(From the Chapter entitled “Defender of Tradition” of Elder Paisios of Mount Athos by Hieromonk Isaac)
The elder had an innate love and deep respect for the ecclesiastical traditions instituted by the holy fathers. He was – in the proper way – a zealot for the traditions of the Fathers. He rejected and condemned every modernistic proposal, such as doing away with the cassock, translating the liturgical texts into modern Greek, and modifying the fasts. Holy tradition in general was a matter of dear concern to the elder… (p. 644).
The elder’s stance on tradition wasn’t strict, rigid, and unyielding – he sensed the value of tradition, he lived it, and he foresaw the fruits it would produce in the long term. He had the discernment to condescend to human weakness, though without going too far, “For someone to add a spoonful of oil when they feel weak [during a fast], I can understand that… But we’ve overdone it…” (p. 653).
“The Church,” he would say, “isn’t the ship of each bishop to do with as he pleases.” These reactions of his were accompanied by much prayer and love, not only for the Church, but also for those who were deviating from the faith; and all was the fruit of dispassion, discernment and enlightenment from above (p. 661).
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