Metropolitan Athanasios on listening as the art of dialogue in marriage

The post shares a quote from Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol on the nature of dialogue in marriage. He states that marriage is a mystery of dialogue and communion between persons. The art of dialogue, he says, is not speaking but listening.

True listening means receiving the word of the other person, not merely hearing sounds, but receiving their whole being and what they truly want to communicate. He observes that people claim to hear one another but have not learned genuine listening. When one says "I hear you," the other may ask "Do you hear me?" and the answer "I hear you" may be given, but real listening has not occurred.

To hear means to take in the word of one's brother, not only the sounds of hearing, but the whole being of the other, what they really want to say and what they truly say through the words they express.