Remember Thy First Love (cf. Rev. 2:4-5): The Three Stages of the Spiritual Life in the Theology of Elder Sophrony

The path of every man toward God and his relationship with Him is unique. However, because we all share the same human nature, there are certain stages and characteristics common to our spiritual journey. Although Saint Sophrony was reluctant to make generalisations, he formulated a theory of three distinct periods in spiritual life: the period during which God, abundantly pours out His grace upon man, begetting a desire in his heart for His Person and making a covenant with him; the period of the withdrawal of the first grace, during which man is called to prove that he has not forgotten ‘his first love’ (Cf. Rev. 2:4) but faithfully does all he can to regain it; and the third period, when the grace of adoption makes him ‘an heir of God and co-heir with Christ’ (Cf. Rom. 8:17). The Elder presented the second period of spiritual dryness as an authentic spiritual event, an honour and privilege offered from On High to man, so that he may creatively transform the ‘death’ of Godforsakenness into incorruptible divine life.