Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Why did St. Silouan feel pain when tearing a leaf? In this rare audio recording of a sermon delivered to his monastic brotherhood at the Monastery of St. John the Baptist (Essex), St. Sophrony explains how our lives are connected like leaves on a single tree.

Essex Monastery, May 14th, 1990
English translation adapted after the Romanian version of Fr. Rafail Noica, Cuvantari Duhovnicesti II (5).

Read the English transcript of this video here: otelders.org/theology-and-spirituality/if-i-am-a-leaf-the-whole-tree-is-my-life-st-sophrony

This video has English and Romanian subtitles. Press the CC button to switch them on or off. Watch this quick-guide on how to turn on captions on your device: youtu.be/if7eELuaYtI

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