"Breaking the Fetters of the World"

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"This world--with its ideals, principles, rules, and in general, with all its order, which has been elevated to the status of an unbreakable law-lays its heavy, dominating hand upon all its children. Consequently, none of them even dares to think about rising up against it or spurning its power and authority. Everybody holds it in reverence, and with some timidity, adheres to its rules. Their breach is considered to be a criminal offense. The world is not a person, but its spirit somehow permeates the earth. The spirit influences us and binds us with bonds. Obviously its power and authority are created by our thought; they are imaginary, not real or physical. Consquently, we need only to dispel the imaginary authority of the world, and the possibility of sobering from its charms will be near to us."

St. Theophan the Recluse