DEATH TO THE WORLD

Radical Detachment in the Orthodox Tradition

“Dying to the world” is not an image. It is a spiritual requirement present throughout the Orthodox tradition, from the apostles to today's monasteries.

It's not about despising creation—but about rejecting the spirit of the world: that which distracts us from God. Noise, vanity, competition, attachment to possessions, the constant search for attention. All these modern reflexes have always been perceived as traps for the Christian soul.

Death to the world is not a rejection of life, but a refusal to live without God.
It is preferring the invisible to the spectacular, silence to chatter, humility to gratitude.
It's about no longer chasing what others consider important.

Some experience this death in the heart of the world, discreetly. But others choose it literally: to leave their loved ones, their possessions, their name—to live only for Christ. Monks, hermits, fools for Christ… All those who have left everything behind. Voluntarily. Radically.

Even today, this word burns:

“Do not be conformed to this world.” (Rom 12:2)

To die to the world is to no longer be afraid of disappearing.
It is choosing the Kingdom, even if it remains hidden.



To go further
Death to the World — a radical spiritual fanzine founded at St. Herman's Monastery in Alaska, in the spirit of St. Seraphim Rose.
The Master is here and he calls you — a meditation on self-denial by Mgr Joseph (Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris).