Father Arseny, A Cloud of Witnesses

"Sometimes this was a positive influence, but it also happened that being too intellectual got in the way of knowing God, of believing in him, of loving others; it got in the way of a spiritual understanding of the world and of the human soul. You could see this during the talks led by Father Arseny, you could see it in the questions that were asked and even in the heated debates. Some people lived their faith not with their soul and heart, but by rationally weighing it against the bulk of knoweldge that they had acquired. Questions and arguments continued after the talks had come to a close while people were leaving to go home. But the longer the community continued, the fewer the arguments we had. They were replaced by mutual understanding and love for each other." (p.203)