St. Paisius Velichkovsky: "The Most Important Saint of Recent Times" - Fr. Seraphim Rose

Written in 1972, Fr. Seraphim Rose draws attention to the significance of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (+1794) for us today, stating, "...for Orthodox Christians of the 20th century there is no more important Holy Father of recent times than Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky." A reading of Fr. Seraphim Rose's Introduction to: "Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky: The Man Behind the Philokalia" by Schema-monk Metrophanes 📖 Read the Introduction here: https://jordanville.org/news_121129_2 http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/intr... 📖 Currently available books by Fr. Seraphim: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/... 🎧 On Prelest (Spiritual Deception) - Fr. Seraphim Rose    • On Prelest (Spiritual Deception) - Fr. Ser...   🎧 The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality, Pt. I - Fr. Seraphim Rose    • The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality,...   🎥 Experiences with Fr. Seraphim Rose - from Archpriest Paul Baba    • Experiences with Fr. Seraphim Rose - from ...   🎧 See my playlist of readings of Fr. Seraphim Rose:    • Fr. Seraphim Rose - Articles and Teachings   ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ 🎁Support my work here: https://buymeacoffee.com/orthodoxwisdom _______ Fr. Seraphim writes: "...for Orthodox Christians of the 20th century there is no more important Holy Father of recent times than Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky. This is so not merely because of his holy life; not merely because, like another Saint Gregory Palamas, he defended the hesychast practice of the mental Prayer of Jesus; not only because he, through his many disciples, inspired the great monastic revival of the 19th century which flowered most notably in the holy Elders of Optina Monastery; but most of all because he redirected the attention of Orthodox Christians to the sources of Holy Orthodoxy, which are the only foundation of true Orthodox life and thought whether of the past or of the present, whether of monks or of laymen. It is these very same sources—the Divine Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers—which are the foundation of all genuine Orthodoxy in our own times. The observer of the Orthodox world today can see easily enough what "Orthodoxy" becomes when these sources are not made the foundation of life and thought. The followers of unenlightened custom are themselves innocent; they merely accept what has been "handed down" to them. But not seeing the meaning and not knowing the sources of what has been handed down, they are easily led into error, accepting customs which the Church has allowed only out of her condescension or economy as if they were the best of Orthodoxy, and also improper customs of recent heterodox origin and inspiration, together with the pure and meaningful Orthodox customs handed down from the Holy Fathers. Under strict yet prudent pastors, such people can be guided in the true path of Orthodoxy; but in our own time of such widespread irresponsible Church leadership, these people are more often guided gradually into a path of ever greater and more senseless innovation and reform, the clearest example of which is perhaps the Greek Archdiocese of America, where pews, organs, and Uniat spirituality and theology have become the new "customs" of an unfortunate people whose Orthodoxy has been stolen from it. Truly, we are far more in need today of a return to the sources of genuine Orthodoxy than Blessed Paisius was! Our situation is hopeless! And yet God's mercy does not leave us, and even today one may say that there is a movement of genuine Orthodoxy which consciously rejects the indifference, renovationism, and outright apostasy which are preached by the world-famous Orthodox "theologians" and "hierarchs," and also hungers for more than the "customary" Orthodoxy which is powerless before the onslaughts of a world refined in destroying souls. It is of course true that the world, saturated in Holy Orthodoxy, which produced Blessed Paisius no longer exists; and it is likewise true that the numbers of God-bearing elders whom Paisius met and produced on his path, even in an age of spiritual decline, are simply unheard of in our own days, which are surely the days of the last Christians. And yet it cannot be that the flame of truly Orthodox zeal will die out before the Second Coming of Christ; nor that if this flame exists, Christ our God will not show His zealots, even now, how to lead a true and inspired Orthodox life. In fact, the message of Blessed Paisius is addressed precisely and directly to the last Christians: in "The Scroll" he tells us that the Holy Fathers wrote their books "by the special Providence of God, so that in the Last times this Divine work would not fall into oblivion." _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!