A pilgrim to the Holy Mountain of Athos asked an old hermit, “Father, how can I attain my salvation?” The venerated holy man replied, “Every day at dusk go to the cemetery and for an hour hurl insults to the dead. Do that for a month and pay attention to everything that happens around you. Then come and report to me.” After a month the pilgrim returned. “Father, I have done what you told me
A few years ago I was challenged by a critique of Orthodox Christianity leveled by a close friend who was in the process of leaving the Church. “When you face facts,” he said, “you realize that if you really want to live the Orthodox life in its fullness, you have to become a monk.” As much as I wished to offer a counter- point, I found myself unable. In fact, I even grudgingly agreed with
The Quarrelsome Brother I once told him, “Elder, I can’t work together with this brother … he is a complainer.” “You fool, you are an egotist. Do you know that? Because of this you suffer in many ways.” “I know it Elder. I have been like this from my youth. Pray that God will give me a humble heart.” “When the heart has God-given humility it sees everything clearly. It already lives in the earthly
Useful Counsels for All Monks “You can and must become a leader in the monastery without realizing it, without speaking. You can accomplish this only through fervent prayer for everyone. Open your heart simply, unforced, and spontaneously to our Lord. “Don’t force yourself, nor pressure yourself nor doubt that this will happen. In all this you should speak first to the Lord. And before you speak to your Elder, first pray fervently. A praying person,
Why He left the Holy Mountain “I told you that there on the Mountain I lived a Heavenly life.” “And why did you leave, Elder?” “I did not leave, they expelled me.” “They expelled you? Why?” “It is a long story. I was in constant motion. I did not stay put for one minute. I constantly created work for myself in order to push myself. I always did these things with permission. The one Elder
Some Other Things He Told Me about His Life on the Mountain One day, I arrived at his little trailer home about two to two-thirty in the afternoon. “Welcome. How is it that you arrived here at this time of day? Is there another person outside?” “No, I’m the last one. I have come to find out from you how we can acquire the Grace of God.” “I was in obedience to two elders on
Subsequently, the Elder related to me some things from his life on the Mountain that were relevant to our topic. “I lived a heavenly life on the Mountain. I was about twelve years old when I went there. I had two Elders and I was totally obedient to them. They sent me to fetch two bags of dirt for their gardens. This work had to be done by noon. I ran barefoot, jumping along the
“Do you mean by perspicacity a form of prophecy?” Eleni asked. “No. Prophecy is a more developed and important gift. Perspicacity is one of the first and simple gifts of the Holy Spirit, which allows the person to see through you and read your soul, as it were.” I understood Fr. Maximos to mean that such a person is gifted with heightened intuitive abilities to understand others. As an example of what he meant, Fr.
I began simply and spontaneously opening my heart to him and asking him whatever was of concern to me. “Elder, I want to become a monk. I love the monastic life. I desire to live for Christ. I visit a monastery but everything has become confusing for me and I have many questions. Please tell me, must a monk be smart or foolish? “I ask this question because whatever I do they constantly scold me
Through the prayers of our Holy Elder Porphyrios May whatever I write be for the glory of The Living God, Who glorifies those who glorify Him. How I Met the Elder for the First Time I always had the desire to meet a holy person, to see how he lives. One afternoon, friends of mine took me to a monastery in Milessi. These people knew the Elder well. They wanted me to meet a man
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