PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

The most dangerous idols are never carved. They breathe. They speak Scripture fluently. They wear vestments and titles and identities we cherish with trembling hands. I have learned this: There is no instinct more subtle or more deadly than the desire to build a name for God that is really a monument to myself. The Fathers speak without flattery. Abba Poemen once said, “A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart condemns others, he is speaking continually.” Silence can be