Jul 30, 2023
A TALK GIVEN BY THE ABBOT OF ST GEORGE MONASTERY, FATHER IERONYMOS WHO DISCUSSED Our Eyes: 'The Key to our Salvation'
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”
When the Lord speaks of the “eye” he is speaking of more than our spherical organs. He means the whole system we have of perceiving the world around us. Not the eyes only, but the brain as well and the other senses, but even more. Orthodox spiritual writers speak of a spiritual eye, a form of spiritual perception which in most of us remains closed and must be opened by the Holy Spirit and our spiritual effort.
The result is enlightenment, that is, to see things as they really are objectively perceiving and interpreting reality with compassion and wisdom. This is liberation from sin and darkness. It is the way of peace, the road to true happiness, the pathway to unending joy for our Salvation.
We thank Geronda and everyone who attended the talk and tea in support of the monastery.