{"id":9723,"date":"2014-05-11T18:03:33","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T01:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/?p=9723"},"modified":"2024-08-01T06:39:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T13:39:34","slug":"elder-paisios-defend-christian-faith-family-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/elder-paisios-defend-christian-faith-family-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Elder Paisios: Defend the Christian Faith, the Family, the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elder by Saint Paisios of Mount Athos –
\nToday there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it\u2019s a true witness to speak up for one\u2019s people, for the state is waging war against divine law. Its laws are directed against the Law of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today they\u2019re trying to destroy faith, and for the edifice of faith to fall they quietly pull out one stone, then another. But we\u2019re all responsible for the destruction; not just those who destroy but we who see how faith is being undermined and make no effort to strengthen it. As a result the seducers are emboldened to create even greater difficulties for us, and their rage against the Church and the monastic life increases.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s situation can be resisted only spiritually, not by worldly means. The storm will continue to rage a bit, will throw all the flotsam, everything unnecessary, onto the shore, and then the situation will become clearer. Some will receive their reward, while others will have to pay their debts. <\/p>\n

Today there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it\u2019s a true witness to speak up for one\u2019s people, for the state is waging war against divine law. Its laws are directed against the Law of God.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a war on today, a holy war. I must be on the front lines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But we are responsible for not letting the enemies of the Church corrupt everything. Though I\u2019ve heard even priests say: \u201cDon\u2019t get involved in that. It\u2019s none of your business!\u201d If they had reached such a non-striving condition through prayer I would kiss their feet. But no! They\u2019re indifferent because they want to please everyone and live in comfort.<\/p>\n

Indifference is unacceptable even for laymen, and all the more so for the clergy. An honest, spiritual man doesn\u2019t do anything with indifference. \u201cCursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully\u201d, says the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 48:10). There\u2019s a war on today, a holy war. I must be on the front lines. There are so many Marxists, so many Masons, so many Satanists and assorted others! So many possessed, anarchists and seduced ones! I see what awaits us, and it\u2019s painful for me. The bitter taste of human pain is in my mouth.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014
\nHT: The Holy War<\/a><\/p>\n

Elder Paisios<\/a> was a monastic of Mount Athos. An ascetic, he was known by his visitors for his gentle manner and acceptance of those who came to receive his advice, counsel, and blessing. His words of counsel continue to be published.<\/p>\n

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos<\/strong> – Venerable Elder Paisios was canonized on 13 January 2015 by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Church commemorates his feast day on June 29.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Paisios:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Saint Paisios of Mount Athos – Today there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it\u2019s a true witness to speak up for one\u2019s people, for the state is waging war against divine law. Its laws are directed against the Law of God. Today they\u2019re … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[113,68,67,177,175,15,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-persecution","category-christianity","category-conservatives","category-false-teachers","category-heresy","category-moral-issues","category-orthodox-christianity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}