Virtues and Vices in Orthodox Tradition

 

Part 3: Virtues and Vices in Orthodox Tradition

Opening Reflection

Our soul is a battlefield: virtues (በጎ ምግባሮች) illuminate the path to holiness, while vices (መጥፎ ምግባሮች)—or sins and disordered passions—pull us away from God. The Orthodox tradition offers a rich roadmap for discerning, cultivating, and practicing virtues, and for recognizing and overcoming the passions that enslave us. Let us open our hearts to this transformative journey.

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1. Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love

Theological virtues are special gifts from God that help us grow closer to Him. They lift our hearts and guide our lives—faith helps us believe in God and His truth, hope gives us strength to trust in His promises even in hard times, and love makes us live with the heart of Christ. These three virtues are like the wings of the soul, carrying us toward God and shaping every other virtue we practice.

Faith

• Faith is trusting in God and His promises:

“እምነትም ተስፋ ስለምናደርገው ነገር የሚያስረግጥ፥ የማናየውንም ነገር የሚያስረዳ ነው።” (Hebrews 11:1).

• It is the foundation of the moral life; without faith, we cannot please God.

“ያለ እምነትም ደስ ማሰኘት አይቻልም::” (Hebrews 11:6).

• Practical Reflection: Trust God even when circumstances seem uncertain.

Hope

• Is a trustfull expectation of God’s grace and eternal life :

“በተስፋ ድነናልና፤ ነገር ግን ተስፋ የሚደረግበቱ ነገር ቢታይ ተስፋ አይደለም፤ የሚያየውንማ ማን ተስፋ ያደርገዋል? የማናየውን ግን ተስፋ ብናደርገው በትዕግሥት እንጠባበቃለን።” (Romans 8:24–25).

• Hope helps us persevere through trials and moral struggles.

Love (Agape)

• Love is the greatest of all virtues, fulfilling the law:

“እንዲህም ከሆነ፥ እምነት ተስፋ ፍቅር እነዚህ ሦስቱ ጸንተው ይኖራሉ፤ ከእነዚህም የሚበልጠው ፍቅር ነው።” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

• Practical example:.Forgive those who have wronged you, show mercy to someone in need, and act with kindness in everyday life—this is how love comes alive.

Patristic Insight:

“Love is the root of all virtues; where love exists, all else will flourish.” — St. John Chrysostom.

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1.   Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude

The cardinal virtues are the core habits that guide our actions and strengthen our character. Prudence (አስተዋይነት) helps us choose wisely, justice (ፍትሕ) teaches fairness, temperance (ራስን መግዛት) controls our desires, and fortitude (ጽናት) gives courage to persevere. Together, they form the foundation of a virtuous life.

• Prudence (አስተዋይነት)

Prudence is choosing good and avoiding evil with discernment (በማስተዋል).

“ብልህ ሰው ክፉን አይቶ ይሸሸጋል፤ አላዋቂዎች ግን አልፈው ይጐዳሉ።” (Proverbs 22:3)

• Justice (ፍትሕ)

Justice is giving God and neighbor their due:  

“ለሁሉ የሚገባውን አስረክቡ፤ ግብር ለሚገባው ግብርን፥ ቀረጥ ለሚገባው ቀረጥን፥ መፈራት ለሚገባው መፈራትን፥ ክብር ለሚገባው ክብርን ስጡ።” (Romans 13:7).

• Temperance (ራስን መግዛት ፣ መቆጣጠር):

Temperance is self-control over desires and passions:

“የሚታገልም ሁሉ በነገር ሁሉ ሰውነቱን ይገዛል፤ እነዚያም የሚጠፋውን አክሊል ሊያገኙ ነው፥ እኛ ግን የማይጠፋውን።” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

• Fortitude ( ጽናት ፣ ጥንካሬ)

Fortitude is courage to persevere in righteousness despite trials.:

“እንግዲህ እነዚህን የሚያህሉ ምስክሮች እንደ ደመና በዙሪያችን ካሉልን፥ እኛ ደግሞ ሸክምን ሁሉ ቶሎም የሚከበንን ኃጢአት አስወግደን፥ የእምነታችንንም ራስና ፈጻሚውን ኢየሱስን ተመልክተን፥ በፊታችን ያለውን ሩጫ በትዕግሥት እንሩጥ …”(Hebrews 12:1).

Patristic Insight: “Virtue is a habit perfected in Christ, not by human strength alone.” — St. Basil the Great.

• Practical reflection: How can prudence guide my decisions this week? How can fortitude help me resist temptation?

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3. The Eight Evil Thoughts (Evagrius) and the Passions

Evagrius Ponticus (c. 345–399) identified eight principal passions (also called vices or sins):

1.     Gluttony (ሆዳምነት) – excessive desire for food or drink.

·       “ብዙዎች ለክርስቶስ መስቀል ጠላቶቹ ሆነው ይመላለሳሉና፤ ብዙ ጊዜ ስለ እነርሱ አልኋችሁ፥ አሁንም እንኳ እያለቀስሁ እላለሁ። መጨረሻቸው ጥፋት ነው፥ ሆዳቸው አምላካቸው ነው፥ ክብራቸው በነውራቸው ነው፥ አሳባቸው ምድራዊ ነው። (Philippians 3:19)

·       “የወይን ጠጅ ከሚጠጡ ጋር አትቀመጥ ለሥጋም ከሚሣሡ ጋር፤ ሰካርና ሆዳም ይደኸያሉና …” (Proverbs 23:20–21)

2.     Lust (ዝሙት) – disordered sexual desire.

·  “እኔ ግን እላችኋለሁ፥ ወደ ሴት ያየ ሁሉ የተመኛትም ያን ጊዜ በልቡ ከእርስዋ ጋር አመንዝሮአል።” (Matthew 5:28:)

·  “ይህ የእግዚአብሔር ፈቃድ እርሱም መቀደሳችሁ ነውና፤ ከዝሙት እንድትርቁ፥ እግዚአብሔርን እንደማያውቁ አሕዛብ በፍትወት ምኞት አይደለም እንጂ፥ ከእናንተ እያንዳንዱ የራሱን ዕቃ በቅድስናና በክብር ያገኝ ዘንድ እንዲያውቅ::” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5)

3.     Avarice (ከፍተኛ የሆነ የሀብት ወይም የገንዘብ ፍቅር፣ ፍቅረ ንዋይ) – excessive love of wealth or material gain.

·       “ገንዘብን መውደድ የክፋት ሁሉ ሥር ነውና፥ አንዳንዶች ይህን ሲመኙ፥ ከሃይማኖት ተሳስተው በብዙ ሥቃይ ራሳቸውን ወጉ።”(1 Timothy 6:10)

·       “ብርን የሚወድድ ሰው ብርን አይጠግብም፤ ባለጠግነትንም የሚወድድ ትርፉን አይጠግብም፤ ይህም ደግሞ ከንቱ ነው።” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

4.     Sadness (ከመጠን ያለፈ ሐዘን) – excessive sorrow or hopelessness that weakens the soul.

·       “ደስ ያላት ልብ መልካም መድኃኒት ናት፤ ያዘነች ነፍስ ግን አጥንትን ታደርቃለች።” (Proverbs 17:22)

·       “ነፍሴ ሆይ፥ ለምን ታዝኛለሽ? ለምንስ ታውኪኛለሽ? የፊቴን መድኃኒት አምላኬን አመሰግነው ዘንድ በእግዚአብሔር ታመኚ።” (Psalm 42:5)

5.     Anger (ንዴት) – uncontrolled anger or hostility (ጠላትነት).

·       “ተቆጡ ኃጢአትንም አታድርጉ፤ በቁጣችሁ ላይ ፀሐይ አይግባ፥ ለዲያብሎስም ፈንታ አትስጡት።” (Ephesians 4:26–27)

·       “ሰነፍ ሰው ቍጣውን ሁሉ ያወጣል፤ ጠቢብ ግን በውስጡ ያስቀረዋል።” (Proverbs 29:11)

6.     Acedia (spiritual sloth or lack of interest/care for spiritual life) (ለመንፈሳዊ ሕይወት ፍላጎት ወይም ትጋት ማጣት) – This refers to spiritual apathy (ግድ የለሽ መሆን), indifference, or a lack of energy and care for one’s spiritual growth.

·       “በራድ ወይም ትኩስ እንዳይደለህ ሥራህን አውቃለሁ። በራድ ወይም ትኩስ ብትሆንስ መልካም በሆነ ነበር። እንዲሁ ለብ ስላልህ በራድም ወይም ትኩስ ስላልሆንህ ከአፌ ልተፋህ ነው።” (Revelation 3:15–16)

7.     Vainglory (ከንቱ ውዳሴ) – seeking praise or admiration for personal glory rather than God’s.

·       “ከእግዚአብሔር ክብር ይልቅ የሰውን ክብር ወደዋልና።” (John 12:43)

8.     Pride (ኩራት) – overestimation of oneself; placing self above God and others.

·       “ትዕቢት ጥፋትን፥ ኵሩ መንፈስም ውድቀትን ይቀድማል።” (Proverbs 16:18)

·       “እግዚአብሔር ትዕቢተኞችን ይቃወማል፥ ለትሑታን ግን ጸጋን ይሰጣል ይላል።” (James 4:6)

These are spiritual illnesses that distort the soul’s image of God.

·       Awareness and vigilance (nepsis) are essential to fight these passions and cultivate spiritual health.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

“በመጠን ኑሩ ንቁም፥ ባላጋራችሁ ዲያብሎስ የሚውጠውን ፈልጎ እንደሚያገሣ አንበሳ ይዞራልና።”  (1 Peter 5:8)

Practical reflection: Notice which passions affect your thoughts and behaviors, then counteract them with prayer, fasting, and virtue.

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4. The Role of Asceticism in Overcoming the Passions

• Ascetic practices purify the soul: prayer, fasting, almsgiving (ምጽዋት), vigils (በመንፈሳዊ ሕይወት ንቁ መሆን ), and self-control.
• St. Maximus the Confessor: “The passions are healed by ascetic discipline; the soul is restored to its original image.”

• Practical application: Even small daily acts—like fasting from complaints and cultivating patience—train the soul in virtue and strengthen our inner spiritual life.

 “Fight the good fight of faith…”

“መልካሙን የእምነት ገድል ተጋደል፥ የተጠራህለትንም በብዙም ምስክሮች ፊት በመልካም መታመን የታመንህለትን የዘላለምን ሕይወት ያዝ::” (1 Timothy 6:12)

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Conclusion

Virtues brighten the path of the soul toward God, while vices or passions distort and weaken it. The Orthodox tradition offers a clear and practical roadmap: cultivating theological and cardinal virtues, discerning and fighting the passions, and embracing ascetic practices. Moral life is not abstract—it is lived daily, in small choices and spiritual struggles. Through this journey, the soul moves from weakness to strength, from reflecting God’s image to participating ever more fully in His likeness.

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Reflection Question

Which virtues am I actively cultivating, and which passions still dominate my life? How can I use prayer, ascetic practice, and daily choices to grow in holiness and freedom in Christ?

Closing Prayer:

Almighty God, grant us faith to trust Your promises, hope to endure trials, and love to guide our hearts. Strengthen us with prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude in all our choices. Deliver us from the passions that seek to enslave us, and teach us vigilance in our spiritual journey. Through the prayers of the Holy Virgin Mary, may our souls grow in holiness, reflecting Your image and partaking of Your divine likeness, now and always, Amen!