Do You Know Yourself? Psychological Problems and the Spiritual Life

Author: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos and Translated by Monk Cosmas

Why do so many of us good Christians find our spiritual progress blocked? What can we do about the unconscious neurotic tendencies that warp our relations with others? How can we let go of the idealized image we have of ourselves? Drawing on the classic work Our Inner Conflicts by psychiatrist Karen Horney, Archimandrite Symeon shows how we are led to unhealthy attachments, slavish dependency, or a position of compliance—which can even affect our relationship with God. He then explains how today’s Christians can use biblical teachings and the wisdom of the Eastern Orthodox Church fathers to combat these characteristically modern problems.

Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos is a lecturer, preacher, and confessor in the Metropolis of Thessaloniki, Greece. His spiritual lectures often draw on his study of psychology. Thirty books have been published in Greece based on his lectures. He has founded two monastic communities, Holy Trinity for men and the Nativity of the Theotokos for women.

Monk. Cosmas (Shartz) is a member of the brotherhood at the Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco in Manton, California, where he translates, edits, and proofreads for Divine Ascent Press.

Petros Xides was born in Greece and migrated to the United States in 1977. He is a spiritual son of Fr. Symeon. In his spare time, he teaches Greek to adults and children at Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church in Castro Valley, California.