I don\'t think there\'s a need to delete this thread. It\'s a good discussion to have. We should always be careful and guard our spiritual freedom. Really, our spiritual father should be the first to do this, but sadly, as St. Paul reminds us, we have many teachers, but few fathers.
OrthodoxRose, if you are looking for a spiritual father, perhaps a good thing to do is familiarize yourself with the qualities of true spiritual fatherhood. I\'m not really educated in this, but, to me, they are apparent in the Desert Fathers and Gerontikon.
I once read another helpful set of criteria--encouraging people to run some tests on potential spiritual fathers just through careful observation. This person, who was a spiritual father, wrote that we should watch the priest (as most spiritual fathers are confessors) as he serves liturgy. How does he do it? Does he do it with prayer and real contrition? Or does he just go through the motions? How does he treat the chanters and servers? Is he obsessed with the exact execution of rubrics? This could be a sign of some trouble. Is he strict with himself and gentle and lenient with others? This is very good. Is he merciful? Does he practice what he preaches? Is he kind?
What was said above by RivrDotr is very good. Does the priest talk to you and show a genuine CHRISTIAN interest in what\'s happening in your life? Does he do that with others? This is important. A priest should not have favorites.
Hope this helps.
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