In English

His courtesy, perfect obedience and respect for the monastery and its overseers continued throughout his long life. His great progress in the monastery, the felicitous conclusion of all the tasks assigned to him and, particularly, his modesty, gentleness and virtue in general made him, on the one hand, well-liked and respected, but on the other, as is often the case, also made him the object of jealousy, envy and pettiness. His answer was always silence and forbearance. At the monastery they would see his lamp burning all evening long. The older monks used to say they never saw him lying down. Whatever time you went to see him, you’d find him on his feet or sitting. He slept in his chair. ...

Fr Jonah from Taiwan speaks on the real meaning of the Resurrection of the Christ.

This morning, 9 May 2019, Archimandrite Elder Aimilianos, former Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras on the Holy Mountain fell asleep in the Lord at the Holy Convent of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, Ormylia, Halkidiki. Biographical details by Hieromonk Serapion Simonopetritis (†2019). You have made known to me the ways of life; you will fill me with joy with your countenance (Ps. 15, 11) Elder Archimandrite Aimilianos, born Alexandros Vafeidis, was Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras from 1973 until 2000. He was born in Nikaia, Piraeus, in 1934, to devout parents, though by ancestry he was from Asia Minor. His grandmother on his father’s side, Evdoxia, was Constantinopolitan, while his grandfather was from Silivria in ...

Since the matter of salvation is the most important in our lives, this is precisely why it’s also the most difficult. This is why it requires a struggle. Fight for the Lord and you’ll soon see the fruits. » Saint Theophan the Recluse

You have to get your mind used to swimming in the Law of the Lord, under Whose guidance you’ll regulate your life. » Saint Seraphim of Sarov

John was a son of Zebedee, a fisherman, and Salome, the daughter of Joseph, the Betrothed of Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God. When the Lord Jesus called him, John immediately left his father and their nets and, together with his brother, James, followed Him. From then on, he was never far away from his Lord, until the end. He was present, with Peter and James, at the raising of Jaïrus’ daughter, as well as at the Transfiguration. At the Last Supper, John reclined against Jesus’ chest. When all the other apostles had abandoned the crucified Lord, John and the Mother of God remained at the foot of the cross. Later, at the Lord’s behest,  he took Our Most ...

When you were praying and you received divine enlightenment, you felt joy and ineffable sweetness. Immediately, a robber – the arrogance – comes and murmurs quietly to you: ‘Ah, now you’re a saint’. >Blessed Joseph the Hesychast

Elder Ieronymos as a monk on the Holy Mountain (1888-1920) Young Ioannis arrived on the Holy Mountain, made the sign of the cross and thanked Our Lady. Here his love for the Mother of God grew, to such an extent that, to his dying day, he would weep at saying or hearing her name. At the time when he arrived, there were more than 10,000 monks on Athos. Praising God, the seventeen-year-old Ioannis entered that holy location and passed through the gates of the Monastery of Simonopetra, in order to imitate the achievements of the saints of God. This was on 3 October 1888 and, on the 28th of the same month, his name was entered in the book of novices. As ...

Don’t express them in words. Let them quieten down within you and they’ll soon disappear. We’re human, and often enough we have wicked, inappropriate or disgusting thoughts. But let’s prevent those thoughts from becoming words. Push them down and they’ll weaken and then disappear. Just as, if you cast wild animals into a pit and cover it up, they suffocate easily, by the same token, if you leave an opening so they can breathe a little, it refreshes them and prevents them disappearing. On the contrary, it makes them even fiercer. This is the way it is with wicked thoughts. When they arise within us, if we block off their way out, we get rid of them quickly. But if we externalize them ...

Uncharitable people are unhappy because their heart has never felt the joy of doing good works and or giving alms. They haven’t understood that real enjoyment lies in loving your neighbor. They haven’t realized that, in giving to others, you pile up eternal riches, cost free and genuine, which are the only thing with which we can buy the Kingdom of Heaven. » Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis

Nobility is the preservation of the properties of the image of God and the equivalence with the archetype. This is achieved through speech, virtue and pure desire. I have known one nobility: devoutness. I have come to know what it was we were born and what we have turned out to be. » Saint Gregory the Theologian

Prayer without repentance is of no help at all. But as soon as prayer is connected to repentance, then it’s heard by God. » Saint Nicholas Velimirovich

Jesus Christ, my Christian brothers and sisters, remained in the grave for three days. The first day was Friday. The second was Saturday and then, sometime during the night between Saturday and Sunday- we don’t know precisely when- He rose. That He did so is certain, because, in the first place, the guards at the tomb bore witness; and then there were the appearances He made as the Risen Lord. There were eleven of these, because it was of great importance to confirm His Resurrection to His disciples. This is why He didn’t ascend into heaven immediately after the Resurrection, but remained on earth for forty days, appearing to them and speaking to them about His kingdom (Acts 1, 3). Christ’s ...

Childhood Years (1871-1888) Elder Ieronymos was born in the village of Reïz-Dere in the Krini region of Asia Minor in 1871 to poor but devout parents, Nikolaos and Maria Diakoyiorgis. The village was wholly Christian and lay five kilometres to the north-east of Alatsata and two and a half kilometres from the sea. Most of the inhabitants were farmers or vine-growers and had come originally from Crete or the Peloponnese. At his baptism, he was given the name Ioannis. When he went to school he was a good student, surpassing the others in intelligence and maturity. As soon as he’d completed Primary School, the teacher sent him to the neighbouring little town for a short time to act as teacher. The village church became ...

Don’t worry if you don’t find Grace in your prayer. It’ll come back. This is why it withdraws: so that you’ll seek it with greater yearning. >Blessed Joseph the Hesychast

It’s a great thing to experience the truth. And you know, the truth isn’t an idea or a philosophy. Truth is a person, it’s God. Didn’t Christ Himself say: ‘I am the way, the truth and life’? » Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi

‘When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight’. So we’ve seen how, initially, Christ walked along with the disciples in such a way that they didn’t recognize Him and that then He was revealed to them, ‘at the breaking of the bread’. Christ appears in a different form and is recognized at the breaking of the bread, that is, through the holy sacraments, particularly the Divine Eucharist, where we partake of His body and blood in the form of bread and wine, at which point we have the feeling and the certainty ...

Temptations in their various forms sadden people, so that they seek divine assistance all the more, and with tears. This is a dispensation of Divine Providence, in order to strip us bare. >Blessed Joseph the Hesychast

Let us, then, have a look at this mystery and understand it from a single appearance of Christ after His resurrection: to two of His disciples who were on the road to Emmaus, a small town some 10 miles from Jerusalem. This appearance is related only by Luke and is one of the most beautiful and vivid scenes in his Gospel. From the narrative, it seems that the two disciples, Cleopas (one of the seventy) and, perhaps, Luke, were profoundly sad and devastated by the events of the previous few days, that is the conviction, crucifixion and death of their Teacher on Whom they’d pinned their hopes concerning the Messiah. These expectations had been completely dashed. Despite their sorrow, their love ...

Struggle to warm up your heart and you’ll see how a warm heart reins in unruly thoughts. You have to practice violence on yourself. Without toil and intellectual effort you won’t acquire anything spiritual. » Saint Theophan the Recluse