Orthodox Parables and Stories: "For the sake of the children, I will stand."

Once the Elder traveled to the Holy Mountain, departing from Thessaloniki to Jeriso (the journey takes about two and a half hours). When he went to the box office, there were tickets for standing places only. There were several young boys sitting on the bus near Father Porphyrios talking cheerfully to each other.

One of the people on the bus rebuked the boys for not paying attention to the fact that an elderly monk was standing next to them. But the young men paid no attention to him at all and continued to sit as if nothing had happened. Then the man in a stern voice told one of them to get up. But none of the boys moved from their place. Full of resentment, this man became angry and gave his place to the Elder. Father Porphyrios thanked him but did not sit in the vacant seat. He traveled to Jeriso, standing.

At the end of the trip, the man asked the Elder why he did not sit in his place, and he replied, "I sacrificed myself for the children." They also did poorly, leaving a straight adult hieromonk standing and, of their own accord, did not give up their place, as they should do. If they reacted to your reproach and I was sitting in their place, or if I were in your seat, the boys would not have realized their bad behavior, but on the contrary, they would have felt right. And now that I had spent so much time before them, their conscience woke up and silently condemned them for their actions.

Only in this way can a person be saved - when he repents not because he is reproached by someone, but when he is exposed by his own conscience.