordinary life and justice in the ancient world, and
sometimes felons fled to monasteries to live a life of repentance. There
were no stand-alone hospitals or mental institutions, monasteries also
filled these roles.

St John Climacus was inspired by his thirty-
day stay in the prison for repentants:
Step 5.23. After my stay in the prison, “I
nearly despaired of myself, seeing my own
indifference, and comparing it with their
suffering. For what a place and habitation
theirs was! All dark, reeking, filthy and
squalid. It was rightly called the Prison and
house of convicts. The very sight of the
place was sufficient to teach all repentance
and mourning. But what is hard and
intolerable for others becomes easy and
acceptable for those who have fallen away
from virtue and spiritual riches.”
Paul in prison, by Rembrandt, circa 1627

The Abbott asked our saint
what his impressions was of
this Prison, St John Climacus
says,
Step 5.26. “I was amazed, I
consider those fallen
mourners more blessed than
those who have not fallen and
are not mourning over
themselves; because as a
result of their fall, they have
risen by a sure resurrection.”
Hope in a Prison of Despair, by Evelyn De Morgan, circa 1887

Scriptures tell us that sins against the Holy Spirit
are not forgiven, but we are not really told what
these sins are. This possibility is not discussed in
the Ladder of Divine Ascent, although we are
warned that repeated unrepented sins can sink us:
Step 5.30. “Many sins from long neglect become
incurable, but with God all things are possible.”
If we look up to rungs ahead, we discover just as
we are here commanded to repent, we are later
urged not to sink into despondency. Indeed, here
we learn when we repent:
Step 5.38. “Nothing equals or exceeds God’s
mercies. Therefore, he who despairs is
committing suicide.”
Rembrandt, The Return of the Prodigal Son 1669

Why should we be angry at God for
our sufferings on this earth? St John
Climacus warns us,
Step 5.29 “The account of the
judgments of God and our falls is
shrouded in darkness. It is
impossible to know which are the
falls that come from carelessness,
and which come from providential
abandonment, and which come
from God’s turning away from us.”
Return of the prodigal son, by Guercino, circa 1651

When King David was forgiven for his great sins
committed with Bathsheba, he composed the Great
Penitential Psalm 51, which roughly corresponds
with Step 5 of the Ladder of Divine Ascent on
Repentance.
In this painting, in the distance we see King David
peeking over the parapet of his palace at Bathsheba
bathing.

Bathsheba at her bath, by Sebastiano Ricci, circa 1720

Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is the daughter of
hope and the renunciation of despair.”
Psalm 51:2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is the renewal of
baptism.”
King David playing the harp, by Gerard van Honthorst, circa 1622

Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is purification of
conscience.”
Psalm 51:4-5
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
Step 5.1 “A penitent is a buyer of humility.” The
footnote says that the Greek word refers to the
slave who did the shopping for the family. David Composing the Psalms, Paris Psalter, 10th century

Psalm 51:6-7
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is constant distrust of bodily
comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection,
and carefree self-care.”
Psalm 51:8
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Step 5.1. “Repentance is a mighty persecution of the
stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous
awareness.”
Bathsheba at Her Bath, by Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari, circa 1700

Psalm 51:9-10
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is a contract with God for a
second life.”
Psalm 51:11-13
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord
by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins.”
Bathsheba at her bath, while David watches,
by Artemisia Gentileschi, circa 1637

Psalm 51:14-15
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Step 5.1 “A penitent is an undisgraced convict.
Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice
of good deeds contrary to the sins.”
Psalm 51:16
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be
pleased.
Step 5.28 “It is impossible for us who have fallen into the
pit of iniquities ever to be drawn out of it, unless we sink
into the abyss of the humility of the repentant.”
Bathsheba at the Fountain,
by Peter Paul Rubens, circa 1635

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a
broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you
will not despise.
Step 5.1 “Repentance is the voluntary
endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is
the inflicter of his own punishments.”
Psalm 51:18-19
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt
offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Prophet Nathan rebukes King David, by Eugène Siberdt, circa 1900

What is so curious
about the story of
David & Bathsheba,
is she no longer
wishes to sleep with
the great King when
he is old and
shriveled, his
ministers instead
find a younger wife
to keep him warm
at night.
The skin of a lion, all
that remains of his
virility, is spread on
the floor.
David, Bathsheba and Abishag, by Frederick Goodall, circa 1888

Let us take courage from this
encouragement by St John Climacus:
Step 5.30. “Do not be surprised that
you fall every day; do not give up but
stand your ground courageously. And
assuredly, the angel who guards you
will honor your patience.”

This reminds me of the “Never give up” speech
Winston Churchill delivered to the graduating class of
Harrow during World War II. Churchill wanted to give
a speech they would remember all their lives, a
speech they would never forget, a speech that would
inspire them all their lives. This line was in the middle
of this short speech:

Churchill
walks through
the ruins of
Coventry
Cathedral,
1941.

Winston Churchill’s speech at
Harrow in the beginning of the war:
“Never give in. Never give in. Never,
never, never, never--in nothing,
great or small, large, or petty--never
give in, except to convictions of
honor and good sense. Never yield
to force. Never yield to the
apparently overwhelming might of
the enemy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKGXo4g26Ds

This is true also of the spiritual life, a life of
repentance that never gives up, always repentant of
our shortcomings, and just as St John Climacus warns
us of the spiritual danger of living in despair, so
Winston Churchill encouraged the boys at Harrow,
though it had been just a few short months since
British pilots had persevered in the Battle of Britain:

Winston Churchill ends his speech at
Harrow in the beginning of the war:
“Do not let us speak of darker days:
let us speak rather of sterner days.
These are not dark days; these are
great days — the greatest days our
country has ever lived; and we must
all thank God that we have been
allowed, each of us according to our
stations, to play a part in making
these days memorable in the history
of our race.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKGXo4g26Ds

Churchill delivered many memorable speeches. He
regarded Nazis not as something to negotiate with,
but as pure evil to be fought to the bitter end, much
like the Christian should regard the sin in his life,
much like those in the Prison for repentants.
Indeed, the virtuous often must struggle and suffer.

This was Churchill’s speech when he
was appointed Prime Minister:
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil,
tears, and sweat. We have before us
an ordeal of the most grievous kind.
We have before us many, many
months of struggle and suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I say it is
to wage war by land, sea, and air. War
with all our might and with all the
strength God has given us, and to
wage war against a monstrous tyranny
never surpassed in the dark and
lamentable catalogue of human crime.
That is our policy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htHKbsUKDDw

Churchill’s speech continued:
“You ask, what is our aim? I can
answer in one word. It is victory.
Victory at all costs - Victory in spite
of all terrors - Victory, however long
and hard the road may be, for
without victory there is no survival.
Let that be realized. No survival for
the British Empire, no survival for all
that the British Empire has stood for,
no survival for the urge, the impulse
of the ages, that mankind shall move
forward toward his goal.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htHKbsUKDDw

So, too, we each must wage war against sin
every day of our lives, as St John Climacus
teaches us:
Step 5.33 “He who really keeps account of his
actions considers as lost every day in which he
does not mourn, whatever good he may have
done in it.”
Our saint cautions us:
Step 5.37 “We must carefully consider whether
our conscience has ceased to accuse us, not as
a result of purity, but because it is immersed in
evil. A sign of deliverance from our falls is the
continual reckoning of ourselves as debtors.”
The Prodigal Son, by Salvator Rosa, circa 1650

Our modern-day Churchill is Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who when Russia invaded, and
most observers thought it would be a matter of days
before the Russians would be marching down the streets
of Kiev, was asked by the Americans if he wanted to flee
and continue the fight in exile, he bravely announced to
the world he was staying in Kiev, and that no young men
could flee the conflict in Ukraine, that they all had to stay
and fight, and he replied, “I do not need a ride, I need

Volodymyr Zelenskyy
and Vladimir Putin
met in Paris on
December 9, 2019 in
the "Normandy
Format" aimed at
ending the War in
Donbass.
“I do not need a ride, I need ammunition.”

We should battle with the evil in our souls with the
same resolve Churchill fought the Nazis in his later
Battle on the Beaches speech:

Churchill Battle on the Beaches speech:
“Even though large parts of Europe and
many old and famous States have fallen
or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo
and all the odious apparatus of Nazi
rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go
on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence
and growing strength in the air, we shall
defend our Island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the
streets, we shall fight in the hills; we
shall never surrender.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skrdyoabmgA

Churchill continues:
“If, which I do not for a
moment believe, this Island or
a large part of it were
subjugated and starving, then
our Empire beyond the seas,
armed and guarded by the
British Fleet, would carry on
the struggle, until, in God's
good time, the New World,
with all its power and might,
steps forth to the rescue and
the liberation of the Old.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skrdyoabmgA

Why, you may ask, am I quoting Churchill in the middle of commentary
on a monastic classic? It is because we have difficulties reading these
spiritual classics because we have lost the sense of right and wrong, we
have lost the sense of the urgency of morality, we shirk from leading a
godly life when it might ruffle feathers or cost us fleeting friendships.
When I search for someone who will fight the good fight regardless of
what happens, Churchill comes to mind.
After I wrote this section on Churchill, I was tempted to delete it all.
After all, Winston Churchill does not seem to be a good example of a
monastic. He was bombastic, seriously overweight, never fasted, drank
like a fish, and he went to church seldomly, let alone a monastery.

Yalta Conference, 1945, Winston Churchill, FDR, and Stalin

Winston Churchill always strived to lead a godly life, both in his personal life and in
his public and political life, always striving to do what was right. Winston was
faithful to his darling Clementine and his children all his life and did not succumb to
any moral vices. What is surprising is if you take a deeper look into his career, he
really ascended many rungs of the ladder. There were those in his government,
including Lord Halifax, who sought to make a devil’s bargain with Hitler, that
Germany controls Europe, and England controls her Empire. Churchill chose to risk
losing the British Empire rather than shirk from confronting the evil of Nazism, and
after the war, England did indeed lose her Empire.
As Professor Rufus Fears of the Teaching Company notes, Churchill acts on a moral
compass, he did not put his finger in the wind to determine where he might lead
the public; rather, he determined the moral course of action, and used his
considerable oratorical skills to persuade the leaders and nation to follow a moral
course of action.

Churchill and his fiancée Clementine 1908.
Casablanca Conference, 1943, with
Winston Churchill and FDR with their chiefs of staff.

If you try to ascend the Ladder of Divine
Ascent but you are not wholeheartedly
committed to leading a godly life of
repentance, forgiveness, and selflessness,
your climb will be treacherous, and you
will be pulled off by the demons into the
abyss. Father Vassilios reassures us,
“Repentance truly liberates us.
Repentance brings us back to what truly
matters. All the stresses and strains of life,
all the little annoyances, all the unfairness
we experience disappear in repentance,
setting us free and giving us peace.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Julie Ribault, 1800's

St John Climacus teaches us:
Step 5.42 “With repentance you have
purified the five senses, and have
voluntarily escaped involuntary
punishment.” “May the holy convicts
provide you with a rule, and a pattern,
and a model, and a living picture of
repentance, throughout your life,” so at
the final coming of “Christ the Son of
God and God, He will enlighten you in
the resurrection of true repentance.”
St. Peter Released from Prison, by Benjamin West, circa 1800

SOURCES:
Both of these editions of the Ladder of Divine Ascent use
the same translation, but each has its own thoughtful
introductions. We find this work as easy to read as the
works of the Stoic Philosophers that influenced Christianity
and the monastic tradition, but we also have the
commentaries by Father John Mack and Father Vassilios
Papavassiliou, which are valuable because they reflect
their experience as priests hearing confessions.

Our first and introductory video on the Ladder of
Divine Ascent has both a short biography of our dear
St John Climacus, and a history of both his work, the
Ladder of Divine Ascent, and his monastery, St
Katherine’s Monastery in the Sinai desert of Egypt,
which is the oldest continually functioning monastery
in the world.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
• Script PDF file
• Blog
• Amazon Bookstore
© Copyright 2021
Blog and YouTube Description
include links for Amazon books
and lectures mentioned, please
support our channel with these
affiliate commissions.
Link to blog: https://wp.me/pachSU-Ec

https://www.meetup.com/Reflections/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg/

St John Climacus On Repentance, and the Perseverance of Winston Churchill’s Wartime Speeches

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to St John Climacus On Repentance, and the Perseverance of Winston Churchill’s Wartime Speeches

Similar to St John Climacus On Repentance, and the Perseverance of Winston Churchill’s Wartime Speeches (20)

More from Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History

More from Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

St John Climacus On Repentance, and the Perseverance of Winston Churchill’s Wartime Speeches