Sayings of St. Paisius the Holy Mountain
June 29 (July 12) The Church honors the memory of Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain - perhaps the most respected and famous of the ascetics of the 20th century, the spiritual mentor not only of the Greek people, but also of all Orthodox Christians. Elder Paisius is loved in Russia, they know his works, learn from his books, and are consoled and strengthened in faith by his instructions.
We offer our readers a selection of teachings and reasonings of the famous Athonite ascetic.
About God
Indifference to God leads to indifference to everything else, leads to decay. Faith in God is a great thing. A person serves God, and then loves his parents, his home, his relatives, his work, his village, his region, his state, his homeland. He who does not love God and his family does not love anything. And naturally, he does not love his Motherland, because the Motherland is a big family. I want to say that it all starts with this. A person does not believe in God and then does not consider either his parents, his family, his village, or his homeland. This is exactly what they want to dismantle now, which is why they are instilling this state of laxity.
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God waits for us to ask Him for help before He intervenes. God respects our freedom.
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We should not say that we want to love Christ. We must strive not to upset Him. To do nothing ourselves and ask in prayer for God to give us love for Him is impudence.
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A person must give his love to God and his neighbor, and what remains to the rest of creation. But ecologists (friends of animals) love only God’s creatures, and not God Himself and man created in His image and likeness.
About repentance
There are times when someone does not go to church often, but has reverence, kindness, and therefore God finds a place for Himself and dwells in it. If these people participated in the mysterious life of the Church, they would be very successful in spiritual life. And others go to church, confess, take communion, do everything that is necessary, and yet God does not find a place for Himself to move into them, since there is no humility, kindness, or real repentance in them. In order to come to the proper dispensation, one confession before a confessor is not enough. There must be repentance. And every prayer must begin with a confession to God. Not in such a way, of course, that you can’t stop crying: “I am this, that, and that!” – and then continue your old song. This is not the experience of sin. By experiencing, a person becomes at least a little better.
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When a person stops praying, he moves away from God and becomes like an ox: he works, eats, sleeps. And the more he moves away from God, the worse it becomes. The heart becomes cold, and then he can no longer pray at all. To come to your senses, the heart must soften, turn to repentance, and be touched.
About the post
It is possible to dry up the body quickly by fasting, but to humble the soul so that it is constantly humble is not easy, and will not be possible for a long time. Mary of Egypt struggled with passions like wild animals for 17 years, and only then did she find peace; but she quickly dried up her body, because in the desert she had nothing to eat.
On the public responsibility of the Church
One atheist to the core came to my kaliva. He said all sorts of things, and then declared: “I am an iconoclast.” Like this: I started by not believing in anything, and ended up going all the way to iconoclasm! “Oh, you,” I say, “are an atheist! But if you don’t believe in anything, then why are you telling me that you are an iconoclast? During the times of iconoclasm, some Christians fell into delusion from excessive zeal and went to the other extreme, and then the Church put everything in its place. It wasn’t like they didn’t believe.” And, by the way, this atheist approved of the entire current state of affairs. We had a fight with him. “Yes, okay,” I say, “what kind of business is this? Judges are afraid to judge. People file lawsuits against criminals, but then the plaintiffs are threatened and have to take the lawsuits back. And who, in the end, is in charge of all this? What, do you like this? Do you approve of them? You are a criminal yourself! Is this what you came for? Come on, let’s get out of here!” I kicked him out.
- Geronda, aren’t you afraid that you’re saying that?
-What should I be afraid of? I have already dug my own grave. If I didn’t dig it up, I would be worried that someone else would have to waste energy and dig. And now all you need to do is throw in a few tins of earth...
I know another atheist, a blasphemer, who is allowed to speak on television, despite the fact that he uttered the most blasphemous words against Christ and the Mother of God. And the Church is silent and does not excommunicate these blasphemers. The Church should excommunicate such people. Is it a pity to be excommunicated?
- Geronda, will they understand if they are excommunicated, since they still won’t admit anything?
“At least it will be clear that the Church is expressing its opinion.”
About love
Spiritual love is higher than that of brothers in the flesh, because it makes people relatives through Christ, and not through their mother. Those who have such pure (noble) love are filled with kindness, because Christ dwells in them and the Divinity is reflected in their faces. Of course, Christ’s love cannot enter into us unless we first exclude ourselves from our love, give it completely to God and His images, and unless we always give ourselves to others without wanting others to give themselves to us.
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A Christian must tolerate all injustice from other people. A Christian must not only joyfully endure all injustice, but also sacrifice himself for the sake of his neighbor. Then he becomes perfect, then he becomes merciful, then he becomes holy.
About the sin of pride
Who cares about others today? Nobody. Only about myself. We will give an answer for this. Therefore, before God, Who is Love, we will answer for this indifference.
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Pride is a lack of love.
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If egoism dies, then the soul will be resurrected.
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Inner pride is difficult to recognize. One of its obvious signs is that a person cannot find peace of mind. If a crazy person exalts himself, God gives him joy, but the one who is obsessed with inner pride is deprived of Divine consolation. After he realizes his “spiritual diagnosis,” the proud man must not accept human praise and get rid of the high opinion that he has of himself. If you accept praise for a virtue that you really have, this is still “half a sin.” If for something you don’t deserve, it’s “one and a half.” A person has nothing good of himself, everything is a gift from God. You can deceive your thoughts, but you cannot deceive your conscience (if it is still alive).
About faith
Believers must remain steadfast in life's trials. Believers and pious people become true Christ-bearers when they worthily partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And God dwells within them and grants them all the blessings for their salvation. A believer and pious person has nothing to fear: neither bad people, nor difficult circumstances. Because he places his hope in the Lord, and this becomes a source of power that transforms, perfects and heals a person.
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The fear of God is the beginning of all virtue. The fear of God is born from faith. The beginning of a virtuous life is the constant presence of a person’s mind in the study of the Word of God. The Word of God compels us to recognize our personal responsibilities, to take as an example His holy life and to imitate all His virtues. The teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is light! A person who wants to understand the teachings of the Lord in its entirety must believe in Jesus and must conform his life to the life of Jesus Christ. He must also sincerely repent of each of his misdeeds.
About humility and non-judgment
We all have some mitigating circumstances, because we are being fought by the devil. But truly spiritual people treat the difficulties of another person as if they were their own. This is much more difficult than simply helping others in some matter. In the latter case, the devil can rob us by instilling in us proud thoughts.
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You need to look at all other people as saints. And only see yourself, only yourself, as a sinner and worse than everyone else, despite the fact that other people may be sinners. We have no right to see others as sinners. We have no right to condemn them. We have no right to speak against a sinner. A person should speak only when necessary. Talk as much as necessary, and speak as you should.
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I want, my dear brethren, to open my mouth and say something on the subject of humility, but I am afraid, as a man is afraid who is going to speak about God through human reasoning. Humility is the robe of the Divine. The Son and Word of God, our Jesus Christ, wore this robe when he came and lived here on earth and communicated with people. He wore the robe of humility, that was His robe. His whole life was one of humility. With humility He covered His Divinity, with humility He covered His glory.
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One of the people who puts on the robe of humility becomes like Jesus. Because through humility he puts on Jesus. As we know, everyone loves a humble person. A humble person is worshiped as a saint. Everyone reveres him, even wild animals do not touch the humble one. How many examples of holy people there are! Every person, no matter what he is, especially respects humility. There is no such person who would hate a humble person. No one reproaches a humble person, no one despises him, because the Lord loves him. People find peace especially with those who love them. The Lord rests in the souls of humble people. Unfortunately, people do not like humility, they do not want to humble themselves. They do not want to humble themselves to be loved by the Lord. But people love pride and become like Satan.
About the Cross
The good God gives everyone a cross in accordance with his strength. God gives man a cross not so that he can suffer, but so that from the cross man can ascend to Heaven. After all, in essence, the cross is a stairway to Heaven. Realizing what wealth we are putting into the [heavenly] treasury, enduring the pain of trials, we will not grumble, but will glorify God, taking upon ourselves the little cross that He has given us. By doing this, we will rejoice in this life, and in another life we will receive both a [spiritual] “pension” and a “one-time allowance.” There, in Heaven, we are guaranteed the possessions and allotments that God has prepared for us. However, if we ask God to deliver us from the test, then He gives these possessions and allotments to others, and we are deprived of them. If we endure, He will also give us spiritual interest.
About the one thing you need
If we give our heart to empty, insignificant things, then how can it rejoice in Christ? If Christ is in our heart, then the work of our hands is sanctified, and we fully retain our spiritual strength and have true joy. Do not apply your heart to useless objects, do not waste it on trifles. A heart spent on trifles cannot ache for what actually deserves pain.
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Over-concern and excessive worries make a person forget about God. Satan has completely captivated modern people with earthly, material interests, and where there are too many worries, there are many obstacles to spiritual life. Mired in material problems, a person goes away from the road that leads to heavenly villages. First you want one thing, then another, and something else, and something else... If you get caught in the wheels of this mechanism, you are lost. After all, just as the heavenly is endless, so the earthly has no end.
About prayer
What is a prayer rule? This is an opportunity to ask God for forgiveness. Who knows? Perhaps the last one in my life. Therefore, they should never be neglected.
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Faith is strengthened by prayer. A person who has not cultivated faith in himself from childhood, but is disposed to do so, can cultivate it through prayer, asking Christ to add faith to him. Let us ask Christ to add to our faith and multiply it. What did the apostles ask of Christ? “Give us faith.” If you say “apply,” it means that you are entrusting yourself to God. After all, if a person does not entrust himself to God, then what will He do to this person? We ask God to increase our faith not in order to perform miracles, but in order to love Him more.
About illnesses, misfortunes and patience
Illness always brings great benefits to a person. Illnesses help people who do not have virtues to gain God's mercy. Health is a good thing, but health cannot give him the benefits that illness brings to a person. Illness brings spiritual profit to a person. Illness is the greatest blessing. It washes a person from sins, and sometimes provides him with heavenly reward. If a person’s soul is likened to gold, then illness is like fire, it is purifying gold. After all, Christ also said to the Apostle Paul: “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). The more suffering an illness causes to a person, the more he is cleansed and sanctified; one just needs to endure this test without grumbling and with joy.
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If someone is very sick, he can accept his illness with praise to God and through this he can humble himself and receive great spiritual benefit.
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Locust invasions, wars, droughts, diseases are a scourge. And the point is not that God wants to raise a person in this way; no, these misfortunes are a consequence of man’s distance from God. All this happens because man is separated from God. And the wrath of God comes - so that a person remembers God and asks for His help. It’s not that God arranged all this and gave commands for this or that misfortune to come to a person. No, but God, seeing to what extent the anger of people will reach, and knowing that they will not change, allows misfortune to happen - for their admonition. This does not mean that God arranges all this Himself.
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A little patience is the only thing that is required of us. God gives illness so that a person will receive a small reward, and with the help of illness he eradicates his shortcomings. After all, physical illness heals spiritual illnesses. Physical illness humbles a person and thus weakens the illnesses of his soul. God turns everything for the good of man, everything that He allows benefits our soul. He sees what we need, and, accordingly, sends us illness: either so that we receive a reward for it, or so that we pay for some sins.
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Hope in God is a lever that overturns despair, frees the soul from despondency and fear, and step by step strengthens a person’s spiritual strength, awakening in him holy optimism.
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If we do not pray for the sick, then the disease develops.
About courage
Living spiritually, even a cowardly and cowardly person can become very courageous if only he surrenders himself entirely to Christ and relies only on the help of God. He can even go to war and win. The same madmen who try to harm people tremble in their souls, even if they are brave people, because they secretly feel guilty and rely only on their own malice. A person close to God draws strength from Him, and besides, he has truth on his side. Look, the wolf runs away when he hears the little dog barking, because in her owner’s house justice is on her side, and he feels guilty. All the more will a person who wants to harm someone who is close to Christ be afraid! Therefore, we must fear only God, but not people, no matter how bad they may be. By acquiring the fear of God, even a very timid person becomes courageous. To the extent we draw closer to God, to the extent we cease to be afraid of anything, because in difficult situations we rely on God’s help.
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To be courageous means to have heroism and courage within. People who became great (heroes) had big hearts and valor. Courage is a complete and trusting dedication to God. If someone tells you something bad, it’s okay. Immediately remember how many times you yourself have sinned and made mistakes. To endure insults and injustice is true courage.
About the spouses
A necessary condition for the formation of a strong Christian family is to find the future spouses a good confessor. The confessor will play the role of arbitrator, making sure that no quarrels arise in the family. When the spouses do not find agreement among themselves, they will go to the confessor, hoping in God. Otherwise, the family is destroyed: the wife’s parents intervene, the husband’s parents interfere - and together they try to insist on their own and destroy the family. When the spouses agree to have a spiritual leader, then there will be no such confusing situations in the family.
In order for a married couple to move forward, they need to have a common confessor, for he is like a carpenter who wants to fit two boards: having cut down the growths, he planes the boards, aligns them and then connects them together.
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A certain brother, who had just gotten married, came to the Holy Mountain to visit the elder. The following dialogue took place between them:
- Father, I got married.
- Live and prosper. Did you take a beautiful wife?
- Beautiful, father.
- Eh, you won’t have a reward from God. Eh, poor, poor thing, God arranges the whole world and did not suit you! Christians should marry ugly wives so that they too may be comforted. Lacking external, physical beauty, they, ugly, have great internal beauty. They, poor things, see that they are not adjusting, they cry and despair and are inclined to the worst. If you, strong Christians, do not take them as wives, who will take them?
About children
When your children are still small, you must help them understand what goodness is. And this is the deepest meaning of life.
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Parents should give as much time as possible to their children, even at the expense of their studies and their work. And women should lead a simple life so that they can be more involved with their children when the children need it.
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The greatest and best father of many children is the man who has been spiritually reborn himself and helps the spiritual rebirth of his children in order to provide paradise for their souls.
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The elder always emphasized that one must have absolute trust in God’s Providence and, so to speak, not plan for children, for God gives children. And He alone knows how many children to give - He alone, and no one else. Some, however, decide, since life has become difficult, to have only one child, so they use protection. However, this is a great sin, because these Christians show that they manage their own affairs better than God.
Being proud, they underestimate the Providence of God. But God sees both the mental state and the economic situation of such Christians, and He also sees many other things that we do not see and do not know. And if a family is poor and barely has enough money to support one child, then He who knows everything can take care of the economic strengthening of the family.
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Children now do not understand simple things; ok, ok, they didn’t understand while they were small, while their parents protected them, little ones, protected them with this “imprisonment” in the cradle. However, now that they have grown up, they still do not understand that even now what is required is, so to speak, “confinement,” that is, some restriction of freedom. They do not understand this limitation, whereas they need to understand that in order to become proper children, smart and adults, they need to “bind”, but that this “binding” is not binding: the gardener does not go to tie up a tree in order to destroy it , covers the tree with a lattice, not in order to limit it, but so that the little goats do not eat the tree.
But what do some children do? He runs like a calf freed from its leash, thinking that he is really free. What is the result? Or he will strangle himself with his torn rope, or he will fall into an abyss somewhere, or he will be eaten by a wolf...
This is what some obstinate children do: they are looking for this supposed freedom, but in the end this freedom leads them... this very freedom that Europeans have leads our children - where? Where did they come? How many times have young guys visited my cell... unhappy, destroyed by drugs and wine. Now they are asking for help, the poor. And I managed to help one or two - but my heart breaks for everyone... They are looking for help, but how can you help them all?
About monasticism
A monk has no right to justify himself even when he is right. Self-justification makes the human soul a dwelling place for demons.
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A monk should study practical, not university theology.
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The monk goes far from the world not because he hates the world, but because he loves the world and in this way can help it more with his prayer in matters that cannot be accomplished through human efforts, but only through divine intervention. This is how God saves the world. A monk never says, “I will save the world,” but prays for the salvation of the whole world as well as for his own. When the Good God hears his prayer and helps the world, he again does not say: “I saved the world,” but “God.”
So, in short, monks are radio operators of the Mother Church, and, therefore, if they go far from the world, then they do it out of love, for they leave the “radio interference” of the world in order to have a better connection and help the world more and better.
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It is more useful for a new monk to follow the service than to say the Jesus Prayer during the service. Let him first learn the Rules, prayers, Holidays - and then concentrate on doing smart things.
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If you want to spoil a spiritual monk, entrust him with administrative affairs.
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One day Elder Paisios said to one minister: “Do not provide material assistance to Mount Athos, otherwise the monks will abandon spiritual work and become foremen.”
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Even those who have succeeded in spiritual life find it useful to cut off their will.
The book “Father Paisius. Elder of Love"
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The author of the book that we bring to your attention today is Maria Goumenopoulou, a famous Greek children's writer. She has written prose and poetic works, and she also took part in the creation of theatrical productions. She has received Greek and international literary awards more than twenty times. The works of Maria Goumenopoulou are included in the anthology for the primary classes of the Greek school. This book by the writer is dedicated to the life story of Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain. Short and simple stories, like a dotted line, mark the line of spiritual life of a bright representative of monasticism that developed on Mount Athos in Greece. About the book called "" - further in our program. ***
In the preface of the book, Maria Gumenopoulou writes: “When I was 10 years old, I realized that with the three fingers of my right hand that I use to make the sign of the cross, I can also hold a pencil tightly. And with this pencil I can write! For example, stories for children. All my life, under the influence of one feeling, I connect three fingers to make the sign of the cross. And the same feeling motivates me to take up a pencil. This is the feeling of love for God. But never before, although many books have already been written, have I started work with such trepidation and excitement as now, when I undertake to tell the children about the life of Elder Paisius. The greatness of this man, full of humility, the height of his spirit amazes me, as it amazes everyone who discovers his life and spiritual heritage.”
As the author narrates, the parents of the future saint, his childhood name was Arseny, in 1924, “along with their fellow villagers, they became refugees. They had six children then.” Prodromus Eznepidis, the father of little Arsenios, was a respected man in the village. Reasonable, hardworking, honest. Everyone loved him. He came from a noble family. He was the head of the village. His decency and fairness were known to everyone. As for faith and piety, Prodromus could only compete with his wife Eulampia. The land they lived on was not easy. Since ancient times, Kappad o kiya has been a part of the Greek world. She was one of the first to convert to Christianity. Great saints have shone here. But after the fall of Constantinople, glorious Cappadocia, the spiritual pearl of Asia, became a province of the Ottoman state.
The Eznepidis lived in Faras - this is “a large rich village, next to which there were six more prosperous Greek settlements. They were located south of Caesarea, in the depths of Asia Minor. And although they were cut off from the rest of the Greek world, their inhabitants were able to maintain the purity of their Orthodox faith and national identity. When the order came for the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, Prodromus and Eulampia accepted this news courageously, with Christian humility, without indignation. As befits people who led a life pleasing to God.” Having overcome the difficulties of moving, the settlers settled in the village of Konitsa. Here “Prodrom immediately got down to business. It was necessary to feed the children. He was a serious and hard-working man. Evlampia took care of the children with great patience, love and attention. At this time, they had two more babies - their last."
According to the author, “the whole life of this family was imbued with piety. Arseny knew the words “prayer” and “fasting” from infancy. And every day I heard stories about Saint Arseny, who once baptized him. All the children in the Eznepidis family were good, but Apseny was something special. The further we went, the clearer it became that he was noticeably different from the others.” As an example, the author cites several stories from the childhood of Elder Paisius, and here is one of them. “Arseniy studied in elementary school. In his heart he felt an ardent love for Christ, and it became stronger and stronger over time. One winter morning, Arseny and his brothers and sisters ran to school. On the way everyone laughed and joked. Everyone except Arseny. There was something wrong with him. “What’s wrong with me today? - Arseny asked himself. - Why am I not having fun? It's like something is missing." And then he remembered. "Well, of course!" He turned sharply and ran back home. He came running and stood in front of the icons. “I forgot to pray this morning!” Soon, inspired and joyful, he was already running into the school yard.”
After graduating from school, Arseny had to master a specialty. He didn’t have to think long about which craft to choose. He chose the work that Christ did in His earthly life: Arseny became a carpenter. First of all, he built an icon shelf for the house, and then made himself a small cross. He worked in Konitsa as a carpenter for almost ten years, until he left for the army. The things he made were beautiful, made with love and great skill. When Arseny went to the monastery, in almost every house in Konitsa there remained in memory of him some thing that came out of his skillful hands. He was also a missionary. From a very young age, he gathered children in church and told them about God, about the Church, about the saints. He was probably the youngest missionary in Greece.”
How about. After serving in the army, he “straight in military uniform” went to Athos. “But this trip was short-lived. I went on reconnaissance, as the elder later said. He visited monasteries, cells, and kalyvas. Met the monks. I met virtuous elders. He collected spiritual nectar like a bee that flies from flower to flower. He did not stay on Mount Athos for long. From a letter received from his father, Arseny learned that he was very welcome at home. The older brother got married, started his own household, and financial difficulties arose in the family. Help was expected from him. Could Arseny, with his heart filled with nobility and compassion, not respond to this request for help? Of course not. He immediately returned to the village. There was still time to fulfill my cherished dream. And yet this first, “test” trip to the lot of the Mother of God brought him great benefit.”
As the author further narrates, “Arseny came home and diligently set to work. His heart belonged entirely to God, and he was not at all embarrassed by the forced delay. He began, as before, to work as a carpenter and generously do good deeds. He made doors and windows for the poor for free. And, despite this, the money earned was enough to collect a dowry for my sister. When Arseny finally decided to leave his parents’ home and go to a monastery, he took with him the gratitude and blessing of his entire family. He didn't take anything from the house. All his baggage was: youthful zeal, purity of heart and a great desire to devote himself entirely to the Lord.”
“The earthly destiny of the Mother of God greeted him with greenery and the fragrance of flowers. The time will come, and Arseny himself will become a fragrant spiritual flower, and people from all over the world will flock to him, like bees, for the fertile nectar. But this was preceded by a difficult spiritual feat, which required enormous, inhuman efforts. On Mount Athos, Arseny lived in the monasteries of Esphigmen and Philotheus. In the first, after appropriate preparation, he took monastic vows with the name Averky. In the second, Philotheus, he was tonsured into the minor schema with the name Paisius. And this name did not change again until the end of his holy life.
*** Concluding the story about St. Paisius, the Greek writer Fr. He himself possessed all these and many other virtues to the full.” And in order for as many young souls as possible to discover Elder Paisios, to become imbued with love for him and to imitate his example in life, Maria Gumenopoulou wrote the book “Father Paisios. Elder of Love."
