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11/21/2018 Fr. Edwin Gabriel Ma. Castillo, S.J.
Quezon City, , The Philippines
It was with deep sorrow that I received news of the death of the Archimandrite Robert. He was not only a singularly brilliant scholar of Oriental Church science, nor was he just a fastidious, interested, and devoted teacher-mentor to his students, he was over and above all else a deeply spiritual man who prayed to God and manifested unique patience towards those who struggled in their faith. It was Father Bob's guidance in Rome and his brilliant lectures that chiefly directed my journey to the East. He not only taught me what the Divine Liturgy was, but patiently guided me to celebrate it correctly while appreciating those moments of clear catechesis or the subtle theological nuances of its content, and the organic beauty of its texts. I will always be grateful for that great gift. But beyond that, it is his example as a man of prayer, acutely and humbly cognizant of himself as a servant of God, notwithstanding his genius, that will bear an everlasting imprint on my oriental soul. I will always be grateful to this man, and proud to have been his brother in the Society of Jesus. I do not think that I stand alone in the conviction that the Church, both East and West, has by the death of the Archimandrite Robert lost a searing flame of genius and a loyal son. May he now rest in the peace of Christ his Lord and Savior and God, and may his memory be eternal. Vechnaya pamyat. +Hieromonk Ed