Română
Saint Sophrony the Athonite (+July 11, 1993) is one of the most beloved orthodox Christian elders of our times. In this rare audio recording he talks about one of the greatest dangers for our salvation: pride and the way of tears of Saint Silouan.
Essex Monastery, May 6th, 1991
Audio source: https://youtu.be/cM3vcb_uOwo
English translation adapted after the Romanian version of Fr. Rafail Noica, Cuvantari Duhovnicesti I (12).
Saint Sophrony:
So the question before us is: how can we be saved? As an answer, I will cite the words of our blessed Father Silouan: “I thank Thee, Lord and my Creator, that Thee mercifully humbled my soul and revealed to me the path that Thy saints walked. Thou love those who weep, and all the saints came to Thee through weeping. Grant me, merciful Lord, to come to Thee on the way of Thy saints, on the way of humble weeping, which Thou hast shown me”.
What is the deformity of modern society? Look where all the schools lead! As soon as a person ascends to the highest academic degrees, he looks at all those below him with condescension, or rather with contempt and inattention. As for any person born in this world: the slightest superiority in the scientific plan already makes him proud. Because of this pride, there is a tendency to subjugate the weak ones.
And so, the entire history of mankind reaches truly nightmarish results. Look at our era. Technical inventions, it would seem, were supposed to make a person happy, to satisfy the human desire to know everything, to master the laws of nature. But there have never been so many suicides as today. And no political strategy has led to the construction of a society in which it would be possible to eliminate the enslavement of people by those who mastered the means of violence.
But what has the Lord shown us? – “Whoever wants to be saved and come to the Father, let him follow Me” (cf. John 14:6).
