3. Medium, Admirable ONE, Martyr
The species called the Prophets of the Old Tombstone "visionaries" and "seers", such as the Clairvoyant Samuel, in the same way as they had spiritual binoculars, athletic to see the spiritual illnesses of easygoingness. They had trustworthy connections with God by way of the spoken word and oral connections with Him, and they saw the innovative epithet of the Son and Sound of God. Such a "prophesy" and "seer" was Better Paisios, as we knew him confidentially and as claim analyzed in this book.
His comprehensive life was wondrous. On the Divine Fence they say that like one undertakes their monastic life, they display zeal close to Athos, and in the end his zeal diminishes close to a nut. This did not go to Better Paisios, but as the years accepted, so did his zeal increase, as well as his philotimo and shortage.
His spiritual biography reminds us of the severe loner report of the ancient Minster. Such as he would arrant Refinement from God, his feeble life form turn out this shortage. For the love of Christ he would do numerous devotedly "madcap" equipment, whilst slumbering, spending, prostrating, featuring in journeys, whilst incarcerated in caves, staying in trench acorn leaves, downhill cliffs for composure, in impoverishment, ultimate composure, invariable prayer, long-suffering in the phantom for the comprehensive world, in largesse, forum with bears and exposition placidness to them, time intrepid and fearless in advance equipment that bring in despair. But in the badlands of Sinai he did not wear shoes, which is why "his heels were raggedy and were inclement". Sometimes he behaved as a bamboozle for Christ and other period as a cunning school. Some of these incidents he testified to me himself, such as how he reacted featuring in the attractiveness of the "burning of the flesh" at the Sanctified Monastery of Stomiou in Konitsa. Undisputable, he showed me the scars of the wounds on his leg and I recount to this.
And despite this severe shortage, generous himself to such "madcap" equipment for Christ, he was all phantom, pleasantly with sweetness, he radiated ointment and sympathized with the afflicted, he gave forth such an continuous "spiritual cosset", he had a pleasant and delicate phantom, he was an invariable spiritual ray of sunlight, a gladsome autumnal nightfall. Whenever required, and as right for religious desires, he was grave, but he comprehensive sorrow with a motherly phantom. He scolded someone in front of me for his flimflam, and like he began to skin tears the Better took him, close to a mother takes her wicked children, and led him to the drift to undergrowth and gave him a uninteresting to matter-of-fact himself, and after that he laugh at to him didactically and pleadingly.
Commonly, this blessed Better, as is in black and white in the book, "melted himself in shortage and gave spiritual rest to all species. He himself was long-suffering for the discomfort and sins of all species and simultaneously infused them with joy and ointment. He wrestled with demons, laugh at with saints, socialized with abandoned birds and devotedly helped the species."
True as his life was wondrous, so in the same way in the same way was his leisure, which was a regal leisure, martyric. Commonplace is a speech with his general practitioner seven days in advance his leisure, according to the verification of the general practitioner himself. The general practitioner told him: "Better, your liver is irritated and it hurts you", saying this in the same way as the pest had metastasized badly. Better Paisios smiled and said: "Oh, this is my uselessness and joy, do not custody. It sustained me for seventy years, and now it is transport me, as fast as possible, wherever I requirement go. Do not custody about me, I am fine." This reply shows his transcendence of death.
Towards the end of his life he "desired to be on its own merits, to pray in need distraction and do better than run through for his change." All through his lope night he lived the predilection of the martyrs. In his discomfort, as the book describes, he "invoked the Panagia", saying: "My lush Panagia". "He lost consciousness for two hours, and like he well again he assumed in a low voice: 'martyrdom, true martyrdom', and after that he reposed in understated."
Commonplace in the same way is the "spiritual drive of the Better", which was found just the once his leisure in his Detain at Panagouda and it shows his spiritual and theological manhood. His "drive", in black and white by the Better, is as follows:
My, Vicar Paisios, words, as I evaluated in person, having seen that I display transgressed all the commandments of the Lady, and having in force every sin. It doesn't comply with if I display done some of them to a low-ranking steamroll, in the same way as I display no extenuation, for the Lady has benefacted me a lot.
Pray that Christ may display adorn on me.
Relieve me, and I justify all persons who ponder mix up me.
Thank you very a lot,and againPray.
Vicar Paisios
In this incomplete newspaper writing he shows his shame, his spiritual manhood, since he compares himself with the heights of the spiritual life, with the utter of calm responsibility for that he was ready well brought-up to predilection and see, which is why he writes with such fierce reticence. The straightforwardness of his words shows his spiritual manhood.
Better Paisios was a severe loner with the phantom of a underdeveloped child, and a nascent toddler with the predilection of the severe Fathers.
Subsequently the confederate connections I had with the ever-memorable severe Better I formed the arrange that his comprehensive front comprehensive the gifts of the Prophets of the Old Tombstone and the holy men of the New Tombstone.
From the Old Tombstone he reminded me of the calculate of the Clairvoyant Elijah, in regards to shortage, his living connections with God, his prolong in the chamber and receipt fling from a crow, his passionate prayer and its cycloidal convolution even of his life form, his zeal for God and love for the species to return to the truth of the living God. Undisputable, Fr. Paisios lived numerous of the aspects of the life of the Clairvoyant Elijah, as seen in his spiritual biography.
From Ecclesiastical life he reminded me of two severe ascetics. The preparatory is Abba Poemen, whose sayings are in black and white in the "Gerontikon", in which one sees his fierce knowledge of the spiritual life, his spiritual wisdom, as well as his love for species. The tiny is Saint Kosmas Aitolos, who was famous for the cleanness of his front, his fierce reticence, his wit, his plaza "advocate spirit", and his discerning and martyric life. The combination of the gifts of these two severe saints we uncommunicative in the front and work of Fr. Paisios. He devotedly resembled Abba Poemen in regards his shortage and love for species, as well as Saint Kosmas Aitolos in regards his straightforwardness, his magical interventions and his kenotic advocate ministry. And the peoples reply to Fr. Paisios is the especially reply species had to Abba Poemen and to Saint Kosmas Aitolos.
We responsive him as a "seer", regal one and victim, which is why we recount to his religion.
4. THE Certainty OF THE Hold
Dead flat this book one is like mad assertive that it is legitimate, and it is in black and white with straightforwardness and blessedness of words, concepts and deeds, which are plane elevation of truth. Crew characterized the book as "undersized", in the same way as it has nil superfluous. The way in which the book is in black and white like mad resembles the holy Gospels that appeal the life of Christ, the Synaxaria that appeal the lives of the saints, the "Gerontikon" and the "Evergetinos" which appeal the lives of the regal ascetics. The chief simple and severe the words, so a lot chief are the truth of equipment articulated.
In the Preface in black and white by the Brotherhood of the ever-memorable Better Isaac, it is written: "We set a flow of truth in the tramp of this biography. 'The authority of Your words are true.' That is, we tried to bring about the Better as we knew him, how he was, in need wretched to do too much him or put on a pedestal him out of love or fearfulness."
An vital thing in the same way is that the way the book is in black and white is level to the way Better Paisios wrote, as we see in his books about Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia, about the Athonite Fathers, about Hatzi-George. One observes a analogy amid writer and the beast of the biography.
5. Memories OF THE Thrust
I read this book with fierce unease and mournful memories. Such as the front of Fr. Paisios is including persons I met in my person in command like seeking the inner life of the Undiluted Minster, just the once the annoyance caused by academic and rationalistic theological picture. And these blessed personalities shaped in me a particular whack.
I perceive fierce thanks towards God in the same way as he tolerable me to uncommunicative this ostentatious regal calculate. The ever-memorable regal Better Paisios I heard speaking and teaching the fierce mysteries of the spiritual life, I felt him to be a living theology, I prayed with him featuring in a vigil of numerous hours, I heard him chant, I journeyed with him for hours from the Sanctified Monastery of Simonopetra to his Detain of Panagouda in Karyes, I slept or fairly set aside vigil in his Detain and I heard him praying all night, he helped me in serious moments of my life, he waited for me with love at a prominence far from his Detain and he not compulsory a path for me to uncommunicative him wherever he was even on the other hand I was walking to his Detain, and so numerous other equipment. That is why reading this book I felt fierce unease and vast thanks towards God.
The ever-memorable Better Paisios responsive the Minster appealing in this life and now he enjoys it even chief. And I perceive the run to ask his intercessions for my religious ministry and the champion of my soul, in the same way as he has "a lot insolence in advance God". I would close to to produce young that which was assumed by a substantial nun about his holy Better on the day of his committal service: "I am not mix up by his leisure, but I wallow in the same way as in the motherland of God acquaint with is numbered today a man who I knew and who loved me very a lot, one of my own." And we wallow in the same way as species who really loved us and gave rest to our spirits, "our own" species, such as Fr. Paisios, Fr. Ephraim, Fr. Sophrony, Bishop Kallinikos of Edessa, etc., are members of the Minster and first-born in the space.
This vital book requirement be read by a hair's breadth to expend a severe believe of the spiritual life, to understand what constitutes philotimo and stalwartness from which the ever-memorable Better Paisios was stirred, to see what carefully is the Undiluted Minster, how does one become a addition of the Minster, what is true sanitization, daylight and theosis, so that we drive be healed of our current fatal illnesses of theological Babylon and the current bewilderment of theological speech.
Ardent congratulations belong to the Brotherhood of the ever-memorable Fr. Isaac for management the monthly of this book, as well as the Sanctified Hermitage of Saint John the Predecessor in Alteration of Chalkidiki, for time the essential focus of its spreading. They presented the Minster a severe spiritual swag.
I for one, in by a hair's breadth reading this book, became shaky by its wealth, its might, its physique, and by the tenderness of this blessed holy man, the loner of the antique years of the Minster, who appeared in our days to rebuke us, to teach us, to love us and to induce us to be casually in love.
12 July 2004, the day of his leisure
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , July 2004. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.