Elder Anthimos+ on Preparing for Death…
“We must prepare, so that we do not die. There is a saying, ‘If you die before you die, you will not die when you die.’ Our preparation, which should be done in all of our life, is comprised in the following four points:
“Let us constantly die to sin.
“Let us not take courage in whatever good we did to ourselves and praise ourselves.
“No matter how much we have transgressed, let us not despair, and let us know that God allows us to sin so that we can humble ourselves. Otherwise, we cannot enter 4nto the Kingdom of the heavens.”
(Quote from the Elder in ‘Elder Anthimos of St Anne’s)