PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

The great tragedy in community life is not open rebellion. It is partial obedience. A man obeys when it suits him. He obeys when the commandment seems reasonable. He obeys when it does not wound his pride. And he tells himself that he is obedient. But the fathers speak more brutally. Eighty percent obedience is simply self-will wearing the clothing of humility. This is why Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou speaks with such severity. Obedience is not merely a response to a supe

There is a kind of theology that can be learned in books. It speaks well. It quotes correctly. It arranges ideas about God with precision. But it has never stood before Him. The fathers knew nothing of such theology. For them theology was an event. It was the moment when a man encounters Christ and is undone by the encounter. It is the knowledge that comes not through speculation but through fire. A man sees the way of God because God Himself has entered the poverty of human