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| St. Theophilus (Feofil) of Kiev (Feast Day - October 28) |
St. Nikolai Velimirovich
There is no one so stupid as he who cannot see his own sins and cannot see the virtues of others. There is no one so enlightened as he who can see and recognize his own sins and the virtues of others. Those who only see the faults of others and criticize them, St. John Chrysostom equates them to flies that fall on the wounds of others, not in order to heal them but rather to gnaw and to poison them more.
"God has sent us here for penance [epitimia];" these are the words of Blessed Theophilus of Kiev (+ 1853). He who knows and feels that he is here for repentance immerses himself in silence and contemplation about his own sin, which brings him to repentance.
The same Blessed Theophilus further said: "Weep also for the sins of your fellow man; without this not one created human being will be saved."
To weep or to proclaim? Blessed Theophilus answers: "To weep over one's own sins, but Satan proclaims the sins of others."
About himself, Blessed Theophilus at the point of death left this testament to his brethren: "Remember the odious Theophilus!" This is the testament of the holiest human being in Kiev in the year 1853 A.D.