This book contains wonderful, mysterious words—words concerning the Creator of the ages Himself. All Christians are baptized in His name—the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Him they have life and in Him they place their hope. Indeed, is anything more important than to strive for the knowledge of Him, for union with Him, for the constant contemplation of Him? God has not abandoned men in ignorance: He entrusted…

God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 Jn. 4:16). Hence, this love is the core of perfection. Love is the source of trust in God: a person who does not trust God has never truly loved Him and cannot do His will, which is able to lead us out of our wandering in the darkness of this world. This booklet describes the paths to divine love, on which a person learns to do God’s will.

The essence of God is fully known to three alone: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All others know only what God reveals to them about Himself, diminishing His power, as it were, in order to become accessible to us. We address Him by the names “He That Is,” “Ancient of Days,” “Life,” “Most Wise,” “Good,” and others, each of which emphasizes a particular facet of divine perfection.

This question is the subject of a tremendous number of myths and fancies, and frequently of outright heretical perceptions. If we turn to Holy Scripture we will see that God is the Ruler of all things. When He shows His merciful face, all nature flourishes, whereas when He turns away in wrath all things collapse and crumble.

The concept of the fear of God has unfortunately become unpopular in our time. Yet as Scripture says, The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 110:10). These words are so important that the Word of God repeats them on numerous occasions. The path of Christian life begins with turning away from evil, and it continues with doing good.

In researching the nature of anger, freedom from anger, and meekness, the author draws on the works of Saint John of the Ladder—an ingenious expert on the activity of the human soul. Anger as such is placed in us by God, and its purpose is to serve as our soul’s immune function, that by this means we might be able to resist evil and learn the virtues.