“While he thought of himself as a tin can that shines in the light of the sun, the people, on the other hand, thought of him as gold. ‘It so happens,‘ he related, ‘that people with great faith come to the kalyvi to meet a saint – or so they think – and God, in order to reward their faith, galvanizes me, the tin can, and makes me shine in their eyes as if I was gold. Thus, they increase their faith, but I, when they leave, remains as before, full of rust‘.“
Published by the Holy Hesychasterion “Evangelist John the Theologian”, Vasilika, Thessaloniki, Greece
Softcover, 574 Pages
2018 edition
(1st edition 2015 translated to English by Rev. Fr. Peter Chamberas)
Color illustrations, maps, icons
Compiled from the communications and journal notes of the nuns of the Holy Hesychasterion John the Theologian which had St. Paisios as their spiritual father for 28 years. The sisters lovingly prepared this volume out of sacred obligation to the Saint who had benefited them in so many ways. Having lived in such close proximity to him on his journeys to their Monastery, they personally experienced his monastic exactitude, his absolute self-denial and holy simplicity, and his profound humility. They marveled at the power of his fervent prayer and his God-illumined discernment, but also at his deliberate efforts to conceal his virtues. The contents of this Synaxarion stem primarily from the sisters’ communication with the Saint – from the notes they had kept during the gatherings of the Sisterhood and their private conversations with him.
Topics include the saint’s childhood, military service, his preparation for his future calling and the temptations, and his otherworldly experiences, among other things. Includes recollections gathered not just from the sisters, but from bishops, monks, clergy, pilgrims, doctors, and others who came into contact with the Saint. A superb and comprehensive collection of materials.
