An Orthodox View of Heart Transplants - Met. Philaret of New York

Written in 1968, Met. Philaret examines the spiritual implications of the phenomenon of replacing a man's heart. It's worth noting that nothing here is said about replacement of other organs and therefore the listener should be wary to draw unnecessary conclusions from these words from Met. Philaret. Additionally, Met. Philaret does not address those who wish to be organ donors or who wish to save the life of another, such as their spouse or child. To my knowledge, this is only text addressing heart transplants from someone venerated as a saint. Please leave a comment below if you aware of other texts from saints and elders on heart and organ transplants.📖 An Orthodox View of Heart Transplantations by Met. Philaret of New Yorkhttp://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/heart_trans.aspx🎧 Will the Heterodox Be Saved? - Met. Philaret of New Yorkhttps://youtu.be/wtI3PsNKpyY🎧 Who are the True Christian Patriots? - Met. Philaret of New Yorkhttps://youtu.be/dg208EJxByk🎧 The Life of Metropolitan Philaret of New Yorkhttps://youtu.be/4rR4jJ_23RY📖 Living According to God’s Will by Met. Philarethttps://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/products/living-according-to-god-s-will📖 Metropolitan Philaret of New York: Zealous Confessor for the Faithhttps://uncutmountainpress.com/products/metropolitan-philaret-of-new-york-zealous-confessor-for-the-faith⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Met. Philaret writes:The heart is the center, the mid-point of man's existence. And not only in the spiritual sense, where heart is the term for the center of one's spiritual person, one's "I"; in physical life, too, the physical heart is the chief organ and central point of the organism, being mysteriously and indissolubly connected with the experiences of one's soul. It is well known to all how a man's purely psychical and nervous experiences joy, anger, fright, etc.,—are reflected immediately in the action of the heart, and conversely how an unhealthy condition of the heart acts oppressively on the psyche and consciousness... Yes, here the bond is indissoluble—and if, instead of the continuation of a man's personal spiritual-bodily life, concentrated in his own heart, there is imposed on him a strange heart and some kind of strange life, until then totally unknown to him—then what is this if not a counterfeit of his departing life; what is this if not the annihilation of his spiritual-bodily life, his individuality, his personal "I"? And how and as whom will such a man present himself at the general resurrection?How far from this is the radiant Christian view of life and death I Imagine a deeply-believing Christian who has labored his whole life on the fulfillment of the Lord's commandments and on the purification of his own heart, and who finally draws near to that Christian end for which he has prayed and for which he has been preparing his whole life; if suddenly one were to say to him: "Don't you want to live a while longer? Here—we will cut out your heart and put in its place a different one, perhaps an ape's—and you will live for a while yet..." What would a believing Christian answer to this but the words of the Gospel—"Get thee behind me, Satan—thou savourest not the things that be of God, but these that be of men" (St. Matt. 16: 23)._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!