Justinian said:
God is the only judge of a person's holiness...not we sinners. I am in no position to judge whether or not my priest or my bishop is luminary. I obey, because in the end, as ostonvasi says, our obedience is to God through our bishops and priests. There is also the story of the monk whose elder was not a holy man at all--and who abused him, mocked him, set him to impossible tasks, etc. Nevertheless, the monk achieved theosis through his obedience, and after his elder's repose, God granted him a vision of his elder in hell. Such was the grace and humility of that saint that he prayed to God to deliver his elder from torment, and after much fasting and prayer for his elder, God granted him to see that his elder was delivered from hell. The point is, the saint achieved his holiness through obedience to an unholy man--because in the end, his obedience was to God.
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