On the importance of the spiritual father.

On the importance of the spiritual father

If we are not vigilant, even we, Orthodox priests, may suffer depression or failure after years of successful ministry in the Church, although we may live in the bosom of Tradition. Those who live arbitrarily and with pride, and cut themselves from Tradition by detaching themselves from their spiritual father, will always suffer harm. We are not protected when we have no point of reference, when we put our trust in our own thinking. We are asked, as Father Sophrony says, to crucify our mind and our reason, to accept a certain death of obedience and then we see the miracle. He who has voluntarily made his will dead and his mind foolish for the sake of obedience, will know the leap over the wall (Ps. 18:29).

I had a fellow student who mixed with some holy monks that lived with us at that time. He acquired zeal and in a short time he became like an angel, praying all night. However, he did not humble himself to connect to one of those monks and acquire a spiritual father. For a few years he kept his freedom and had no point of reference, but then he lost it. Later, they lamented over him because in the end he did not manage to become a priest. If he had related to one of those holy hieromonks that we had there, he would have made it. Whereas some others, who were less gifted but trusted their spiritual fathers, managed much better. 

Archimandrite Zacharia, „Monastic Conversations with Father Zacharias (III)”, 15 June 2020, Pemptousia