Fr. Sophrony - Theology vs imagination

Fr. Rafail remembers the words of Fr. Sophrony [Sakharov], "the mind inclined towards imagination is not able to theologise, because theology is concrete life." Subtitles: English (YTranslations Ltd), Romanian Fr. Rafail: "The word of Father Sophrony: the mind inclined towards imagination is not able to theologise, because theology is concrete life. ... The Church is not a theory, it is not an abstract philosophy, it is the most concrete reality. Yes, but for us it is not concrete because we no longer live in that natural state of man, the Adamic state from the beginning, that we lost through the fall of our ancestor, that we lose through our falls and through our wanderings, but which still lives in us, and to speak politically, still asks for its rights. The true nature asks for its rights and this demand of our nature, which, after all, is reconciled only with the holiness of God, bursts in different ways, through our passions and so on, all sorts of aspirations, all sorts of thoughts, ideas, imaginations and other things..." Video source: D-Studio Production (****** This video is part of the speech of Fr. Rafail Noica given at the International Colloquium "Meeting with the spiritual father", November 13-15, 2016, Iasi, Romania.

I was glad that His Grace Metropolitan Hierotheos mentioned the word of Father Sophrony that the mind inclined towards imagination is not able to theologise, because theology is concrete life. There was no dogma that did not begin through a historical event lived by someone. The Church is not a theory, it is not an abstract philosophy, it is the most concrete reality. Yes, but for us it is not concrete because we no longer live in that natural state of man, the Adamic state from the beginning, that we lost through the fall of our ancestor, that we lose through our falls and through our wanderings, but which still lives in us, and to speak politically, still asks for its rights. The true nature asks for its rights and this demand of our nature, which, after all, is reconciled only with the holiness of God, bursts in different ways, through our passions and so on, all sorts of aspirations, all sorts of thoughts, ideas, imaginations and other things, to quote our poet [Mihai Eminescu], "vain ideals".