Question
Why does St. Sophrony speak of the limitations of English (and other Western European Languages) as a means of transmitting the Orthodox spirit?
Answer
On the Limitations of English (and other Western European Languages)
What St. Sophrony means is that it takes time before a language (the bearer of a culture) is imbued with the spirit of Orthodox Christianity. The Schism took its toll on the Patriarchate of Rome, its cultures and its languages. Consequently, much of the Orthodox ethos was lost or buried; and this fact manifests itself in certain specific ways, such as in those terms to which St. Sophrony refers - πραότις, συντριβή.
Definitions and References
Person in English (and other European languages) is overloaded with psychological concepts and connotations; whereas hypostasis is free of them.
Κατάνυξις refers to the opening up of the heart to the healing and transformative action of divine grace.
See also JClim Scal. 7 (PG 88:808A): κ. κυρία εστίν, αμετεώριστος οδύνη ψυχής μηδεμίαν εαυτή παρηγορίαν παρέχουσα…
See also Glossary in English translation of The Philokalia , Vol. 2, p. 380, s.v. “Compunction”
Πραότις is brilliantly described by St. John of the Ladder in Steps 8 and 24 of his masterpiece.