Living with Elder Iosif, Father Sofronios learned empirically that monasticism is nothing other than living in the kingdom of heaven, experiencing divine Grace. He stressed that he never forgot those days and the enthusiasm engendered within him by this spiritual way of life which quickly elevated those determined to follow it to a sublime spiritual state. What Father Sofronios wanted was to be formed spiritually by an elder experienced in the hesychast life. He was especially interested in acquiring the Jesus prayer. ‘When I went’, he relates, ‘from the very first day the Elder interpreted in detail for me the meaning of the spiritual life. In particular, he tried to interpret the matter of Grace, that it’s the main factor that ...




















