Elder Paisios - Simplify Your Lives

Secular people say, “How lucky are the wealthy people who live in palaces and have all kinds of conveniences:” In truth, blessed are those who have succeeded in sim­plifying their lives and freeing themselves from the yoke of worldly progress, of the many conveniences that have become inconveniences, and have consequently rid themselves of the dreadful anxiety that plagues so many, people today. If man does not simplify his life, he will end up tormenting himself. But if he simplifies it, all his anxiety will go away.

A German man at Sinai told a very intelligent Bedouin boy, “You are intelligent, you can become literate.” “And then?” the boy asked. “Well, then you will become a car mechanic.” “And then?” the boy repeated. “Then you’ll open a car shop.” “And then?” the boy asked again. “Then you will grow up and you will hire others to work for you, and you will have your own staff.” “In other words,” the boy said, “I will pile one headache on top of the other. Isn’t it better now that my mind is free of worries?” Most head­aches are the result of all these thoughts we have about doing this and doing that … But if our thoughts were spir­itual in nature, we would feel divine consolation and be cured of headaches.

These days I stress simplicity to lay people too, be­cause many of the things they do are not necessary and they end up being consumed by anxiety. I speak to them of austerity and asceticism. I constantly scold them, “If you want to get rid of anxiety, simplify your lives!” That is how most divorces start. People have to do too many things, too many obligations and they get dizzy. Both parents work and abandon the children. The result is fa­tigue and nervousness, which causes small issues to turn into large quarrels and then to automatic divorces; that’s “where they end up. But if they simplified their lives, they would find rest and joy. Stress is catastrophic.

Once I was at a very plush house where they told me in conversation, “We live in Paradise, while other people are in such great need.” “You live in hell,” I replied. “God said to the rich man, Fool, This night your soul is required of you (Lk. 12:20). If Christ were to ask me, ‘Where should I put you in a house like this or in prison?’ I would reply, ‘In the dark prison.’ 

Because a prison would do me good; it could remind me of Christ, the holy martyrs, the ascetics who lived in the holes of the earth, it would remind me of monastic life. The prison would resemble my cell a bit and I would be happy. But what would this palace of a house remind me of and how would that help me? That is why I find prison cells much more restful than a worldly living room. I even find it more restful than a beautiful monastic cell. I would rather spend one thousand nights in a prison cell, than one day in a plush house.”

Once, when I was staying with a friend in Athens, he asked me to receive a family man who could only see me very early in the morning, at dawn, because that was the only time he had available. He arrived in a cheerful mood praising God in every other word. He was full of humility­ and simplicity and begged me to pray for his family. This brother, who was about thirty-eight years old, had seven children. At home, they were eleven souls, because his parents lived with him, and they all shared the same room. He spoke with great simplicity, “The room fit us all if we stand up, but if we lie down it is a bit tight. ”Thank God, now we are constructing a shed to use as a kitchen and we are doing fine. Father,” he said “at least we have a roof over our head, while other people live in. the open air.” The man was an ironer. He lived in Athens and had to leave everyday before dawn to arrive in Peiraeus in time for work in a dry-cleaning shop. 

He was suffering from varicose veins as a result of having to stand up all that: time and his legs bothered him a lot, but his love for his family made him forget his pain and discomfort. In fact he pitied himself constantly for not having, as he said any love in his heart, because he did not do any acts of Christian charity and praised his wife for being charitable Apparently, besides taking care of her children and her parents in-law, she would wash the clothes of some elderly men in the neighbourhood, tidy up their homes and even cook a little something, like soup, for them. 

 You could see divine Grace depicted on the face of this good family man. He had Christ in his heart and was full of joy, just like his one-room house was filled with heavenly bliss. Compare this man with people who do not have Christ in their heart; they are filled with anxiety. Take two of then and try to fit them in a house large enough for eleven people; they will not find a way to fit.

Even some spiritual people will sometimes not be able to live together, no matter how much space they ­have available, because they don’t have the fullness of Christ in their heart. If the women of Pharasa could see our luxuries, especially in some Monasteries, they would say, “We have abandoned God and He will send down fire to burn us!”

I remember them performing all their chores in matter of seconds. They had to take the goats out, first in the morning, and then tidy up the house. After that they would go to the Chapels or gather in caves and those who could read would read the Life of the Saints of the day. Next they would do their prostrations and say the Jesus Prayer. And they would work and work without getting tired. Those days, a woman had to know how to  mend clothes.

 And they would mend the clothes by hand; there were a few sewing machines in cities but no sewing machines in the villages and if I remember right, in the whole town of Pharasa there was one, maybe two they used to sew their family’s clothes and they were very comfortable to wear. They would also knit socks by hand. They had a caring taste (meraki) but they also had enough time for all these chores because they did things in a simple way. The people of Pharasa did not pay attention to details. They enjoyed the joy of monastic life. And if, for example, the blanket did not sit right from one side of the bed and you told them, “Straighten out the blanket,” they would respond, “Why, does it prevent you from praying?”

This kind of joyful monastic life is unknown today. Most people believe that they should not go into any trouble, or be deprived of anything. But if they thought in monastic terms and lived with more simplicity, they could find the peace they are seeking. Instead, they are filled with anxiety and despair. 

They say, “So and so was very successful because he built two apartment buildings, or because he learned five languages and so on. And I do not even own one apartment and I do not even speak one foreign language. Oh, I am good for nothing!” A person with a car thinks, “This man has a better car; I should buy one too.” So he buys the better car, but he feels no joy because someone else has an even better one. He buys even better car but then he learns that others have their own private aeroplanes and he is unhappy again. 

There is no end to this. But a person who doesn’t have a car re­joices when he praises God. “Thank God,” he says, “even if I do not have a car, I have strong legs and I can walk. How many people are there in the world who do not have legs and cannot take care of their needs and go for walks? I at least have my legs!” And a lame person says, “There are some people who are missing both legs,” and that makes him rejoice.

Ingratitude and greed cause a lot of harm. The person possessed by material things is always possessed by wor­ries and anxiety because he trembles at the thought that he may lose both his belongings and his soul. One suet wealthy man came from Athens and told me, “Father, my children will not listen to me anymore, I have lost them;” “How many children do you have,” I asked him. “Two” he said. “I raised them in luxury. They had everything they wanted. I even bought them a car,” In the course of  the conversation, I found out that he and his wife each had their own car. “Dear man,” I said, “instead of solving your problems you made them worse. 

Now you need a large garage to put all the cars and a mechanic to service them. You will have to pay him fourfold and moreover all four of you are in danger of killing yourselves at any time. On the contrary, if you had simplified your life your family would be united and you would have under­standing for each other, and none of the problems you are describing. It’s not your children’s fault. It is your fault for not trying to educate them in other ways.” A family ­does not need four cars, a garage and a mechanic and so on. Let one of you reach his destination a bit late. All these conveniences beget difficulties.

Another family man arrived at my Kalyvi (monk cell) once. He had family of five. He told me: “Father, we have a car and we are thinking of buying another two. It would help us a lot.” I said “Did you think of how difficult this is go­ing make your life? If you have one car you can easily park it somewhere; where are you going to put three of them? You will need a garage and an extra tank of fuel. And moreover, you will put your life in danger. It’s better to have only one car and limit your outings. You will have time to see your children. You will have peace of mind. Simplifying one’s life is the most important thing.” “I never thought of that,” he replied.

–  Geronda (Elder in Greek), a man told us that twice he could not stop his car alarm. The first time it was due to a fly and the second time, he tried to get in the car the wrong way.

– People’s lives are sheer misery because they do not simplify things. Most of the conveniences we have cause difficulties. Those who live in the world often suffocate from abundance. They have filled their life with gadgets and devices but this only makes it more difficult to enjoy it. If we don’t simplify things, one convenience will result into numerous difficulties and we will end up miserable.

When we were little, we used to cut off the spool at the end and put a wedge in it, turning it into a nice and enjoyable game for ourselves. Small kids enjoy playing with a toy car much more than their father enjoys his new Mercedes. If one asks a little girl, “What do you want, a doll or an apartment building?” you will see that she will say “a doll”.  But in the end, small children too get to know the vanity of the world.

– Geronda, what helps the most when one is trying to grasp the joy of austerity?

- It helps if you can grasp the deeper meaning of life seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mt. 6:33). Simplicity begins from there, so does every proper approach of life.

Taken from “With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man”

Taken from “With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man”

Elder Paisios - Work and the Spiritual Life

Elder Paisios

Work is a blessing

Geronda, in the old days they would say, “Better to wear out your shoes rather than blankets.” What did they mean?

They meant, “Better to wear out your shoes by working than to stay in bed and be lazy.” Work is a blessing, a gift of God. It gives energy to the body, refreshment to the nous. If God had not given us work, man would have become idle. Hard workers do not stop even in old age. If they stop working while they still have strength, they end up suffering from depression; this is death for them. I remember one little old man in Konitsa, almost ninety years old, who worked continuously. He finally died out in the fields, two hours from home.

Besides, the state of bodily comfort which some people seek is never permanent. They may forget their stress for a time—have their food, their sweets, their baths, their leisure. But, as soon as this is over, they seek another form of comfort. They are constantly anxious because everything leaves them wanting; they feel an emptiness, and their souls seek to be filled. He who wearies from work, however, has a constant joy, spiritual joy.

Geronda, what if you have back problems and aren’t able to do just any work?

Fine, but doesn’t the back need exercise? Doesn’t work that exercises the back help? Listen, I’ll tell you: “If someone eats, drinks, and sleeps but doesn’t work, he starts unraveling; he wants to sleep all the time because his body and nerves slacken. Little by little he comes to the point where he can’t do anything. 

As soon as he walks a little, he falls apart. Instead, if he works a little and moves around, his hands and feet become stronger. Notice that those who love work don’t sleep much, and they don’t sleep from fatigue—they might not get any sleep for a time, yet they keep their strength: work has seasoned them, and they became strong in body.

Especially for a young person, work is health. I have observed that some pampered children become tough and seasoned when they go into the military. The military is good for them. Naturally, this happened more in the old days. Today they are afraid to push the soldiers, because with a little strain the veins are constricted and they suffer from nervous shock. I tell parents to pay someone to allow their children to work for them, to promote their health—this serves to give them a job they like, so that they will learn to like work in general. For, a young person who is energetic also has brains, and if he doesn’t work he will become lazy. Of course, when he sees others succeeding he is confused by his egoism and can’t take pleasure in anything. 

He constantly has disturbing thoughts and his mind is muddled. Later the devil goes to him and says: “Loser! What a good-for-nothing you are! So and so became a professor, and that other guy has his own business making good money, but where will you end up?” This makes him feel hopeless. If he had worked, however, he would have acquired confidence in himself, in a good sense of the word. He would see that even he is able to get along, and his mind would stay occupied on his job and free him from disturbing thoughts. That way it’s a win-win.

Source 

Elder Paisios: On Darwinian and Theistic Evolution

By Elder Paisios the Athonite

Job 38:14 LXX – "Or perhaps it was you who took dust from the earth, formed clay, made it into a living being with a mouth and the ability to speak, and placed him on earth."

The nonsense we hear in schools these days about Darwin’s theory and the rest, even the teachers themselves do not believe what they are teaching. Instead they proceed because they want to pollute the minds of our youth and take them away from the Church.

This is what someone told me: "Let’s say the soil contained various substances and micro-organisms, and God took these and created man…"

"You mean," I replied, "that if those elements did not exist in the soil, God would not have been able to create man? It would have been really difficult for Him?"

"Well, let’s say," he continued, "that He took some things from the ape and perfected them. Couldn’t that be how it happened?"

"Are you trying to say," I answered, "that God cannot create a perfect creature, that he cannot create a human being, even after dedicating a whole day to it? What should He have done? Go get spare parts? Why don’t you read the prophecy of Job [1] from the Scripture readings of Holy Thursday? Science does not accept all the claims about our kinship with apes. How long has it been since man went to the moon? In all these years, have apes evolved enough to build a bicycle or at least a skateboard? Have you ever seen an ape on a skateboard? Of course you can teach him to do that, but that’s not the same thing."

But the man would not give up. He would insist, "Let’s assume this," or "let’s say that…."

"Well, let’s just say that you will not assume a thing," I finally told him. "This way you’ll find the certainty you want."

The theory of evolution was being taught by a professor I knew at the University. Once, I said to him: "In time and with proper care a green bean plant will become a better green bean plant, the eggplant a better eggplant. If you feed and take care of an ape, he will become a better ape, but he will not turn into a human being."

And then there’s this thing to think about. Christ was born of a human being, the Panagia. Are we to believe that His ancestors were apes? [or anthropoid - hominoids – RAS] What blasphemy! And those who support this theory don’t realize that they are blaspheming. They throw a stone and do not check to see how many heads they have cracked. 

All you will hear from them is: "Mine went further than the other fellow’s." That’s what they are all about these days; they marvel at who will throw a stone the farthest. But they care nothing about those who are passing by and the many heads their stones will crack.

Source

Elder Paisios: The prayers of our fellow-man

ONCE upon a time…

A cruise ship sank during a fierce storm, and just two of the passengers managed to swim as far as a small desert island.

The two shipwrecked men, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other way out than to pray to God.

But to ascertain whose prayer was the stronger, they decided to split the region in two and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing for which they prayed was food.

The next morning, the first man saw a tree on its side, full of fruit, and he satisfied his hunger. The other side of the island remained barren.

After a week, the first man felt lonely, and decided to pray for a wife.

The next day, a woman went swimming on his side of the island. On the other side, nothing happened.

Presently, the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food.

The next day, the miracle happened! Because he prayed, it was given unto him! But the second man still failed to gain anything.

Eventually, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could get away from the desert island.

In the morning, he found a boat moored to his side of the island.

The first man and his wife boarded the boat, and decided to leave the second man behind on the island, alone. As they saw it, the second man was unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been heard.

As the boat was ready to sail, the first man heard a voice from heaven, making the air throb:

“Why are you marooning your companion on the island?”

“The blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed to receive them. Not one thing was heard from his prayers, so he doesn’t deserve anything,” replied the first man.

“You are making a big mistake”, the Voice said, rebukingly. “That man prayed for one thing only, and he was heard. If that hadn’t happened, you would not have received any blessings from me.”

“Tell me,” asked the first man, “to what prayer am I obliged?”

“He prayed for the hearing of all your prayers!”

 Link

LETTERS BY ELDER JOSEPH OF VATOPEDI 3 A letter by Elder Joseph on fasting, temperance and diet

 

11/9/ 1988 Vatopedi

My most descent lady M, may our Christ’s Grace be with your spirit.

I have received your letter and read the contents carefully. The issues you raise are not worthy of as much praise, as your good will and decision to live a more meticulous life in Christ is. I wish you to have never ending progress.

The issue of our diet is something which preoccupies everyone, as the most necessary duty and element of our lives, not to mention that some of us are becoming prisoners to it because of the special luxuries that our generation enjoys. Now, it is neither beneficial nor worthy of praise to stop eating, especially suddenly, one of the most basic foods, thinking that perhaps, you may have lost control over it. Even our fathers do not approve of or praise such a move, but in my opinion the middle road is the best. Which road is this? 

To restrict its consumption, so that your health is not affected, and to prevent people kicking a fuss that “M is not eating meat”, which will create for you a useless struggle to avoid haughtiness and pride. The same applies to sweets, since they too are useful to a certain extend to preserve a normal and balanced life.

It is only in this way that temperance as a rule of life can be applied, in order to cause prudence and balance in our lives. The psychosomatic state and condition of our lives lies in the balance created by this very temperance in our diet. A healthy balance of mind and body is formed as a result.

Consequently, our sleep is normalized, our harmful thoughts and onslaught to our minds disappear and an increase in eagerness and zeal for struggle is born. This is, therefore, what you must do without any further excesses and if you do not succeed sometimes, you must start again and again, and finally you will certainly win, with the Grace of our Christ.

You are a social person and live in difficult and unhealthy times and you cannot apply monastic rules to your life, which even the monks today cannot keep.

You have my many prayers and affection in Christ,

Humble Elder Joseph, monk

Link 

Letters by Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, No 2 - “What can one say about peirasmos (trials, temptations)?

Nea Skete 21 /1/1987.

To my beloved child, I fatherly pray that Christ’s Grace be with your spirit.

I have received your letter, which was just a little smaller than a newspaper, even though it could be as big as that! Fr. Athanasios and Fr. Theonas are about to leave for Thessaloniki to see some doctors and to sort out the book, and they will perhaps speak with you there. I was very pleased to hear about X; it is nice for him to have his own family nest, since time passes and then everything seems like too much effort.

What can one say regarding trials? Are we talking about the present or the future ones? The present ones are either gone or are still here, but they are less fierce than the future ones and therefore, we must realize that we must inevitably prepare for them better than what we have already done so far. As for us, we have entered a struggle which has so far been unknown to us.  And again, the priest is out there. Let’s wait and see where this will lead us. These are the times for which our fathers have predicted that all the living will be tested. For now and the rest of the future, we must show patience. Amen. “Those who want to be devout will be tested”. And also “we must go through a lot of trials in order to enter Eternal life”.

These are the tendencies of the unjust world we are living in. What we are seeing is not even the beginnings of what is coming in the near future in order to rectify social justice! Therefore in the future, do not wonder “why this”, “why the other “.  There is something else you must worry about: How to show patience and how to persevere in prayer for what is coming to us.  Everything has a purpose: To love our Christ and to comprehend the meaning of Crucifixion, which nowadays is something we most need. Everything, which is human, changes and is altered and transformed. Unfortunately, we remain the same and many times we are fighting with our own selves!

As for me, I am getting rusty; my legs have become totally useless. Generally speaking, we are sick most of the time. The telephones are now out of order and we can have some peace at last. Unfortunately, they will be repaired and the feast will start again! Every day, we only hear of problems, illnesses, divorces, life struggles and our hearts ache. What has the world come to without the presence of God! Like a jungle, a human arena! May the Lord have mercy on us!

With all my love and affection, I pray for all of you,

Your father, humble Joseph

Link 

Οδος Παισιου - Paisiou Street

 

Οδος Παισιου - Paisiou Street

Πίστευε και ερεύνα - Believe and research!

Elder Arsenios Spileotis (1886-1983)

Elder Arsenios Spileotis (1886-1983), fellow struggler for more than 40 years with Saint Elder Joseph the Hesychast ( 1897-1959)

It is not easy to describe in a few pages the life and works of a great ascetic of the might of blessed Elder Arsenios. He was born in Pontos. While still young he was burning with Holy zeal. He decided to leave his country and walk from Russia to Constantinople and from there to the Holy Land, where he served at the Holy Sepulchre and at other Holy places for almost ten years.

The Church of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem, where blessed Elder Arsenios served for more than ten years (among other Holy places)

There, it was God’s will to meet with the well known great ascetic of Egina, Ieronymos, from whom he received the higher teachings of monastic life.

The blessed Elder Ieronymos of Egina, who was the first teacher in Christ of blessed Elder Arsenios Spileotis and Hesychast.

His soul, thirsty and burning with Holy adoration, was calling together with David: “Truly my soul waits upon God, from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress, I shall never be shaken”. He then left the wiles of the world and ascended to Mount Athos, the Holy garden of our Lady.

While totally submitting himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, initially he stayed for a few years at the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita where he received the holy schema of the monk and was renamed Arsenios from Anatolios, which was the name he received during his tonsure in Jerusalem.

Fr Arsenios took advantage of the then unruly state of the monastery and began practicing tougher and higher struggles by himself.

However, he was so keen for more difficult struggles that he decided to reach deeper into the slopes of the Holy Mountain, to look for ascetics who would be able not only to teach but also show him the road to perfection.

The Lord saw his genuine desire, and did not take long to reveal to him that which he most wanted. And what he wanted was another young man, who was also looking for the same thing with the same fervor. These two young people met for the first time high on the summit of Mount Athos. As the magnet captures the iron, likewise the Holy Spirit drew them together. They then remained together in Spirit as companions and never parted from one another in accordance with the promise they made until death separated them.

The other young man was the later renowned great ascetic of the 20^th Century, Joseph the Hesychast, who was then called by his Christian name, Francis Kottis.

These two young people became like bees and collected whatever exceptional goodness they could find in the desert of the Holy Mountain in order to harvest the sweetest fruits of the Holy Spirit.

They first met with the well known elder Daniel Kantounakioti, with Kallinikos the Hesychast, with Yerasimos, Ignat and other sweet smelling flowers of the desert.

The blessed, wise and perceptive Elder Daniel Kantounakiotis ( 1846-1929) of Ayio Oros

In one of his letters, Father Joseph writes:”I counted the caves of the entire Mount Athos step by step, looking for a spiritual father who was going to teach me the spiritual theory and practice”.

Finally they encountered the most special rose of the desert, Fr Daniel the Hesychast, who was living high in the cave of St Peter’s.

This ascetic was holding the Divine liturgy every midnight, lasting 3-4 hours. It was taking this long because he was feeling great reverence and was taking small breaks while the earth was getting muddy from his constant tears. This elder had many virtues among them the charisma of foreseeing. For the whole year he was eating uncooked food once a day only.

This was copied by elders Joseph and Arsenios as well as the all night vigils which they performed every night for the rest of their lives.

During the all night vigil, Fr Arsenios confided in me that he was kneeling three thousand times every night. For the rest of the evening he was standing up. Neither of them ever rested on a bed. However, after the end of the vigil they would only allow themselves to sit at a small bench to rest.

Their food usually consisted of some dried bread, most of the time stale and molded and was eaten only once a day. During the weekend they would eat whatever was available, except meat and even that only once a day.

The chapel of St John the Baptist, Prodromos, at the Skete of Saint Basil

Fr Arsenios was also undertaking all the manual work. During their first years high at Saint Basil cave, Fr Arsenios was going up and down the mountain, which meant 1-2 hours steep climb, ferrying supplies not only for themselves but also for all the other ascetics. He was also carrying on his shoulders stones and other building materials to repair and conserve the stone fences and huts.

Since this hard work was beyond human ability, I once asked him how did he do it and he confided that as soon as he would ask for his elder’s blessing, the load would get lighter and a mighty force would push him so that he would easily ascend the steep mountain; even more so during the mighty heat of the summer. At the same time he would whisper the Jesus prayer nonstop.

As for their clothing, the two ascetics were dressed in rugs come winter or summer and were without shoes, so that many were regarding them as “crazy”. They were not crazy in the common meaning of the word but”crazy” in Christ.

In the words of St Paul: “They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill treated- the world was not worthy of them”. (Heb.11.37-38)

The chapel of Saint John the Baptist, Prodromos, in the cave of Saint Anne

In 1938, these two great ascetics having lived for twenty years high in the Skete of Saint Basil, decided to descend to the Little Saint Anne together with their small brotherhood who had already been assembled. They stayed there until 1953. Afterwards they descended even lower towards the New Skete. The great ascetic Joseph had already gone to Heaven in 1959. I never had the blessing to meet him. But in 1964 I was blessed in getting to meet Fr Arsenios.

Both Fr Arsenios’ and Fr Charalambos’ virtues wiled me into staying with them until their repose. Fr Charalambos was the nephew and godson of Fr Arsenios and was staying with Fr Joseph and Fr Arsenios.

A view of New Skete which constitutionally belongs to the Holy Monastery of Saint Paul

I lived with Fr Arsenios for eighteen years. I got to be acquainted with his virtues, the rich fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, happiness, peacefulness etc but especially his blessed simplemindedness and lack of animosity, his straightforwardness, sincerity and great humility, his enormous love for discipline and many others.

I will be left with no time if I was to describe the incredible life of this great ascetic. But the limited space will not allow me to do this. As a conclusion, however, I will recite instead some pages from the book: “Elder Arsenios Spileotis” written by another special member of their group, blessed Elder Joseph of Vatopedi:

“One could apply to Elder Arsenios what the Scriptures said “here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false”. He was by nature direct, simple, harmless, meek, obedient and an extraordinary, hard working spiritual fighter, who had not a single material possession. One could say that he was simply a “Yes” or a “No” man.

He never held grudge with anyone whatever one would do to him, he would never get angry and he would never hurt anyone.

He was meticulous in his obedience and because of this and his absolute faith in his Elder, he lived his days beyond the laws of nature.

When he was holding an all night vigil, he would start in the early evening and wear himself out kneeling thousands of times with the face down and standing up all night until the morning.

He was concentrating on saying Jesus prayer so intensely that on several occasions it was time to start work and he would not let go of the prayer. Then we had to call him tapping on his window and we would see that he was standing up and elevated.

-Yeronda, it is time to start work. And father Arsenios coming to himself would curiously ask:

-Is it morning already?”

The brotherhood of Fr Arsenios the Hesychast near Karyes, at the Holy Hilandarino chapel of Saint Nicholas, Mpoyrazeri, during 1967-1979

I lived three years with this holy grandpa  in New Skete; twelve years at the Hilandarino house “Mpourazeri” and during the last three years of his life at the charitable monastery of Dionysiou, whereby my blessed father Charalambos was invited to be in charge and become the Abbot because of its lack of monks. This monastery is named after Saint John the Baptist.

The Holy Monastery of Saint Dionysos, Mount Athos

Saint John the Baptist was the patron Saint of Fr Arsenios. In that place, Fr Arsenios had a blessed end to his full life and handed his soul to the hands of Saint John the Baptist, on the 2/15 September 1983. May his memory live forever.

Let us have his prayers.

Joseph Monk, D

The Most Holy Archmandrite Charalambos ( then Abbot) of the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou gives the last embrace to the late, blessed elder Arsenios.

The End

Link 

Blessed Elder Paisios talks about monasticism

 

- Geronta, do all the monks understand the meaning of what it means to be a monk?

- Monasticism is a great honor and blessing which the Lord has given to man. It is only very slowly that the monk comprehends its deeper meaning. This makes him feel a real delight. He does not stop giving praise and thanks to the Lord. He feels the great honor which has been done to him. It is a little difficult for someone to appreciate the greatness of this calling. 

The monks live the life of the angels’ right from this life that’s why they are called the ‘Angelic order’. The monk embarks on tasting some of the pleasures of the Heavens only after long trials and the buildup of spiritual fruit. He feels grateful to the Lord to the end of his days through humility, repentance and God’s grace.

- Geronta, parents usually oppose their child’s wish to become a monk.

- This is how it is in the beginning. Very slowly parents start to get the meaning. They appreciate the magnitude of the honor that the Lord has given them. They become in laws with the creator of the Universe! Their child, who has devoted himself to the Lord, helps to save not only his parents’ souls, but also the souls of his entire village. In Asia Minor, it was regarded as a huge blessing if a family had a member who was a monk. He would be interceding for the souls of all his relatives.

- Geronta, what is the monk’s main duty?

- The monk begins with loving God. He, who loves the Lord, loves also his neighbor. The monk lives his whole life hurting. He is in pain, wanting to save his soul. This is so, because of his great adoration towards the Lord, because of his divine love. He is also hurting, wanting to save the whole world. This is due to his love for his neighbor.

- Geronta, why does the monk renounce the world?

- He renounces the world because he loves the world. He does not hate the world. He does not renounce the world because he is arrogant and wants only to save his own soul. It is because he loves the world that he stays away from the world’s parasites in order to attain a better communication with the Lord.

- Geronta, usually the monks do not preach. But sometimes we encounter pious monks who go on a mission. What is happening in such cases?

- The monks preach in their own way. They are like beacons on high rock, which illuminate the surrounds and direct the ships to their right destination. Monks help each and every person towards his true destination who is the Lord. The monk preaches the gospel with his own life. He lives the gospel, and God’s grace gives him away. Thus, the gospel is preached in the most positive way, which is something people are looking for nowadays.

- Geronta, what do you have to say about missionary monks?

- The Lord is carrying out His plan on them. The monk does not make plans neither does he have designs to go on a mission. The Good Lord makes him carry out His plan, as if it was his. When the Lord decides that someone must be sent on a mission, He sends Him Himself in His own divine way.

- Geronta, do all the monks acquire virtues?

- A monk does not think about virtues. The monk obeys the Lord’s commands. He gives everything to Christ. He hands over himself to Christ. He feels like he is God’s child. And as the child of God he has a right to his father’s property. The Good Lord hands out abundant blessings to his creatures if it is not going to be to their detriment.

- Geronta, what should the monk watch out for?

- The monk must imitate Christ because he loves Him. He is the bridegroom of his soul. He must imitate Him, in His total obedience. It is because of His enormous love that Christ descended from Heaven, was born in a cradle, obeyed our Lady and Joseph and has shown obedience until His death, a death on the Cross. Obedience means humility. The monk should obey not only older people but also those that are younger than him. The monk must cultivate devoutness. He seeks anonymity and abhorrence. He seeks the Lord and our Lady if he desires love and affection and not other people. He detests arrogance and constantly tries to increase his love towards the Lord and his neighbor. Because he lives spiritually, he feeds on the Lord’s love and nourishes other people with it.

Link

Elder Efrem’s radio interview on Skai on the Dormition of our Lady

Ephraim and Joseph of Vatopaidi

The Abbot of Vatopedi monastery, Archimandrite Efrem, spoke on the radio programme “ Gisa somewhere else” of SKAI 100,3 FM on Saturday 14^th August  2010, on the eve of the feast of the Dormition of our Lady, Mother of God. Elder Efrem was celebrating the feast at the Vatopedi Metohi of Porto Lagos.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Gisa: Geronta you are in Porto Lagos to celebrate the feast of the Dormition and I was wondering why could not women attend?

Elder Efrem: Excuse me. This is the monastery’s metohi and women can visit as well.

Gisa: Up to there, but what about further up?

Elder Efrem: The Holy Mount Athos as you know is inaccessible to women and this is the tradition spanning hundreds of years. The reason why it is inaccessible is not because the monks hate or scorn or wish to degrade women. But it is because The Holy Mountain is a man’s Parthenon.

Gisa: Anyway, where you are now we can all of us meet.

Elder Efrem: Absolutely.

Gisa: And it is a blessed place.

Elder Efrem: Yes, of course. It is a place where our Lady’s grace dominates. There is a chapel devoted to her and another one devoted to Saint Nikolas.

Gisa: Are there a lot of people up there now?

Elder Efrem: Quite a lot. We have three spiritual fathers who are continuously taking confessions from people who are getting ready to take the Holy Communion during the feast.

Gisa: Geronta, how is confession helping people?

Elder Efrem: Confession is a very helpful means because through this mystery a person starts to condemn himself, blame himself and hold himself responsible. Not only he holds himself responsible in a non verbal way in front of the icon, as they say, in front of Christ, but also in front of the priest who is also another human being. He comes to confess his sins. However, this meeting is not just a meeting which has man in its epicenter but a meeting with Christ, because it is a mystery of the Church. A person will then definitely feel the forgiveness for his sins, through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  This is a very important issue.

Gisa: Geronta, which is the message which the feast of the Dormition offers to modern man? We are living through very difficult times down here…

Elder Efrem: We are living through difficult times but I think this feast of the Most Holy Lady is one which offers a spiritual message, a message of purity and cleanliness and devotion to the Lord. Our Lady was the first after The One, who devoted herself entirely to God. She stayed in the Holy Sanctuary (Ayia ton Ayion?) ever since she was three years old. She is the person who experienced the grace of the Holy Spirit more than anyone else in the world. This alone bestows such a huge honor to our Lady. That’s the reason we are calling her «Most Blessed», «Most Honored», «Most Gracious» and this is the model which we must present to the world. She is the one most honored by everybody, especially the monks, and also in the Holy Mountain. Sometimes, you know, people say that no women are allowed in the Holy Mountain and that monks do away with women. On the contrary, they honor our Lady more than anywhere else in the world. They offer her this comprehensive tribute and all this devotion because she is the one who loved Christ completely.

Gisa: Does she become a great sanctuary for man even these days, doesn’t she?

Elder Efrem: Absolutely. The Most Holy Lady is a great sanctuary for all of us. People flock here with such pain with so much suffering, with illnesses and toil and troubles and three hundred meters away we see them kneel and come to worship her icon, to fulfill the promise they have made for their troubles. Then we see them again when they leave. They have been comforted and consoled and have such sweetness in their faces.

Gisa: This is funny, geronta. Faith is not diminished with the passing of time but it is as if it becomes stronger sometimes. How can this be? Is there an explanation?

Elder Efrem: Faith is a strong spiritual weapon which is given to man because he is created in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes faith can be ridiculed and scorned by some, but it is a strong weapon not used by many, but which remains hidden inside them until the time of trouble comes, when one is really tested. Then he takes out this bag full of treasure, this great power called “faith” and uses it. And faith bears fruit.

Gisa: Since no one has ever taught us about this spiritual work, how do we find such resilience and at the time of trouble we call out to our Lady?

Elder Efrem: We may have never been systematically taught but do not forget that we live in Greece, where the environment and the tradition have always been helping man to turn to Church in times of trouble. I think the person to whom man looks up to for help in times of trouble is our Lady.

Gisa: Geronta, do miracles happen today?

Elder Efrem: Of course! Look here at our metohi at the Visthonida pond. So many miracles take place. So many people have found cure, there are so many offerings, so many letters! One is in awe when one witnesses all these miracles performed by our Lady with her icon, which is a copy of the Panayia Pantanassa icon, which is found in Vatopedi. As you may very well know the Vatopedi Monastery is the only one in the world which is adorned with seven miraculous icons of our Lady and also by her Holy Girdle.

Gisa:, Are we never going to see these since we are women?

Elder Efrem: You will see these when we are occasionally asked to take them out of the Holy Mountain. But especially we agree to take them out every now and then so than women can see them.

Gisa: What is the liturgical regime at the garden of our Lady, where you are now?

Elder Efrem: As you know today is not the feast of our Lady according to the old calendar we use at the Holy Mountain. But here at the metohi we celebrate the feast with the new calendar. We have an all night vigil this evening which will last up to five hours. The fathers from the monastery arrived here so that they can chant in the way it is done in the Holy Mountain. We are expecting a lot of people. We also hold a second liturgy at a different chapel for those who have children and cannot attend the all night vigil.

Gisa: Do you think that the world will change at some point for the better?

Elder Efrem: We are only left with the hope which as Saint Paul says “it does not embarrass us”. I think that hope must never leave a man’s heart.

Gisa: Is hope stronger than faith?

Elder Efrem: Hope is derived from faith and it is a prerequisite.

Gisa: What would you say to someone who does not believe in God?

Elder Efrem: I would say to him to try to live in the way we do. I think that if he experiments in this way he will experience something. Since even one who does not believe has an immortal soul inside of him.

Gisa: If one does not live a Church life does it mean that he does not possess the Lord’s grace?

Elder Efrem: He may not live the life of the Church now, but we do not know what will happen at the end. As this great, modern Saint, Father Paisios Ayioritis said, we will be met with a lot of surprises during the Second Coming of Christ. We do not know how each man will end his life.

Gisa: One last question, geronta. This entire furor surrounding your name, which reminds us a little of the Christian persecutions of past times, did it leave you shaken at all?

Elder Efrem: With God’s grace, I have not been shaken, since as I have told you faith is great force. We are devoted to our duties; we are not expecting to hear praises from people. As you know, our holy forefathers, whom we read and imitate, have always been controversial figures. First it was Christ himself. A monk does not concern himself whether he will acquire a good name; He is only interested in diligently fulfilling his absolute duty: his complete devotion to God.

Gisa: Are n’t you afraid that people’s faith will be shaken?

Elder Efrem: I do not think so. A person, who is struggling spiritually, will recognize the methods and the descriptions and the reasons behind this furor. I think that common sense recognizes that it something not worth mentioning.

Gisa: You are saying that the truth will be revealed to someone sometime but in a way which may not be easily comprehensible these days.

Elder Efrem: Many times a person does not recognize the truth because of the way he lives. On our part, we pray for the whole world, the whole universe and we always maintain a loving attitude for everybody. This is our position and our mission”.

Gisa: It is very important to say that your mission is this. What would you ask for those who hear you today and those who don’t?

Elder Efrem: I humbly pray that people will recognize that man is a spiritual creature and to start caring for the salvation of his immortal soul. As Saint Basil the Great, this grand Saint said:  we must take care of our souls which are immortal. It is only when someone starts taking care of his immortal soul that he will come to comprehend that our Lady is present, the saints are present and that faith is a great force for the orthodox people and especially for our Greece.

Gisa: Geronta, I thank you with all my heart.

Elder Efrem: I wish you well and may our Lady be with you.

Gisa: You too. Give us your blessing!

Elder Efrem: May you have our Lord’s blessing.

Link 

Egypt: Christian student murdered for refusing to remove crucifix

October 31, 2011.

   

Ayman Nabil Labib, a 17-year-old Coptic Christian student, was murdered by Muslim classmates after refusing to remove a crucifix he was wearing, the Assyrian International News Agency is reporting.

The murder, which took place on October 16 in the central Egyptian town of Mallawi, took place after a teacher asked Labib to cover up a tattooed cross on his wrist. Labib refused, instead uncovering a cross necklace.

“The teacher nearly choked my son, and some Muslim students joined in the beating,” said Labib’s father.

“They beat my son so much in the classroom that he fled to the lavatory on the ground floor, but they followed him and continued their assault,” the victim’s mother added. “When one of the supervisors took him to his room, Ayman was still breathing. The ambulance transported him from there dead, one hour later.”

Link 

 

St. John of Kronstadt

 

If, being in an assemblage of men, you call a person known to you, and he comes to you; if you ask one or many men subservient to you to do anything for you within the limit of his or their capability, and they fulfill your request, satisfying it according to your desire, and even beyond your desire, then be assured that, likewise, in God's Church, in that great house of God divided into two halves - the heavenly and the earthly - any of the members of the Church in Heaven whom you call upon will come to your spiritual help conformably to his grace and the abundance of his love. Ask him to do anything for you that you please, especially anything relating to the Kingdom and righteousness of God, and he will do it through his close association with God, the Source of grace and power. God's saints also hear you - as, for instance, the whole congregation hears you when you pray or speak the Word - for they are in the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is everywhere present, and fills all things.

St. John Climacus

I saw others among these wonderful fathers who had the white hair of angels, the deepest innocence, and a wise simplicity that was spontaneous and yet directed by God Himself. The fact is that just as an evil person is two-faced, one thing in public and another in private, so a simple person is not twofold, but something whole. There is no one among them who is silly and foolish in the way that some old men in the world are, as they say, senile. No indeed. They are openly gentle, kindly, radiant, genuine, without hypocrisy, affectation, or falsity or either speech or disposition - something not found in many. Spiritually, they are like children, with God and the superior as their very breath, and with the mind's eye on strict lookout for demons and the passions.

Holy Father and Brothers in God, a lifetime would not be enough to allow me to describe the virtue of those blessed men, or the heavenly life they lead. Still, in their great struggles rather than my meager suggestions should adorn this treatise and should rouse you to be zealous in the love of God. After all, the lowly is adorned by the excellent, and I would only ask you to refrain from thinking that what I write is something made up, for a suspicion of this kind would only take away from its value.

So, then, let us resume.

In this monastery to which I have been referring, there was a man named Isidore, from Alexandria, who having belonged to the ruling class had become a monk. I met him there. The most holy shepherd, after having let him join, discovered that he was a trouble maker, cruel, sly, and haughty, but he shrewdly managed to outwit the cunning of the devils in him. "If you have decided to accept the yoke of Christ," he told Isidore, "I want you first of all to learn obedience."

"Most holy Father, I submit to you like iron to the blacksmith," Isidore replied.

The superior, availing of this metaphor, immediately gave exercise to the iron Isidore and said to him: "Brother, this is what I want you to do. You are to stand at the gate of the monastery, and before everyone passing in or out you are to bend the knee and say, "Pray for me, Father, because I am an epileptic.'" And Isidore obeyed, like an angel obeying the Lord.

He spent seven years at the gate, and achieved deep humility and compunction.

After the statutory seven years, and after the wonderful steadfastness of the man, the superior deemed him fully worthy to be admitted to the ranks of the brethren and wanted to ordain him. Through others and also through my feeble intercession, Isidore begged the superior many times to let him finish his course. He hinted that his death, his call, was near, which in fact proved to be so. The superior allowed him to stay at his place, and ten days later, humbly, gloriously, he passed on to the Lord. A week after his death the porter of the monastery was also taken, for the blessed Isidore had said to him, "If I hve found favor in the sight of the Lord, you too will be inseparably joined to me within a short time." That is exactly what happened, in testimony to his unashamed obedience and his marvelous humility.

While he was still alive, I asked this great Isidore how he had occupied his mind while he was at the gate, and this memorable man did not conceal anything from me, for he wished to be of help. "At first I judged that I had been sold into slavery for my sins," he said. "So I did penance with bitterness, great effort, and blood. After a year my heart was no longer full of grief, and I began to think of a reward for my obedience from God Himself. Another year passed and the depths of my heart I began to see how unworthy I was to live in a monastery, to encounter the fathers, to share in the divine Mysteries. I lost the courage to look anyone in the face, but lowering my eyes and lowering my thoughts even further, I asked with true sincerity for the prayers of those going in and out."

Once when I was sitting in the refectory with the superior, he asked me in a whisper if I would like to see holy prudence in someone very old. When I said I wished that very much, he summoned from the second table a man called Lawrence who had been about forty-eight years in the monastery and was second priest in the monastery.

He came, genuflected before the abbot and received his blessing. When he stood up the abbot said nothing at all to him but left him standing beside the table and not eating. It was just the start of the midday meal so that he was left standing there a full hour, probably two. I was embarrassed to look this hard-working man in the face, for he was completely white-haired and all of eighty years. He stayed there until we had finished eating, and when we got up, the holy man sent him off to the great Isidore to recite to him the beginning of the thirty-ninth Psalm.

Being myself a bad character, I did not let slip the chance to teas the old man, so I asked him what he had been thinking about as he stood by the table. "I thought of the shepherd as the image of Christ," he said. "I thought of the command as coming not from him but from God. And so, Father John, I stood praying as if I were in front of the altar of God rather than the table of men; and because I trust and love my shepherd, I had no malevolent thoughts concerning him. It is said that love does not reckon up injury. But be sure of this much, Father, that anyone who freely chooses to be simple and guileless provides the devil with neither the time nor the place for an attack."

+ St. John Climacus +

+St. Symeon Metaphrastis paraphrase of the homilies of St. Makarius of Egypt+

 

Whenever anyone loves something belonging to this world, it will burden his mind, dragging it down and not allowing it to rise up. In such people the weight, bias and balance of the will, that is, of the heart, are inclined to what is evil. It is in this way that torment and trial afflict the whole human race, whether they are Christians living in cities or on mountains, in monasteries, in the country or the desert. For if one is willingly enticed by what one loves it is clear that one has not yet dedicated all one’s love to God. Whether one likes possessions, or gold, or serving one’s stomach, or indulging in fleshly desires, or wordy wisdom designed to gain men’s praise, or authority, or honors from men, or anger and wrath, or useless speeches, or merely day-dreaming and listening to idle words, or acting as a teacher for the sake of men’s esteem-in each and every case to give oneself to a passion is manifestly to love it. One person surrenders himself to sluggishness and negligence, another delights in extravagant clothes, another in sleep, another in silly jokes: whatever the worldly thing, big or small, by which one is bound and held fast, it prevents one from raising oneself up. Clearly, we indulge ourselves in whatever passion we do not resist and fight against bravely: like some shackle it binds us and drags us down, degrading the mind so that it does not dedicate itself to God and worship Him alone. The soul that truly directs its desire towards the Lord focuses all its longing on Him, denying itself and not following the desires of its own intellect.

Example makes it clear that man is destroyed by his own free choice: for out of love for some worldly thing he throws himself into fire, is drowned in the sea and gives himself into captivity. Let us suppose that someone’s house or field has caught fire. The person who wanted to save himself fled without anything as soon as he noticed the fire, leaving everything in it and concerned only with his own life. But someone else thought he would take some of the goods with him, so he stayed behind to collect them; and as he was taking them the fire, which had already overwhelmed the house, caught him as well and burnt him. In this way, through his attachment to some transient thing, he was destroyed in the fire by his own free choice. Again, two men were shipwrecked. One of them, wanting to save himself, stripped off his clothes and threw himself into the water; and in this way he was able to save his life. The other, wanting to save his clothes as well, was drowned, destroying himself for the sake of a slight gain. Or again, let us suppose that news of an attack by an enemy was announced. One man, as soon as he heard the news, fled as fast as his feet would carry him, without a thought for his possessions. Another, either because he distrusted the news, or because he wanted to take with him some of his goods, waited until later, and when the enemy arrived he was caught. Thus, through his lack of alertness and his attachment to worldly things, he lost body and soul by his own free choice.

Few are those who really acquire perfect love for God, looking upon all worldly pleasures and desires as nothing and patiently enduring the devil’s trials. But one must not despair on this account, or give up hope. Even if many ships suffer shipwreck there are always those that come safely through to port. For this reason we need great faith, endurance, attentiveness, struggle, hunger and thirst for what is right, as well as great understanding and discrimination, together with clear-sightedness and lack of shame in making our requests. As we have said, most men want to attain the kingdom without toil and sweat; and although they praise the saints and desire their dignity and gifts, they are not willing to share with them in the same afflictions, hardships and sufferings. Everyone - prostitutes, tax-collectors and everyone else - wants this. For this reason, trials and temptations are set before us, so as to make it clear who in truth loves their Lord and deserves to attain the kingdom of heaven.

+St. Symeon Metaphrastis paraphrase of the homilies of St. Makarius of Egypt+

3D reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia Church