“A good man cannot easily understand the malice of a malevolent man.”

Because some unjustly accuse contemporary Saints, such as…, for not discerning the malice of Patriarch Bartholomew, let them hear the following relevant explanation of a Saint:

A good man cannot easily understand the malice of a malevolent man.

They deceive themselves who speak self-confidently that they know men well enough, and that they do not allow themselves to be deceived. Who can know what kind of spirit is in a man—except only God, Who knows the secrets of the heart? Even the great saints were mistaken about people. For example: for a long time, St. Basil considered a certain hypocritical heretic to be a holy man, and he defended him from many attackers until, finally, convinced of the heretic’s falseness, Basil was bitterly disappointed. St. Gregory the Theologian baptized a certain philosopher, Maximus by name, and liked him so much that he kept the philosopher in his home, sharing his table with him. However, this Maximus was as dangerous and cunning as a serpent. After a period of time, through intrigue and bribes, Maximus convinced numerous Constantinopolitans to recognize him as patriarch in place of St. Gregory. When, after great confusion, this trial was removed, some rebuked Gregory for having kept his greatest enemy with him. The saint replied: “We are not to blame if we do not discern someone’s evil. God alone knows the inner secrets of a man. And we are told by the commandments to open our hearts with fatherly love to all who come to us.” A good man cannot easily understand the malice of a malevolent man.

- St. Nikolai Velimirović, The Prologue from Ohrid, January 25.