“Blessed are those,” he [Elder Paisios] wrote, “who rejoice when unjustly accused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness…” And so he would rejoice when he heard accusations against himself, anyone said to someone, “Go ahead and badmouth me. Would you, please?”

Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“Magnanimous forgiveness of slanderers, and prayer for them, are characteristics of Christian saints. These do not ascribe the slanders against themselves to men, but rather to demons, the main instigators of every slander, as well as every sin in general.”
St. Nikolai Velimirovich
~The Prologue