St.Reverend Ambrose Optinsky

• Obedience is a blessed matter and a fast way to salvation.
• Obedience is the main Christian virtue and the Savior was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross (Phil. 2, 8). The prophet Jonah ran away from God to Tarshish, but got in a whale’s belly

Abba Dorotheus

• Wanderer’s life precedes obedience. Exploit of obedience is applied either to a body, or to a will.
• obedience causes humbleness, humbleness causes impassivity and judiciousness, judiciousness causes perspicacity, and the latter causes astuteness.

St. Reverend Sylvan

• obedient is great before God.
• The obedient soul is loved by the Holy Spirit, so he will soon cognize God and receive a gift of hearty prayer.
• Obedience is necessary not only for monks, but also for any person. Even God was obedient. The proud and arbitrary do not let grace live in themselves, so they will never have a peace of mind, and an obedient soul easily gets gifts of the Holy Spirit that give it pleasure and peace.
• It’s 35 years now that I’ve been seeing a monk who is always cheerful and looks pleasant, notwithstanding he is old. That’s because he loves obedience, and his soul relies on God’s will, so he has nothing to care of, and his soul has loved Our Lord and is contemplating Him.
• Our life is simple, but wise. The Holy Mother of God told to St. Seraphim: " Give them (nuns) duties of obedience and who will observe obedience and wisdom, those will be with you and close to Me "
• Obedient soul is loved by God; so if He likes it, He will give it whatever it would ask Him.
• exploits without obedience are followed by vanity; but the postulant does everything that was told to him, and thus has no reason of being proud.
• Obedience keeps a person from pride; gifts of the Holy Spirit are also given for obedience. That is why obedience is higher than fast and prayer.
• If (fallen) angels had kept obedience, they would be on heaven chanting God’s glory. And if Adam had kept obedience, he and his kin would also abide in paradise.

Ancient monastic regulations

• Obedience is the strongest basis of conventual orders and even salvation of souls in monasticism.