Archpriest Sergiy Baranov recalls:
Once, at an annual diocesan meeting of priests, I asked the question, “Fathers, we all try to lead a moral life: to be good husbands and fathers, do good deeds, visit prisons, hospitals and orphanages… Tell me please, which of the things listed above atheists cannot do?”
Not only people of other religions but also unbelievers know and try to observe the moral law. Then, what is the difference between us Orthodox Christians, and them? In my view, our main distinction is prayer. Not only begging God for something but entering into a relationship with God. This is what a spiritual life is. In this case, doing righteous deeds and fulfillment of the moral law become natural parts of spiritual life. It is very important that we seek Christ in everything we do. Otherwise, we will simply be decent people and nothing else.
Someone says, “I can do these things without God.” Certainly, you can. Moreover, you may have a relatively honest life. However, one day, your happiness will run into the point of death and become a disaster. Eternity is the realm of God.
Entering into the spiritual life is, first of all, exercised through prayer. What did Father Seraphim say when he was talking to Motovilov? “The purpose of a Christian life is the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” He listed many means to do it but concluded by saying: “But prayer is the most important.”
Prayer is a direct entrance into a relationship with God. This is why Christians should not only know and fulfill moral laws (which is, in fact, natural for every human) but also seek the face of God. Above all, one can find Him in the Church that is full of the Sacraments. God is invisibly present in all of them. We must practice communication with God, and practice thinking through God. If not, no matter how beautiful your life is, or how beautifully you build your life philosophy, all of this is dead on arrival. Because only God is life.
— from an interview given by Fr Sergiy Baranov to Maria Kotova.
