Spiritual Disciplines

In the Orthodox understanding, our passions – uncontrolled desires – lead us to sin and sin destroys our humanity. The passions can include for example, greed, pride, gluttony, anger, and lust among others. It is better for us to learn self-control in order to avoid these passions that make us sick with sin.

The spiritual disciplines of the church are like a kind of spiritual exercise. Just as we exercise our physical bodies to be healthy, likewise we can engage in spiritual exercises to become spiritually healthy. 

These spiritual disciplines include prayer, fasting and sacrificial giving.