On Love Uncontainable

St. Paisios the Hagiorite 1924-1994

When the heart is entirely given to God, then, naturally, it is also shared with the whole world, and then love is deified. This great divine love of Christ cannot be shut up within the heart, or walled up within some house or organization, or enclosed within barbed wires or borders, for Christ is not bound. If there are barbed wires on the borders of Orthodox Christians, it reveals our thorny spiritual state; we merely bear the name of Christ and, in essence, are not Christians — we only retain the name of Christ and not Christ Himself, Who is uncontainable. (Epistles, p. 203. Fifth Epistle, On Chastity and Love)