Anthony of Surozh, metrop. The Mystery of Love Translated from Russian by Adrian Tănăsescu‑Vlas This is love: to look at a man and see inalienable beauty in him, and at the same time abhor what life has done to him, the way it has afflicted him. Love is actually extreme suffering, sorrow for man’s imperfection, merged with astonisment at his amazing, unrepeatable beauty. And once you regard man this way, you can love him despite what strikes others. How often is a lover told: “What do you see in him? What do you see in her?” – and the answer is utterly bewildering: “can’t you see how wonderful she is, how handsome he is?…” And that person, indeed, proves to be wonderful, because the loving one can see only the wounds. It is very important to remember this. It is extremely important to remember that love is realistic, every step of the way, it embraces one as a whole, and it can see, it does see, but instead blaming and foresaking man, it laments his maiming and is ready to lay down its life so that all illness, all sickness may be cured and healed. This is called the “deeply wise” attitude towards man, this is the true principle of love, the serious perspective on it. (Metropolitan Anthony) Format: 11 x 20 cm, 128 p. ISBN: 978-973-136-138-3 «« back