From a letter by Saint Paisios of
Mount Athos to an Orthodox Christian, written at the Holy Skete
of Iveron
on 8 May, 1966. Translated from Modern Greek to Russian by Tatiana
Samoylenko, and from Russian to English by Aviv Saliou.
...
The further I withdraw from the problems of the
world, the more I am able to help others in the problems of the
world. Because these attempts to help will not be human efforts, but
rather, the Lord God Himself will interfere in the world's problems
without infringing upon man's free will.
Man
has the right to make supplications about his neighbor insofar as we
are all brothers in the flesh (from Adam and Eve), and in spirit.
Because
“all
of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ.”
And:
“There
is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male
and female...” (Galatians
3:27-28). What
is more, it is our duty to make supplications concerning all of our
brothers in the flesh, so that they come to an awareness of the
truth, in order for them to become our brothers in spirit as well.
What
a holy gift God has given us – to be Orthodox Christians!
Therefore,
we will not be able to make excuses, since we have been shown this
great mercy, and since the Lord has continually bathed us in the
bounty of His Grace, in His Holy Sacraments.
I
will not bore you, my brother, with many words. I will just end by
asking God to give you His Enlightenment and everything necessary for
the salvation of your soul.
Many
blessings to your family from Christ and the Mother of God.
With
Love in Christ,
Your
brother,
Monk
Paisios
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