By Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok
I do not
know where you can find elders. If you have any question, you should always
pray and ask God. I think that you
should try to seek a response to your questions by going to your spiritual father,
a priest that you go to confession to, through the Holy Scripture and the
writings of the Holy Fathers and even your friends and relatives, you will soon
get an answer. The main thing is that
you have to work hard, you have to make an effort and turn to God. If I
understand correctly, you are seeking an elder because of a serious doubt or a
life changing decision where you can not make up your mind and need advice. But
if you have experienced priests, whom you
trust you can and should ask them after praying to God. To go somewhere, look
for the elders... This is a difficult task. You man initially desire this but
then may end up having to regrets and doubts.
For
example there was elder Nikolay Guryanov. I personally visited him for many
years and saw God's love in Him. But at some point I saw that I would ask for
guidance but would not follow any of the advice that he gave me. This is
because I was not ready yet and did not have enough faith. So I stopped asking.
I tried to hear that the Lord would tell me through, and see the beauty that
God saw in this man. This gave me the strength to live and seek the right
answers to my questions.
CONVERSATION