Orthodox Christianity & Therapy - Bishop Alexei of Alaska
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ม.ค. 2023
- Bishop Alexei (Trader) of Alaska discusses secular therapy, his work on Aaron Beck, and the Orthodox Christian spiritual path.
***This is Part One of the FULL interview released two weeks ago! (Full interview now available only to patrons.)
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His Grace Bp. Alexei (Trader), was tonsured at St. Tikhon's Monastery before relocating to Karakallou Monastery on Mt. Athos, and most recently was made OCA bishop of Sitka and Alaska. He is a seasoned monastic as well as a well-read theologian, who wrote his Th.D. at the University of Thessalonica before returning to the States.
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I could listen to this very wise and humble man for hours.
1 Corinthians 15 KJV
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Romans 3 KJV
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Titus 3 KJV
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
1 John 5 KJV
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
@@alexanderbrown2717
Sola fide is a heretical lie that directly contradicts scripture.
James 2:14-26
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
@@NavelOrangeGazer ♥️ thank you for the Bible verses.
what tribe of Israel are you from?
James 1 KJV
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 Timothy 2 KJV
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Romans 11 KJV
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
2 Corinthians 4 KJV
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
1 Corinthians 15 KJV
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Or
2 Thessalonians 1 KJV
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Galatians 1 KJV
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
If one is dealing with severe mental illness, I have observed that it is important to have a spiritual father who is either experienced with this or is able to communicate with someone who is. Further, heterodox Christian counseling may muddy the waters more than transparently secular CBT. May Christ have mercy on all of us who are struggling.
I am high-church Anglo-Catholic (who rejects the Filioque). Considering becoming an EO chatechumen - conversation for another time...just wanted to reveal my place on the map.
When I was young (in a conservative Evangelical household), I was diagnosed with severe OCD. My parents gave me the choice to take meds prescribed by a psychologist or to work through CBT. I chose CBT. We worked with Christian psychologists and used CBT that was centered around the simple truths of the Gospel, but utilized CBT principles to work on my neural pathways. After years of work (including lab testing for chemical imbalances and naturopathic treatment), the Gospel-oriented CBT worked, and I completely overcame the bondage of severe OCD and depression that came with it. I believe the intervention of the Holy Spirit worked through the CBT, as well as His direct work on my heart. How much easier that journey would have been had I had access to the Sacrements at that point in time! But God cured me with CBT - just like He works alongside the surgeons knife according to His will! Sometimes He heals, sometimes He allows our suffering to continue so we continue to rely on His grace (like Paul's thorn in the flesh). For anyone out there struggling - take hope! Our Lord is strong in our weakness.
The Bishop's advice and commentary on CBT being applied as a supplement to our living Faith is 100% spot on in my experience. Thank you, Bishop, for your insight and your encouraging words!
Thanks for sharing! Glory to God
John Lapota: Yes, Thank you for sharing. I have a specific question re: CHEMICAL IMBALANCES. When Anti Depressants (ie. PROZAC) came on the market the CHEMICAL IMBALANCE Theory was cited as cause of Depression & the treatment was Anti-Depressants to correct the imbalance. Since then I have seen various material saying that CHEMICAL IMBALANCE is a FALSE THEORY ... & that NO such TESTS exist. Does such TESTING EXIST ?
If so I would grateful if you could elaborate. Thank You .... God Bless
@Carol Flower I never took pharmaceuticals to help with my condition, so I'm not super qualified to comment on the types of chemical imbalance you bring up. The testing we did was looking at serotonin levels, hair analysis, blood testing for lymes (which has severe, far reaching impacts), stool samples, genetic analysis (to see what foods I was reacting to as well as weak detox pathways), and naturopathic medical history review (i.e. I had my tonsils out at 4 y/o with heavy antibiotics to cure chronic strep. My naturopathic doctor thinks this is what primed the physiological side of my OCD - there was a spiritual element too). We took a wholistic approach to each of these challenges using allopathic, acupuncture, chiropractic, and naturopathic (supplements, herbs, tinctures, electro-magnetic, and energy) approaches for whatever the challenge of the moment was. A note on naturopathic doctors: for every one that has "got it" and produces results, there are 5 hacks. It took spending money to find the diamonds amongst the dirt. Also, we were very wary of any energy or acupuncture. NO new age, NO crystals, NOTHING spiritually questionable etc. - Christ first, what does He have in common with Belial? We were very committed to finding Christian practitioners of these valid - but often spiritually abused - medical arts. We occasionally would drive 4 hours one way to get to a good doctor. The supplements, by far, helped the most in conjunction with the CBT. The spiritual aspect was just as important. My OCD really latched into fear of condemnation to hell. I had to sort out my relationship with God and view Him more truthfully before I was able to find deeper healing.
I bring all this up because the spiritual healing, CBT, and naturopathic approach we took to healing my chronic health issues (of which the OCD/depression was the most severe) all worked in conjunction to bring about wholistic healing. It also ultimately was used by God to lead me into traditional catholic faith, which may very well filming with joining the EO church.
All that said, my father was sexually abused and emotionally abandoned as a child. Christ have mercy. He NEEDED to be on heavy pharmaceuticals to help cope with the decades-lasting trauma from those awful experiences. Although they really helped him "get over the hump," it is very hard for him to come off them and be functional. I am really happy I chose not to go on pharmaceuticals, but there are some individuals that I think truly need them.
Your mileage may vary, I hope this helped even though my long-winded response was an imperfect answer to your question.
@Carol Flower in addition to my long- winded response to you, I want to add that I do NOT believe depression is purely chemical imbalance. I think that is a part of what causes that condition. I am also convinced that both false thinking (especially about God) and demonic influence play as much as a factor. You can't chemically balance bad theology away! But good thoughts, and True thoughts, help heal us as God sanctifies us in Christ.
@Carol Flower one last thought - we viewed all the medical paths we took, including CBT, as tools God had given us to help heal the physiological ailments, while fully expecting and relying on Him to sanctify our lives and heal us spiritually. The medical approaches revolved around Christ as the CENTER of our healing universe. Anything less would be questionable at best and probably not Christian. This was true for my dad as well, who chose the medical path on high-impact pharmaceuticals. Any time anyone asks him how he eventually became functional, he would say something akin to "God saved me, without Him I would have died. The Prozac helps, but Christ is where my true healing has been."
This wonderful talk reminds of two books I've read...'Our Thoughts Determine our Lives' from Elder Thaddeus, and Fr. Joshua Makoul's 'Healing Work'. Bp. Alexei comes across as a profound and humble man. We are truly best by his presence.
LOVE Elder Thaddeus!!
“Our Thoughts Determine our Lives” changed me! Another one that I really loved is “Wounded by Love” by Elder Porphyrios. It conveys that same heart breaking love for Christ and all others.
I'm really enjoying these videos with Bishop Alexei. I am currently studying psychology, so this has given me a new perspective on the field and the practice of therapy. Thanks! 🙏
I listened to this a second time! There is so much noise in my head, but I heard you … “to love one another” is where we find health … mental health. So very simple, thank you!
I am reading his book and I'm loving it.
He came to my church yesterday, was a great day
JUST met (listened to in church) Bishop Alexi a few days ago and now he pops up first on my TH-cam feed. Thank you Your Eminence. I JUST came to terms a couple of days ago that I may have ADHD and most of my life I’ve confused it with sin. That confusion has spun me around and made me church-hop and relationship-hop. I’m learning now that I must be kind to myself, transparent with God during prayer, and constantly asking if I’ve sinned or is my brain misfiring! Thank you for this talk. I think I can be more candid with my priest now!
I have ADD and I'm confident that despite what the medical community might want to call it, it's a sin. The passion of Acedia. "I was brought forth in iniquity and in sins did my mother conceive me"
This is the problem with integrating the psychological view into the spiritual life, it deludes us to label our sin as some external illness so we don't have to repent for it.
Ok, that is probably true, since we develop bad behaviors from allowing bad habits to numb us from Truth. (?) My ADD could very well come from my running from my pain that began in childhood. Love would be a better pill to swallow than pharmaceuticals!!! Right?
The condition of your soul in combination with your diagnosis is not necessarily the condition of someone else's soul who has the same diagnosis. It is possible to have an illness that is not caused by sin. It is also possible to sin and not have resulting illness - but perhaps to have some other illness, regardless. Each of us, particularly those of us who are suffering, needs guidance from father confessors, from elders, from the Holy Fathers and the Saints, @@Cyrus_II. Some illnesses can be aggravated by this kind of generalization - we don't want to push people further toward self hatred or self harm.
Have any of the Fathers, Priests, Bishops, ever been in this man made God excluded therapy? Gone and put themselves into the hands of a therapist? For extended periods of time? For any healing? I would like to hear about what they think about man made therapy after that. How it is or is not a good idea.
Father Joshua Makoul is a licensed counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. From my understanding he has been able to apply psychology within the context of the Orthodox Church
therapy by psychologists is useless, gives false hope and confuses hurt people
I'm a psychotherapist myself and an Orthodox christian, though I'm (clearly) not a priest nor a bishop. However, I can tell you that it is not a bad idea. There are many well-trained professionals working to make people healthier without generating tension with the faith. The fact that it is man-made doesn't make it bad it all. Just as physical therapy can undeniably benefit you if you have, say, a bad shoulder, so is psychotherapy able to improve one's life to the degree that one allows themselves to undergo the process of exploring unresolved conflicts that they might hold within them. There are caveats, but the Bishop explained them in the video.
@@irreadingsnobody who has the Spirit of God needs psychotherapy. All of man’s problems of the mind are because of sin, and can only be cured by being in communion with God.
It might be a surprise to some that the concept of psychology is extremely modern. The first man to ever be called a psychologist died in 1920.
Christ is the Core.
is this a reupload?
It's the first section of the entire interview which went up a week+ ago (I mention this in the Description)...
@@ProtectingVeil Im so sorry, I usually read the description. Thanks, I thought I was going a bit mad.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the computer model, which would be great if we were computers, but as Orthodox we know that we are human beings.
This model has been proved false.
I wouldn't say it's false, but it is undeniably limited. It works and is sufficient in many cases, though. But yeah, like the Bishop said, it is not the most interesting of psychotherapy schools.