On Christian Love

True Love vs. Imaginary Love

from the book: St, Philaret of New York – His Collected Works  ISBN:979-833-571-5430
p. 152

". . .The whole life of a Christian is illuminated by the light of love, as it was in the first centuries, and still happens in the lives of saints.  With what love shone St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Seraphim of Sarov.  But this did not prevent St. Nicholas from even slapping the stubborn heretic Arius in the face, and St. Serpahim from angrily expelling such a person from himself.  They did not fall away from Christian love by acting like this.   Truth and loyalty to her were the most important, it was the foundation on which love itself rests.  When we are accused of not having love we must answer that the love of Truth should be the most important for a Christian. 



from the book: St. Seraphim of Sarov – A Spiritual Biography  ISBN: 1-880364-13-1
p. 71
 

A priest in the town of Spassk, Fr. Peter Theoktistov, described a case where St. Seraphim refused to receive a visitor who unworthily approached the Sacrament:  

. . . A Deacon, having been convicted of bad conduct by his Priest, in his turn accused the Priest before the Bishop through witnesses who swore a false oath in his favour.  The deacon was promoted ... transferred to the town to serve.  He continued to serve without being troubled by his conscience.  Soon the Deacon came to Sarov and went to Father Seraphim.  Seeing him, the seer went out of his cell to meet him, immediately turned him back and said with anger: "Go, away from me; this is not my business!"  The Deacon did not know what to do further.  A certain Monk advised him to confess first.  But neither did this help; St. Seraphim drove him away for the second time:  "Go, go, you perjurer, and do not serve!"

p. 79

. . .It is not our business to condemn others.  When we leave the Brotherhood [for solitude ~jh] it is not out of hatred for them, but chiefly because we have accepted and wear the habit of Angels, for whom it is unbearable to be where the Lord God is offended by word and by deed.  And therefore when we separate ourselves from the Brotherhood, we only avoid hearing and seeing [and participating in ~jh] what is repugnant to God's commandments which may happen in a multitude of brethren.  We do not run away from men who bear the same name of Christ, but from the sins which they commit.  As it was said to the Great Arsenius: "Flee from men, and thou wilt be saved."
 
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. There is a happy ending to the Deacon Story.  God brought him to repentance by tying his tongue in the church for 3 years.  Finally the Deacon repented properly.  So we can see — it's not always as simple as saying "sorry."  You can't just say sorry, you have to actually be sorry.  Sorry enough to want to change yourself so that it does not happen again. ~jh

 

. I notice that St. Seraphim puts heretics and sinners in the same category.  Both are liars.  We can exclude both from our company without accepting criticism of being "unloving" or "unforgiving" or "condemning/judging." ~jh