A Ray of Light
Instructions on Piety, the Passions, and the End Times
— About the Book —
A Ray of Light discourses a perennial topic of fascination and concern for all Christians—the End Times. The reader is exhorted to be spiritually prepared at all times for the return of Christ by understanding the pious practices of the Orthodox Christian Church as founded on the Scriptures and interpreted by the teaching of the Fathers. To this discourse are added essays on the veneration of Holy Icons, the power of Holy Relics, and the kingdom of grace on earth: the Church.
This classic text of the founder of Holy Trinity Monastery has been freshly typeset and lightly edited and now includes a short biography of the author in order to preserve and spread Father Panteleimon's legacy "unto generation and generation."
— Author Biography —
Archimandrite Panteleimon (Niznik) was the founder and first abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York. He was a tireless compiler and author of spiritual texts including Eternal Mysteries Beyond the Grave. He reposed in the Lord in 1984 and is buried in the brotherhood cemetery behind the monastery cathedral.
— Contents —
Preface
Chapter 1 A Ray of Light, How to Leave the Darkness of Death, The Perception of Truth
Chapter 2 What Will be the Status of the Incomplete Blessedness of Righteous Souls and the Incomplete Torture of Sinful Souls?
Chapter 3 The Fate in the Future Life of Sinful People, Unrepentant of Their Sins
Chapter 4 The Incorruptibility and Miraculous Powers of Holy Relics
Chapter 5 The Veneration of Holy Icons
Chapter 6 Christ’s Holy Church
Chapter 7 The Characteristics of People before the End of the World. A Prophecy
Chapter 8 Apostasy in the Last Days of the World
Chapter 9 Signs by which the Nearness of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ Can Be Judged
Chapter 10 The Coming of Antichrist
Chapter 11 The Birth of Antichrist and His Acceptance by the Jews as the True Messiah
Chapter 12 Antichrist Foretold
Chapter 13 The Actions and Name of the Antichrist
Chapter 14 Seal of Antichrist
Chapter 15 Miracles of Antichrist
Chapter 16 The Disparagement of Divine Law by Antichrist; Persecutions and Tortures of those Confessing Christ
Chapter 17 The Construction by Antichrist of his Altar in the Temple of Jerusalem
Chapter 18 The Terrible State of the World and All Mankind during the Reign of Antichrist
Chapter 19 Posthumous Prophecies of our Holy Father Nilus the Myrrh-streamer of Athos
Chapter 20 The Word of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian on the Coming of Antichrist
Appendix: A Short Biography of Archimandrite Panteleimon (Nizhnik)
Notes