The human body is just as precious as the soul. One cannot function without the other, neither can they be saved nor attain the eternal blessedness for which they were created. The body is an ally of the soul. It must, however, be subordinated to the soul and maintained in this way, such that we do not arouse the passions. All of Christian asceticism, the harsh life that the hermits of all the Christian monasteries in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Sinai, and the West led, was a battle to maintain this balance within the human being; matter led by the spirit, the body led by the soul.
—Elder Sofian