Is hell real?

[Nassos]

http://www.oodegr.com/english/swthria/is_hell_real.htm

[arthur]

Gute Frage was ist die orth. Vorstellung der hölle?

[Andromachi]

I think, the view of fr. Stephen is an orthodox view. He sees hell as the getting away from God. Christ said, He is the Way, He is the Door, He is the Truth, He is the Light. He, who doesn't want to be with Christ, has chosen to be in hell.

St. Ioannis Damaskinos says that God doesn't send men to hell, but man makes himself worthy for the communion with God. Because communion with God is the upper happiness and lack of communion with God is hell [23].
" ... the sinners want the sinn, but because they are lacking the opprtunity to sin, they will have no comfort and they will suffer as if beeing eaten from fire and worm. Because, what is hell other than the lacking of the desired?" [24]

I ask for forgiveness for the bad translation from the greek text:
http://el.orthodoxwiki.org/%CE%9A%CF%8C ... F.89.CF.82

[Nassos]

I heard that it is to feel the very presence of God as a burning fire.
Because there is no "place" where God is absent.