THEODICY AND THE PRESENCE OF EVIL IN OUR WORLD

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ARCHIMANDRITE ARSENIOS KATERELOS

Archimandrite Fr Arsenios Katerelos is the Abbot of the Cacred Monastery of Saint Nikolaos at Divris, Fthiotis Province, Greece since 1991. He holds a Civil Engineering Diploma by the Aristotelian Univeristy of Thessaloniki and a Bachelor’s Degree by the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki’s School of Theology. His Spiritual Father was Elder Isaac the Lebanese.

Father Arsenios Katerelos had become acquainted with the Blessed Sant Paisios the Hagiorite in the summer of 1979, at the age of 17. From then on he continued to have a close and frequent spiritual contact with him, through to the repose of the Saint in 1994.

Generally speaking, Fr. Arsenios was able to actually hear the teaching of the Blessed Paisios, and was frequently given the opportunity (with the blessing and the exhortation of his Elder, Isaac), to pose various questions to him, on a variety of spiritual topics, both personal and general.

(From the text of the presentation on the back cover of the book)

 

“Oh, the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of God! So unexplored are His judgments, and untraceable His paths!” (Rom. 1, 33).

With this doxological cry, the Apostle Paul puts an end to the universal questions that have haunted the minds of people throughout the ages about the existence and triumph of evil and injustice in all societies throughout the ages. And he does not simply put an end by giving an answer, but instead opens up new spiritual horizons for the experiencing of God’s justice, which is based on the mystery of the incarnation of God the Logos. Because it is through Him that God is justified before apostate mankind; through His ineffable love, as He had “vacated Himself by taking on the form of a servant” – and on the other hand, apostate man is justified before God through the absolute obedience of Christ to the Heavenly Father, by “becoming obedient, to the death”.

The faithful Christian is not scandalized on account of the tribulations and trials that the love and wisdom of God allows, since is it through love that he experiences the mystery of God’s justice for the sake of his personal salvation.

With these humble thoughts, we give our bles-sings for the inspiration and completion of the translation into English of the precious book: ‘THE HOT PROBLEM OF THEODICY” by the Very Reverend Archimandrite, Fr. Arsenios Katerelos, Abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Saint Nicholas at Divri of Fthiotis Province.

We also congratulate the members of the Association of Friends of our Monastery, “Saint Gregory Palamas”, because this edition will give our brethren around the world the opportunity to quench their thirst with the springwaters of Orthodox Paternal wisdom within the murkiness of rationalism, which brutally raises like walls of fire the aforementioned, unanswered questions throughout time.

We pray that the coolness and the Light of the Holy Spirit will open new horizons in the life of every person.

Abbott of the Sacred Monastery Pantocrator of Melissochori, † Archimandrite Antonios and my brothers in Christ.

(The introductory text of the book)

 

CONTENTS

 

FOREWORD, Abbott of the Sacred Monastery Pantocrator of Melissochori, † Archimandrite Antonios and my brothers in Christ

INTRODUCTION

PART A’: WHY MORAL EVIL EXISTS

PART B’: WHY DOES GOD ALLOW INJUSTICE?

PART C’: THE BENEFIT GAINED FROM INJUSTICE?

PART D’: NATURAL EVILS ARE THE AFTERMATH OF OUR FOREFATHER’S SIN

PART E’: THE BENEFIT OUT OF NATURAL EVILS

PART F’: HOW DOES ETERNAL PUNISHMENT COMPORT WITH GOD’S LOVE?

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ARCHIMANDRITE ARSENIOS KATERELOS