By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
The late Father John Romanides lived in the 20th century, then he died in 2001, at the beginning of the 21st century, and dealt with all the problems of his time through the empirical theology of the Church.
Precisely because he relied on the theology of the Saints, who did not talk about that which pertains to God, but about God, that is why he had acquired a spiritual sense to foresee the problems that exist in every age that need to be confronted by the shepherds of the Church.
In fact, he claimed that a theologian is also a spiritual father and a spiritual father is also a theologian. He said this because real theology, which is the essence of the pastoral ministry, distinguishes the created from the uncreated, the energies of God from the energies of the devil, which is characterized as discernment. Both the theologian and the spiritual father must have the patristic discernment to help their spiritual children.
Precisely because he relied on the theology of the Saints, who did not talk about that which pertains to God, but about God, that is why he had acquired a spiritual sense to foresee the problems that exist in every age that need to be confronted by the shepherds of the Church.
In fact, he claimed that a theologian is also a spiritual father and a spiritual father is also a theologian. He said this because real theology, which is the essence of the pastoral ministry, distinguishes the created from the uncreated, the energies of God from the energies of the devil, which is characterized as discernment. Both the theologian and the spiritual father must have the patristic discernment to help their spiritual children.
