public & individual

The performance of the liturgy, which the Orthodox Church sees as the fundamental reason for its existence, is a public event in which the words and gestures of the priest, familiar to all, are repeated before the eyes of the faithful; any variation or deviation can be recognised. The deep spiritual truths of the Faith, on the other hand, were communicated to individuals by spiritual fathers who had prepared themselves through long periods of solitude and prayer.

France, Peter. Hermits: The Insights of Solitude