PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

The Prayer of the Spiritual Father as Descent into the Heart of Another “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) ⸻ A man may desire to guide others. He may desire to speak a word. He may desire to help. But unless something is placed in his heart by God, he remains outside the mystery. ⸻ Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou does not speak of the spiritual father first as a teacher, or even as a counselor. He speaks of him as one who prays .

On the silent catastrophe of a Church without elders “Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you.” Deuteronomy 32:7 ⸻ There is a wound in the Church that few speak of openly. It is not doctrinal. It is not liturgical. It is not moral in the way people usually mean. It is paternal. There are not enough fathers. Not priests. Not administrators. Not scholars. Fathers. Men and women who have passed through the fire and emerged without illusion. Sou