Moderator: Mark Templet
ultra_sinful said:
I visited my Vladika last friday.
I heard that Laurus (of the robber synod) visited Vladika Sergei to make sure that Vladika was in hospital, because of the ongoing trial concerning Vladika Sergei's home property of Vitaly in Montreal. Yes Laurus want's this property too. This devil will chase us until we do service in a catacomb or someting like that.
I visited him too, last Friday. How dare you talk in such a vulgar manner. Vladika Sergei would never have approved of such an attitude. You have no place to make judgement on the circumstances. You have absolutely no idea what you're dealing with. You are a convert with very limited views. Humble yourself and try to understand the workings of God.
Perhaps you should remind yourself about your name...ultra sinful. To realize that you are so, is to understand that you cannot put judgements on others. Perhaps you have been having too many "meetings" with Lomov.
The battle of the demons is evident, but you are way too confused to understand the polemics.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps. 50)
I want to offer a simple solution to all the tormented heretic and schismatic hunting:
MP=ROCOR=OCA=ROCiE=ROAC=RTOC, etc. +
ONE RUSSIAN CHURCH divided by politics and a godless assault, at home & abroad. Let's learn how to appreciate this and work for a better future.
R
The servant of God, +Sergei, was a good pastor--let us honour his memory as faithful and loving sheep!
Love is a holy state of the soul, disposing it to value knowledge of God above all created things. We cannot attain lasting possession of such love while we are attached to anything worldly. —St. Maximos The Confessor
I wish I had had the chance to get to know Vladika Sergei. I only had talked with him once on the phone when he was still an archimandrite and this was before the schism, and when I was still a New Calendarist. I was very ignorant of the issues at that time being a new comer to Orthodoxy. Anyways, he seemed very kind and gentle and understood alot of my questions and struggles, and he didn't say things in judgement of me being New Calendar instead of being in a truly traditional group. In any case, I have after many years and disappointments come to understand what Vladika Sergei stood for. Let's remember the good things about this man of God and not be fixated on suspicions about Metr. Laurus's motives in visiting him at the hospital. The holy Fathers, and in particular Saint Dorotheos of Gaza, says in his spiritual counsels that, "suspicions are of the devil even when they may turn out to be true." This is a quote from memory so I would have to look it up if you want a reference, but the reason I remember it is because that is one of my failing points and I was soundly corrected by it when I read it. It is so true a word. I would much rather everyone who has any stories or encouraging quotes of things Vladika Sergei said or did would post them in this thread and leave out all the other useless and vain things that are being haggled over. I say this as one who is naturally predisposed to such haggling. 
Forgive me.
PS. I just joined here so forgive me for just jumping right in like this. I guess I haven't earned the right to say anything so forward. But if what I say is of benefit, please accept it from me.
May Christ our True God be glorified!
Yes, we should remember the good things about this man and not attack Metr. Laurus for visiting him imagining only the worst. As the Scripture says,
1 Corinthians 4:5 (KJV) "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."
And it says,
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1 Corinthians 3:12-14
Luke 6:44-46 (KJV)
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
joasia wrote:I visited him too, last Friday. How dare you talk in such a vulgar manner. Vladika Sergei would never have approved of such an attitude. You have no place to make judgement on the circumstances. You have absolutely no idea what you're dealing with. You are a convert with very limited views. Humble yourself and try to understand the workings of God.
Perhaps you should remind yourself about your name...ultra sinful. To realize that you are so, is to understand that you cannot put judgements on others. Perhaps you have been having too many "meetings" with Lomov.
The battle of the demons is evident, but you are way too confused to understand the polemics.
Orthodox6 said:
Very true. Your accusations are additional proof of Satan's activity in the world.
May Christ our True God be glorified!
Here's the quote from St. Dorotheos about Suspicion which I mentioned in my previous post.
http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/correct.htm
"Concerning falsehood"
by Abba Dorotheos
I wish to remind you, my dear brethren, of a few points about lies. For I can see that you do not take special care to control your tongue, and so we are easily led into making mistakes. For you see, my brethren, that for every thing, as I always say to you, habit plays a role both in terms of the good and the bad. Great caution and vigilant attention are therefore needed, so that we are not fooled by lies. Since no one who tells lies has been united to God. Lying has absolutely nothing to do with God. For, it is written that: "Lies come from the evil one". And elsewhere it is written, "The devil is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). See that is says the devil is the father of lies.
God however is truth. He himself says I am the way and the truth and the life' (Jn 4:16). You can then understand from whom we are separated and to whom we are joined through lies. It is abundantly clear that we are joined to the devil. If we truly want to be saved, we have an obligation to take every care to love the truth with all our strength, and to guard ourselves from every kind of falsehood, so that it does not separate us from truth and life.
There are three different ways for one to tell lies. One way is to tell lies with the mind, the other is to tell lies with words, and the third is to tell lies with one's entire life. The person who tells lies with the mind does so by entertaining suspicion. That person, upon seeing someone else talking to his brother is suspicious and says, "They are talking about me". And if they stop speaking, such a person again suspects that they stopped because of him. If you say something to him, he suspects that you said this on purpose to worry him. Indeed, he suspects his brother in all things, by saying: "He did this for me, he said that for me. That is why he did such a thing". That is the person who tells lies with the mind. For, he says nothing that is true, but everything is instead based on suspicion. Thus curiosity, slander, eavesdropping, fighting and condemnation arise. It sometimes happens that someone suspects something, which in the end turns out to be true. This is why he claims that he is trying to correct himself when he acts with mistrust and curiosity while thinking, "If I hear anyone speaking against me and hear him, I will understand my mistake for which I am accused, and will correct myself".
First of all, this bias which he allows in his soul is a work of the evil one, because it commenced with a lie. That is to say, without knowing, he suspected what he did not know. How, then, can a bad tree produce good fruit? Yet, if he wants to be corrected, he should not become upset when his brother tells him "do not do that' or "why did you do this?", but rather humble himself and thank him, and then he will be corrected. And if God sees that this is his intention, He will never allow him to go astray, and will send him the appropriate person in order to be corrected. However, to say "since I want to be corrected, I will believe my suspicions and, consequently, I will continue to eavesdrop and be curious" is a thought which the devil creates and develops, in an attempt to destroy him.
Once when I was in a Monastery, I had the temptation of wanting to deduce someone's internal state by watching his movements. Something then happened. Where I was standing, a woman passed by holding a jug of water. I do not know how I was carried away, but I watched her eyes. Immediately the thought came to me that she was a prostitute. As soon as I thought this, I became very worried and mentioned it to my spiritual father, Abba John, saying: "Father, if, without wanting to, I see someone's gesture and conclude in my mind the spiritual condition of that person, what should I do?" The spiritual father answered in the following way: " Does it not happen often that someone who has a natural disability overcomes it with much effort? You cannot deduce his condition from this. Never believe what you suspect. Suspicions are false and they cause harm". From then onwards, even if my thoughts were that the sun is the sun, or that darkness is darkness, I would not believe them. For, there is nothing more severe than suspicions. They are so very harmful, because they remain within us for such a long time, and they begin to convince us that we see clearly things that have neither occurred nor exist.
from Voice of Orthodoxy, July 1998, v. 19(7)
the official publication of the Greek Orthodox Archbiocese of Australia
May God in his mercy help me who has posted this first correct myself and free myself from this habit!
May Christ our True God be glorified!
Antonia,
Please forgive me. I read through the post quickly and mis-understood your comment. I deleted my response.
There are alot of personal issues involved with the two jurisdictions and too many people(within these two groups) voice views that are inaccurate because they are misinformed by people who have a personal grudge. So when someone says that Vladika Laurus went to visit for this reason or that reason, well, I'm not going to listen to that. Ultra_sinful is a prime example of this poison. There are two sides to a situation and I can't possibly take him/her seriously. He/She certainly has been spiritually poisoned. And on top of that, spreading the misinformation is detrimental to spiritual growth.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps. 50)
