Saint Sophrony the Athonite.
I do not know how to describe it. By nature it is otherworldly,
supranatural. Its coming down on us is no less than the manifestation of God to
man, the revelation of heavenly mysteries.
By the gift of this Light at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor was
knowledge of God confirmed. From the moment it shone there on the three
Apostles it entered into the history of our world, to become the inalienable
inheritance of generation after generation of those who believe in Christ-God.
Without this Light the earth would have for ever lacked true
knowledge of God. Judging by my own experience I would call it the Light of
resurrection. Its coming introduces the spirit into the sphere where there is
no death. Without its irradiation it is impossible duly to apprehend the ways
of salvation. The world - people - would remain in the darkness of ignorance.
Even the most exquisite abstract theological formation does not mean salvation
since it merely provides intellectual understanding without lifting one to the
realm of Divine Being.
Sometimes this Light can be likened to a mountain-cloud over the
heights where you stand. The cloud itself is saturated with light but you
cannot see anything but cloud - all the rest of the world has disappeared.
Thus the Divine Light, bringing a new image of spiritual being,
screens from our eyes the sight of the material world. This Light is steady,
entire. It is full of profound peace. In it the soul contemplates Divine Love
and Goodness. In its rich outpouring man ceases to be aware of his
surroundings, even of his own body. Furthermore, he sees himself as light. This
Light approaches softly, tenderly, so that one does not notice its embrace.
Such a condition is like the gentle falling asleep of an ordinarily healthy
person; but, of course, it is by no means sleep but fulness of life.
With the departure of this Light, as quiet as its advent, the soul
slowly returns to her usual awareness of the everyday world. In the softened
heart there is a deep peace.
The spirit continues to dwell at one and the same time on the
divine plane and the earthly. The former, however, gradually recedes and a certain sadness
invades the soul - a feeling of regret that with return of physical sensibility
the inexpressibly benign touch of the Divine Spirit is fading away.
The fragrance of the vision fades but does not altogether
disappear. However, the very fading away begets a gentle longing for God; but
prayer flows peacefully and from the whole being. Dwelling with the Lord
destroys the passions - there is no more hankering after renown, riches, power
or anything else of this world, all of which are connected with the passions,
marked with tragedy and of short duration..!!
"Karoulia" where Saint Sophrony
struggled for a while.
At the beginning of my monastic life on Mt. Athos the Lord granted
me unceasing prayer which, without diminishing in strength, would switch every
now and then from one subject to another. I will relate what I remember well
enough, since we are talking of the prayers which marked me indelibly.
This is how it often used to be - towards evening, at sunset, I
would shut the window and draw three curtains over it to make my cell as quiet
and dark as possible. With my forehead bent to the floor I would slowly repeat
words of prayer, one after the other. I had no feeling of being cooped up, and
my mind, oblivious of the body, lived in the light of the Gospel word.
Concentrated on the fathomless wisdom of Christ's word, my spirit, freed from
all material concerns, would feel flooded, as it were, with light from the
Celestial Sun. At the same time a gentle peace would fill my soul, unconscious
of all the needs and cares of this earth.
How explain that with the descent on us of the Light of Christ His
brief commandments, now inscribed on our hearts and minds, could make all other
laws, including the law of Moses, superfluous? His bidding, 'Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind ... and thy neighbour as thyself' [Matt. 22:37,39] is utterly persuasive.
The Lord gave me to live this state, and my spirit yearned to cling to His feet
in gratitude for this gift.
The same experience was repeated at intervals for months, perhaps
years.
Under the influence of this Light prayer for mankind in travail
possessed my whole being. It was clear that the inescapable, countless
sufferings of the entire universe are the consequence of man's falling away
from God, our Creator, Who revealed Himself to us. If the world loved Christ
and His commandments, everything would be radically transformed and the earth
would become a wonderful paradise. The first paradise, as described in the
Bible, became a tangible reality for me in my vision. The thousands of years
that have elapsed since then on the plane of the eternal spirit became a
contemplation, outside time, without duration.
'And the Lord God took man, and put him into the garden of Eden to
dress it and keep it' [Gen. 2: I 5]. What an inspiring exercise - man brought
into collaboration with God Himself in the creation of the world! Freedom to
pray in the stillness of the night on the Holy Mountain seemed to me to be an
anticipation of the Kingdom. This sojourn with the beloved God gave me to
understand the meaning of the words, 'God's paradise'. From Him, from the Holy
of Holies, came the Gospel words which bear the absolute stamp of Divine
omniscience.
When my prayer drew to an end I would find myself repeating the
words of the Psalm, 'The darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth
as the day' [Ps. 139:12].
Reference:
We Shall See Him As He Is. Archimandrite Sophrony Sacharov. 1988.