First, the reading of spiritual books is honorable. For what reading can compare with it? What is the honor in reading history, the works of philosophy and of famous writers of the pagan past? If true honor and glory consist in feeling oneself near to God and His saints, then it is through spiritual reading that we attain this honor and glory, for through it God speaks with us; through it the great saints converse with us, and through it we enter into communion with the entire Heavenly Kingdom. What an honor to a mortal human being and mere creation!
St. Platon, Archbishop of Kostroma
