Recorded speech of the Abbot, Archimandrite George of our Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory of the Holy Mountain at Stratoni of Halkidiki, on 14/27 January 1989, at the invitation of the Most Reverend Nicodemus, Metropolitan of Hierissou, of the Holy Mountain and Ardameri. Taken from the magazine "Saint Gregory" of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory, of the Holy Mountain.
I
am very pleased to see at this evening's meeting, a holy and blessed
gathering, the honourable presbytery led by the preacher of the Holy
Metropolis, but also yourselves, a pious crowd, who through the blessing
and invitation of your Most Reverend Metropolitan and Head Shepherd,
are gathered here this evening so that all of us may confess our true
faith to our God-Man Lord. Your presence this evening is not only the
attendance for a lecture but also the witnessing of the Orthodox faith,
which my humility will profess by mouth while you profess it with your
presence. And as the Lord said in the Holy Bible: "Whoever confesses Me
in front of men, I shall confess him in front of My Father in Heaven".
The
purpose of our life, as you know, is our union with God. As the Holy
Bible says, man was created "in the image and the likeness" of God,
namely to unite with Him. The likeness of man with God, our holy Fathers
call "theosis".
Can you see how great the purpose of man's life is? Not to simply
become better, more virtuous, more courteous by God, by grace. And what
is the difference between Holy God and the deified man? That our Maker
and Creator is God in nature according to His nature, while we become
gods by grace, for although by nature we remain men, by His grace we are
deified.
When
man unites with God by grace, he receives also the experience of God;
he can sense God. Otherwise how could we unite with God without feeling
His grace?
Before
the first-created ones in Paradise sinned, they could converse with
God, they could feel divine grace. God created man to be priest,
prophet, king. Priest, to accept His existence and the world as gifts of
God, and to offer in return himself and the world to God
eucharistically and doxologically. Prophet, to understand the mysteries
of God. King, to reign over material creation and himself. To use
nature, not as a tyrant but as a ruler. Not to abuse creation but to use
it thankfully. Today's man does not use nature logically but instead
acts self-centeredly and foolishly, and as a result, destroys his
natural surroundings and within it, destroys himself.
If
man had not sinned and replaced his love and obedience to God with his
selfishness, he would not have separated himself from God; he would have
been king, priest and prophet. However, Holy God who hurts for His
creature, wishes to return man back to the state where he can again
become a true priest, prophet and king. To be able to again attain the
experience of God and unite with Him. It is for this, that in the
narrations of of the Old Testament we see God gradually preparing
mankind's salvation with the coming of His Only Son. He thus provides
the gifts like those that man had before his fall - for example, the
gift of prophesy. In the Old Testament there were men, like the prophet
Elijah, the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Moses, who received the
prophetic gift and who sighted the glory of God. However this gift was
not generally given to all, nor was it for the entire duration of their
lives; it was a partial grace that God had given them for a specific
purpose and for circumstantial occasions. Namely, whenever God wished
these just men to proclaim the coming of Christ to the world or to
declare His Will, they were given the capacity to receive certain
experiences and revelations.
However,
the prophet Joel had prophesied that a time will come when God will
bestow the grace of the Holy Spirit - not only to select men and for a
specific purpose - but to all people. Here is what the prophesy of Joel
says: "........I shall pour My Spirit upon all flesh", I shall give My
Spirit to every person, "and your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions"
(Joel 2:28). Namely, my people will see spiritual visions; they will see
the mysteries of God. This pouring forth of the Holy Spirit took place
during the day of the Pentecost. On that day, the grace of the Holy
Spirit was bestowed upon the entire assembled Church. This grace was not
bestowed during the period of the Old Testament because Christ was not
yet incarnate. The communion of man with God had to first be restored,
for God to give the grace of the Holy Spirit to all the people. This
communion our Saviour Christ achieved through His incarnation.
The
first union that God had with man in Paradise was not hypostatic, which
is why it failed. The second union is hypostatic namely personal. In
the hypostatic person of Christ, human nature was united, undisturbed,
properly, indivisibly, inseparably, with the divine nature forever. No
matter how much men sin, it is no longer possible for human nature to be
separate from God, because in Jesus Christ, the God-man, it is united
forever with the divine nature.
For
man therefore to be able to receive the Holy Spirit, to become priest,
king and prophet, to know the mysteries of God and to feel God, he must
become a member of the Body of Christ, of the Church. Jesus Christ is
the only one, true and perfect priest, king and prophet. What Adam and
Eve were created for and had failed on account of sin and selfishness,
was effected by Christ. Now all of us, united with Christ, can partake
in the three offices of Christ, the royal, the prophetic and the
priestly. At this juncture we must clarify that with Holy Baptism and
Chrismation, a Christian receives priesthood, but not the special
priesthood that is obtained through tonsuring and through which the
officiators of the Church receive the grace to perform the Sacraments in
the Church and to shepherd the lay flock.
Laity,
however, is not only the non-priests but also those who through Holy
Baptism and Chrismation receive the right to be members of the people of
God and the Body of Christ, and to participate in the three offices of
Christ. In fact the more healthy, conscious and active member of the
people of God and of the Body of Christ that the Christian is, the more
closely he participates in the hierarchal, prophetic and royal right of
Christ, and that far greater experience and feeling of His grace that he
receives, we can see in the lives of the Saints of our Faith.
Forms of experience of the grace of God
What
are the experiences of grace that a Christian can receive so that his
faith and Christian life will not be for him something mental and
external, but a true spiritual feeling of God, a communion with God, a
habitation of God in which the complete man participates.
It
is first and foremost an inner information that through faith in God,
he will find the true meaning of his life. He feels that his faith in
Christ is a faith that comforts him internally; that it gives meaning to
his life, and guides him, that it is a strong light that illumines him.
When he perceives the Christian faith within himself this way, he
begins to live the grace of God. God is not something external to him.
Another
experience of the grace of God man receives when he hears in his heart
God's invitation to repent for his dark and sinful deeds, to return to
the Christian way of life, to confess, to enter the path leading to God.
This voice of God that he hears inside him is a preliminary experience
of the grace of God. All the years that one lives far away from God, one
cannot understand anything.
He
begins to repent: he confesses to the Confessor for the first time in
his life. After confession he feels a great peace and joy that he has
never felt before. And then he says: "I have been comforted". This
comfort is the visitation of divine grace in a soul that has repented
and one that God wishes to comfort.
The
tears of a repenting Christian when he prays and asks to be forgiven by
God or when he confesses are tears of repentance. Those tears are very
comforting. They bring lots of peace to the soul of man. Man will then
feel that these are the gift and the experience of divine grace.
The
deeper man repents and reaches a greater love for God and prays with a
godly eros, whereby most of his tears of repentance become tears of joy,
tears of love and divine eros. The tears that are above and beyond the
tears of repentance are also proof of a loftier visitation and
experience of the grace of God.
We
approach to commune the Body and Blood of Christ having repented,
confessed, with fasting and spiritual preparation. After receiving Holy
Communion what do we feel? Deep peace in our soul, and spiritual joy.
This too is a visitation of Divine grace and an experience of God.
There
are however other, superior experiences of God. The supreme experience
of God is the vision of the Uncreated Light. This was the Light the
disciples of the Lord had seen on the Mount of the Transfiguration. They
saw Christ shine like the sun with a heavenly and divine light, which
is not a material, created light, like the sun and other created lights.
It was the Uncreated Light, namely the Light of God, the Light of the
Holy Trinity. Those who are completely cleansed of their passions and
sins, and who pray with a sincere and clean prayer, are the ones who are
deemed worthy of this great experience of seeing the Light of God in
this lifetime. This is the Light that will be shining in the eternal
life. They not only see it from now, but they are also seen in this
Light even now, for this Light envelops the Saints. We do not see it
with our eyes, but the clean of heart and saints do see it. The bright
halo that is painted around the heads of the Saints is the Light of the
Holy Trinity that has illumined and sanctified them.
In
the life of Saint Basil the Great we read that when praying in his
cell, they could see him entirely enveloped by the Light, and his cell
also was flooded by that Uncreated Light. We see the same thing in the
lives of many saints.
Therefore
for someone to be found worthy of seeing the Uncreated Light, is one of
the highest experiences bestowed by God, and is not given to every one
but to very few - to those who have progressed in spiritual life.
According to Abba Isaac, in each generation, barely one person manages
to clearly see the Uncreated Light. There are however even in our day
Christians who are worthy of this unique experience of God.
Of
course we need to stress that everyone who claims to have seen the
light does not mean that he has seen the Uncreated Light. The devil
deceives them, and shows them other lights - demonically or
psychologically - fooling them into believing that it is the Uncreated
Light, when it is not. For this reason, every Christian that hears
something or has a certain experience, must not readily accept it as
though it comes from God, because he could be deceived by the devil. He
must however confess it to his Confessor who will then tell him whether
it is from God or if it is a deceit of demons. A lot of caution is
needed in such cases.
Determination of a pure experience of the grace of God
Let us now look at the conditions which ensure whether different experiences we have are genuine and not false.
The
first condition is that we should be persons of repentance. If we do
not repent of our sins and cleanse ourselves of our passions we cannot
see God. As the Lord says in His beatitudes, "Blessed are the clean of
heart for they shall see God". The more man cleanses himself from his
passions, repents and returns to God, the more he will feel and see God.
To
attempt to achieve experiences of God through artificial means and
methods - as is done by the heresies of Hinduism, Yoga, etc., is a
mistake. Those experiences are not from God. Those are experiences
derived through psychological means.
The
Holy Fathers tell us: "Give blood and receive spirit". In other words,
if you do not give the blood of your heart with your repentance, prayer,
fasting, asceticism, you cannot receive the grace of the Holy Spirit.
True spiritual experiences are given to those who through humility do
not ask for spiritual experiences but ask God for repentance and
salvation. To those who are humble and say, "My God, I am not worthy of
receiving a visitation of Your grace and divine and heavenly solace and
spiritual pleasures". To those however who through pride ask God to give
them experiences, He will not give them true and genuine experiences
due to their pride. So therefore the second condition is humility.
The
third condition for receiving a true spiritual experience is to be
within the bosom of the Church. Not outside the Church; because outside
the Church the devil will deceive us. When a sheep becomes separated
from the flock, it will be devoured by wolves. Within the flock there is
safety. The Christian is safe, inside the Church. However, when he
leaves the Church, he is exposed to his own deceits, and those of other
people and of the demons. We have innumerable examples of many people
who did not heed the Church and in their spiritual state, eventually
fell victim to deceit. They even believed that they saw God or that they
were visited by God when in reality the experiences they had were
demonic and destructive. It also helps greatly to offer pure and fervent
prayers. The truth is, that during the time of prayer God gives most
spiritual experiences to man, which is why those who pray with longing,
zeal and patience, receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and feel the
grace of God.
As
you may know, there is a prayer we say at the Holy Mountain and which
you may also be saying: "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me the sinner".
This prayer which is characterized as noetic, heartfelt and unremitting
when it is said with humility, with longing and persistence, brings in
the heart of man the feeling of the grace of God.
False experiences of the grace of God.
People
have false experiences of God when they believe that by themselves,
with their own powers, in heresies, in groups, in religious gatherings,
outside the Church, they can receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. They
gather and some new "prophet" acts as their leader and they believe they
are receiving the grace of God.
It
so happened that I was present at a gathering of Pentecostals in the
States in 1966 during my visit there. Their "church" was a school
assembly hall. At first, someone began to play some music with soft and
gentle sounds which, as time moved on, became increasingly more intense,
deafening and frantic, and aroused excitement in the assembly. The
music finished and the preacher started. He too began with gentle tones
and as he continued, he began to shout increasingly louder. He too
eventually created an excited atmosphere. And after all the crowd had
been subjected to auto suggestion and hysteria, they too began to shout
and move their arms about frantically, while uttering totally
unintelligible noises. I could sense that the Spirit of God was
definitely not there, given that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of peace
and not of such turmoil and excitement. The Spirit of God does not visit
through artificial and psychological means. I felt rather sorry for the
children that were there with their parents, as they were to suffer the
consequences of this mass neurosis.
A
young man who had become a monk at the Holy Mountain after first
becoming involved in Hindu Yoga (you should know that there are
approximately 500 Hindu heresies in Greece), described to me what
experiences they strive for in there. Whenever they desired to see
light, they would rub their eyes until they could see little stars.
Whenever the desired to hear unusual sounds they applied some sort of
pressure on their ears so that they could create sounds.
Similar psychological experiences that are produced artificially, are attributed by some heretics to the Holy Spirit.
Other
experiences in heretic gatherings are not only psychological. They
could also be demonic. The devil manipulates the seeking of such
experiences by some people and presents them with various "signs" that
are not from God but from them; i.e., diabolical. These people cannot
understand that they allow themselves to become victims of the devil.
They actually believe such "signs" to be heavenly and brought by the
Holy Spirit. The devil can also give them some prophetic abilities, the
way he does to the various "mediums" and "psychics". The Lord has
however forewarned us: "For false christs and false prophets will rise
and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the
elect." (Matth.24:24). They won't merely perform miracles and wonders,
or scary signs: just like the Antichrist, who will not do bad things
when he comes. He will perform good deeds, heal the sick and various
other impressive things that will deceive people, if possible even the
elect, so that they will acknowledge him as a saviour and follow him.
That
is why we must be careful. Every one who can perform signs and
prophesies is not always from God. Again as the Lord says: "Many will
say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And
then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!'" (Matth.7:22-23).
I
knew a young man who was led astray by occult and Pentecostal heresies,
who admitted that the various experiences they had when they were
members of these heresies, were obviously diabolical.
A
former Pentecostal man for example admitted that during the Pentecostal
gatherings when some "prophetess" would utter a "prophecy" he could
feel a disturbing demonic presence and that when he tried to say the
prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me the sinner", the "speaking
in tongues" would begin, and would drown out his attempt and impede him
from saying the prayer.
Given
that the devil can transform himself into an angel of light, we must be
careful with experiences. The Apostle John advises us "Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God" (1 John
4:1). Not all the spirits are from God. Those who have the Apostle
Paul's gift of discernment of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10) can discern if the
spirits are from God or from the devil. The Confessors of the Church
have this gift. That is why when we have such problems we must seek our
Confessor and he will determine the source of every experience.
Even
monastics can be deceived. We have had cases at the Holy Mountain where
monks were deceived by such experiences. For example, an angel appeared
to a monk -which was in fact the devil- and told him "Come to the peak
of Athos, so I can show you great miracles". He guided him there and he
would have fallen off the precipice, had he not invoked divine help. He
made the mistake of believing that the vision was from God when he
shouldn't have. Monastics know that when they have a vision, they must
tell it to their Elder and he will tell them if it is from God or from
the demons. Where there is pride, deceit is very possible.
About Pentecostals
The
experiences of the Pentecostals are not from God. It is for this reason
that are not enabled to enter the Church but instead, are driven away
from Her. Only the devil is interested in drawing people away from the
Church.
Furthermore,
their own divisions into numerous sub-heresies and groups is proof that
they do not comprise the One, true Church of God. Protestantism
consists of thousands of heresies. One of the protestant heresies is
Pentecostalism. In the USA alone, there are over 39 different
Pentecostal groups. Many of the Pentecostal heresies have no communion
between them. Here are the titles of some of the Pentecostal groups:
"Congregation of the Church of God of the Mountain", "Integrated
Congregation of the Church of God", "Theater Gar", "Sleepless Mission",
"Church of Mother Horn", "Church of Mother Robertson", "Jesus and
Sleepless Mission", "Remainder of the Church of God", "Fire born Church
of God's sanctity of America", "Church of Mogara Cook", "National
Spiritual Davidic Union Temple Church of God", "Church of the Square
Bible"......
If
the Spirit of God truly existed in these groups, there would have been a
union between them all; there would have been one unified Church and
not so many different and opponent groups.
Also,
some of the phenomena that take place during their assemblies, such as
shaking, dropping to the floor as if dead ("slain in the Spirit"),
screaming unrecognizable and useless utterances, are not gifts that come
from the peaceful Spirit of God. Similar phenomena are found in
idolatrous religions. They also have many similarities with occult
spiritualist phenomena.
They
also encourage a spirit of pride, by believing that the entire Church
that dates almost two thousand years is deluded, and that they are the
ones who have supposedly discovered the truth, in 1900. The first one
who created the group of Pentecostals is an American. The first
Pentecostal in Greece, Michael Gounas, preached, "After so many
centuries in the land of Greece, the onset of the visitation of God
happened like on the day of the Pentecost". According to him, the visit
of Christ started in Greece by him, the way it did on the day of the
Pentecost! All the other years there apparently was nothing. Can you see
the satanic egotism and pride?
So,
what about this "speaking in tongues" (glossolalia) gift that is so
coveted by them? Indeed, in the New Testament there is a reference to
"speaking in tongues". The holy Apostles on the day of the Pentecost
spoke to the crowds of people who had come on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
in order to tell them the Good News. The miraculous gift of the Holy
Spirit was that even though the Apostles were preaching in their own
native tongue, the foreigners in the audience (who had various,
differing national languages) were able to understand in their own
language what the Apostles were saying!
Acts, 2:1-12
When
the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and
one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from
every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude
came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in
his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to
one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is
it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?9
Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the
parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and
proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own
tongues the wonderful works of God." 12 So they were all amazed and
perplexed, saying to one another,"Whatever could this mean?"
The
gift of the speaking in tongues is a gift given by God to the Apostles
for a specific purpose: To proselytize the non Christians to the
Christian faith. The holy Apostles when speaking in tongues, did not
speak meaningless sounds like demoniacs. They spoke tongues, not any
tongues, but the tongues of those who were in Jerusalem and could not
speak the Jewish language, so that they could hear of the greatness of
God and believe. So the meaningless cries have no relation to the gift
of "speaking in tongues" which the Pentecostals maintain.
The Orthodox Church is the place of the genuine experience of the Grace of God
The
Church of the Pentecost is our Orthodox Church. And why is She? Because
She is the Church of the incarnation and humanism of Christ, of His
crucifixional death, His Resurrection and of the Pentecost. When, out of
the overall opus of Christ we isolate only one part, overemphasize it
and falsely explain it, this becomes one sided and a heresy. Only the
Church that accepts and lives the overall opus of Christ, including the
Pentecost, is the true Church of the Pentecost. Can there be
Resurrection without a Cross? Unless man crucifies himself with fasting,
prayer, repentance, humility, asceticism, can he truly see God? The
Cross is precedent in the life of Christ and of every Christian, and the
Resurrection and Pentecost follow. However, they want the Resurrection
and spiritual gifts, without "crucifying" themselves through repentance,
asceticism, fasting and obedience to the Church. That is why they do
not comprise the Church of the Pentecost.
During
every Divine Liturgy of our Church, we have another Pentecost. How does
the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ? Aren't they
transformed through the descent of the Holy Spirit? That's Pentecost!
Every Holy Altar of the Orthodox Church is the attic of Pentecost. At
every Baptism we have Pentecost. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, man
becomes a Christian and becomes one with the Body of Christ. Every
tonsuring of a Deacon, priest and of course a hierarch is a new
Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descends and makes a man an instrument of
God.
Every
confession of a Christian is again a Pentecost. The moment that the
Christian kneels before his Confessor and with humility tells him his
sins with repentance and the Confessor reads him the blessing of
forgiveness, he is forgiven by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
At
every gathering and at every mystery of the Church it is a continuation
of Pentecost, because they are performed in the presence of the Holy
Spirit. This is why almost all activities, prayers and Mysteries of the
Church begin with a prayer: Heavenly King, the Paraclete, the Spirit of
truth...... come and dwell inside us......" We ask the Paraclete to
come: the consoler, the Holy Spirit. And He comes. Wherever the Orthodox
Church meets, the true Church of Christ, there also is the grace of the
Holy Spirit.
Every Saint of our Church is a spirit-bearing man, full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, a man of Pentecost.
The
Sunday prayer requests: "Thy Kingdom come" meaning: "May the grace of
Thy Holy Spirit come". The kingdom of God is a grace of the Holy Spirit.
So it is with the Lord's Prayer also, that we seek the Holy Spirit.
The
prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner",
is also recited through the grace of the Holy Spirit. For as the Apostle
Paul says: "no-one can say Lord Jesus, if it is not said in the Holy
Spirit (1Cor 12:3). No one can invoke Jesus Christ but only through the
grace of the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore,
only the holy water of the Orthodox remains unspoiled indefinitely.
Those of you who keep holy water at home, already know that no matter
how old it is, it never spoils.
This is our faith, the true and Orthodox one.
Depart
from this faith and follow certain American Johnny-come-lately
"saviours" who believe that the Church has Her beginnings with them?
Just imagine what demonic conceit they have! The Church has existed for
over two thousand years, and yet they dare to claim that from them - the
Pentecostals and other heretics - the true faith originates!
When
in the 14th century the western monk Varlaam fought against the
Orthodox teaching on the divine energies and the Uncreated Light as
experienced on the Holy Mountain, God brought forth the Hagiorite
Hieromonk, Saint Gregory Palamas - a major theologian and teacher of the
Orthodox Faith. Just like now: if the Pentecostal heresy had not
existed, we would not have gathered here. We would not have made our
faith even stronger; we would not have confessed our faith. Thus,
whatever the heresies and the devil set out to achieve against the
Church eventually turns against them. The Apostle Paul says: " For there
must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be
recognized among you." (1 Cor.11:19). Heresies must also exist, in
order for the faith to become apparent in those who persevere in it. Now
that our holy Church is being attacked by atheism, carnal pleasures and
heresies through radio, television, newspapers and other media, this is
the time that the faithful and true Orthodox Christians and fighters
and witnesses of the Orthodox faith will appear.
In
these very critical times, any Orthodox Christian who perseveres in his
Orthodox faith in Christ, will receive great blessings and great
rewards from our Holy God. And this is because in this evil and corrupt
time he was not led astray by contemporary idolatry and false gods, nor
did he bend a knee to them, but remained steadfast and immovable in our
Orthodox Faith.
We
wish therefore that no Orthodox become a traitor, a Judas and apostate
of our holy Orthodox faith. May all those who were led astray by the
evil one due to their ignorance into deceits and heresies, be illumined
by God and return to our holy Orthodox faith, so that they may have the
hope of salvation.
We
may all be sinners but when we are within our holy Orthodox Church we
have the hope of salvation. On the contrary, even if we were "righteous"
outside the bosom of the Church, we have no hope of salvation. All of
us who are within the Church shall repent, shall confess, shall be
forgiven, and God will have mercy on us. Outside the Church who will
save us? What Holy Spirit will forgive our sins and which Church will
intercede after our death for our souls? Therefore, any Orthodox who
dies Orthodox should know he/she has a hope of salvation. However,
anyone who departs from the Church, even if he believes he has done good
works, has no hope of salvation.
For
this, our brothers, let us remain within our Orthodox Church, faithful
and immovable, with a holy stubbornness on our part so that we may all
have, with the grace of God and the blessing of the Theotokos hope for
our salvation.
- On Genuine and false experiences of the Grace of God ){kind=link}
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