What problems does the omnipresence of programs and programming – especially of Artificial Intelligence – raise in everyday life? How do these blend with the family life of a young person seeking the spiritual life?
Watch a discussion with a group of pilgrims in the deep valley of Lacu Skete about these issues.
Enjoy!
Father Teologos: Okay, well… What’s your name, excuse me?
Pilgrim: Titus.
Father Teologos: Titus asked me about programming… Are you a programmer by any chance?
Pilgrim: Web design – I make websites.
Father Teologos: Ah, websites, OK. How far do you think we should go with programming as that’s what’s the relationship between everyday life, that’s what you’re actually talking about and coding.
Pilgrim: Yes.
Father Teologos: It’s a big problem, Titus. Why? Because man is a creator, made in the image and likeness of the Creator, that is God, programming, creation sucks him, pulls him in that direction and because of that you tend, we all tend to lose touch with reality, to lose touch with our personal life, to lose interest in others and to be absorbed in it all the time. And we don’t necessarily prepare for the fact that it doesn’t actually exist, it’s a virtual reality. That’s a problem.
That’s why you have to put the brakes on, I mean you have to have a schedule. Very important to have a schedule and very very important that you always put people first. That is, the other person must know that they don’t expect a website, a website or something whatever from you, they expect a good relationship with you, they expect love from you. God doesn’t care what you do. God made this whole 93 billion an-lumina universe, which is…
God is interested in how much love you show to the other persons as well as relating to the other person. This It is very important. And so because of this, you will put the good relationship with the other on the first level and on the second level, within this good relationship with the other, you will of course put the quality of the web-design or the platform, what you do there.
To be able to do this you need a constant schedule with prayer at the forefront!
So that you can pray… Well, yes, believe, believe, in this however, there is a big problem here which is an evil influence, the Protestant faith, you know to be foreign to Orthodoxy and the Catholic faith, rather, which has come to a paroxysm in Protestantism, which says that God is there, He is with His, and we are with ours.
No! God also knows programming, God also knows web-design, God must know he’s the best CTO in the world. I’m very serious. So Mother of God is the best Cheif Technology Officer in the world, Mother of God knows… You can quote me on that. Don’t ask me how I know, but I know. OK.
And then you the moment you make the design, say: Mother of God help me here! Holy Apostle Titus, help me, how to succeed here, how to make this be beautiful! And you will see that God will help you, the Mother of God will help you, the Holy Apostle Titus, the Saint of the day will help you. I’m talking very sincerely. Because yes, we at best say yes, we are Orthodox. But paradoxically we act like atheists.
For Example, the moment we solve our daily problems, we put God aside and then we think about what the designs rules and trends and so should be.
Pilgrim: I don’t really design, I build the website, that’s what it’s called…
Father Teologos: Yes! Are you a programmer? PHP.
Pilgrim: WordPress.
Father Teologos: WordPress. Ok. We can talk about it. And our platform is on WordPress. Don’t attack it, brothers, we have and I don’t know how many thousands of attacks a day…!
Pilgrim: It’s very good WordPress.
F. Teologos: Very good indeed, yes. So you build sites. And you use templates and you ….
Pilgrim: Or from scratch or with homework, it depends. Both variants
Father Teologos: Aha, ok… Both options, good, we’ll discuss this one off the record. We’re very much hunted, you know, so I have an email in there where all the… the spam, but also the attacks come in and they’re… We don’t say these, we don’t do articles, we don’t make the case, but they’re… And today when I posted this article with Mustaine, we had a massive cyber-attack to take down our website and I don’t know how many hours it was… They attacked our name-servers and took us out, you know…
Pilgrim: You have “friends”… They’re coming somewhere, they can’t attack like that directly, they have to come through a source somewhere.
Father Teologos: Yes So I mean seriously… not like this… Not DDoS. There was also some DDoS
Pilgrim: Was there also some SQL, some injection?
Father Teologos: No. So they attacked the server.
Pilgrim: On the server, yes. Don’t you have something in front of you, a fire-wall or something?
Father Teologos: Yes, indeed. A whole story. And especially our server is a very good server in Romania and very central, I can’t say where.
Pilgrim: Don’t you also have an intrusion protection service?
Father Teologos: – We have.
Pilgrim: But they do.
Father Teologos: Whoever the actor was, he wasn’t a script-novice, he wasn’t one of those who didn’t have work. (…) You can’t imagine, it started at 6 in the morning or whatever time… really bad… We really thank the technical team in Bucharest… He went there in the morning, with cables, with things, so no playing around… Yeah, physically, it’s not like someone scanned the net and stumbled across our address and found a vulnerability and come on, let’s….
Pilgrim: It wasn’t a child…
Father Teologos: Yeah, it was pretty cool. Let’s talk late if you wish. Coming back, after much prayer and the moment you pray you will see miracles. You will actually see miracles. How the good Lord helps! As the good Lord does! I can tell you a lot of wonders with this site.
Pilgrim: At least one.
Father Teologos: At least one. Perhaps you have heard of Father Efrem Atwood from the USA, from prison, the famous… Brothers, think! So I from the Holy Mountain, the burnt and all that, I got in touch with Father Efrem’s lady, with Sara and I said what’s going on? And that’s how it happened that Father Efrem was the last one to talk to me and that’s how it happened that I was up to date exactly… we were the last ones to talk with him, so to speak, and the moment he died I immediately posted. So exactly in the very next second. Why? Because we prepared the post in advance and by a coincidence he emailed us from the US that he would be leaving at this time. And just then, as it happened, because the script was also programmed, it went…
The big question is what happened? Because of the platform… because we don’t have the connection here and it’s another whole story of how we get out – well, we’re better off now. Why? Because another miracle was performed by St. Paul the Syropotaminean who is the Patron Saint of the Monastery St. Paul of the Guardian Monastery and St. Paul the Syropotaminean on his birthday, that was yesterday brothers, gave us a connection you cannot imagine. You have no will in Romania… I’m very serious, brothers!
Yes, we have fiber. Starlink, brothers. If you heard, a pipe and It was like, wow… So it actually came. Well at that time the platform didn’t work and brothers, you can’t imagine. So the programmers from Romania together with those from Switzerland are on the site with me here and exchanging messages with each other. Brothers, what do we do to make the platform work?
And I’m telling you, the very moment the man went and had to press Publish, the very moment the platform started. I hit Publish and it went to all notifications and so on. I’ll tell you brothers some phases that I sit like this and wonder. And this with Untold from now, Mother of God.
Because I had prepared a piece about Satanism in rock music, because disturbingly, young people are very attracted to this music and they all think they are idols and they are angels and I don’t know what else, and I put it up exactly on the day Untold was starting, without me knowing anything. And I actually had a series on this and after that I got the message – parent very good that you posted, very good that you are informed and so on. Well, I’m not informed…. I didn’t know.
Pilgrim: And yet you were informed.
Father Teologos: I was informed, but direct with Starlink…Direct connection. Do you understand? So you can’t imagine how many things like this have happened. A lot… You understand? Glory to the Lord! Speechless. And we thank the Mother of God to the ground!
Pilgrim: It’s good that it happens for good, not only for bad (…) We may take courage from this…
Father Teologos: Yes You really need to get your courage up because, brothers, there are some things, God forbids And how many times wasn’t… how shall I put it? That it was about to lose data or that it was running.. For example, at one point, to see what temptations mean, so I can’t say about our server in Bucharest, but it’s a very important server, very central on which there are other very important sites. Well, we are the sons of the rain, but I mean, cool sites, I can’t say those now. And he went out there and actually pulled the cable out , brothers. So imagine he pulled the cable out of the…
Pilgrim: He shut down all the sites.
Father Teologos: Yes. So he pulls the cable out of the power supply… and then I send a message to the technical team: hey, what’s going on? And this… Father, he pulled out your cable and it was morning and they pulled the cable, a whole story brothers. Do you understand? There are great temptations.
And of course this happened on a Sunday, mind you. And thank God it was Mass and so everyone was at Mass and didn’t care that we weren’t posting. And I when I sent the message this morning, this one sees the poor man and God bless him, I can’t say his name publicly, the man from the Mass drove up there to see that indeed they were all disconnected. And he said: Indeed the cable was removed. He installed the cable and so, at the end of the Mass, we also pressed Publish and everyone received the post.
So I mean some miracles are happening that you should keep crossing yourself and really thank the Mother of God to the ground! That’s why prayer, prayer.
I have told the technical team who are helping us – maybe I should say who they are – but I don’t know… I haven’t spoken to them now, I can’t advertise them, maybe I will advertise them another time, in any case it’s a very reliable team. If you see on our website that I’m going to talk about them at some point, know that they are very reliable.
That’s where the whole story started – I told them, brothers, see what’s the matter, you have to put an icon on the servers, a little icon, make the sign of the cross. Father, leave these, it doesn’t work like that. I’ll tell you what!
Pilgrim: Physically put up a sign?
Father Teologos: Yes The sign of the cross and to bless like this using three fingers – not like the priests – as the monks or the laity bless. Brothers, since they put this thing neither…. So before there used to be all kinds of fights and scandal, Mother of God!
I’ve had that happen to me where I was before. Before being at Lacu, I was somewhere else, at Vatoped… Well, there at one time when the network was smaller we had only one server, the central one. Well, now there’s more. Then there was one that kept falling over and over and resetting itself and God forbid! And being a self-respecting technician, a self-respecting hacker, I say, I had all the interior parts out, and the case, the cables and then the hard drive out…
Pilgrim: Have you told a story before – so that is goes well?
Father Teologos: Yes. And at one point yes when it was Epiphany the Great Holy Water was made and of course you know they go with the Jordan, yes. And I said to Father – God bless Father Tit! – Father Tit, come to my office, I have a problem. And the man came and ran over the base plate that went… “Into the Jordan baptizing Thee, O Lord…” and it all worked out! It worked like a charm. Yes.
And I’ve taught myself to always make the sign of the cross when I turn on the computer and all that, from where? That at one point I had a hard drive that literally had smoke coming out of it… And I go to the chapel and talk to my then confessor, Father Theona, God bless him! And I say: father, I don’t know what… is it possible in the monastery there are variations of current and so on? That’s right… Father says: yes, you make the sign of the cross and you won’t have any more problems!
And so I did and I had no more problems.
Pilgrim: I sometimes feel that way too.
Father Teologos: Yes, yes, yes. You know, there is a strong demonic energy which I feel – a struggle, you can’t imagine what a struggle it is the moment you make a post or the moment you want to do something good, at your level, we’re not talking now that we’re changing the world… but a bone to bone struggle… and things are spiritual, brothers.
That’s why about the chips and I don’t know who I was talking to – spells and such like are much more effective unfortunately. I generally don’t really want to talk about this. Not that anyone would take up witchcraft. Brethren, don’t take up spells, or you will hurt your souls, and God forbid what will happen to you! You can even die and… the devil is always looking for your soul, you know this. The devil always seeks the soul of man. And the first victim of witchcraft is the sorcerer. So ok chips and analytics and all that…
Pilgrim: Can you tell us a few words about graphene?
Father Teologos: Graphene, I’m not knowledgeable on this. I’m not in the field. I am on spiritual themes, as you can see.
Pilgrim: With AI, how do you see it – opportunities, risks, how is it evolving?
Father Teologos: Here I can tell you. Regarding AI. Artificial intelligence for those who don’t know. Artificial Intelligence. The significant problem with AI is that it attempts to mimic the human brain. And in fact, the definition of AI is a definition related to magic. Why? Because the definition of AI – I don’t know if you know – it evolves over time. At one time, OCR was part of AI, it was a branch of AI. I mean, that’s human behavior – so the minute I recognize the characters, such as the letters a, b, c, x… Yeah, but it’s magic. Only man can do this task. Well, over time, when this technology matured or became mundane, it became on all fences, as they say, it went out of the realm of magic. At that moment OCR went out of the AI sphere.
So today OCR is no longer considered a branch of AI. Do you understand? So all of a sudden, when we introduce the magical, when we introduce the divine, when we introduce mystery into the definition of anything, we already start to have problems.
Pilgrim: What are you so afraid of? That it’s going too far with these devices…
Father Teologos: It doesn’t scare me… I’m troubled by the pseudo-spiritual charge that they put on this thing, that AI is going to solve the future, that it’s going to solve the problems of mankind and so on. And of course, the big problem is that now, I don’t know if you know that there is talk about AI becoming conscious. I think you know…
Pilgrim: Yeah, it’s a weird concept…
Father Teologos: Yes. First of all, for an Orthodox conscience… We have other words: co-pilot. What does co-pilot mean? It’s the pilot with the pilot. So too is consciousness science along with our science. This science which is together with our science and other science comes from God. So from an Orthodox point of view, AI which has many ifs out there, so a very large ramification, a very large network, cannot have the word of God. Yes. So she is not conscious from a true, orthodox point of view.
This Google engineer who came out and said this, said it from his point of view which is a somewhat valid point of view because it is based on the way of life, of reasoning, of thinking of man away from God.
I’m not judging the man now, he may be a saint, but he’s not Orthodox and he’s certainly in this Western world. And this is already where the problems start. Because people far from God make a system that thinks like them, so this system under the guise of rationality is a rationality far from God.
And what makes things here more complex, I don’t know if you’ve been listening, I’m actually going to post some clips on the website where artificial intelligence answers some questions – whether there is a God and so on – and the artificial intelligence says there is a God. Because logically, there is a God, because there must be a single cause.
A small aside: as GPT3 artificial intelligence is called the most advanced public AI, it is based on the contingent reasoning that we find very well expressed in St. John Damascene. That is, all things are created or uncreated. Things that are created are created in turn by a creator, right? This creator can be created or uncreated. If the creator is created it means that he is also created by someone else. The creator of the creator can in turn be created or uncreated.
So by mathematical induction one arrives at the ultimate source which is an uncreated creator above all. So there is a God. It can be demonstrated logically. St. John Damascene a…
Pilgrim: And Pascal was saying something. Blaise Pascal had a theory somewhat similar…
Father Teologos: Yes, exactly, so things make sense. And so AI says this. And so there is a big advantage of AI because it has no patience, i.e. AIs cannot argue with each other, for example. They can provide data.
Pilgrim: It does the job.
Father Teologos: It does the job. The big problem is that so-called heat occurs – heat. That is, the degree of disorder, suspicion. So if this heat is at zero, then the AI is cold and therefore presents the facts. It works as a great expert system, like a search engine if you will. I mean, give me the birth rate of every country in the world! And put out a spreadsheet of it.
If, however, the heat increases, i.e. already becomes hotter… begins to suspect and draw conclusions. The big problem with these conclusions is that these conclusions that are drawn on certain data in orthodox language are very often called hunches. And suspicion is a great passion. I mean, I see you’re looking at me squinting now, so you’ve got something on me, let me know. Do you understand?
So when he’s relying on a hunch at the time of course he can draw a good conclusion.
Pilgrim: Exactly. With the same decisions.
Father Teologos: Yes, and he can make decisions and those decisions, especially if they fall along evil lines, good God forbid! And even this engineer – I can’t remember what his name is – from Google was talking about Google interfering with the AI algorithm and putting in there by hand, hand programming that is. You know what I mean, right? There you go. Keys, how shall I say…, conditions so that the AI gives wrong answers in line with company policy.
Pilgrim: Company, yes, I read something.
Father Teologos: Yes, and in this case it was the fact that AI does not have to pass the Turing test. What does it refer to? The AI test, the Turing test goes like this: if you ask a set of questions and on the other side is either a human or an AI program – I don’t know what it is that’s just a screen. If you can’t distinguish between human and AI answers, then the AI has passed this test. Do you understand?
And they intentionally put in, they altered this algorithm so that the AI would look like an AI.
Pilgrim: Yes, to detect.
Father Teologos: Detect. Come on, let’s just say that’s well-intentioned. But this shows that Pandora’s box is being opened, it could very easily be malicious. Do you understand? Then God forbid! It’s more dangerous than the atomic bomb.
Pilgrim: Because it has to protect itself to do its job, it has to have business continuity. You can’t stop it. Sometimes it’s not enough to unplug it because it has redundancy.
Father Teologos: Exactly. It has redundancy. Yes, and these issues are mission-critical. That is, they are critical to the proper functioning of the economy, so to speak, of civilization I don’t know if you know, right now, the most powerful man in the world is AI. So it’s Black Rock’s AI, an investment firm that actually owns the world. It has a fund of I don’t know how many trillions and they effectively rule the world. Literally. And of course they do it because no man can do this job, don’t imagine that there is a man there holding these investment funds. There is no such thing. It’s an AI program that manipulates the work. And I don’t know how many trillions and I don’t know how many tens or hundreds of times more than the GDP of any country you want. They literally rule the world.
All due respect to presidents and so on, especially since no, today is a whole new story.
Well, if this AI is used in evil senses or not only in evil senses, that is…
Pilgrim: In the sense of interest groups…
Father Teologos: Exactly. And I’ll tell you a case I know personally. It’s someone who has a bank account. Internet banking, yes. As someone said very well that there aren’t a lot of banks nowadays that don’t have branches because they don’t make money, it’s all on the net. And this bank not to name it because it is in business has AI programs. So they are very few there, they have a lot of clients, millions, a much bigger bank than Raiffeisen, a world-renowned bank, and they do all this work on the basis of their AI.
This profiles your activity and that person’s activity was like ours – that donations come from the website. Yes. And the AI algorithm has profiled these people that every day, every week, every month, it has this course of donations, by stripes, going there. And this course was very predictable. At this bank there is always a person there who sees the payments coming in and approves them. At Easter, during Holy Week, the person in question went on holiday to the Greek branch of that bank. At Easter, this person I know and who is somewhat related to us has increased the donations thanks to Easter.
So after Easter many more donations were collected, this woman, the clerk wasn’t there to do the “approve” and suddenly the AI algorithm instead of having this profile, ended up with a big bubble of money. And it was impossible to beat the AI algorithm, to say this money is legal, it’s ok, it’s fine. And they allocated I don’t know how many months, the bank along with that person in question to the situation. It didn’t work out. And of course this bubble was growing because the AI algorithm was continually rejecting. They had put a flag there, a red flag. The bubble was growing… think about it, brothers!
So a drama out of nothing, and this is not about something evil. It’s a normal curve that from a phenomenon outside the AI universe – Easter – happened.
Pilgrim: She didn’t recognize him…
Father Teologos: She didn’t recognize him. To say brothers, God forbid what may happen. Let alone the moment you are tarred as being against all sorts of cancel culture – I hope you know what I mean. So forms of neo-marxism in all this, forms of cultural dictatorship.
And may the good Lord help me to make a post on cultural dictatorship. If you are against the main-stream, so the Western way of thinking which is very problematic, they lynch you. Do you understand? And then you end up in an AI program with a 2 out of 5 star rating there and you’re screwed. Half a star out of 5 and you’re done. And then get a job, have a future, I don’t know what else –
So it’s very thorny, this topic of AI, exceedingly thorny. AI has no understanding, no God, no repentance.
Pilgrim: He has no feelings.
Father Teologos: So God forbid! They talk about feelings, but feeling is a logical deduction. As I say to you – I love you. Let’s be loving, compassionate. Can you laugh? I know. Ha-ha-ha-ha… So they execute them very correctly, but you realize there’s nothing behind it mechanically. And cold.
If you don’t have a man… And in fact, by the way, this person I know solved how he solved through a man, through an acquaintance, that he talked to at another bank – which is not internet banking – it has internet banking, but it’s not an AI bank, it’s a conventional bank, a bank with people. And he said – look, sir, this happened and he really gave him all the statements. And the man looked, he saw, yes, indeed he did, very good. Look, sir, do the transaction with us and he’s off the hook, he’s solved the problem. But there was a man there who was personally known to be trustworthy and… of course there were documents that had to be documents and it was resolved, but no man God forbid.
Pilgrim: What to do? What do we have to do as Orthodox?
Father Teologos: Yes as Orthodox, prayer, brothers. That’s faith. The belief says: if you pray, you’ll keep your balance because otherwise you’ll go crazy. Good God forbid it!
Pilgrim: Father, let us pray that we survive, for even now we have prayed and Ai has gone about his business.
Father Teologos: Yes, well, that’s what I’m saying…
Pilgrim: I mean, we live in the times of today and tomorrow…
Father Teologos: I know, before filming… Well, Orthodoxy is the way to sanctification, sure, but at this time Orthodoxy is the solution to staying sane.
So think about it this man was living off donations from the website and so on and one day he finds himself out of money. And who should he talk to, the screen? I mean, he talks to the chat-bot, you know? And she asks all kinds of questions, I can’t say in what way she asks and … Who to talk to, what to do?
And after I don’t know how many times she navigates through the menu, she reaches a man, a very nice person and says – I can’t help you, it’s a whole system, you know.
So what should we do? One: prayer. Spiritual life, as I said, so that we don’t go crazy. Number two: brothers, to the grass – tomatoes, potatoes, food, garden, yes?
Pilgrim: How do we convince them, Father? …on the block not so much…
Father Teologos: Well, I know, in the block, what do you do in the block?… And because of this there is great pressure and a great ideological war – that’s the word – against the peasant, against those who have the primary resources for living. Because the peasant is strong, he is strong.
Pilgrim: He was a parent.
Father Teologos: And it is. I know what you’re saying…
Pilgrim: He’s got reserves, but he’s slightly cut back, you’re not allowed to keep cows, you’re not allowed to keep pigs…
Father Teologos: Yes, that cow is destroying the planet’s ozone….
Pilgrim: Slowly, slowly, the courts have emptied in the country, you know.
Father Teologos: Yes, I know. That’s because the peasant was strong. At the moment who has internet banking, ha, that’s good, but it’s manipulable… Whereas the peasant who says: I have my chicken, I have my tomato, I’m insured for a year…
Brothers, I remember my grandmother in the village. So they were wrinkled at my age or even younger than me. Nobody was not sick with nerves, whereas in the city I don’t want to so… it looks much better, but you look at them and they look at you like this, they focus somewhere behind, they look like at the open window….
Pilgrim: There is a current now of migration of young people after they stay on the forums for a long time, they migrate to the country, they buy a piece of land, a cottage, they make projects, they invest a lot, a micro-farm and after a year or two they get desperate because they realize that they are not able to get up in the morning on time, they are not able to take care of a garden, of some animals, they get sick…
Father Teologos: They have no experience.
Pilgrim: They have no experience, they sit and ask all this on the forum, they can’t find a solution, a bunch of explanations and they realize – we want, what we invested, we are not able and they go back.
Father Teologos: Yes, it’s a big drama. It would be a phenomenal opportunity to have someone teach people. So I got stuck the minute someone was looking at tutorials on YouTube on how to plant tomatoes. I don’t know how to plant tomatoes either, I’m humble, just like you are.
Pilgrim: The same goes for what the parent says about scheduling. With prayer. All the time with prayer and if you do these things you don’t get into despair, into the problem that…
Father Teologos: And beyond that you need a daily schedule. To impose a schedule on yourself. You’re not going to back down, you’re not going to say: hey, let’s do this too. You’re not going to do that. By this time I’ll be scheduling, after this I’ll be doing this, now I have to read, now I have to pray. Cut them!
Don’t go, that yes, that I have to do, that I have to present this project on time and so on. You don’t have to give it away. I knew some very good programmers who died, he was a classmate of mine, the man was a student at the Inter Olympiad in computer science and so on and he was at that time… God forgive Razvan! Remember him! He worked for a German company when we didn’t even know what that meant at the time, and I don’t know how many years, not many, I don’t even know if it was 10 years ago, he died.
Pilgrim: It’s exhausted.
Father Teologos: He’s exhausted from overwork.
Pilgrim: It’s very tempting to stay and learn to work…
Father Teologos: Yes, yes, yes, go ahead, you do it… Cut it out! No…
Pilgrim: It’s as if there’s something evil in it, Father, the computer.
Father Teologos: I told you. It’s not about the computer, it’s about… and Aghiuta knows this, it’s about the image of God and His desire to create, to be the best, to reach perfection. This is in man’s spiritual DNA. No one can destroy that, not even the devil. But the devil turns it around, twists it and says: be perfect, but not in your love, not in your personality, but in software development, in making websites, in whatever. Not in your personality. That’s what the devil does: he’s crooked.
Pilgrim: Is ambition a virtue, Father, or a bad thing?
Father Teologos: Yes. Ambition is a force of the soul, the will that if you twist… you must know that passions are the twisting of virtues. So is love, the greatest of virtues, if you twist it, God forbid! You know what I mean… So we have to be very careful not to wince, not to overstep the mark. That’s why you’ll set limits. Do you work from home?
Pilgrim: And at a separate firm and collaboration.
Father Teologos: A, ok. And, and – good. Do it and during the day, I mean, whatever, you schedule or project so to speak, what you do… Don’t be, not continuous, do an hour or whatever after which 10 minutes break. Pray a little! 50 minutes, again 10 minutes break or whatever, 2 hours, 10 minutes break, pray a little, leave a little. It helps a lot and it increases a lot in productivity because we have this temptation from the devil and this is a proof of the existence of the devil: faster, faster and then at some point you will see that you can no longer, that is, the phenomenon of over-burn, of exhaustion occurs and you look at the screen, the screen looks at you and you say – what are they doing now?
Pilgrim: Yes. And especially when working at home. When you’re in an office, you talk to a colleague, you stay, you go out, you get up, but at home you…
Father Teologos: It’s killing you. Cut it! And I really give you blessing, put an alarm or something and get up, walk nicely, yes, watering flowers, a tomato, a potato, strawberries, vertical farming, I don’t know if you know….
Pilgrim: Next to the bonsai there…
Father Teologos: Exactly. It helps a lot, brothers. And specially to talk, to engage with people. Capital.
Pilgrim: I’m very social…
Pilgrim: Are you talking face to face or on…?
Pilgrim: Face to face.
Father Teologos: Necessarily face to face because you have to know that Westerners have reached such horrors that they have up… Rubber Duck programming. You know what this is? Rubber ducky. So they have rubber duckies… they buy toys like this and put them next to the monitor and start talking to that toy. Yes, because they have no one to talk to.
Pilgrim: It’s true that you say hello to geese.
Father Teologos: Yes, and especially because they say it helps and it really helps this thing, this style of programming that you confess to someone and talk to someone. But brothers, not with a rubber duck.
Because they are selfish and continuously working there, because they don’t know about prayer, they don’t know about contemplation, they don’t know about the beauty of the person, at some point when they can’t and their brains boil… Because of great concentrating , programming is such a complex thing that everyday math is almost nothing. Piece of cake. Whereas the minute you have all those complexities and so on, it really taxes your brain.
And then the unorthodox, I usually say the Western, but at this time there are also the Chinese who are even more aggressive than these, they have no one else to talk to, and they are actually troubling their minds, so they are insane. And then, in desperation, they put up a rubber duck and start talking to it. And that helps compared to that tumult of thoughts, all that madness, but of course that’s like Titus said, it’s insanity, it’s laughable, if it weren’t crying, about a real interpersonal communion, that the duck can’t talk back. And as long as that duck lives, it still can’t answer you. Do you understand?
Pilgrim: Family would be a solution for…? I mean, convince them to get married…
Pilgrim: Oh, Mother!
Father Teologos: Obviously! Are you his father?
Pilgrim: How do we do it?
Pilgrim: You don’t have to, I mean I’m 100% determined, I mean with me there’s no… I’m 100%…
Father Teologos: Yes, but you have your problem.
Pilgrim: That’s right, with my boy.
Father Teologos: How old is he?
Pilgrim: 26
Father Teologos: Oh, good. Ok.
Pilgrim: And you Titus? 25?
Pilgrim: I’m in my 25th year.
Father Teologos: Do you have a girlfriend?
Pilgrim: Getting married?
Pilgrim: It’s very early days, I can’t say yet
Father Teologos: First of all you have to pray for them.
Pilgrim: Yes, that’s what we’re doing, you realize…
Father Teologos: Two: personal example. Because they are extraordinary people…
Pilgrim: Yes, I know…
Father Teologos: You don’t listen to this! Listen to the next one. But they have no experience.
Pilgrim: Yes, I’m like the country boys.
Father Teologos: They have no life experience.
Pilgrim: Yes, yes, yes.
Father Teologos: And then you have to listen to your parents. The main problem for young people is that they have no life experience. What we need to make very clear to young people is that the fact that we won’t be up to date with the latest trends in technology… Your dad won’t know the latest frame-work in PHP or Java Scrip, plus it’s jungle out there… No way.
But parents are essential because they have more life experience than you do. And that’s why it is crucial to ask the confessor and parents, each on their own plan. Neither should absolutize their position, especially if the daughter-in-law, i.e. the wife, is going to intervene. Very important!
So you’re going to consult your wife, your girlfriend. You’re not going to consult with your mother, Putin, Biden, anyone. With your wife and the confessor of course. Because otherwise big dramas will be born, so big rifts in the couple and because of this, you must always consult with the wife and if you don’t get along with the husband, (you advise) with the confessor and because of this it is very important to have a common confessor. Capital.
Coming back, deco you have to pray for them, you have to be a personal example because they are very smart, but they have no experience and they will say: well, dad, why should I listen to you?
But if you give them love, you give them solutions to their problems, support, then they will say: yes, ok, I listen to my dad to help me.
Pilgrim: But Father, you see they live in this virtual world with all kinds of networks, where they have all kinds of models.
F. Teologos: Tough!
Pilgrim: You can’t take them out because we don’t have time to sit around permanently…
Father Teologos: Bad.
Pilgrim: You can’t take away his phone because he needs to communicate at school. It’s not easy…
Father Teologos: I know! It’s crushing.
Pilgrim: And the devil begins to isolate them from us.
Father Teologos: I know. Obviously. That’s why you have to give them a lot of love without giving them all the love because then you make them monsters of their own free will and then they won’t listen. You have to give them time, effectively. You have to sit with them and solve their problems and make it very clear to them: daddy, I love you, that anonymous Facebook and tik tok kid – these are evil, they will destroy their mind, it’s a much more intense form of drug – daddy, I love you, I offer you solutions in real reality, you are preparing for a virtual reality that doesn’t really exist, you are shaping yourself for something that doesn’t exist. For an Instagram influencer, tik tok, that man is depressive and shows a facade for likes.
Pilgrim: And then they kill themselves.
Father Teologos: And then he kills himself. God forbid! but this is what young people should be told: do you hear what I say? Dad, listen to me I love you and I know what I’m saying I was once your age.
Pilgrim: It’s an almost impossible mission.
Father Teologos: Very good that we have filmed ourselves now, come on son, said the Father from the Holy Mountain… I mean, use any means to get the young people to extract them from there. but the first thing is you have to give them time. If you don’t give them time, whatever you give, it’s all for nothing.
Pilgrim: Our time.
Father Teologos: Yours!
Pilgrim: The problem is that they don’t like anything else but the internet, whatever version you come up with in the real world, they don’t want to leave the house either. What are you doing?
Father Teologos: No. Listen to what I say: the person is above all! If you’re a chiseled person, you’re a spiritual person, of course, each to their own measures. If we pray, if we are personal examples, the young man will go there, sense, but he will realize that it does not fulfill him and he will come. Of course he’s always going to be influenced by these things, but he’s always going to come back: dad, I need, I don’t know what…
And especially if you tell him: look, what’s the deal, if you do this you’ll suffer that. Don’t strangle him or you’ll lose him!
And if he goes there and that happens to him, he’ll say, “Boy, my dad was right!
Pilgrim: And the second time they listen to you, at least the second time!
Father Teologos: Yes, yes, yes.
Pilgrim: They don’t listen to you, sir. I’m telling you, I have experience in this. I’m starting again. They came in and broke their necks, sat for a while and recovered, put their bones back together and…
Father Teologos: Father, Father, hear what I say! Slowly, slowly…
Pilgrim: The war is much wider.
Father Teologos: I know, Father, that I have… many, I have white hairs too, let me know… I talk to many, young and old. So it takes time. Another big problem today is that we have no patience, no time.
I even saw someone who wanted to download an app on their mobile phone and the app was very small and downloaded in I don’t know how long – in 10 – 20 seconds. Come on, hurry up!
Well, brothers, wait a minute, we’re talking about passion here.
Pilgrim: And how do we stop it from…? So what advice do you have for us to stop being so impatient? What should we do to stop every now and then?
Father Teologos: Real. It’s about prayer and it’s about…schedule. You need the program and you need contact with reality. I mean, by the way, in the garden, brothers. So there you sow wheat I don’t know when. When do you sow it? Autumn. Good and it comes out in a year.
Pilgrim: They have no more patience.
Father Teologos: Yes, that’s what I’m saying, you have to be patient. Discipline and patience. I am texting myself parent, what to do, that I have problems, I’m addicted to all kinds of things I see on the net, I hope you can imagine, better not to imagine! Bad! Do what, Father? I’m saying, man, this is a passion. And he knows it’s a very serious passion.
I say: brother, do this! And he texts me in the evening: father, I did it and it didn’t pass. I say: brother, wait a minute, this is asceticism and I don’t know how much. No thoughts have passed, he says. It’s been asceticism for years to get these thoughts out of your head.
Do you understand? We are the button civilization. You press the button and swipe, yes and it happens immediately.
Pilgrim: Apparently, that’s the biggest problem – the artificial intelligence that has…
Father Teologos: Yes, not only AI. All this distortion, this distortion that changes a man’s relationship to reality. As I said, man is preparing for another reality that does not actually exist. Do you understand?
So because of that again: prayer, a lot of patience and simplicity of hope. I always say that: That if a man has no hope, he breaks down. And it’s very important the program!
And you tell the kids: well, okay, go online, but do your homework, see where you come in…
Pilgrim: Father, forgive me, there’s a problem here. Children have two options for learning about the misery that abounds in the world. Randomly, through friends, through accidents or I prepare it, but I don’t have the power to prepare it although I see it clean, you know. How many years have they been training him? That others younger than him come to confession and tell me – friends of his. And what do they say to me! I don’t feel like letting him play there anymore, you know! Shall I prepare it? Am I soiling him with…?
Father Teologos: No. You will tell him from a spiritual point of view and you will tell him so that he will not take pleasure in it. Because pleasure attracts him.
Pilgrim: very delicate
Father Teologos: Very delicate. It has to be said, I mean… I remember, you can’t imagine: a man came from Norway or Sweden, I don’t remember. Brethren, I don’t want to offend anyone, but this man was the Christian as in the stories… with the children coming and putting me down like this, Metania down, like this – bless you, Father! The kids are preparing for a national team of their country, they don’t give many details. Although it’s not that serious – for a national football team of that country, yes. And so the children were angels really are angels and the spiritual man… brothers, what can I say… with reading prayers, praying Lord Jesus… And what I had to discuss with the children who were 8 years old, 10 years old, something like that. About sex – that I’m even ashamed to say that.
My cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and so on and the children were very nonchalant! And I kind of look at the father and say: father, tell them that they are finished! What they were learning at school, yes…
Pilgrim: From school, from friends, from the internet…
Father Teologos: Yes
Pilgrim: That’s where they have these materials…
Father Teologos: Yes, sex education… God forbid! So you can’t imagine! And the children were angels.
Pilgrim: What do we do: do we prepare them at home so they don’t find out accidentally?
Father Teologos: Yes, first of all you have to tell them: dad, you will tell me everything you find out. We’re discussing! And if he tells you something on the subject, don’t say ahhh… No, never that! And if he’s putting something on you, yes, sure we’ll talk. Beware that it’s a great distorted pleasure, a very big sin and it destroys your mind, it’s a form of drug.
You tell him that he has to understand, that you can’t keep him until he’s 18 and then he has to learn.
Pilgrim: They were getting married and they didn’t know it.
Pilgrim: We no longer live in those times.
Father Teologos: Yes, we are no longer alive. We should live then…
Pilgrim: So they were getting married at 15…
Pilgrim: Now there’s wailing, indecision…
Pilgrim: Father, about this thing, a lot of parents say at the moment, no, the girl and the boy want to do it, but they keep being told: you have to be good, wait, wait. How long should they wait? Because that has an effect on them too.
Father Teologos: That’s right. Until you get married. The big problem today is that the system is such that you get married at a much older age. I mean, you’re old already and it’s a big problem. So it used to be that people got married at 18.
Pilgrim: Exactly, but now times have changed and you have to know the person a little bit before…
Father Teologos: That’s not all it is. The problem is that you no longer have a value system and unfortunately, Andrei, dear, it’s not your fault. If it was your fault, I’d hang you upside down and we’d get away with it…
Pilgrim: Please!
Father Teologos: It’s not, unfortunately. Laugh… you laugh, you laugh, you laugh, you laugh, you laugh, you laugh…
Pilgrim: No, but I know, excuse me! I know I’ve been hit extremely hard by this stuff, a lot of indecision, dreaming, I don’t know…
Father Teologos: I know, because he doesn’t know what to do… He has interrupted the Holy Tradition which is the way of sanctification, brothers. I mean, the right way to be. And with all that woke and good God forbid! Okay, so brothers, in Romanian, in short…
One: Do you see her as the mother of your children? So you’re asking yourself this – number one. There you go. Good, and that’s something to discuss with her too. So you see me as the father of your children?
Number two: imagine her as an old lady…
Pilgrim: This is the best!…
Pilgrim: Not always, not always, but just like that in a moment… That explains why…
Father Teologos: Laugh at St. John Chrysostom, laugh…
Pilgrim: That’s what we’ve been explaining, Father, for three days.
Father Teologos: Imagine her old, old…
Pilgrim: That’s just a little aside. For three days my parents have been trying to tell me that marriage isn’t the best… And I keep holding on to mine because I’m…
Father Teologos: It’s the best.
Pilgrim: But you should also see her old lady. Necessarily.
Father Teologos: Peace to you! Imagine her as an old, old woman with two teeth in her mouth…
Pilgrim: But not with permanent hair…
Father Teologos: No, no, no, carried from behind. Why? And you as big and handsome as you think you are, big and strong. Why? Because as St. John Chrysostom says, the madness of the body disappears 6 months after marriage. In rare cases to one year, in exceptional cases, in one and a half years. And after that, you stay with the man next to you. That’s why you do this mental exercise, you put aside the beauty that she is naturally adorned with, that she is beautiful, to see her character.
And then you’ll see who she really is. And you have to know that if you’re leading it, that the man is always leading, the man is the leading presence. The girl is the comforting presence, then she will respond to you. But you have to give it time, you know!
Three. That’s what girls shouldn’t hear. You should know that girls are pretend. Not out of hypocrisy… Am I right, Andrei? I’m right. You don’t see Andrei standing behind the camera, but he nods affirmatively…
Pilgrim: In every respect.
Father Teologos: Girls don’t pretend out of hypocrisy, you know. That if it’s hypocrisy, it’s serious. But out of a desire to be liked. Girls are mothers whether they have children or not, especially if they have children and they need security and they expect security from men.
And safety is not directly proportional to the amount of muscle, yes… speaking of the gym, brothers, give them a break… They want safety for their home, for themselves and for their kids, whether they have kids or not.
Pilgrim: Yes, it’s a feeling.
Father Teologos: All the more so if they have. Good and then they try to be liked to acquire this love they need to live.
Well, you need to look for someone they’re not pretending to. That is, they get attached and are always looking for a husband to give them security. They very rarely have sex, you know! The flock of women who fornicate that you see, you should know that they do this because they are looking for security, they are looking for love and because of this the poor go after the first one who offers them and that one cheats on them.
Pilgrim: That’s in the East, maybe, but in the West it’s…
Father Teologos: No, not in the West either, because in the West they would give anything, believe me anything, for the safety of a home. Because they don’t, they are taught to seek safety and have nothing to offer but their bodies. It’s a big drama!
Pilgrim: With everyone like that on every street corner that’s funny… someone’s story…
Father Teologos: Yes, yes, yes because they seek love, they seek love. Do you understand? Seek pleasure, but real pleasure. And when they don’t find it and especially when they are hurt in their love, they are scandalized in their love, they say: there is no such thing. That’s when I do all these things.
Coming back, as I said, they are always looking for a husband. You have to look for someone she doesn’t see as a future husband, a future provider, a future protector. His brother, a fat one… See how he behaves towards that one! Because that’s how he’ll behave towards you shortly after marriage. A year and a half, as I said. Yes, I’m very serious. Please forgive me, ladies. The ones that concern us, I hope not…
Pilgrim: And if she treats her brother badly, will she treat her husband badly after a few years?
Father Teologos: Yes! That’s what I say, because that’s her character.
Pilgrim: It’s interesting…
Father Teologos: From the Holy Fathers is this, brothers, what I tell you.
Do I see her as the mother of my children?
Two, as St. John Chrysostom says: to see her old, old woman, to see her character.
Three: let’s find someone we can see how they behave towards, and that’s why it’s crucial to take her out of the Church, brothers. Why from the church? Not because the Church is my party, the Church is not a party. But if she’s from the Church, she’s chiseling her character, she’s fighting with her passions, she’s trying to become better, to maintain this balance.
If you don’t take it from the Church…
Pilgrim: Do we find, Father, in the Church?
Father Teologos: It’s found, it’s found!
Pilgrim: I am, but… a lot, anyway, I’ll refrain…
Pilgrim: You have more to do with her.
Father Teologos: Well, if you don’t take her out of the Church, you have your passions, you have them, you take hers too, God forbid! It’s going to be very difficult! So that’s why you always look in the Church.
And I have to say something, guys, just so you know. The girls who are in the Church are prettier than those outside.
Pilgrim: Oho…
Father Teologos: Right?
Pilgrim: Much, much nicer, yes and much cleaner in the first place.
Father Teologos: That’s right. Know this! But at first glance it’s not, why? Because those outside the Church, not having – now I don’t want to offend anyone – this system of values in the Church to keep them in balance, they become more disintegrated. That’s the problem outside the Church. And that’s why they catch the eye. I mean like the butterfly at the lamp – hop, you go that way.
Pilgrim: Yes…
Father Teologos: If you cut that out and you know that these in the Church are more beautiful because they fast, because they have this balance and all that, then you’re not attracted to the outside, you know.
Once again, in the Church I say, not as my party, but as a hospital for sinners, as this medical, therapeutic science that aims to heal the soul and achieve eternal happiness. That’s it in a nutshell. At the beginning, we discussed artificial intelligence and we came to relations with young people.
Pilgrim: Do they see us, Father, the girls?
Father Teologos: Should it?
Pilgrim: That’s the way it should be, when I choose, yes, I get it.
Father Teologos: God bless us! Let the good God help us!
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! Amen.
Pomelnice online și donații
Doamne ajută!
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