Consider Archbishop Averky’s words in the context of the previous two years, and even to this day. Does fear of sickness and avoidance of the holy things have any place in this “earthly heaven,” as St. John of Krondstadt calls the holy temple? Do face masks (as well as immodest attire) conform to the mind of Archbishop Averky when he says, “All those who come into church - this “earthly heaven,” - must, even in their outward appearance, imitate the celestial ones, with whom they are entering into converse there, and they should not by any means cause them, or the other people praying there, any visual offence”? Is not the grace of God attracted to the man of faith and resistant to the rationalistic and proud? As the Apostle says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Our beloved Fr. Seraphim Rose says, “Orthodox Christians! Hold fast to the grace which you have; never let it become a matter of habit; never measure it by merely human standards or expect it to be logical or comprehensible to those who understand nothing higher than what is human or who think to obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit in some other way than that which the one Church of Christ has handed down to us. True Orthodoxy by its very nature must seem totally out of place in these demonic times.” Let us simply and humbly heed the words of our Saints, begging their help in all things, that we may not fall prey to the noetic wolf and with a nous cleansed of the passions glorify our Father in Heaven, now in this “earthly heaven,” the temple of the living God. For if we are not faithful in this earthly heaven, will we be prepared for the heaven above?  

Excerpt from “Standing in the Temple of Thy Glory, We Think Ourselves to Stand in Heaven, O Theotokos.” 

Full text here: https://orthodoxethos.com/post/standi... 

Read more from Archbishop Averky: https://www.holytrinitypublications.c... 

https://archbishopaverky.blogspot.com/ 

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