“Look,” Elder Paisios said, “the devil doesn’t want people to know that he exists, because it’s easier for him to fight them if they’re unaware of his existence.

The Purpose of the Book      “Look,” [Elder Paisios] said, “the devil doesn’t want people to know that he exists, because it’s easier for him to fight them if they’re unaware of his existence.  You don’t protect yourself from an enemy unless you realize he exists.  But once you’ve detected him, there’s no reason for him to hide, so he then fights you out in the open.” (52)

Elder Paisios on Man’s Love Towards Man

     “Man is worthy of being loved just because he’s in the image of God.  It doesn’t matter at all if he’s good or bad, moral or sinful.  Man is worthy of being loved for what he is.  Christ loved and sacrificed Himself for sinful, corrupt people.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matt. 9:13).  We should be the same way: we should love everyone without making any distinctions.  Just like the sun rises on everyone, intelligent and unintelligent, good and evil, beautiful and ugly, our love should be like the love of God – love that’s like the sun and shines on His whole creation without making distinctions” (Elder Paisios) (83)

The Author’s Impression of Elder Paisios

     I had the elder in mind.  I recalled the many miracles he had worked, such as the time he had taken by the hand a man paralyzed from birth and enabled him to walk around the room.  The elder had told me many details of my own life that even I had forgotten.  He would feed wild bears by hand, for nature was obedient to him.  He saw and conversed with saints, angels, and the Virgin Mary.  He could be in a distant location without having traveled. (92)

Elders, Saints an the Orthodox Tradition

     They wrote about how they lived with God, how and why one loses intimacy with Him, and how one can find it once more, in a fuller, purer, and more blessed way.  I was astonished by the fact that their views and experiences were the same, though they were separated by as many as fifteen hundred years, and I asked Father Christos about this.  He told me that this is what is meant by “Orthodox tradition.”  As I would come to discover, the ascetic and hesychast was a living link in that living tradition.  I would realize that he had been able to clarify the issues that these texts raised because he lived as their authors did and had the same experiences of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (107)

God and Man

Later, the elder would tell me that, if God does not help man spiritually, it is impossible for man to approach the truth, and that this is why Christ came into this world. (120)

The Comparative “Caliber” of Elder Paisios

     I couldn’t consider the elder to be a member of an inferior faith, as all the groups influenced by Eastern religions portrayed Christianity to be, because I had never encountered anyone of his caliber with whom to make a comparison. (147)

Differences in “free will” (pt. 1 of 5)

     Suddenly, while I was watching him [Babaji] come down the stairs, I lost consciousness for an indeterminate period of time.  I was standing there but my mind and self-consciousness had been seized and taken somewhere else. (148)

Differences in “free will” (pt. 2 of 5)

     Babaji’s eyes roved around the room and at a certain point our eyes did in fact meet, although he wasn’t looking at me purposely.  As soon as this happened, I lost all contact with my surroundings and fell into an ecstasy.  It was as though I was looking into my chest, and in that inner darkness I saw my own heart in the most lurid colors and engulfed in flames.  The very next moment I regained consciousness and realized what had taken place.  I was quite impressed and continued to watch him carefully. (155)

Epistemological thoughts between Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity

     I stood there wondering which of these two utterly divergent perspectives was, in fact, correct.  I needed to find a criterion by which to determine what this teacher of teachers really was: if I could only find the proper set of scales, I would weigh him in the balance in order to discern whether he was a sorcerer or a saint.  I somehow had to find a gauge that would indicate if he was a god or a devil. (157)

Wrestling with Elder Paisios

     I couldn’t help being sceptical (sic) about the high spiritual level of a teacher who would resort to violence in order to protect his wallet.  In fact, I found such an idea downright amusing when I recalled a similar incident involving Elder Paisios.  There was a young man who had grown up around a Buddhist monastery and spent a lot of time around the elder.  Even though the elder was kindly trying to help him, the young man decided that he wanted to test the elder’s strength, and he grabbed Father Paisios from behind and tried to crush his frail body with his muscular arms.  Irreverently, he said, “Hey, let’s see if Saint Arsenios can help you now!”

     As the elder told me later, “As soon as I heard him say that I felt as though he had uttered blasphemy.  I moved my hand slightly, like this, and immediately saw him cast six feet away and slammed against the wall.  He afterwards came over and made a prostration, and I told him to ask forgiveness of the saint.”  From this example, I concluded that God protects spiritual people in a spiritual way, and not with their own use of the martial arts, which (apart from being potentially injurious) hardly reflects the character that befits a saint. (176)

Differences in “free will” (pt. 3 of 5)

     Suddenly, I became aware that I was jerking my head back and forth, as though I were trying to rid myself of something that had sat on top of it.  I rubbed my eyes vigorously in order to awake from this condition.  In the meantime, the crowd became alarmed and recoiled from me in fear, and many even fled the group.  I felt sure it was the work of the yogi.  Nevertheless, when I came to, I looked at him indifferently and though, “You huckster, you’re nothing to write home about.”  To me, he seemed to be showing off.  I blamed him, but I wasn’t angry with him: I had lost all interest in him and his powers.  Shortly thereafter, I returned to my hotel and went to sleep.

     When I later reflected on what had taken place, I realized that I couldn’t tell when I had lost control over my senses.  I didn’t know when this state had begun, how long it lasted, or what I did while I was in it… (184-185)

Differences in “free will” (pt. 4 of 5)

     The whole time the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya” was stuck in my mind, as it would be for days after.  The melody was positively enchanting, but it still bothered me that it had been implanted there without my consent, and again I had cause to reflect on the opposite practice of the elder, who always asked my permission, respecting my person.  At daybreak, I returned to my room for some sleep. (197)

Differences in “free will” (pt. 5 of 5)

     I felt as though someone had stolen the keys to my consciousness, hypnotizing me from a distance while I was asleep and breaking into the house of my soul. (198)

Contours of Divine Knowledge

     I knew then that these are not matters to be judged by the intellect, which can hardly comprehend them.  Instead, they are the province of a divine knowledge born in the heart, which is much more certain and profound than what usually passes for knowledge. (230)

Elder Paisios in the Light of the Transfiguration

     One day some time later, when I was leaving Elder Paisios’s cell, I recalled something that was troubling me and I mentioned it to him: “Elder, that yogi, Niranjan, was able to produce a light.”  “What kind of light?” he asked.  “Once, when we were all sitting around him, his body suddenly started to give off a golden-yellowish light in the form of a continually expanding sphere, which eventually engulfed us all.  I wasn’t the same afterwards – It altered my way of thinking.  What was that light?”

     Without saying a word, the elder gently lifted up his hand and placed it on my head.  Suddenly, the entire yard was flooded with a light that welled forth from the elder and could be seen in all directions.  It was as powerful as a flash of lightning, but it was continuous, showing no sign of passing away.  Although it was intense, it didn’t hurt my eyes.  On the contrary, I couldn’t get my fill of looking at this sweet, immaterial, noetic light.  And, although the light was supernatural and rare – not like a white light, but more like glass, or water – there was still something so very natural about it that it didn’t startle me, but instead granted me a profound sense of joy.  This light was all-embracing and intoxicating yet it left my movements peaceful and my mind extremely lucid.  Although I was absorbed by the vision of this light, I continued to see my natural surroundings.  My five senses continued to function normally, while alongside of them another sense, a spiritual kind of vision, had begun to function as well.  Although it was around noon and the sun was shining brightly, when the immaterial light began to emanate from Father Paisios, the sun’s light seemed weak by comparison, like that of the late-afternoon sun.

     I didn’t say a word, but I understood many things.  Afterwards, when I reached the Monastery of Koutloumousiou, the monks could see that I was deeply changed and asked me, “You’re coming from Elder Paisios, aren’t you?”  I nodded my head.  The experience left a mark on my soul that I can still feel twenty years later, even though the intensity of my feelings waned within a few days.  It left my soul with a sweet peace, which deeply changed me in a mystical, hidden way.

     Truly, if I had remained ignorant of the light that came forth from the elder, I would have remained impressed by the enchanting light of the yogi – which was, in fact, truly remarkable.  But after my experience, I naturally made the comparison between the light of Niranjan and the light of the elder.  These two lights were as vastly different as an old piece of tin differs from a bar of solid gold, as falsehood differs from truth, and as man differ from God.  The elder’s invincible light not only surpassed the light of the yogi, but it utterly prevailed over it.  I had already heard so much from the elder about the light of the yogis, but words just weren’t sufficient to grant me true understanding, so he had granted me this spiritual gift so that I could understand the difference by experience.

     Once, when I was speaking with the elder about the lights that one sees during meditation, he told me, “We don’t want to see those kinds of lights, so we turn away from them.  When I was at the hermitage of Saint Epistimi in the Sinai desert, I would leave my cave at night and go to pray at the neighboring peak, from which I could see the monastery.  I would hold a lighter in my hand that I would light every so often so that I could see where I was walking on the rocks.  One night, when I had walked a few steps from the cave, there appeared  a light as bright as a spotlight that illumined the whole region as though it were day.  I realized that it was from the evil one and said to myself, “I don’t want to see that kind of light,’ and I returned back to the cave.

     As powerful as my experiences with the elder were, his words were of great value as well.  Of course, I can do no more than express what I understood of his words, along with the writings and spoken teachings of other spiritual strugglers.  From these, I gathered that the spiritual phenomena I had experienced were a result of the natural receptivity of the human soul to both divine grace and demonic influence.  On this plane, all depends upon a person’s free will, in accordance with which he opens the gateway of his soul to Christ or to the devil.  When people trample on their conscience, the law written in their hearts by God in order to guide them towards the good, they alienate themselves from Him, the source of goodness and light.  Their minds grow dark and they commit sins that give the devil the “right” to linger around them – and this is how people find themselves under demonic influence.

     If they continue further along this path, the evil spirits will enter them and they will become demonically possessed.  But the elders on Mount Athos had also known people, such as sorcerers and Satanists, whose minds were so perverse that they wanted the demons to enter them and actually invoked the demons so that the devil would come and seize their souls.  Some were motivated to do this because they lusted for power over others – so that others would admire them and be obedient to them.  And, often, they desired worldly goods and sinful pleasures in order to satisfy whatever passions might dominate them.

     In any event, when a person has become open to demonic influence, the devil can indeed grant him, or rather exercise through him, the considerable power the devil naturally posses as a spirit.  Thus, such a man might gain great physical capabilities, such as were possessed by the man who had an unclean spirit in the country of the Gadarenes, who was able to break his chains into pieces.  He might be able to alter his appearance, to speak with peculiar voices, to cause himself to levitate, or to make lights or different objects to appear.  He may seem to be able to foretell events, and he may be able to reveal a person’s hidden sins, amazing and frightening his hearers with knowledge of the past.  Moreover, acting through the demons, such a man can exploit others; imaginations in order to form images and sounds in their minds, and can also bring about striking physical effects, such as cracking a mammoth tree or shattering a large boulder.  I knew these phenomena well.

     Nevertheless, the elder told me, Christ has bound the devil, so that he cannot wreak all the havoc that he desires.  “The most insignificant demon has such power that he could make the entire earth collapse with a stroke of his tail, but God does not allow it.”  On another occasion he said, “Suppose the president were speaking on the balcony before a crowd of thousands watching him from below.  If God permitted the devil to appear on that balcony for just one moment, they would all drop dead from fear.”

     And yet, despite the terrifying visage of the devil in his true form, a person who has opened his soul to the devil’s power may appear to be quite virtuous.  The elder referred to a passage from the New Testament:  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (II Cor. 11:13-15)

     On the other hand, when someone approaches God by keeping His commandments and participating in the Mysteries of Christ, God comes to abide in that person’s soul.  With the keeping of Christ’s commandments, man shows his love for God, and when a man loves Christ, he will keep his words, and His Father will love him, and They will com to unto him, and make Their abode with him (cf. John 14:23).  Then man’s soul is so closely united with God that he and God become one: He that is joined unto the Lord is one in spirit (I Cor. 6:17).  Thus, man’s soul experiences theosis and acquires by grace those traits that are God’s by nature: immortality, light, glory, knowledge of the future and the past, dominion over matter, authority over illness, and much more.   But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18).  In such a person, the light of Christ that is present in his soul is so intense that it also illumines his body, so that when that person so wills for reasons he knows best, he can reveal his soul’s glory to others.  He does so even as Christ revealed His divinity to His three disciples on Mount Tabor: Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as light (Matt. 17:1-2).

     In time I realized that Father Paisios could also be numbered in the company of these God-bearers.  By his words, deeds, and life, he manifested the light of Christ – and, when there was a need, he also manifested it in a special, supernatural way. (258-263)

The Difference Between the Jesus Prayer and the Yogi Mantras (282-285)

     Now consider how the yogis view the mantra.  First of all, thee are many mantras, and each refers to one of the many gods of the Hindu pantheon such as Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, or the goddess Kali.  There is not one standard explanation given by yogis for the mantras; rather, their explanations are tailored to the receptivity of each listener.  For beginners who are not disposed to worship idols, yogis give a pseudo-scientific, mechanistic explanation: they claim that the benefit accrued by repeating the mantra is due to certain frequencies produced by its pronunciation, which cause spiritual vibrations that activate spiritual centers within man.  (However, the existence of such centers in man can only be taken on faith – if someone willingly chooses to believe such a claim.)  For those who are inclined towards psychological interpretations, the yogis present the repetition of a mantra as a type of auto-suggestion that enables the practitioner to program his inner world according to positive models.  When addressing those who have become more involved with Hinduism and now believe in many gods, the yogis claim that the worshipper receives the blessing of whatever god is being invoked.

     What constitutes the infinite distance separating the Christian Jesus Prayer from the Hindu mantra, however, is that which lurks behind the name of the god being invoked in a mantra and invited into the soul.  Through the mouth of the Holy Prophet David, God declares, All the gods of the nations are demons (Ps. 95:5) – in other words, behind the names Krishna, Rama, or Shiva are demons lying in wait.  Once they are invoked by the use of the mantra, the door is open for the devil to begin his theatrical productions, using sounds, images, dreams, and the imagination in general in order to drag the practitioner deeper into deception.

     Another significant difference between the Christian Jesus Prayer and the Hindu mantra is the diametrically opposed viewpoints of the two faiths regarding techniques and the human subject.  I recall a conversation I had with Niranjan after he had given me permission to begin to practice some supposedly powerful yoga techniques.  I said to him, “It’s fine practicing the techniques, but what happens to the human passions of greed, lust for power, vainglory, and selfishness?  Aren’t we concerned about them?”  “They disappear,” he replied, “through the practice of the techniques.”  “Do they just disappear like that, on their own?”  I asked.  “Yes, they disappear automatically, while you are practicing the techniques.”

     What an astonishing assertion: physical exercises can wipe out the inclinations that a person’s soul acquired in life through conscious choices.  But, in reality, man, as a self-determining and free moral agent, can change the conscious aspect of his personality and his moral sense only by the use of his own free will to make conscious decisions in real-life situations.  Any external means to automatically induce such a change in a person’s consciousness without his consent circumvents man’s free will, obliterates his volition, and destroys his freedom, reducing man to a spineless puppet manipulated by a marionettist’s strings.  Hinduism’s relentless insistence on properly performed techniques with automatic results degrades man by depriving him of his most precious quality: the self-governing free will.  It restricts the boundless human spirit within a framework of mechanical methods and reflexes.

     Orthodox Christian Faith, on the contrary, recognizes and honors the gift of human freedom as a divine trait.  This recognition and approach help man to be actualized as a free being.  Precisely on account of the human freedom to choose, man’s often-unpredictable responses can’s be limited to the mechanical reflexes of a closed system, but can innovatively turn in any spiritual direction that he, as a free subject, wills.  This is why Orthodoxy is not adamant about techniques and methods.  In freedom and with respect, Orthodoxy seeks the human heart, encouraging the individual to do what is good for the sake of the good, and pointing out the appropriate moral sense of the soul before God, which an individual can hen freely choose to embrace.

     Genuine spiritual development entails a deepening familiarity with God and with one’s own self, acquired through moral choices that a person freely makes in the depths of his heart.  Spiritual progress is a product of man’s way of relating to himself, to his fellow man, and to God by the good use of his innate moral freedom.  This is why Christ calls out, If any man wills to come after Me, let him freely deny himself (Matt. 16:24) – that is, without being deceived, without being psychologically compelled, and without being forced, all of which are inappropriate to the spiritual nobility of the Christian life.

     Father Porphyrios had a small parrot that he taught to pray in order to illustrate the absurdity of some Christians’ empty repetition of the words of prayer, as well as the ridiculousness of the opinion commonly presented in Eastern religions that someone can make moral advances by physical exercises or breathing techniques.  Every so often, the parrot would mechanically say, “Lord, have mercy.”  The elder would respond, “Look, the parrot can say the prayer, but does that mean that it is praying?”  Can prayer exist without the conscious and free participation of the person who prays?” (282-285)

    

Who is Elder Paisios?

     “My child, I’m just a human being.  I pray to Christ and he replies.  If His grace abandoned me, I’d be just another bum on the streets of Omonia” (Omonia Square in Athens, known at that time for being populated by drug addicts, prostitutes, and thieves.) – Elder Paisios (288)

http://theirheartsshallliveforever.yolasite.com/the-gurus-the-young-man-and-elder-paisios.php

Some Insights From Elder Paisios

 

“Kindness softens and opens up the heart, as oil opens a rusty lock.

“Those who come close to people in pain naturally draw near to God, because God is always by the side of His children who are in pain.
“When someone gives his heart to God, then the mind of this man is also seized by the love of God. He is indifferent towards worldly things and continually thinks about the Heavenly Father, and being divinely in love, he glorifies his Creator day and night like an angel.”
“Ask for repentance in your prayer and nothing else, neither for divine lights, nor miracles, nor prophecies, nor spiritual gifts—nothing but repentance. Repentance will bring you humility, humility will bring you the Grace of God, and God will have in His Grace everything you need for your salvation, or anything you might need to help another soul.
“Things are very simple, and there is no reason why we should complicate them. If we regard matters in this way, we will feel the Jesus Prayer as a necessity and will not grow weary. We will be able to repeat it many times and our heart will feel a sweet pain, and then Christ Himself will shed His sweet consolation inside our heart.
“Thus prayer does not tire but invigorates. It is tiresome only when we do not enter into its meaning and do not understand the sense given it by our Holy Fathers. Once we comprehend the need of God's mercy, the desire of this hunger will compel us, without pressuring ourselves in prayer, to open our mouth like a nursing infant, and we will feel, simultaneously, all the security and joy of a baby in its mother's embrace.”
"Nobody doubts that the enemy will try to war against us and to disperse our thoughts. However, when preceded by a little bit of Patristic study (e.g. The Sayings of the Fathers) a lid is put on all our cares, great and small, and on the days temptations. So, it is transformed into another atmosphere, a spiritual one and you pray with concentration".
"If you anger when you yourself are offended, your anger is unclean. But if someone is offended in the service of holiness, that means the zeal of God is in him. Indignation can be righteous when it’s indignation for God’s sake. That’s the only justifiable kind of indignation in a person. It’s unseemly to become angry in one’s own defense. Resisting evildoers is another matter, however, when it’s in defense of serious spiritual matters, when our holy faith, Orthodoxy, is concerned. Then it’s your duty. To think of others, to counter the blasphemers in order to defend one’s neighbor — this is pure, because carried out in love."
"You see, if we don’t begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger."

Loving Relationship with the World - Elder Paisios

by Dionysios Farasiotis
A few days after Pascha I decided to take an afternoon walk in the forest outside of Florina... It was a joy to be with the animals, the birds, the trees, and even the smallest blade of grass bursting with life.... I cheerfully spoke to them and they listened to me.  I tenderly caressed them and understood their intentions and the movements of their inner beings.  I loved them all.  This extraordinarily beautiful, peaceful, and loving relationship between man and the world must have characterized the genuine life of Paradise.  "The elder must be in such a state every day," I thought.

Indeed once he [Elder Paisios] said,

"When I was in Stomio at the little monastery near Konitsa, there were two large bears who would come to the place where I would dispose of the garbage.  The poor things were hungry, so I would go and give them some bread.  The animals can recognize your disposition when you approach them, if you intend to kill them or if you approach them with genuine love."

At this point, the elder opened up his hand and called to a red robin that was resting in the branches of a tree, and the little bird came and happily perched on the elder's finger.

"The animals enjoy being with man and look at him as their king. In Paradise, Adam called the animals one by one and gave them each a name according to its kind. Animals recognized man's superiority and were happy in his presence.  After the fall, however, this relationship was destroyed.  Man looked at the beasts with the intention of killing them, and the animals became wild. Nevertheless, the wild animals are still more sincere than man is.  If you approach them with love, they return to that pristine state.  Man has ruined the animals.  Even the dog that lives continually by man's side has changed, acquiring a police mentality and distrustful character.  I used to feed a little kitten around here that would come and rub itself up against my leg and purr.  Although it was very tame, when one day, I tossed a piece of bread to it, the animal pulled back in fear.  What had happened to it?  Someone had thrown stones at it and ruined the animal's attitude towards people.  So you see, this evil state of affairs begins with man."

From The Grus, The Young Man, and the Elder Paisios, by Dionysios Farasiotis pp 251-252

http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com/2009/10/loving-relationship-with-world-elder.html

Stories of Simplicity by Elder Paisios the Hagiorite

The Wondrous and Varied Ways of Athonite Life

Elder Nikodimos (+1867)


Father Nikodimos was born in 1807. He found no satisfaction living in the world with all its vanities, and when he was thirty-two he went to Mount Athos. After spending a short time at New Skete, he followed the advice of his spiritual father and moved to Kavsokalyvia, where he settled in a small cell and began to lead a strict life of prayer. He did not undertake any handiwork until he began to accept disciples, when it became necessary to have some means of support. Then, too, came various responsibilities attendant upon skete life, that bitterly constrain those who are engaged in mental prayer. He ate only bread, not even vegetables.

-


The envier of our salvation could not tolerate his rapid spiritual progress, and laid out for him various snares: there appeared to him dreadful apparitions, terrifying specters, and radiant visions. But, guided by an experienced elder, he vanquished the enemy and all his hordes.

Once the snow was piled so high around his cell that he was unable to leave it. His supply of rusks gave out and for a long time he was without food, so that he became weak with hunger. At this time a demon appeared to him in dazzling brightness, sitting on a throne, as if in the guise of the Holy Trinity, and said to him: “I am the holy trinity, bow down before me. You will be filled with grace and you will eat!” At that moment the famished elder saw before him tables laden with various dishes, whose aroma tantalized the hungry man’s sense of smell. He fell to the ground and prayed that the Lord preserve him from the derision of the enemy. He prayed for a long time, and the Lord regarded the elder’s humility and banished the demon. Only then did the elder arise when the aroma of the foods had disappeared.

Toward the end of his life, Elder Nikodimos was afflicted by five large open sores, and for three months he was racked by pain. At first he could, although with difficulty, crawl out of his cell, but later he had to lie immobile, and his disciples strained to turn him periodically from one side to the other. His disciple Nilus served the elder day and night, becoming so exhausted as to resemble a dry stick. The elder was unable even to sleep, but in spite of all he maintained a benign humor and continually thanked God, saying nothing about the excruciating pain. During this time one of the skete dwellers came and began to commend the elder for such an illness, which he desired to have himself for the sake of the cleansing of his sins and for future reward. The elder replied, “You do not know what you are saying. If you knew what kind of illness this is and what you have to endure, you would never say such a thing!”

Not long before he died, the elder had a revelation concerning the reward prepared for him and the coming of angels to take his soul. He took the hand of his disciple, Nilus, and, brimming with spiritual joy, said to him firmly, “My son, keep to the path that I have shown you and you will receive that which is now mine!” The elder was in such a state of ineffable joy that he was unable to continue speaking, and his soul flew to the Lord.

But at that very moment his disciple exclaimed sorrowfully: “Father, are you really dying?” and with these words he delayed the elder’s soul just long enough for him to answer: “Yes, I am dying!” and he closed his eyes. This was in 1867.


In instructing his disciple Nilus in the prayer of the heart, the elder told him to engage in it as continuously as possible, and not to believe in any dreams. “Even if Christ Himself should appear to you, do not believe the vision and say: ‘I do not want to see Christ in this life but rather in the life to come!’”

Remembering his elder, Nilus said sorrowfully, “There are no comparable elders left. Not long ago, after his death, I was preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries, and I was saying the preparatory rule with my eyes closed when suddenly the thought came to me: I have been struggling for so many years and I never see anything! At the next instant there appeared before my eyes an image of the icon Not-Made-by-Hands. I opened my eyes and I saw the same thing: before me there was an icon of the Saviour, surrounded by a great light. Thanks to the elder’s teachings, I understood that the vision was from the devil. I closed my eyes and continued to pray, and the vision disappeared!”

St Silouan the Athonite praying in his cell

Elder Leonty (+1876)


Father Leonty was born in Ukraine. He was a year old when his mother died, and his father gave him into the care of a wealthy, childless Moldavian. At the age of twenty-two Leonty ran away from his guardian and hid away in a monastery some fifteen miles from Bucharest. After sixteen years he made his way to Mount Athos together with his friend the monk Anthony, whom he later tonsured to the great schema, thereby becoming his elder. They settled in the Moldavian skete of Lak, where Father Leonty remained until his death, thirty-five years later.


Concerning his monastic life, Elder Leonty related:


"When I first entered upon the monastic path, my elder instructed me: in addition to the first confession before tonsure concerning what I had done while living in the world, I was to reveal my thoughts daily and to practice absolute obedience. I was to regard all the brethren as angels and to serve them in obedience as God Himself. Thus the elder further instructed me how to guard the senses and the mind from harmful thoughts."

Soon he was ordained to the deaconate. His cell rule was as follows: 300 prostrations with the Jesus Prayer daily, and, in place of bows from the waist, to read the Gospels. He continued the prostrations even unto old age, even though these were superfluous for one who had attained unceasing prayer. The elder, however, while he still found strength, continued his physical acts of ascesis as well.

“One person,” he would say, “can make a thousand prostrations without feeling physically tired, while others can scarcely breathe after fifty, but these latter are equal to those who make many!”


“And here we are,” said his interlocutor, “we drink a lot, we eat a lot, we sleep a lot, and our powers are only moderate.”


“If you do not give your nature what it requires, you will become still weaker. Saint Paisios, who spoke with the Lord Himself, once saw a brother lying on the ground, weak with exhaustion after fasting only two days, and he was surprised, for he had fasted sixty days without growing weak. The Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Do not think thus: you were able to do so thanks to my Grace, but he spent his own strength and fasted with extreme effort.’ ‘And what reward will he receive?’ asked Paisios. ‘The same as you!’ said the Lord.


“Here at the skete we have those who fast two and three days, even a week at a time - they have the help of grace.


“If you desire, says Saint Anthony the Great, to test a man of repute, whether he is spiritual, revile him, humiliate him; if he endures it, he is indeed a spiritual man, but if not, he has nothing. When someone humiliates you and your love for him does not falter, you are on God’s path!”

When the elder had to leave his cell in order to take care of necessities - to the skete, or to the monastery, or elsewhere - he would make several prostrations before an icon of the Mother of God, asking that whatever should befall him, that he would endure it all without experiencing any inner disturbance. Once he came to Karyes, to a Bulgarian acquaintance, who welcomed him with love and invited him to stay in the guest quarters until he had finished his business. The elder entered with a prayer and, as was his custom, said with a bow, “Bless!” There was a monk lying there, and he suddenly threw himself at Father Leonty and began upbraiding him. The perplexed elder said only, “Yes, father, just so. You’re right!” The monk looked around for a stick, but there was nothing of the kind in the room, so he dashed outside.


Awaiting his return, the elder sighed to the Mother of God and said to himself, “Well, Leonty, show how well you have been preparing yourself.” His faith in the Mother of God did not desert him; he hoped that she would strengthen him enough that his patience would not run out before his offender had tired of beating him. The elder expected that the monk would attack him, but when he returned he threw himself at Father Leonty’s feet and began asking his forgiveness. Some Wallachian, who resembled the elder, had offended the monk, and the latter had mistakenly taken the elder for his offender. However, when he ran down in search of a stick he ran into the guest-master, who asked after Father Leonty. Only then did the monk realize his mistake. The meek elder, seeing the monk’s humility and contrition, said, “God forgives; only fulfill the short canon: make a hundred prostrations to the Mother of God.” The monk had just begun to make the prostrations when the elder, seeing the sincerity of his repentance, said, “All right, that’s enough.”

There were many such incidences. “Had I not prepared myself earlier,” said the elder, “for all kinds of humiliations and beatings, what would have happened? I would have retaliated, he would have done likewise, and we would have come to blows. One must always be prepared for everything.” Father Leonty was well read, wise, and kindly. He remedied all those who came to him for confession, and comforted them in such a way that they went away with joy.

Even before coming to Mount Athos, Father Leonid had heard about the renowned Athonite ascetic, Elder Hilarion, the Georgian, and the first thing he did when he arrived was to go, with a translator, to see him. The elder gave Father Leonid a rule for mental prayer and explained how he should conduct himself in following this path. Until this time Father Leonid had not practiced mental prayer, although he had desired it, but he did not dare to undertake it without an experienced teacher. Afterwards he always turned to Elder Hilarion for counsel, and Elder Hilarion sometimes came to him. Father Leonty became adept practitioner of mental prayer, and later trained the Moldavian, Father Antipas, in the art. (Father Antipas later moved to Russia and reposed in the monastery of Valaam.) In a noisy monastery, where there are many monks, all with different characters, it is difficult to maintain inner vigilance, but if one practices absolute obedience and frequent revelation of thoughts, this too can bring salvation.

"Whatever one is doing, wherever one goes - one should always have the Jesus Prayer. Our Saviour Himself, during his 33 years on earth, showed obedience to Joseph and to His Mother. No one saw Him laughing, but several times He was seen to weep, thereby indicating how we should go on the path to salvation. A cleansed conscience itself shows the superiority of the inner life over the external."


In the battle against the passions, the elder advised: “If you should be troubled by envy towards your brother, for example, then go search out in the writings of the holy fathers a text concerning envy and read it. Likewise with other passions: you should look up and read suitable passages. In this way a person becomes accustomed to defend himself and to withstand the passions. A person who possesses obedience and humility progresses imperceptibly in the spiritual life. If it happens that a young monk speaks about the fear of God, or about some other aspect of the path of salvation, one should listen and apply it according to one’s strength.


But if someone teaches what is contrary or doesn’t agree with the Holy Fathers, even if he should have a white beard or even if he should be an elder, as I am, do not listen to him!"


The elder advised to have a constant remembrance of death with tears. This is the way of repentance; there is no other.


Father Leonty had a strong constitution, and a firm trust in God and His Providence. He used to bring a full sack of rusks or other essential supplies from Roussico [St Panteleimon’s Monastery] or some other distant place, carrying it on his back, and would distribute most of it, and whatever was better, to the poor, the sick, and the elderly. For himself he kept only rusks and whatever else could be eaten without cooking. His disciple, Father Athanassy, rarely left the skete; Father Leonty himself took care of obtaining whatever was necessary for their sustenance. The disciple, like a little child, sat at home and ate what was already prepared, whatever the elder set before him.

Father Leonty peacefully departed to the Lord on 25 May, 1876, mourned by all his spiritual children and by all who had profited from his spiritual counsels and comfort.


The Novice James the Bulgarian and the Mysterious Elder


A certain youth, James, a Bulgarian, without asking for the counsel of any experienced spiritual father, attached himself to an elder, a Greek, who lived in the skete of Kavsokalyvia, in a cell below the main church. This particular elder was fond of the broad path of life. At the same time he was severe, obstinate, and altogether unskilled in the spiritual life, as one who did not seek it. James, however, aspired to the life of an ascetic; he wanted to pray and to fast, but the elder would not allow it.


James asked a spiritual father what he should do under such circumstances. The spiritual father said that he should be obedient even to such an elder, and he revealed to him what benefit he would receive if at the same time he guarded his mind and heeded the voice of his conscience. The disciple obeyed, but not without extreme inner constraint. He told his spiritual father about this and asked his blessing to go to another elder, but the spiritual father did not give his blessing and instructed him to obey him in all things. At the same time, he gave him a rule for prayer and fasting which he was to fulfill secretly, in a way that the elder would not notice. James obeyed. At night he prayed, during the day he labored, while practicing self-restraint and vigilance. It was difficult to keep this from the elder, who began to keep an eye on him, compelling him to eat and sleep more.

James made a habit of going every night to the main church, where he would pray before an icon of the Holy Trinity, located above the entrance. He had been doing this for a long time when, one night, as he was praying and sorrowing over the elder’s oppressive demands, he heard footsteps. Concealing himself, he observed an elder noiselessly enter the porch; he had a grey beard and long hair, and he was completely naked. On entering he stood before the doors to the church and, saying a prayer, made the sign of the cross over the doors, which proceeded to open of their own accord. The elder entered the church and, standing in the center, prayed for a long time, uttering the prayers aloud. When he had finished praying, the elder venerated the icons and came out. Again making the sign of the cross over the doors, which closed in the same way they had opened, he left the church.

James wanted to know just who this elder was and to ask him to accept him as a disciple. He left the church and began following the elder at a distance. From Kavsokalyvia they walked up the mountain until Kerasia, where the elder turned aside in the direction of the summit. When dawn cast its first rays they were already nearing the church of Panagia, and James finally decided to catch up with the elder. But just then the elder, who had been walking as though unaware of being followed, turned to James and said, “Where are you going?” James drew nearer and began asking if the elder would accept him. The elder replied, “You cannot live here. Go back to your elder and perform your obedience; this will serve for your salvation. He who has not received Divine Grace cannot live in this place. Your salvation lies with your elder. But know this; that shortly the Lord will call for you.” Continuing his way, the elder added, “There are two of us here.” And he began descending down from the “Panagia.” James related all this to his spiritual father. The latter confirmed what he had been told and instructed James how to prepare for his departure to the next world. Three weeks later James reposed.


After three years his remains were exhumed. They emitted a wondrous fragrance, and his head was full of myrrh. Many who did not know of his life were amazed, as was his elder

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