His Eminence Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland underlined on Sunday the role of the Athonite Saints in the life of the Church, noting that they understood that “the true wealth of a person is the presence of God within the heart.”
Archbishop Atanasie celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Parish of St John the Baptist in Crawley, United Kingdom. His Eminence explained that one of the principal teachings of the Gospel reading is the need to choose between spiritual values and exclusively material concerns.
“We cannot be servants of God and at the same time servants of mammon. Mammon is an Aramaic word meaning wealth, profit and greed. A Christian who truly stands before God as before a king cannot simultaneously serve Christ and serve riches.”
God Must Be at the Centre of Our Lives
The hierarch stressed that excessive anxiety and the pursuit of material possessions overturn the proper order of Christian priorities.
“Those who have little faith continually reverse the order of values and priorities in this life, placing the cares of this world before true faith in God. Life and the body belong to being, while food and possessions belong to having. He Who Is calls us to become truly according to His image and likeness.”
“In our lives, God must always reign supreme. He must be the very centre of our existence and guide our whole being. Only then will our passage through this world have meaning and a salvific purpose.”
They Became Shepherds of the Light
Referring to the lives of St Dionysius the Athonite of Colciu, St Petronius of Prodromos Skete and St Nectarius the Protopsaltis of Prodromos Skete, Archbishop Atanasie said that they stand as living examples of renouncing worldly cares and seeking first the Kingdom of God.
“In the stillness of Athos, through prayer, humility and patience, they became bearers of the light of the Holy Spirit and spiritual fathers to thousands of souls who found in them consolation, discernment and a path leading to God.”
“Let us never lose hope, for where our own strength comes to an end, Christ is always waiting for us in a mysterious embrace of healing love,” His Eminence urged the faithful in conclusion.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Fr Marian Efimov, the parish priest, thanked Archbishop Atanasie for the blessing he had brought to the Romanian community in Crawley.
Photo: roarch.org.uk
