On finding our place & our peace:
A brother asked, “I have found a place where my peace is not disturbed by the brethren; do you advise me to live there?”
Abba Poemen replied, “The place for you is where you will not harm the brothers.”
Commentary from Fr. Simeon:
“The place for you is where you will not harm the brothers.” Think about the power of this statement for a bit.
Often in parish life we find that there are those who come to church “for my own peace” and become violently upset when the Church does not match their preconceived notions of how things should be and, consequently, does not serve this end. When they don’t bring peace and patience with them, the lash out and bring what Abba Poemen (Pimen the Great – Пимена Великого: Aug 27) is describes as “harm the brothers.”
How many people, over the years, have left holy Orthodoxy over the rude, and mean-spirited things that are done and said in the name of creating something where “I can pray in peace?” Too many. And, even one is too many.
For those of us who are strong in our faith, the Church is not here so we can be at peace. The church is here to save us and we are here to bring each other peace, comfort and grace. We cannot do this if we are not bringing peace, love, and grace with a heart filled with anger, impatience, and hostility.
If we are to find peace, love, and grace, we must first be someone who will not be the one to bring their inner disturbances to the rest of the brethren. And the way we begin this is to set aside our own ego and, in the words of St. Herman, “from this day, from this moment, from this hour, … seek to love God above all and seek to serve His will.”
If we find our “peace” while disturbing our brothers, or “the little ones,” we all have something to fear, for Christ said, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (Lk 17:2)
April 22, 2012 (revised August 2, 2026)