His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday at Putna Monastery, delivering a sermon on the spiritual dangers of pride, inspired by the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.
During his homily, Metropolitan Nicolae emphasized that even hermits are not exempt from the temptation of pride.
“Those monks who sought a stricter ascetic life would withdraw into the desert to flee from the world—not because the world was inherently evil, but because it was a source of temptation. In the desert, they no longer faced the temptations of sight and hearing, nor the lure of status, money, or wealth—all of these were eliminated. Yet, one temptation remained: the belief that they had already reached a high level of holiness.”
He cited the writings of the Church Fathers, which describe hermits who, despite their isolation, dreamed of being revered as saints and sought for spiritual guidance.
“Even in the wilderness, they could not escape this temptation of pride,” Metropolitan Nicolae explained.
He warned that pride is a subtle vice that can undermine years of spiritual effort in an instant, whether in the world or in a monastery.
Memorial Service for Romanian hierarch in North America
During the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Nicolae served alongside Abbot Melchisedec Velnic and protosyncellus Ieremia Berbec, abbot of the Romanian monastery in Middletown, USA, and a former member of Putna’s monastic community.
Metropolitan Nicolae also ordained a new hieromonk for Putna Monastery.
At the conclusion of the service, he led a memorial service at the grave of Archbishop Victorin Ursache, who served as hierarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the U.S. and Canada from 1966 to 2001.
Photo: Putna Monastery
