The Church of God is a fearful place. Her work is not to socially rehabilitate and promote her members or provide them with psychological support. The diligent Christian goes to Church to divest himself of his limited mind, which fails to see anything beyond created, earthly things. He only seeks to acquire the mind of Christ and to be in constant contact with His energy, with His grace, 'that mortality might be swallowed up of life'. He longs to fulfil the destiny which God ordained for him before the ages, namely, to become an imitation of Christ. He thirsts for holiness and immortality. If he attends Church for any other reason, he has failed.
- Elder Zacharias, Hesychasm
To put the Elder's stark words in a way perhaps less intimidating to simple churchgoers like me, we might say:
We come to Church to be changed.
To enter into one of our temples is to enter into Paradise, into an outpost of heaven. We are not worthy to be here, but everything we encounter here is working to make us worthy, if we allow it to change us.
To put the Elder's stark words in a way perhaps less intimidating to simple churchgoers like me, we might say:
We come to Church to be changed.
To enter into one of our temples is to enter into Paradise, into an outpost of heaven. We are not worthy to be here, but everything we encounter here is working to make us worthy, if we allow it to change us.
IC XC NIKA
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