Père Sophrony

This article publishes the transcription of two oral talks by Father Sophrony (1993 and 1991), given to the monastic community of his monastery as a spiritual testament. These are previously unpublished texts, presented in the form of transcribed and adapted oral meditations. The first talk develops a fundamental distinction between two modes of repentance: an ethical repentance, which remains within the moral order, and an ontological repentance, which effects a passage toward divine eternity and opens onto deification. The second addresses the question of receiving the gift of true being in human weakness. The theological contribution of these texts lies in the articulation between spiritual anthropology and soteriology: filial adoption is not a human achievement but a divine act, and deification presupposes a repentance that transcends ethics to reach the order of being.

This article presents two previously unpublished talks by Father Sophrony, archimandrite and founder of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex, transcribed from recordings made during his weekly conversations with the monks and guests of his community. These are texts of a spiritual and pedagogical nature, delivered without prior written preparation. The talk entitled "How to Receive the Gift of True Being?" develops the question of the constant orientation of the intellect toward God as a condition of authentic Christian life. Drawing on figures such as Starets Silouan and Isaac the Syrian, Father Sophrony articulates the memory of the Last Judgment, continuous repentance, and inner vigilance. The contribution of these texts lies in their testimonial dimension and in the living transmission of a theological anthropology centered on the notion of hypostasis and the deification of the human being.