In this Orthodox Christian interview, Fr. Petroniu Tanase offers some reflections to Romania pilgrims on Mount Athos on the meaning of life, death, and the eternal consequences of our actions. Based on the teachings of the Holy Fathers, this discussion highlights the importance of living according to God’s will and the reality of the dreadful Judgment. Fr. Petroniu Tanase (1914-2011) was the abbot (1984-2011) of the Romanian Orthodox Skete of St. John the Baptist (Prodromou) on Mount Athos, Greece. In 2024, the Romanian Orthodox Church proposed the canonization of Fr. Petroniu to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as Mount Athos is under its jurisdiction.
Video source: Revista Ortodoxă ATITUDINI, Romania.
Video recorded by pilgrims around 2010 at the Romanian Skete Prodromou on Mount Athos, Greece.
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/edD2PmPa7OA
Fr. Petroniu:
Man is created by God to be happy, and in his being, he desires to be happy. And yet, by doing the will of the enemy, he causes his own unhappiness. It is frightening! Man is not aware that he is doing evil. But we must seriously consider the fact that we are eternal. If we live even a little according to God’s will, when the resurrection of the dead comes, body and soul will unite and enter eternal life, each with the treasure they have gathered in this world. If he has done good deeds, eternal happiness awaits him; if he has done evil and has not repented, eternal torment alongside the devil awaits him. God forbid! We think of this with fear!
The Holy Fathers were very careful. The Fathers who lived a holy life, a good Christian life, when they thought of death… Especially St. Ephraim, a great saint and hermit, would say: ‘When I remember the day of the dreadful Judgment, I cry until my strength is drained, and I beg God to help me, lest the enemy take hold of me.’ They were great devout people, living holy lives, and they worked miracles. St. Macarius was a great devout man, he was just skin and bones, so thin he was. And the fathers would ask him: ‘Father, aren’t you eating anymore? Why are you so thin?’ Do you know what a fire poker is? And he said: ‘The poker used to stir the fire is completely scorched and burned. A man who thinks of the dreadful Judgment does not put on weight; he thinks with fear, with great care, lest the enemy mock him, deceive him, and he finds himself in eternal torment.’ It is not about one year, or two years, or a million or a billion years, but for all eternity, and with the little we do here, with that we gain eternity.
That is why the Holy Fathers make a comparison. Our Christian trade on earth is very cheap and convenient. A merchant considers that he has traded well when he invests a sum and gains a good return from that investment. And in our few years, let’s say we live 100 years, if we guard ourselves from evil, with this little we earn billions in eternity. It is worth making a little effort, to take care of the soul… It is in my interest. God has prepared eternal happiness for me to give it to me freely, at a low price. The Holy Fathers say: ‘The effort is small, but the rest is eternal.’