St. Paisios the Athonite
1Pilgrim: Elder, the small children who grow up now without discipline, what will they become?
“They have a few mitigating factors. The parents who did not understand discipline now leave their children with complete freedom and turn them into total little vagabonds. You say one word, they say five back, and with such insolence! These may become criminals. Today they completely unscrew the children. Freedom! ‘Do not touch the children!’ And the children say: ‘Where else will we find such a regime?’ They aim, that is, to make them little rebels, so that they do not want their parents, do not want their teachers, do not want anything, do not listen to anyone. This facilitates their purpose. If they do not make them rebels, how will the children later tear everything apart? And you see, the poor things are almost demonized.”
2“But their purpose now is to distance the children from the Church. They poison them, they contaminate them with various theories, they shake their faith. They hinder them from the good, in order to render them useless. They destroy them from a young age. And the little children, naturally, from lambs become little goats. Then they begin to strike their parents, their teachers, and those who govern them. They turn everything upside down: demonstrations, school occupations, abstaining from lessons. And finally, when they reach the point of gutting those who govern them, then even they will come to their senses.”
All these excerpts were translated by The Holy Wisdom. Below you will find all the relevant sources of the words of St. Paisios the Athonite.
Words of Elder Paisios, Volume A, Souroti, 1999, page 247.
Words of Elder Paisios, Volume A, Souroti, 1999, page 299–301.
The words of pure truth from our beloved saint.