According to Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos "The incarnation (taking human flesh) of the Son and Logos/Word of God shows how Good, Wise, Just and Powerful God is: good, because He did not overlook the weakness of the creature, but gave him a helping hand; wise, because He found the most fitting solution for that which seemed impossible; just, because after the fall He did not form another man to wrestle with the devil, nor did He forcibly detach man from death, but made him the victor by assuming the death and suffering of the flesh Himself; powerful, because He was able to do this, to become man while at the same time he would be true God, consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Saint John of Damascus).

With death comes the separation of the soul from the body. The body returns to the earth from which it was taken. It decomposes but it is not lost. The time will come when it will be resurrected, spiritualized and made incorruptible, at the time of the just judgment. And then it will be reunited with the soul to be judged along with the soul. In the meantime, the soul which was separated through death, from the body, lives in a middle state. It undergoes the Particular Judgment. "It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). This means that immediately after death the soul is judged individually. It remains after this particular judgment until the Final Judgment, at the Second Coming of Christ, having a foretaste of paradise or of hell.

In Egypt, there is a city named Thebes, situated alongside the Nile River. It was here that the blessed Patapius was born, the son of Christians who reared him in piety and the fear of the Lord. Reaching manhood, he came to despise the vanity of this world, so he forsook his home, parents, and friends to become a monk.

Question: Is your conversion to Orthodoxy a total conversion or partial? Is it conditional? Is it selective? What kind of conversion is it? These are important and serious questions that should be answered by the one who is considering converting to Orthodox Christianity.

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (St. Matthew 6:16-18).

The great wonder-worker, swift helper of those in need, and fervent intercessor before God. Christ's holy hierarch (bishop) Nicholas, was born in Patara, a city in the Province of Lycia.  His parents were honorable, well-born, wealthy people and were Orthodox. Nicholas' father was named Theophanes and his mother Nonna who were adorned with every virtue. When their son was born, they gave him the name Nicholas, which means "victor of the nations," and truly, with God's help, he proved victorious over evil and became a benefactor of the whole world.