This book about St. Paisios is the first comprehensive (life, miracles, teachings) book about a contemporary saint that Iβve read and I loved it! Since, Iβve also read βMy Elder Joseph the Hesychastβ (by elder Ephraim), and βBlessed John (Maximovich) the Wonderworkerβ (by Fr. Seraphim Rose), and a one about St. Porphyrios. What other similar books would you recommend? Thanks! (:
What is the role of Mt. Athos in Orthodoxy and what role to the monks that reside there play? How are they viewed by the Orthodox Church broadly? Is it common for Orthodox believers to go to Mt. Athos on a pilgrimage? So the monks have any role in the Church hierarchy? My understanding is that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is in charge of the monks there. Is there not an abbot or abbots and does the Patriarch ever actually go there? How are the monks regarded in Greece vs Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, etc?
My warm greetings, I hope youβre all enjoying the days leading to Christmas. I have a wonder however. I am a Romanian Orthodox who wishes to visit Mount Athos, as a pilgrim. I have done some research and have seen a couple of sources which claimed that I must be a Greek Orthodox if I wish to visit and stay (for 3 days) as a pilgrim. Is this true? Or can I still have a 3 day long stay/visit as a Romanian Orthodox? Thank you.
Eustratios Argenti: A Study of the Greek Church Under Turkish Rule (Page 22) by Met. Kallistos Ware
>The Orthodox not only welcomed the western missionaries when they arrived, but frequently took the initiative and invited them to come. We may take as an example the relations between Athos and Rome during the second quarter of the seventeenth century. In 1628 Ignatius, Abbot of the monastery of Vatopedi on the Holy Mountain, visited Rome and asked the Propaganda to send a priest to set up a school on Athos for the monks. In answer to this request, Nicholas Rossi, formerly a student at the college of Saint Athanasius in Rome, was sent in 1635-6 to Athos, and opened a school at Karyes. In 1641, however, the Turkish authorities forced him to move with his school to Thessalonica; he died the following year and soon after the school came to an end. In 1643 the ruling synod of the Holy Mountain β the Great Epistasia β sent a letter to the Pope, asking a church be given them in the city of Rome, in which monks from Athos could serve, while a the same time carrying on their studies; in return they offered a kellion or skete on Athos, for use of Basilian monks from Italy who wished to live on the Holy Mountain. Although nothing came of this suggestion, it shows that the Athonite authorities at this date cannot have felt much hostility to Rome.
Hello - I am planning a trip to Greece for July 2022. I would love to visit Mount Athos. I am from the USA, a male, and not Eastern Orthodox (Protestant).
I have started doing some research and I understand the premise - get permit (15 non orthodox allowed/day), and then contact monasteries to secure lodging.
Does anyone have any tips as I begin the permit process? Thank you in advance.
Excerpt from By Archimandrite Achilles Tsoutsouras, Chancellor of the Sacred Metropolis of Larissa and Tirnavou:
"It was then that we took advantage of the opportunity to ask of the Elder a word from his experience. "What do you want me to say? What ever I tell you will be a loss of time. I have no gifts and I do not deserve your attention. You tell me however. What is going on out there in the world?"
"The world is filled with problems, Elder" replied a child in our company. "Everyone runs around anxious, and no one is interested in the future of our young people and our country."
"Don't worry, there is a God, the end has not come. Not even the invisible Elders have been saved. This place is full of them." And he showed above us Old Man Athos.
"What did you say, Elder? Who are these invisible ones? If you want, explain this to us, we are interested in it. Have you ever seen one of them?"
At this point our anxiousness peaked, staring at the Elder motionless, as if we were not breathing at all. We wondered how such a burning and topical issue came up naturally for discussion, of which few of us had heard of.
"Do not fear. God will resurrect our nation. He is testing us because we forgot Him. Despising God, living far from Him, we have built false earthly paradises and forgot the Heavenly one. But the Saints have not been lost, nor the naked ones, the invisible Fathers of Athos. This place is full of them. When they are lost, then be afraid, because then will come the end of the world."
"Who are they, Elder? Where do they live? Do they exist even today?"
"My child, they are the invisible ascetics, the naked Athonites, the mystical Elders, who live in this garden of our Panagia, Mount Athos."
"How many are there, Elder?"
"There are plenty. Some say nine, others seven, others ten, and yet others twelve. They abide in the more isolated areas of Athos and are invisible to our eyes. They appear here and there to whomever they want, usually monks who have purified their hearts, but sometimes they make their presence felt to blessed pilgrims who live a clean Christian life.
Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller would say in his stories that these invisible and silent anchorites live with strict asceticism and their work is unceasing prayer, that is, to pray with the heart for the whole world and for all people who are in danger.
They have received a special gift from the Lord, which is why they are able to live under snowy Athos without shelter, without cloth
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Yeah. He was the Centaur for Disease Control
Hi there,
I've been looking for the past one hour to find a link where I can donate for Dochiariou Monastery at Mount Athos. I cannot find any information about donations to this monastery. Does anyone have any experience donating to any monastery in Mount Athos?
Thank you.
Dr. Zeus
God bless everyone, I just wanted to know whether there are any steps in becoming a monk on Mount Athos. I felt a call from God from quite some time and my heart tells me that I should become a hermit there. From what I read online I would need to purchase a permit called diamonitirion, but it only last about 4 days. Would I need to call a monastery or a priest in advance in order to known whether they can accept me ? It would mean a lot if anyone knows any information based on my question since Iβm not sure what step to take before I go there.
God bless
I grew up in a wealthy community with white collar criminal elements; really all types of criminal elements. Investigations, company seizures, trials - along with bad action at work is common. Incredibly common amongst men that profited after the collapse of the soviet union - and not just oligarchs. And also with their kids...
It seems like its become a right of passage the last few decades.
I can think of at least 10 men who have gone through a crisis and went to stay on the island at one of the Orthodox monasteries, my dad and brother included. My dad now makes a trip of it yearly "to shut his phone off and clear his head". I've been angry since I was a little that I wasn't allowed to go CLEAR MY HEAD because I'm female!
Crisis happens - you need to disappear - you go to the island. Lawyers at home deal with your problems, and your wife doesn't have to see your face for a couple months - while you contemplate your sins. Saves so many marriages and appearances!
I NEVER expected to hear this on an American TV show. Couldn't imagine one of the Roy's there with the monks and guys like my dads crazier 'I love to spend the summers fishing and hunting the Taiga' buddies.
Logan being disciplined by one of the local hegumen would make a great episode. They give ZERO fucks how many millions or billions you have or how many people you have killed. All they do is deal with those people.
The other day I was watching a video by Jonathan Pageau where he was speaking on the mystagogical nature of Orthodox liturgy and why non-members are asked to leave or not participate in certain rites. When I heard this I suddenly had a new perspective on some things I experienced at Mt. Athos. Allow me to explain (I'll try to keep this short).
While cycling through Europe in 2019 I came to Mt. Athos in Greece to see and experience the monastic life there. I didn't identify with the Evangelical faith I grew up with anymore but I was very interested in Orthodoxy Christianity and its spirituality. Mt. Athos was fascinating and I very much enjoyed my time there even while feeling like an outsider. I stayed at three different monasteries. The second was Koutloumousiou. When checking in I told the reception monk I was Protestant, and I was given instructions of which liturgies I was and was not allowed to participate in. Basically I wasn't allowed to go into the deeper room.
The next morning's service was about 5 hours long as it was Sunday, and I was getting worn out towards the end. People were lining up but they were entering the deeper room, so I would have remained at my seat but a monk was beckoning me to step forward so being tired as I was I decided to just go with the flow. I don't remember exactly what it was for, but I'm pretty sure it involved kissing some relics. After the service the reception monk came to me very upset, asking me why I didn't follow the instructions. I could only apologize.
My roommate at Koutloumousiou was a Ukranian dude. When I told him before we parted ways that I was Protestant he seemed shocked. In fact his last words to me were, "Change your religion!" Now, this Ukranian dude had given me a can of squid. On my last day at Mt. Athos, while hiking to Iviron after hitching a ride with a kind monk, I decided to rest and eat the can of squid. That's when I sliced my left thumb open on the lid of the can! It was bleeding like crazy and I had to tie the two strands of my thumb up with cotton and string. I managed to get a hold of some alcohol to sanitize my thumb and since there was no doctor around I just decided to bet that my thumb would grow back together. When I got back to the Greek mainland, loaded up my bicycle and set out, I soon realized both my tires were flat. There was no way I could fix flat tires with my messed up thumb. I realized that the incident had drained a lot of energy out of me. I just sat in despair fo
... keep reading on reddit β‘)