Talk 08: Let’s Not Forget About Spiritual Abuse

In the last few decades, much has been said about the effects of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse, particularly on children. What is often overlooked is that not all forms of abuse are so obvious. Many parenting practices that the world sees as perfectly normal and even beneficial are very harmful spiritually. By engaging in these practices through ignorance or slackness, many Orthodox Christians become guilty of spiritually abusing their own children.

In this talk, Father Kosmas examines a number of common practices that in reality are spiritually abusive. He brings to light that many problems experienced by adults stem from the spiritual abuse they suffered as children, and he describes how many spiritually abused people either never come to the Church or, if they do, find even basic spiritual life very difficult.

The following ...