Last week, Adrian Lemeni, an associate professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest, addressed the young participants at the International Camp at Oașa Monastery. He stressed the importance of seeking and attaining authenticity in their lives.
“Especially for you as young people, it is essential to have the courage of authenticity. Do not let yourselves be caught in the vise of standardisation, because there is enormous pressure on you,” said the professor.
The associate professor from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest also urged the young people to “take seriously the dignity to which they are called” and to find their strength of character.
“We must take seriously the dignity to which we are called,” he said. “Someone who lacks the strength of character, who has an anaesthetised will and a mind incapable of focusing, easily becomes a cog in an increasingly impersonal system.”
Commitment and Becoming
“You must constantly commit to the effort of becoming, seek development, not just easy information. And especially, in the spiritual realm, seek the authenticity that fulfils each of our existences.”
“This comes only through spiritual life,” the lecturer noted further.
Regarding the quest for authenticity and participation in the camp at Oașa, Adrian Lemeni said that the mere presence of young people signifies “a departure from the standard.”
“The strongest form of resistance to not being standardised is the spiritual one because the Spirit is always unpredictable.”
“I encourage you, even at an intellectual level, to use your mind, not to seek the easy and the convenient, not to be overcome by ease and comfort.”
“Seek the authentic; authentic things are never offered immediately; that is why your true joys are being stolen because an authentic joy is not immediate; it is not the result of a click,” concluded Adrian Lemeni.
Metropolitan Serafim of Germany was also among the guests at the International Camp at Oașa, which was held from July 18 to July 28.
Photo: Oașa Monastery
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