Source: Cult Education Institute By Archbishop Lazar Puhalo Oct 18, 1998 Brothers and sisters, before we begin our usual question and answer time, I want to say something, first, about the meaning of “geronta” [elder; starets]. Sadly, in our day, perhaps more in North America than in Greece, but even in Greece, there has developed a new guru cult concept of “gerontes.” Alas, this cultish idea is actually cultivated by many self-styled and even acknowledged “elders.” Gerontes or elders, many of them self-appointed and self advertised, others acknowledged by monastic establishments, have begun to act and be looked upon like…