"He who prays only from a book is not praying"

When asked what the virtues of a monk should be, Father Iachint Unciuleac said:

– Humility. Humility is the virtue from which all virtues are born. If you have humility, you have the foundation of spiritual life. Without humility, you cannot build. Prayer, if it is based on humility and springs from humility, then it flows; the heart sings. But if it is not based on humility, even though you strive, prayer is like resounding brass and a resounding cymbal. This is how prayer is done for the one who does not pray with humility. He remains only at the lowest level; he does not ascend to the heights.

In monks, he appreciated the cutting of the will, because he knew that obedience and cutting of the will give birth to the deepest humility. He was very upset when something was done without blessing. He was sad, although he did not scold much, but in a few words, he said what was right.

Father Iachint also said:

– The salvation of the soul presupposes total commitment and a strong will to abandon sin. When a person is not firm and determined and does not hate sin with all his being, then temptations and falls are very easy.

And to his closest disciple, he would say:

– Read, brother, read holy books, for whoever has such a preoccupation ends up falling at the foot of the Cross and from there is buried with Jesus and resurrected with Jesus. This is the canon that I give you.

After he retired from the abbotship, Father Iachint prayed more with the Jesus prayer. He was not a man of the rule; he was not a man who would take the Psalter and the Book of Hours and read them. He recommended these, too, but he insisted on unceasing prayer to God. “He who prays only from the Book of Hours or from a book, does not pray” he said.

Thus lived and thus died the great abbot and confessor, Father Iachint.

Arhimandritul Ioanichie Bălan