“I was told that your Elder [St. Justin Popović] was a
zealous man, a fighter, with a fiery nature. He gave his all for Christ. He was
fearless towards everyone and towards the Communists also. Some of his
spiritual children and admirers strive to emulate him in confrontations there
[in Serbia]. They voice their opinions with very caustic words. But I would
like to say the following. He was a holy
man, and as such, could act that way. But not the others, who albeit zealous,
are inclined to confront their opposition and say “Let them cut off my head – I
will remain steadfast and will not budge.”
It is easy to say “let them cut off my head” – it is a good thing – but
that is not how Christ’s labours should be undertaken. Fr. Justin was something else. He had that
Outspokenness; he could say things like that, but I don’t think that you
should. I would advise you, Fr. Irinej [Bulović], to follow a somewhat
different course. For Christ’s work to be achieved, so that even atheists,
communists and others may be saved, you should not be confrontational with
them. Do not stand up to them and do not provoke them.”
Well, you can imagine at my age at the time, and with my
youthful euphoria, how those words sounded to me! You see, we had that simple, black-and-white
image of the prevailing situation: there are persecutors here – persecutors of
the Church – and we are here to defend Her is what we believed. And now, all of
a sudden, the Elder was reminding us that Christ also wants the salvation of
those persecutors and enemies, as much as He wants ours and the others.
“Don’t say too many things”, he continued to advise me.
“Don’t infuriate them, don’t make them your enemies, because that way, they
will isolate you and you will not be able to do anything thereafter. Many will
come there; they will create various problems for you, and they will say all
sorts of things to you. Do not
reciprocate, do not try to defend yourself and give explanations about our
faith. For as long as they are attacking you, you should remain silent and pray. Pray secretly. Even if someone spits on the
icon of Christ in front of you, you should remain silent. Do not defend Christ. Christ does not need
you to defend Him. What do you think
about all this? Does Christ want
atheists and communists to be saved also, or not?”
“Of course He does, Elder” I replied.
“Well, that is what Christ wants: for those who also deny
Him to become acquainted with Him, so that they too might be saved.”
(…)
That atheist who spat on Christ’s image, may very well think
to himself on his way home: “Imagine, I said all those things to that priest; I
even spat on something so sacred to him, and yet, he never said a word; he
never retaliated, even though he could have.” And it is not improbable that he
might come and find you, and say: “I
need you, for my soul”. That way, it is
quite possible that you might win him for Christ, and that is far more
important than displaying heroism and outspokenness. You should work secretly, noiselessly, and
not become involved in politics. Preach
Christ. Speak only about Him. That is
the only way you will be of benefit to others – by saving people; even when you
find yourself in the company of Christians who might be talking about different
matters and expressing their own opinions, which you may not agree with or have
another position, another opinion – and it may well be a better one. You should
not seek to voice your opinion however. You can give your opinion, humbly,
without imposing it on others, but only when asked for it. That is how people
are best benefited. They will then say: “Did you notice how well he spoke? And
if we hadn’t asked him, he would have kept silent.”
(…)
“Over there”, he said, “you also
have heterodox and other religions. You must behave to everyone with subtlety,
with love. Do not offend anyone. You must perceive and address all of them as
brethren – even those who belong to other religions. We are all children of the same Father. Do not comment on the beliefs of those who
belong to other religions.”
- Elder Porphyrios Kafsokalyvitis, How Should We Behave
Towards Atheists or Heterodox?, The Sacred Monastery of Chrysopigi, Chania,
Crete, 2008, pages 286-287 & 297.
Translation (slightly corrected):
http://www.oodegr.com/english/psyxotherap/behaviour2atheists.htm
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