“He (Fr. Sophrony) said many times that the conditions of the modern world are such that hesychastic life, as he himself had known it in the desert, is no longer possible.
But the only thing which is left to us now is the Liturgy.
If we celebrate the Liturgy with reverance and attention, we find as much grace and even more than can be found in the hesychastic life.
For this reason, if we keep the Liturgy properly, there is hope for a renewal, maybe even for a renaissance of the whole world.
This general crisis that we face nowadays – and it may intensify – will force many people to look for a spiritual solution and may lead them back to the Church.
And if this is already happening with a small number of people, God is able to generalise it. He was very optimistic – ‘As long as we keep the Liturgy,’ he used to say.
Archimandrite Zacharias