St. Nilus of Sora 1443-1508
We must be grounded in the tenets of our faith. I believe in one God, in the glorious Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one in being and undivided. I believe also in the incarnation of the Son of God who is both truly God and truly man. I profess this and all other creeds of the Orthodox Church and accept and confess with all my soul. Also with great faith and love I profess that my Lady is the holy, most pure Birth-giver of God and I exalt and glorify her.
And I repsect and accept all the Saints and I exalt them and unite myself with them by the grace of Christ. I also have recourse with all my soul to the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. And I accept all its teachings which the Church hands down from the Lord and the holy Apostles and holy Fathers of the ecumenical and local councils and from the other holy Fathers, all of which form the Tradition passed down concerning the Orthodox Faith and the decrees of the Church councils.
All these I accept and reverence with great faith and love.
I see clearly that if it is God’s will for us to gather together, then it behooves us to live according to the traditions of the saints and fulfill the commands of God and observe the traditions of the holy Fathers and not to excuse ourselves by ignoring the blame of sins saying that nowadays it is impossible to live according to the Scriptures and follow the writings of the holy Fathers.
But if we also are weak, still it is proper to follow the example of the ancient and blessed Fathers, even if we are not able toequal their exploits. If anyone does not wish to follow this basic approach, let him cease harassing me, even though I am also a poor sinner. I turn away such persons and have nothing to do with them. (Nil Sorsky: The Complete Writings. The Tradition [Predanie])
