Protopresbyter fr. Georgios Metallinos passed away

The Protopresbyter, Father Georgios Metallinos, was born in Corfu in 1940 and completed his basic education in 1958. He was awarded a BA in theology (1958-1962) and philology (1964-1967) from the University of Athens.
After completing his military service (1963-1965), he was appointed scientific assistant in Patristics and he pursued postgraduate studies in West Germany (Bonn and Cologne) in 1969, where he remained until 1975. In the meantime, he did archival studies and research in England.
In 1971 he became clergyman in Germany and held a PhD in Theology (Athens) and a PhD in Philosophy and History (Cologne).
Since 1984 he has been a professor at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Athens, where he has been teaching History of Spiritual Life during the post-Byzantine period, History and Theology of Worship and Byzantine History. He served as dean of the School of Theology from 9/1/2004 to 8/31/2007. Afterwards, he retired and was given the title of emeritus.
He served at Saint Antipas University Church located in the Department of Dentistry in Goudi.
  
source: orthodoxtimes.com


On Thursday, December 19, 2019, Protopresbyter Father Giorgos Metallinos, a prominent Greek theologian, historian, author, and professor, passed away at the age of 79, leaving behind his wife Barabara, three children and ten grandchildren.
Father Giorgos was a much loved and important theologian of the Greek Orthodox Church, as he was an author to over 40 significant books and essays. He was distinguished by his faithfulness to the Orthodox Church,  bringing to light a lot of history about the Greek Church, especially in the modern age, and teaching theology was one of his main passions.

Father Metallinos was born on March 11, 1940, in Kerkyra, where he attended school. He went on to graduate at the University of Athens in Theology and Classical Literature. After his Military service was completed in 1965, he became a research assistant at the Department of Patrology and then went to Germany for post-graduate studies until 1975. During this time he also went to London where he conducted research studies. In 1971, he was ordained a deacon and a presbyter and became Doctor of Theology (University of Athens) and Doctor of Philosophy-History (University of Cologne).
In 1985 he became a Professor at the School of Theology at the University of Athens, teaching History of Spirituality during the Post-Byzantine era, Theology of Worship and Byzantine History. He also served as Dean of the School of Theology between 2004 and 2007.

source:  greekcitytimes.com

Elder Ephraim of Arizona says The Jesus Prayer

Elder Ephraim of Arizona reposed in the Lord

December 7th 2019, the much-beloved Elder Ephraim of Arizona reposed in the Lord after being ill for many years. According to reports, Elder Ephraim was aware of his impending death some days before, and despite this he would still daily go out and give his blessing to the people. His personal doctor told him to not go out Saturday evening, the day of his repose, to bless the people. Elder Ephraim was lucid on the day of his repose and partook of the Immaculate Mysteries. Then at 9:00pm (Mountain Standard Time), as he was upright occupied with something, he suddenly tilted slightly to the side and died. Nurses found him practically upright, having delivered his spirit to the Lord. 

Elder Ephraim, also known as Ioannis Moraitis, was born on June 24, 1928, in Volos, Greece. He spent his childhood in poverty helping his father with his work, but he always followed the example of his mother (who later became a nun and bore the name “Theophano”).

At the age of 14, he decided to follow a monastic path, but his spiritual father did not give him the blessing to go to Mount Athos until he was 19 years old. Upon his arrival at Mount Athos on September 26, 1947, he went straight to Elder Joseph the Hesychast in the Monastery of Timios Prodromos (Saint John the Forerunner), who accepted him into his brotherhood. Nine months later, in 1948, he received the name “Ephraim”.
In 1973, the brotherhood moved to the Holy Monastery of Philotheou where Elder Ephraim became abbot. Thanks to his good reputation, the monastic brotherhood grew rapidly.

In 1979, he went to Canada due to health issues. Along with his medical examinations, he was preaching the Greek population and hearing their confessions. Then, he wanted to establish a monastery in America, so that the Greek population would have their own spiritual place.
He established 19 monasteries in North America, 17 in the US and 2 in Canada, both for men and women, which are subject to the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of America and Canada. Elder Ephraim lived in St. Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona, not too far away from Phoenix and the town of Florence.

sources and gratitude to: orthochristian.com, orthodoxtimes.com

Metropolitan Anthony Bloom -Faith and Doubt

Two miracles of Saint Porphyrios in Greece

The Orthodox Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex has a new Abbot

The Old Rectory, Rectory Road, Tolleshunt Knights, By Maldon, Essex CM9 8EZ, United Kingdom

Tel.: (+44) (0) 1621 816 471

The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist is a monastic community for both men and women, directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is located in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England.
The community consists of men and women living the monastic tradition of a Christ-centered prayer life for the monastic members. Currently, the majority of the community are nuns (~15-20), with a smaller number of monks.

The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist had its beginnings largely in the person of Elder Sophrony (Sakharov). After his departure from Mount Athos and his subsequent move to Paris, he was to live in a Russian old-age home, assisting the priest.

In 1958, Elder Sophrony had six people living around him, seeking the monastic life. Realising that such a situation could not continue, he went to Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England to inspect a property; in the spring of 1959, the new Community of St John the Baptist was formed at the same property, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh (Patriarchate of Moscow). The monastery, from its beginnings, had both monks and nuns, due to Elder Sophrony being unable to oversee two separate communities.
The Monastery of St John the Baptist moved under the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1965, becoming Patriarchal; later, the monastery would also be titled ‘Stavropegic’.

The new Abbot is hieromonk Petros (Vryzas), born in 1977 in Greece and since 2002 a monk in the monastery of JOhn the Baptist, a disciple o Elder Zacharias (Zacharou).
May God give him wisdom and  strength for every (spiritual) battle.

sources:  trelogiannis.blogspot.com , http://www.thyateira.org.uk

The monastery o Temptation - Το μοναστήρι των Πειρασμών.

The Monastery of the Temptation is a Greek Orthodox Monastery in Jericho, Palestine, constructed by the Byzantines in the 6th century, on the mountain on which Christ was tempted by the devil during his 40-day fast. 

Monk Jerasimos has passed away recently. 

With the Saints give rest O Christ, to the souls of thy servants.

The Blessing of our Cross - Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

 

In the Orthodox Church, pain and all kinds of suffering are not abolished for the faithful, but rather they acquire a completely new merit, they are transformed. Through our courage, patience, our prayers, and the constant memory of God, this bitter chalice gradually transforms into the sweet chalice of immortality. For this reason, pain no longer becomes a source of fear and horror for the Christian, but a broad field of labor and battle. Let’s take, for example, an athlete that has run in competitions and has won contests: when he receives his reward for the victory, out of joy he forgets all of the hard work put into preparing for the competitions. In the same way an athlete of Christ, foreseeing the glory that shall be revealed (1 Pet. 5:1) and the future reward in the Kingdom of Heaven, forgets the bitterness of suffering and of death itself.

Therefore, we must valiantly bear our run through the course set before us, throughout which we must patiently endure temptations, sorrows and trials, asking for strength and consolation from our Savior, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2).

And if we receive that great gift of God to people—suffering—in the correct way, it will become for us the source of blessings. Whatever we may endure in this current age, none of it can compare with the future reward in the Heavenly Kingdom, as was said by the apostle Paul: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). If someone wants to find an answer in this life to the question of why God allowed a certain circumstance to happen, then his mind will undoubtedly be filled with thousands of “whys?” But if he were to view his ailments as a necessary trial sent to him by God either in order to be cleansed, or to be perfected, or in order to be crowned in the future life, then he would accept the chalice of suffering from the Lord’s hand as a blessing.

This is God’s answer to man. The Lord does not give man the false promise that He will abolish suffering, but promises to transform his pain, and out of a curse create blessing and consolation.

Let no one assume that the saints did not suffer and were not subjected to bodily diseases. The words of St. Isaac the Syrian are proof of the contrary—in one of his homilies he says the following: “Do you see the countless multitudes of the Church’s saints? None of them have ascended up to Heaven living in pleasure, but all of them have ascended up to there by many sorrows,” patiently carrying the cross that God had given them.

Each one of us carries his own cross—all of us, absolutely all of us without exception, no matter who are, whatever status in society we may have, or in whatever part of the world we may be located. But even if the Lord does not send the cross of patiently enduring sicknesses to some, they are still subjected to various sorrows, and upheavals; to carrying the cross of their sins, to fighting with their own inner enemy—the “old self” (Eph. 4:22) that is torturing them.

On this dark, boundless way, only One can light our path—and that One is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified on the Cross for the sake of each person; the Light and consolation of people carrying their crosses along after Him. He is the One who in the Holy Gospel addresses all those who are grieving, sick, or suffering: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28). 

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol
Translated by Feodor Nemetz

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos - Young People, True Love and Purity

The Youth Must Pass the Test of Purity

A few female students came to see me today and told me, "Geronda, pray so that we may pass our exams." I said, "I will pray that you pass your purity exams". This is the most important thing. Everything else falls into place after that." It was the right thing to say, wasn’t’ it? There’s no greater sight than that of modesty and purity in the faces of young people today! No greater sight!

Some traumatized young women come to see me. They live unruly lives with young men and they don’t realize that these men do not have good intentions and, of course, they end up getting hurt. "What must I do, Fa­ther?" they ask. "The tavern owner," I replied, "may have the drunkard as a friend, but he will never accept him as his son-in-law. Stop having relations. If the man really loves you, he will appreciate it; if he leaves you, you will know that he doesn’t love you and this way you will not be wasting your time."

The cunning devil takes advantage of young people, who, on top of everything else, have to deal with the re­bellion of their flesh, and he tries to destroy them during this difficult period of their life, when the mind is not yet mature, the experience is missing and their spiritual reserves are almost non-existent. This is why, during this critical period, young people must always seek the advice of their elders, so that they may not slip down the sweet secular slope, which will only fill their soul with anxiety and separate it eternally from God.

I know that a physiologically healthy young person cannot easily attain a spiritual state where there is neither male nor female. This is why the Spiritual Fathers recommend that young men and women, no matter how spiritual they may be, should not spend time together; at their age, problems will naturally arise and then temptation will step in and take advantage of their youth. It is better for a young man or a young woman to bear this heavy cross and risk being considered a fool by the opposite sex for his or her spiritual prudence and innocence. This heavy cross hides all the power and wisdom of God, making a young man stronger than Sampson and wiser than Solomon. Better, then, that he walk down the street praying rather than looking left and right, even if relatives may misunderstand him and think that he snubbed them by not speaking with them. Otherwise, if he walks looking around with curiosity, he may get in trouble or get misunderstood by lay people who always harbour suspicious thoughts. It’s a thousand times better to leave Church right away, after Liturgy, like a lone animal, and keep his spiritual good sense and whatever he learned intact, rather than stay around and stare at fancy furs or ties, and become spiritually agitated as the enemy starts scratching at his heart.

It is true, unfortunately, that there is so much filth in this world that no matter what path the soul that desires purity may follow, it will get soiled. The difference is that God will not make the same demands on a Christian who wishes to remain pure today that He made in the past. Purity requires nerves of steel; a young man must try every means to resist temptation, and he will surely have Christ’s help. When divine eros is kindled in his heart, the burning is such that every other desire and un­seemly picture will be burned out. When this divine fire is burning in us, we experience pleasures so divine that all other pleasures pale in comparison. When we taste heavenly manna, wild carobs will mean nothing to us. This is why we should hold fast to the steering wheel, make the sign of the cross and not be afraid. After every little struggle, heavenly delights follow. If we are brave when temptation comes, God and the Panaghia will help miraculously.

The Elder Augustinos had told me the following sto­ry. When he was a young novice, he lived in a Monas­tery in his native Russia. Most of the Fathers there were old and so they would use him for various chores such as helping a Monastery employee with fishing, the Monas­tery’s main means of support. One day the daughter of that employee came and asked her father to return home for an emergency and she stayed to help in his place. But the poor girl was seized by temptation, and without think­ing, came on the novice with sinful intentions. Antonios, this was his name when he was in the world, was tak­en aback because everything happened so suddenly. He crossed himself and said, "My Christ, I’d rather drown than sin!" and plunged into the deep river. But the Good Lord, seeing the heroism of this chaste young man, who acted like Saint Martinianos in order to remain chaste, kept him afloat and completely dry! "You see," he ex­plained to me, "I jumped head first into the river and I still cannot figure out how I found myself standing up with my clothes dry!" At that moment, he had felt an in­ternal peace and inexpressible sweetness that made every sinful thought and carnal desire caused by the indecent gestures of the young woman go away. When she saw Antonios standing up on the water, she was overcome by repentance and started weeping, deeply moved by this great miracle.

Christ does not require big things from us to help us in our struggle. He expects very little, a tiny bit. A young man was telling me that he went to Patmos to worship and fell into temptation’s trap. A female tourist jumped on him and hugged him while he was walking. He pushed her away saying, "My Christ I have come for worship not for love" and he went away. That same night in his hotel room, during prayer, he saw Christ immersed in Uncreated Light. Do you see the reward he received for that one push? Others strive for years in the ascetic life and may never be blessed with something like that. And he saw Jesus Christ only because he resisted temp­tation. And this experience, naturally, made him stronger spiritually. Later on, he saw Saint Marcella, Saint Rap­hael, and Saint George more than once. One day, he came and told me "Father, say a prayer for me so that I may see Saint George again and be consoled. I cannot find any consolation in this world!" And then you see where other young people end up.
A young man with his elderly uncle came to the Kalyvi once and told me, "Pray for a young girl who broke her spine in an accident. Her father fell asleep at the wheel, killing himself and injuring her. Let me show you a picture of her." "It’s not necessary", I said. He insisted and they showed me the picture of a girl who was lying down and two men were embracing her. "Who is this young man?" I asked. "A friend" he answered. "Will he marry her?" "No, they are just friends," he replied. "Don’t hold it against them, Father," the uncle told me, "that’s how young peo­ple are today." "I will pray," I thought to myself, "but she does not just need her spine to be straightened out, her mind also needs correction and so does yours, you hope­less man." Where is the respect? His uncle should have told him off. And they were supposedly spiritual people. It is so sad to have spiritual guidance and still be in such a state of spiritual confusion! Even if he intended to marry her, there was no reason for her to be stretched out be­tween the two men, and for the man to be showing me the picture. It never crossed his mind that what he was doing was wrong. I am not bothered by the picture, but it is still not right. What sort of family will these young people have? May God help them come to their senses!

In the old days, young women would sacrifice every­thing to keep their chastity! I remember, during the war against Italy, they had drafted some villagers and their animals, and they got trapped on a hill by heavy snowfall. The men gathered under the snow, covered spruce trees and made some shelters using spruce branches to protect themselves. The women were forced to seek protection from their fellow villagers, people they knew. Two of them, one young, one elderly, from a faraway village, had to enter one of these shelters. Now, unfortunately, there are those faithless cowards for whom even a war will not make a difference. They have no feelings whatsoever for their fellow human being, who may die or get injured; if they get the chance, they will do their best to sin, because they are afraid that they may get killed and try to use all the time they have to have fun. When in danger, people should repent.
One of these men, who had sin rather than repentance in his mind, was harassing the young woman so much that she was forced to leave the group. She preferred to freeze to death from the cold rather than lose her chastity. When the elderly woman saw that her young companion had left the shelter, she followed her tracks and found her, thirty minutes away, under a small shed, in a Chap­el dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner. You see how Saint John the Baptist cared about this honest woman and led her to his Chapel which she never knew it existed! And guess what else the Saint did! He appeared to a soldier in his sleep and told him to go to his Chapel as soon as possible.
So the soldier got up in the middle of the snow-lit night and headed to the Chapel; he had a rough idea where it was. When he got there, he saw the two women stuck in the snow up to their knees, blue in the face and frozen from the cold. He immediately opened the Chapel and they all entered and felt better. The soldier had noth­ing else to offer them, besides a scarf for the old lady and a pair of gloves which he told them to share, so that they could warm first one hand and then the other. They then told him about the temptation they had confronted. "Why," the soldier asked the young woman, "did you decide to leave in the middle of the night, with all this snow and head to an unknown place?" And she replied, "I did all that I could do for my part, and I was convinced that Christ would take care of the rest." Feeling their pain and trying to console them, the soldier said spon­taneously, "Your troubles are over, tomorrow you will be home." These words made them happy and they felt even warmer. Sure enough, the Battalion of Mountain Transports opened the road and, in the morning, military trucks came, and the poor women were taken home. It is Greek women like them, vested in divine Grace – rather than stripped of clothes and divine Grace alike – who de­serve our praise and admiration. Later, that beast – may God forgive me for this word – told the Commander that a certain soldier had broken the Chapel’s door and put mules inside! The Commander replied, "I don’t believe the man you accuse would do such a thing." In the end, he was sent to prison. 

– Geronda, it seems that people who want to destroy society, have seized upon its foundation, its roots, our young people, and have destroyed them.
– There is no way that they will succeed. Evil self-de­structs. In Russia, after the revolution, they had destroyed everything and look what is happening now, after three generations! God will not allow it. And He will not judge the sins of today’s youth as strictly as He will judge the sins of our generation. 

– Geronda, how come some young men and women who lead secular lives give very good answers to ques­tions of faith? 
– These young people had good intentions but were not able to apply the brakes on themselves at the right time and so they were swept along. That is why they give the right answers. What I mean to say is that someone, for ex­ample, wants to follow a particular path in life; he wants to go in that direction, but he finds it hard to follow. And when he sees another who succeeds, he has great respect for him. God will not abandon those who want the good, because they lack malice. The time will come when they will find the strength to follow the right path.

 – Geronda, how should we approach young people who have gone astray? 
– Love is the answer. Where there is true and noble love, young people will sense it; they will be informed right away and feel disarmed. Young men, who come to my Kalyvi, come from all walks of life, with all kinds of problems. I welcome them, I give them a treat, we start a conversation and soon enough we become friends. They open their heart to me and accept the love I give them. Among them are some who are so deprived of love! Poor souls, they are thirsty for it! You can tell right away those who have never felt a mother’s or father’s love. If you care for them, if they sense your love, they forget all their problems, even their drug use, all their ills disappear, they stop getting in trouble and end up coming to the Holy Mountain as pious pilgrims. You see, they somehow come to sense God’s love. And I see in them such nobility that it breaks my heart. They refuse financial aid, even though they need it so much, and get a job during the day to make ends meet, and go to school at night. They deserve all the help they can get. Near the New Train Station, in Thessaloniki, some of these young people, men and women, will pull their resources together, and stay under the same roof. You could find as many as fifteen living in one apartment. Many of them come from broken homes. Some of them will steal to make ends meet, but others have philotimo and will not do it. For years, I have been telling many people to approach them, to help them. I had asked for a Church to be built nearby so that they can gather there and have a shelter. Now they have built a small Chapel dedicated to the Apostle and Deacon Philip, the protector of railway workers.
What I have come to realize is that; if we don’t take advantage of the opportunities offered to us when we are young, the devil will exploit this situation. Don’t we have the saying "Strike while the iron is hot"? When ironsmiths wanted to join two pieces of iron together – this was before modern welding – they would put the iron in the fire, pour hot water and borax on it, and then, the moment they removed it, while still spewing sparks, they would join it to another piece. But this would not work, if the iron got cold. It’s the same thing with a young person. When opportunities present themselves and he shows no interest, he will concern himself with other people, judging them, criticizing their ways, and thus slowly losing the Grace of God. But if he is full of divine fervour, he will prosper. This is why parents should help their children as much as they can when they are still young. Children are like empty cassette tapes. If we fill them with Christ, they will stay close to Him forever. If we don’t, it will be easier for them to go astray when they become older. But if we help them when they are young, even if they later stray a bit, they will eventually come to their senses. Wood soaked in oil does not rot. Youth soaked in the "oil" of piety and the fear of God will have nothing to fear later. 

 source: ELDER PAISIOS OF MOUNT ATHOS - SPIRITUAL COUNSELS "WITH PAIN AND LOVE for Contemporary Man", Part 3, Chapter 3, Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian" SOUROTI, THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Wisdom - Worte der Weisheit - Altvater/ Elder Arsenie Papacioc †

THE PRAYER OF JESUS - Gerontissa Makrina

Gerontissa Makrina (1921-1995) - Monastery Panagia Odigitria Portaria Volos / Greece (1921-1995)

The immense impact of Gerontissa Makrina, abbess of Panagia Odigitria monastery in Volos, Greece

The immense impact of Gerontissa Makrina, abbess of Panagia Odigitria monastery in Volos, Greece

OBITUARY OF ARCHIMANDRITE PANTELEIMON

Archimandrite Panteleimon, founder of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts, fell asleep in peace this morning, Tuesday, December 14/27, at 5 a.m., of kidney failure, at the monastery.

He was born John Metropoulos in Detroit, Michigan, on June 21, 1935. When his elder brother was incurably sick he made a vow that if his brother were healed, he would become a monk in the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos. His brother being healed, John went to Mount Athos and fulfilled his vow, receiving as a monastic name that of the Patron Saint of the monastery.

While on Mount Athos he made the acquaintance of the saintly Elder Joseph the Cave-dweller (†1959), who spiritually took him under his wing. Because of problems with his papers, Father Panteleimon had to return to the United States in 1958 and, while in Boston seeking to return to the Holy Mountain, he received a letter from the Elder Joseph in which he gave him the obedience to found a monastery in the United States. Daunted by such a task, he lived here and there in the Boston area, often almost homeless, until the Holy Transfiguration Monastery was founded by him and the late Father Arsenius in 1961.

Over the fifty-five years that the Brotherhood has existed, it has been spiritually guided by Father Panteleimon. While his achievements are many, it should be noted in particular that he encouraged and even insisted upon translating the Church services, such as the Menaion, Pentecostarion, and Prayer Book, and patristic texts such as The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, into English, the language of the land, which he considered a missionary and Apostolic labor; painting icons according to the traditional style of Byzantine iconography as championed by the blessed Fotios Kontoglou; producing incense in the Athonite style; and supporting ourselves by the work of our own hands rather than depending on donations. Above all he taught us to keep the Orthodox Faith with love and exactness as we have received it from the holy Fathers, avoiding the two extremes of compromising our confession of faith on the one hand, and of a fanaticism that considers that only oneself will be saved on the other.

In 2012 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and retired to our hermitage of the Holy Apostles on the coast of Maine, where he spent the next three years in prayer and in composing a paper entitled “The Controversy of the Holy Name on the Holy Mountain in 1912” which the monastery hopes to distribute in the near future. In February of this year he became so sick that he was rushed to the hospital in Boston, where they found his kidney function so low they did not think he would be revived, having blacked out. Yet he did, and they considered it something of a miracle. From then he was forced to return to the monastery in Brookline, where he finished the paper, composed his last will and testament, and then began to decline quickly in November. By the mercy of God he was bed-ridden for only the last week, with fluid in his lungs for the last few days. He is now at rest, with a deeply peaceful expression on his face. The funeral will be held at the monastery on Thursday at 10 a.m.

Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

source: http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.gr

Sermon of Saint Porphyrios about Orthodox Christian Faith

Sermon by Saint Paisios on Humility and Life in Christ

Miraculous help from St. Ambrose in our days

Stories from the editor’s mail at Pravoslavie.ru

    

“It all started with my throat and a runny nose.”
Igor K.

I got sick with a bad cold. As usual, it all started with my throat and a runny nose. Then the virus began to descend to the bronchi and chest, causing a wet cough. Usually in such a situation a week or two of bed rest is prescribed. It turned out that I had oil on hand, blessed on the relics of Fr. Ambrose. It was a gift from a brother, a novice of Kazan Monastery, after his pilgrimage to Optina.
I read the evening prayer rule and prayed to Fr. Ambrose and rubbed the oil on my sore throat and chest.
In the morning I didn’t feel even the slightest discomfort!
Glory to God for his saints! Venerable Fr. Ambrose, pray to God for us!

* * *

“My coworkers hated me.”
P. B. Anna

A few years ago, in January 2007, I was hit by a series of troubles at work. At that time I worked on a pretty young team: the oldest person in our department was 37, the rest (only women) weren’t even 30.
One of these girls concocted some gossip about me which everyone believed. They accused me behind my back of some terrible sins—tattling, slandering—as if I go to the boss and report who does what, or rather as if I tell him that everyone is lazy. I never got all the details of the gossip, but all my coworkers together agreed to hate me.
I can feel this old offense even now, after so many years! I couldn’t understand what caused this silent, icy contempt, but when I found out, I was in shock! I tried to explain something and prove that I was innocent, but they wouldn’t even listen to me. They just ignored me—a boycott. I would cry at home in the morning, not wanting to go to work. I had only one desire—to quit! But I couldn’t quit, for material reasons.
And so, in complete desperation, I went to church for solace. It was the church of the Ascension on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, not far from my work at that time. I went inside. There was no service. I prayed, lit some candles and went to the look at the books being sold. I bought one of them. It was a paperback of St. Ambrose of Optina: Life, The Science of Salvation, A Spiritual Alphabet. I should say that at that point I didn’t know much about Batiushka Ambrose. I don’t know why I bought the book.
But when I began to read it, I saw every word from several of Elder Ambrose’s sayings as if they were addressed to me and my situation. I can’t even describe how light and good I began to feel. Little by little I calmed down. Every day I would read this book, mentally addressing Fr. Ambrose. And what happened? Gradually this situation, that had me so depressed, faded away, and my coworkers even apologized!
But even before that I already didn’t care—I had such peace of soul!

* * *

“Let’s go to Optina to pray. They’re waiting for us.”
Natalia Kiselyova, Moscow

Two weeks…! For two whole weeks I kept hearing around me the word “Optina” from friends and relatives. I should say that I really have a lot of Orthodox friends who love to visit Optina Pustyn. The last straw was when my friend called me at night and asked: “And what happened with Optina?” Half asleep, I didn’t understand, “what happened with Optina,” and asked: “And what could happen?”
The next day I was given a book, again about Optina.
I was in that beautiful place once. It was a wonderful, unforgettable trip! I’ll keep the memory of it in my heart and mind, it seems to me, forever. In Optina Pustyn I felt like time stops, and you feel eternity. But that’s a separate, lengthy story.
And now all around me I was hearing about Optina almost every day, and it seemed to me not unintentionally.
In our church we have an icon and shrine with relics of the venerable elders, and not long ago our church was a podvoriye of Optina Pustyn. I went up to the icon of Venerable Ambrose and the Optina elders and started prayerfully beseeching: “Why is everyone talking about Optina all around me? Maybe I’m supposed to go there? If so, then please direct this trip for me yourselves!”
That evening the phone rang in my apartment. “My dear Natalia”—it was a good friend, a friend of the family—“Some organization has ordered several cars for us tomorrow, and booked some space in Optina Pustyn. I’ll wait for you in the morning; we’ll go to Optina for prayer and some time in piety. They’re waiting for us.”
I couldn’t utter even a word for a few minutes from surprise.
They heard me! With what speed they fulfilled my petition! Truly, that which we ask for can come true! And we should be ready in full armor to receive it.
How quickly St. Ambrose and the Optina elders extraordinarily and surprisingly fulfilled and directed my prayerful petition!
Pray to God for us, St. Ambrose and all the Optina elders!

* * *

“Fr. Ambrose has returned.”
Ekaterina, Moscow

Fr. Ambrose helped me this summer, but I stupidly and proudly didn’t accept this help (I didn’t realize it was from him, I wasn’t expecting it so quickly, and I had no brains, I must confess), and I’m still repenting for it.
At that time I had just lost my job, and they fired me quite awfully and unfairly at that, after I had already passed my probation period and literally the day before we had talked about raising my pay. Fortunately, I had my spiritual father’s blessing to settle into work at a particular place, but I was stalling—I considered myself “intellectually unprepared.”
Then the July Church feasts began one after another, including the day of St. Ambrose of Optina. I was at church and asked his help with work, given that I had a blessing to do something I wasn’t ready for.
Suddenly that evening I saw in my email a letter from my academic advisor, then I missed a call from him on the phone. He wore himself out looking for me, although he doesn’t usually call or write me—I contact him first. It turns out that the company where his friend works suddenly needed a journalist-redactor for their site. I looked into the job with skepticism—it seemed to me they were offering very little money while demanding a lot of work. And there was a probation period of two months with all kinds of tasks and demands for the potential employee. Besides all that there was something I didn’t know.
I wrinkled my nose and said it’s some kind of “scam.” Although later I realized I should have snatched that job up to have something to hold me over at least for the two months of the probation period. My academic advisor laughed: “Well, as you know. It’s only a question, apparently, of being afraid to cope.” I really was afraid that they would fire me again after the probation period. I was afraid I couldn’t endure another such humiliation.
I had only just turned it down (the time was already late), when suddenly I remembered that in the morning I had been at the service and prayed before the icon of St. Ambrose, kissed his relics and besought him during the service, telling him about my problems. And what? The next day the icon of Fr. Ambrose in the church disappeared somewhere! Maybe they took it for restoration or to another church for a while…
All these months (I wasn’t able to find work after this for a long time—a whole four months, and I missed out on the blessing also, having dragged this out), no matter how much I begged and prayed and went to monasteries, no matter how many feast day services I stood through—nothing worked! And all these months I realized that that work, had I not turned it down, would have kept me afloat for a couple of months, and I wouldn’t have lost so much money and wouldn’t have crawled into debt and other difficult circumstances.
Whenever I went to church all these months I always went to the reliquary with a piece of the relics of Fr. Ambrose (we had a big reliquary with numerous small relics from various saints, including the Optina elders), asking forgiveness and looking with sadness at the corner where his icon used to be. Of course, Fr. Ambrose already knew a few months ago what would happen to me in the near future and how I would behave. He helped me, and I should have accepted this lesson-examination, if that’s how it turned out!
In the end, only recently I found work. Rather, the Lord send it to me, completely unexpectedly. Moreover, it happened that I agreed with the employer about work on a Friday, and on the next Sunday, as usual, I went to the Resurrection service and suddenly, at the end of the service, I saw an altar server carrying the icon of Venerable Ambrose, and he placed it on some wooden stand (I don’t know what it’s properly called) that had been empty this whole time.
I saw that Fr. Ambrose had returned! I rushed to him at full speed to beg forgiveness. I should say that during these months, when his icon was gone, I grew somehow especially close to batiushka through my guilty feelings and worries… He became a saint very close to me, and this icon which I waited for for so long, became very dear to me. I have no doubts about his speedy-speedy-speedy help! Fr. Ambrose, pray to God for us!

* * *

“I found my way in life and to my wife—a true friend.”
Alexei Grishkin

By the prayerful help of Fr. Ambrose and all the Optina elders I found my way in life and to my wife—a true friend.”
And why is that such a big deal? I can call that period in my life, of a relatively young age, nothing other than “emptiness.” Like in the old song: “Loneliness is dearer than emptiness when you live and think about death.” All my peers lived happy lives, dated, broke up, drank, and went for walks without thinking too much about it.
I don’t know what was the beginning of my Church life; now it’s hard to recall. As in war, all the powers of hell take up arms against the weak man who has begun his salvation, using any means proven by military experience and refined from the time of the first fallen forefather.
At some period of life there relentlessly arose in me the conviction to choose the monastic path for my salvation. Having been in one monastery for a couple of months, I understood that there I would more quickly perish. The state of modern monasticism, with few exceptions, is known to all. I had to return to the world. But, it turned out to be a dead end.
By chance (or not?), having opened a book of Venerable Ambrose’s life, I stumbled upon the words which he said to the Troekurovskoe hermit Hilarion: “Go to Optina. You’re needed there.” Everything suddenly became clear for me—where I needed to go to understand how to live. In Optina I saw the exception, the little flock which walks towards salvation, and inflames others to go as well.
At first I was inflamed, but monasticism is not for most people. Again doubts. Batiushka Iliy resolved them by blessing me to live in the monastery for a year. Just to live, not to think about anything, for a year. It was the hardest year of my life. When you are just one-on-one with yourself—it’s scary. You don’t know who will win. Every day I went to the relics of St. Ambrose and besought, pleaded, and cried. Really, it was hard.
Through the prayers of the elders the Lord taught me which path to choose: a girl came to Optina, who I now call my wife and the mother of our two beautiful daughters.
In conclusion I want to say that the Lord is nearer to us than it seems, and through people and situations He always guides us through life by the prayers of our venerable and God-bearing father Ambrose, elder of Optina, and of all the saints—of course, for those who follow Christ.

* * *

“Deliverance came in three days.”
Valentina K. Serov

Having despaired of escaping the man who had been torturing me for three years, I was able to do so only after I read a prayer to Venerable Ambrose of Optina which I found one time in his correspondence with his spiritual children. Deliverance came in three days. These whole three days we walked as around a circle and never once collided. Only the prayer of the great elder saved me from death.
By his prayers after three years I stood at his holy relics with tears of gratitude. And now I go up on the kliros to ask his blessing. I think, not without the help of the saint, I was blessed to work for a few years at making prosphora and in the trapeza.
May the Lord save us all by the prayers of the holy Venerable Ambrose of Optina!

* * *

“My friend had a completely ruined oven.”
Natalia V.

I just learned about this little miracle a few hours ago. I don’t know if Batiushka Ambrose helped by himself—probably all the Optina elders helped.
Two days ago I was at my friend’s, who was getting ready to move to a house with a completely ruined oven. My friend has very tight finances. We hung up flyers with requests for help everywhere, not counting on it too much. After leaving her, I stopped by the church in those parts and saw there a small icon with particles of the relics of the Optina elders. I didn’t read which ones exactly. I asked the elders to help her.
I called then and found out that the next day—that is, yesterday—a woman called and offered her some help. She said: “Measure the oven—I’ll buy you everything you need.” The poor thing until then didn’t trust in such happiness.
May God grant that everything would turn out well for this poor woman. Pray to God for us Fr. Ambrose and all the Optina elders!

* * *

“I smoked a lot.”
Ekaterina N.

At the beginning of my Church life I wound up in Optina. Before my arrival at the monastery I had a serious nicotine addiction.
I communed at the monastery and didn’t smoke all day—quite a long time for me then. I prayed to Venerable Ambrose to help me quit smoking. Within a few weeks I had quit completely. I haven’t smoked for two years now. I believe the prayers of the saint helped me.

* * *

“My husband smoked for many years.”
Elena S.

Here is my story. My husband smoked for many years. It, unfortunately, is a tradition in his family. He wasn’t intending to quit, because he assumed he wasn’t able. When I would try to speak with him about it, he got irritated. Then I asked our teenage son to pray to Venerable Ambrose for his father to deliver him from such a destructive passion.
A little while later my husband got skin cancer, and after the operation decided himself to quit smoking. He escaped from the passion of smoking only by the prayers of the saint. Glory to God for all things!

Translated by Jesse Dominick 

Pravoslavie.ru

«The Jesus Prayer and its application» by Elder Arsenios Katerelos

The Jesus Prayer and its application - Book Presentation

(NEW EDITION)

 Greek-Orthodox books Publications

Now in circulation: «The Jesus Prayer and its application»

by Elder Arsenios Katerelos 

The new book titled «The Jesus Prayer and its application», by the respected and beloved Elder, Arsenios Katerelos – a very familiar Spiritual Father, Preacher and author in our Homeland – constitutes an invaluable aid for a Christian’s introduction to the art of the precious “Jesus Prayer”.  The Archimandrite Elder Arsenios has deposited the sacred experiences and the teachings of the Elders, Saint Paisios the Hagiorite and Isaac the Lebanese, near whom he had learnt the monk’s way of life, enriched with the teaching of the holy Fathers, but also with the discretion that has been based on his own hesychastic experience.

Details>  http://www.greekorthodoxbooks.com/03F3E926.en.aspx

OUR HOLY FATHER JUSTIN POPOVIC - Life Of Our Father Justin Archimandrite of Chelije

 
Written By Reverend Father Daniel Rogich 

 

In the Name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit:

Holy love has a way of consuming some. This is what is meant by one who said "Thou hast ravished our hearts, ravished them" (Song of Songs 4:9). And it make others bright and overjoyed. In this regard it has been said "My heart hath hope in Him, and I am helped and my flesh hath flourish again" (Ps. 27:7). "For when the heart is cheerful, the face beams" (cf.Prov.15:13), and "a person flooded with the love of God reveals in his body, as if in a mirror, the splendor of his soul, a glory like of Moses when he came face to face with God" (cf. Ex. 34:29-35) - St. John Climacus.

OUR HOLY FATHER JUSTIN, Abbot of Chelije Monastery in Valjevo, western Serbia, was born to pious and God-fearing parents, Prota (Priest) Spyridon and Protinica (Presbytera) Anastasia Popovich, in Vranje, South Serbia, on the Feast of Annunciation, March 25, 1894. He was born into a priestly family, as seven previous generations of the Popoviches (Popovich in Serbian actually means "family or a son of a priest") were headed by priests. At baptism, he was given the name Blagoje, after the Feast of the Annunciation (Blagovest means Annunciation or Good News). Being raised in a pious Christian atmosphere, young Blagoje learned quite early of the virtuous life in Christ as dedicated in service to God's holy Church. As a child, he often visited with his parents the Prohor Pchinjski Monastery, dedicated to St. Prophor the Miracle worker (see Oct. 19th). He witnessed firsthand the miraculous power of the Lord manifested through St. Prohor, as his mother Anastasia was healed of a deadly disease by the Saint's intercessions when Blagoje was still a young boy.

 

Blagoje was an excellent student in elementary school. His greatest love was for the Bible, and the four Gospels in particular. He began serious reading of the Bible at age fourteen, and throughout the rest of his life he carried the New Testament on his person, reading faithfully three chapters a day. In 1905 after finishing the fourth grade in Vranje, following the tradition of the Popovich family, young Blagoje entered the nine-year program of secular and religious study at the Seminary and Faculty of St. Sava in Belgrade. In the early twentieth century the School of St. Sava in Belgrade was renowned throughout the Orthodox world as a holy place of extreme asceticism as well as of a high quality of scholarship. Some of the well-known professors, were the rector, Fr. Domentian; Professor Fr. Dositheus, later a bishop, and Athanasius Popovich, and the great ecclesiastical composer, Stevan Mokranjac. Yet one professor stood head and shoulders above the rest: the then Hieromonk Nikolai Velimirovich, Ph. D. (see March 18th). Fr. Nickolai the single most influential person in his life. From the Venerable Nikolai, Blagoje learned of the virtuous ascetic life in Christ the Lord, of the doctrinal genius of the great Fathers of the Church, and of the spiritual and intellectual effort needed to probe the important philosophical and theological questions of the day. In the end, both of these two spiritual geniuses possessed a commitment to Christ the Lord, provided them with a truly Orthodox vision of life, which in turn made them the two greatest voices of the Serbian Orthodox Church in modern times. Both Nikolai and Blagoje, later Monk Justin, sought to "speak the truth in love" to a passing world.

The sought the answers to the world's most pressing problems in the teachings of the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, and especially in the experiences found in the Lives of the Saints. The saints were for them "living Bibles" "incarnate dogmas", and the true source of Orthodox theology, experiential knowledge of God and existential pedagogical truth valid for all times.

In 1914, at age twenty, Blagoje finished the nine-year program of St. Sava's in Belgrade. At this time he had only one desire in mind: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the delight of the Lord, and that I may visit His holy temple {Ps. 26:4}. With this hunger and thirst for righteousness driving him, Blagoje wanted to radically devote his life to Christ in the monastic vocation. However, due to the beginning of World War I in 1914, and the declining health of his parents, Blagoje decided to postpone his entrance into the monastic ranks.

During the early part of World War I, autumn of 1914, Blagoje served as a student nurse primarily in South Serbia-Skadar, Nish, Kosovo, etc. Unfortunately, while in this capacity, he contracted typhus during the winter of 1914 and had to spend over a month in a hospital in Nish. On January 8, 1915, he resumed his duties. It suites to say that Blagoje and the rest of the aids and nurses, as well as all of the freedom-loving Serbian Christians in South Serbia, suffered bitterly from the effects of war.

On the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas, his Ksna Slava (family patron saint), 1915, Blagoje returned to Skadar in order to visit Metropolitan Demetrius, who later became the first Patriarch after the patriarchal throne was renewed in 1920. Blagoje received the monastic tonsure in the church in Skadar, taking the name Justin, after the great Christian philosopher and martyr for Christ, St. Justin the Philosopher (t. 166). This name was truly a gift and sign from Heaven, for it was as a philosopher and seeker of Christian truth that the humble Monk Justin would later receive glory from God.

Shortly after becoming a monk, Justin, along with several other students who received the Metropolitan's blessing, traveled to Petrograd, Russia, to begin a year's study in the Orthodox Seminary there. It was here the young Monk Justin first dedicated himself more fully to Orthodoxy and the monastic way. He learned of the great ascetics of Russia: Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves in Kiev, Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh, John of Kronstadt, and others. Justin fell in love with Russian spirituality and piety, especially that exhibited by the common folk of the countryside.

After his year's study and sojourn in Russia, Justin entered, by the prompting of his spiritual father Nikolai, the Theological School in Oxford, England. He spent seven semesters at Oxford-November 1916 to May 1919 yet he did not receive a diploma since his doctoral dissertation entitled, "The Philosophy and Religion of Dostoevsky," was not accepted. As a result, Justin returned to Belgrade after the war and became a teacher in the seminary at Karlovac, Srem. At Sremski Kalovac, Justin renewed the ancient study of the Lives of the Saints as being a proper theological focus and most important course of study. It was at this time that he received the calling and vision from God to translate into modern Serbian the entire Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, a feast which to this day is truly astounding. In September of 1919, Justin entered the Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Athens, Greece. He spent two years there to finish his doctoral course work. Just as in Russia, Monk Justin traveled through out the countryside of Greece, especially benefiting spiritually from the Greek Orthodox heritage commonly known as the Byzantine legacy. In 1920, venerable Justin was ordained deacon and began to experience another side of the Church's liturgical life: leadership of the worship services. At his liturgical and ascetical life increased, Justin matured spiritually and became known throughout all of Greece as a most pious ascetic. At this time, due to his unceasing prayer to the Most sweet Jesus, Justin was granted by the grace of the Holy Spirit the gift of umilenije coupled with tears.

In May 1921, Deacon Justin returned to Sremski Karlovac and resumed this teaching duties at the Seminary. He learned on the New Testament, Dogmatics, Patristics, and the Lives of the Saints. Prior to each lesson the Scriptures he opened with this short prayer: "O Most Sweet Lord, by the power of Thy Holy Gospel and through Thy Apostles, teach me and announce through me what I am to say."

One year later, on the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist, 1922, Venerable Justin was ordained priest by His Holiness Patriarch Dimitrije. Throughout the ordination service, Justin was in tears, crying as a newborn babe in the Lord. His humility attracted many, as his disciples grew rapidly in number. Not only students, but also many lay people came to him for confession, counsel, and spiritual healing. His most beloved disciples were those pious men and women of the Bogomo jack Pokret (Serbian Prayer Movement) originally formed and led by the newly consecrated Bishop Nikolai. The great Bishop Nikolai as the Great Apostle of the twentieth century, as the "New Chrysostom" of all times. These two were as Anthony and Athanasius, and Basil and Gregory of old- "two bodies, yet one mind" -as their love for our Lord Jesus Christ produced much spiritual fruit in the lives of many zealots. Everyone especially enjoyed singing the spiritual songs written by Bishop Nikolai. These ones, written in the vernacular language of the people, were not only quite spiritual and edifying, but also were very didactic and doctrinal in nature. And it was this "praising the Lord in the people's language" which inspired Justin to translate into modern Serbian, from the original Greek text, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Following the scriptural and the liturgical tradition of the Church given to the Slavs by the great evangelical missionaries, Cyril and Methodius and their disciples, that is, the tradition of hearing the Word of God and praying in the mother tongue of the people {I Cor. 14:19}, both Justin and Nikolai were able by the energy of the Holy Spirit to edify, enlighten, and confirm in Orthodoxy the pious faithful in their own tongue.

The zealous Fr. Justin was also close contact at this time with two great Russian Orthodox pastors: Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky, who taught at the Seminary in Sremski Karlova, the exiled Russian Bishop John Maximovitch. Holy Father John, a man of extreme asceticism, was truly a miracle-worker, and his coming later to America-where he reposed in the Lord in San Francisco-became a blessing and visitation from the Lord for those God-seekers there.

In 1923, Fr. Justin became the editor of the Orthodox journal Christian Life; and in this journal appeared his first doctoral dissertation, "The Philosophy and Religion of Dostoevsky," for which he was persecuted at Oxford. Three years later, in 1926, his second doctoral dissertation, "The Problem of Person and Knowledge in St. Macarius of Egypt," was published in Greek in Athens. Fr. Justin was now on his way to establishing himself as a modern Father of the Church. For his course on the Lives of the Saints, Justin began to translate into Serbian the Lives of the Saints from the Greek, Syriac and Slavonic sources, as well as numerous minor works of the Fathers-homilies of John Chrysostom, Macarius, and Isaac the Syrian. He also wrote an exquisite book, The Theory of Knowledge According to St. Isaac. Justin's blossoming literary genius amazed everyone.

In 1931, after a stint as Professor in the Theological Academy in Prizren, the brilliant Fr. Justin was requested by the Holy Synod in Belgrade to assist Bishop Joseph (Cvijovich) of Bitola in reorganizing the Church of the Carpatho-Russians in Czechoslovakia. This area had been besieged by those espousing Uniatism. Justin, an established defender of the faith, was a great aid to the reorganization of the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia. This experience made him realize a tremendous need of the Serbs: to have in their mother tongue an exact and complete exposition of the Orthodox faith. As a result, he began writing, after his return to Bitola in 1932, his monumental work, The Dogmas of the Orthodox Church, in three volumes. Volume one, published in late 1932, dealt with the sources and method of theology, the nature of God and the teaching on the Holy Trinity, creation, and divine providence. This volume was so well received that Dr. Justin was chosen, in 1934, as Professor of Dogmatics at the Theological Faculty of St. Sava in Belgrade. One year later, this hard-working writer completed the second volume, entitled, The God Man and His Work: Christology and Soteriology. There is so doubt that these two volumes and the third and final volume, Ecclesiology: Teaching on the Church, published later in 1970 are the most complete with his most ascetical vision of life, produced for all Christians a magnificent analysis of the ancient faith of the Church.

In 1938, Fr. Justin, along with a number of noted intellectuals of Belgrade, founded the Serbian Philosophical Society. Holy Father Justin began at this time to probe the philosophical and world issues of his day. His penetrating mind was fully displayed in two books: The Foundations of Theology (1939) and Dostoevsky on Europe and Slavism (1940). Both of these works dealt with the nature and method of theology, and the spirit and vision of western civilization. Fr. Justin was never fearful of telling the truth concerning the fallen state of humankind and, particularly, the follies of Western Eupropean religious and secular life.

Father Justin remained in the capacity of Professor Dogmatics in Belgrade until the end of World War II. Within the perspective of the newly established communist and atheistic regime, the likes of a zealous Christian such as Father Justin, who was now beginning to convert the intellectuals to faith in Jesus Christ, had no place. He, alone with several other teachers, was ousted from the university system in Belgrade and told never to return. Thus ended the university teaching career in Belgrade of the great Rev. Dr. Justin Popovich.

For two years after his exile from Belgrade, the ascetic Justin lived in several monasteries in Serbia-Kalenich, Ovchar, Sukovo, and Ravanitsa-and on May 14, 1948, he entered Chelije Monastery near the village of Lelich, only a few miles from the major town of Valjevo, Western Serbia. Father Justin remained in Chelije Monastery until his repose in the Lord on March 25, 1979. He became Archimandrite there and was the spiritual head of the Monastery. Under his guidance, Chelije Monastery became a convent. A school of iconography, renewing the Serbo-Byzantine style, was also begun there, and a new chapel dedicated to St. John Chrysostom as well as residential quarters were constructed in 1970. Many pious people from all parts of Yugoslavia, Greece, the Balkans, and literally all parts of the world came to hear him preach and teach the correct faith and life in Christ by the energy of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, from the end of World War I until his reposed in the Lord, Archimandrite Justin was the pillar of Orthodoxy in his homeland.

During the time of confinement in Chelije Monastery, he accomplished an amazing literary feat: he translated and compiled from various sources twelve volumes (one per month) of the Lives of the Saints. Father Justin communed of the Holy Gifts daily, for the Eucharist, the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, was his "daily bread" and the true source of his entire life, work, teaching, and existence. His words, deed and thoughts exuded a lifestyle reminiscent of the ancient Fathers of the Church. Another Father of the Church walked this earth in the person of St. Justin.

In addition to the Lives of the Saints, the following is an incomplete list of the writings he produced in Chelije, some of which are still unpublished, plays a highly analytical and perceptive mind and heart. He actually created a new theological and philosophical language necessary to reach the heart of the modern human being. And his writings and teachings reflect a genuine and total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, a commitment characterized by extreme asceticism, as well as by the contemplative vision of the Divine Light of God the Holy Trinity. He was "living dogma" and a "flute of the Spirit" reflecting the divine love of God the Holy Trinity. Theology was life to St. Justin.

St. Justin fell asleep in the Lord on March 25, 1979, on his birthday, the Feast of the Annunciation. He was 85 years of age. After his most honorable burial which was attended by hundreds of pious believers who came from many parts of the world, he was laid to rest facing east behind the main church of Chelije Monastery. To this day eulogies praising his virtue and love of Christ continue to be heard from all parts of the Orthodox world. Also, miracles have occurred at his grave site, such as headings, flashes of brilliant and divine light from his tomb, as well as many conversions of unbelievers who have either read his writings or have been personally visited by Almighty God through the prayers of St. Justin.

Truly St. Justin's legacy is a great one. Many disciples are now extolling his name and imitating his life by drinking from the inexhaustible riches of grace and truth which he revealed to us. Add another modern Orthodox Christian saint to the Church calendar!

"O Holy Father Justin, thy sweetness of life refreshes our souls. Thy love for truth and desire to live with all the saints is a reminder to us of our own calling from God to pursue virtue, that we, most unenlightened and miserable sinners, may open our hearts to the knowledge of Truth Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs glory, honor and worship, together with His Unoriginate Father, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

I would like to humbly thank the servant of our Lord Dejan Janjic, who kindly shared with me this spiritually rewarding text on the "Life Of Our Father Justin Archimandrite of Chelije".

Holy Father Justin,
Pray Unto God For Us!

GLORY BE TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS!

Troparion, Tone 4

As Orthodox sweetness and divine nectar, Venerable Father* thou dost flow into the hearts of believers as a wealth:* by thy life and teachings thou didst reveal thyself to be a living book of the Spirit, most wise Justin;* therefore pray to Christ the Word* that the Word may dwell in those who honor thee.

Source and thanks to:  http://o-nekros.blogspot.de

Elder Paisios- An Orthodox Saint of our times

The life of St. Elder Paisios - English Subtitles