The Cultivation of the Heart by the Grace of Mindfulness of Death

 The Grace of Mindfulness of Death

In the book, “Christ Our Way and Our Life”, Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou writes about many of the stages of the spiritual life, including, remembrance of death. He is an Archimandrite in the monastery of St John the Baptist, in Tolleshunt Knights near Maldon, Essex in England. Archimandrite Zacharias spent decades under the spiritual direction of Elder Sophrony of blessed memory, whom, we know, was himself the disciple of St Silouan the Athonite. Here are some passages from his book;

"Considered within the whole mystery of Christ, death is transformed into a challenge on a sublime and metaphysical level, which inspires ‘repentance unto life’, and mindfulness of death proves to be a gift of the Holy Spirit…The purpose of his (man’s) pre-eternal destiny is the acquisition of eternity as an inalienable possession. ..If life comes to a definitive end with death, it has absolutely no meaning. Awareness of our mortality poses the problem of eternity without accepting concession to anything except God. The grace of God, which seeks out the lost sheep wherever he may be, is able to provoke man'seizing him by the throat’, and intensifying his quandary by bestowing a mindfulness of death, which – according to the experience of Fr. Sophrony – proves, as scalding as a ‘mass of molten metal’. The remembrance of death, when it takes the form of awareness of eternity in a negative form, is a remarkable ‘calling’ of man to his pre-eternal destiny to become á ‘partaker of the divine nature’ (2 Pet.1:4). This remembrance, which is activated by the grace of God, is a spiritual phenomenon entirely set apart from the natural or psychological knowledge that man is mortal. Charismatic mindfulness of death is a reality of another order, ‘non-earthy, incomprehensible’. It visits man with sovereign might and prepares him to accept the revelation of the Living God. In his heart a new interior sensitivity is born, which changes his spiritual outlook. It is a spiritual state, which assist man, who is as yet unable to contemplate God, in his quest for eternal truth.

Christ, Our Way and Our Life – 

A Presentation of the Theology of 

Archimandrite Sophrony

By Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

- Reviewed by Emmanuel N. Stamatiou 

1. About the Author 

A member of the Patriarchial Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist, England, founded by his spiritual father and translator of Elder Sophrony’s writing from Russian into Greek, Father Zacharias Zacharou holds degrees in Theology from the Institute of St Sergius in Paris, France, and the University of Thessalonika, Greece, also receiving the degree of Doctor of Theology from the latter institution for his work on the Theology of Elder Sophrony.

Apart from his extensive theological qualifications and studies, Father Zacharias was blessed to become a disciple of Elder Sophrony who was the spiritual child of St Silouan the Athonite. Consequently, Father Zacharias inherited the rare and precious spiritual gift of teaching the Word of God, an authentic word, inspired by those contemporary spiritual giants.

Through God’s grace, and the counsels and prayers of his sainted spiritual father, and his own ascetical labours, Father Zacharias has himself adorned the hidden man of his heart with the spiritual knowledge and wisdom which is incorruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, and his teachings will be easily discerned to be living, fruit-bearing branches firmly attached to the True Vine rather than the dry-withered branches of mere theoretical speculation.

2. About Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov

Born in Moscow in 1896, he left Paris in 1925 and first settled in the Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mt Athos where he formed a close bond with St Silouan (1866 – 1938), in whose person he saw clearly portrayed the authentic dimensions of Christian life.

In 1947 he left Athos to return to France, and in 1948 he published in Russian the manuscripts entrusted to him by St Silouan before his death, having added some biographical information and an extensive analysis of the saint’s teaching.

In 1959 he founded, in Essex, England, the community which was to become the Patriarchial Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist where he fell asleep in the Lord on 11 July 1993. Father Sophrony was endowed with many gifts of the Holy Spirit. The most impressive was the living Word of God which he grasped through prayer and carried on his heart.

3. About this Book

Those who have not read many or any works of the Holy Fathers may find sections of this book difficult to understand because of the choice of theological words and language. However, Father Zacharias’ explanation of Elder Sophrony’s theology is relatively straight forward if the reader is not frightened away by words such as:- Hypostatic Principle, “Perichoresis”, “Kenosis”, etc.

Briefly, Father Zacharias interprets the Sophronic theology as follows:-

Great Books on the Spiritual Life

Christ, Our Way and Our Life

by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Description:

An examination of the theology of Archimandrite Sophrony. Some of the eight chapters include: The Mystery of the Ways of Salvation, The Path of Hesychasm, Prayer as the Fulfillment of Creation etc. Translated from the original Greek by Sister Magdalen. 275 pages.

Table of Contents