– Welcome! May God bless you! What would you like to tell me? I’m all ears! But I’m not feeling too well; I’ve just been up in Karies for the Divine Liturgy and have only just got back! You know I’ve recently had an operation for a hernia!
– We know, but we’ve come too for some helpful advice, as Lent begins tomorrow! And three Greek lads came down with us, along with another gentleman behind us.
– It’s just that I (said the older gentleman, looking at me) would ask you to let me speak to the Elder for a moment!
– ‘All right,’ I said, ‘but it’s not up to me; I’m here to speak to the Elder about a request made by one of Romania’s hierarchs…’
– For the prayers of our Holy Fathers…’ began the older Greek man, cutting in front of me, ‘please bear with me a moment, Father!’
– ‘May God bless you,’ replied the priest, ‘May God be with you! As I told you, I feel very tired…’ And, rising from his chair, he lay down on the bed.
– ‘I am Dimitrie, Father… the one who visited you at that house when you came out of hospital…’ continued the Greek man, and, kneeling beside his bed, in front of us all, he began to recount the following:
‘I am Dimitrie, the father of Elena, the one who was possessed!’
‘Father, we’ve been delivered, Father!’
– And will everything be all right from now on? asked the priest in the most natural way.
‘Praise be to God, we’re fine now. She just talks back to us a little now and then, and plays the odd trick on us…’
– Do not stand in her way now!
– That’s right, Father, we mustn’t go against her now…
– But do pray, added the priest.
– You know, ever since you were staying at that house in Pylea… in fact, from 1 December, when she became possessed, she was tormented for 16 days. And Father Macarie, to whom you sent us, read the exorcism prayers over her and she was delivered. After that, we gave her Holy Communion regularly and, since then, we haven’t had any further problems. Just these occasional outbursts I’ve told you about.
– Keep praying and go to confession!
– Yes, Father. We have a spiritual father. Father Christos from Sarandaeclisíes. The whole family goes there now.
– Good, keep praying… do some other good deeds too… and God will help you!
– We’re still the same old people… with our sins, but at least now we’re trying!
– Very well, please pass on my regards to everyone there! I was delighted to see you again! May God bless you!
– May you be well too, Father! Forgive me, but might I receive some sort of blessing from you, something… anything… perhaps a little garment… for both Eleni and us to wear!
– Well, I don’t have anything else right now… says the priest, looking around his cell, here’s this icon of Saint Spyridon, take this one!
– All right, Father, no problem at all! Do you think things will go well for us from now on, Father?
– God will bless you, don’t worry!
– All right, Father, we’re still burdened by our sins, Father, but we’re repenting!
As soon as that Christian stood up, the priest turned to me and said:
– Look, Father Gherasim, this little girl’s parents came and brought her to me when I was in hospital, and she was crying out: ‘I don’t want to go to him, I don’t want to face him…’!
– ‘Yes, my daughter,’ added the Christian! ‘Forgive me, I’ve had my own share of sorrow too!’
– We believe you; we didn’t know. We’ve come here for a fruitful dialogue! May God help us all! I added, still under the impression of what I’d heard earlier.
– ‘Yes, it was a terrible experience for us!’ the man continued. ‘Father, I know that you gave me a leaflet back then about the work of the Antichrist in the world, so that I might photocopy it and give it to other Christians. I want to confess to you how unworthy I am. I haven’t even done that!’
The priest then handed him a leaflet, saying: ‘It’s all right, just do it from now on! Make copies of this one, which is a summary, and give them to as many people as you can! Let us confess too! And please excuse me now, as others have arrived!’
And so, quite simply, we too began our story:
His Eminence Varsanufie, Archbishop of Râmnic, in Romania, has launched a magazine and would like to conduct a short interview with you as a fitting start to this first issue. He would like you to offer him some words of wisdom and, if you can, answer a few questions for him, and above all to tell us, even if only briefly, about your experience with the Venerable Paisie of Mount Athos.
– As for Saint Paisios, it would be best to speak to the elders who lived with him over the years, his direct disciples. I came here in my old age, after my abbot had passed away. Whilst I was at Nea Skiti, I only visited the Elder four times, added Elder Gabriel humbly. On the other hand, those who lived with him certainly know more.
– We say that Your Holiness has inherited from the Venerable Paisios the spirit of confession, whilst others have received other gifts, such as that of guidance from Elder Euthymius, or that of equanimity from Elder Arsenius, and so on. Your Holiness, what can you tell us about Saint Paisios?
– I say this: ‘No matter how hard you search the Holy Mountain today, you will not find a man like Father Paisie!’ That says it all, doesn’t it? And the Elder fell silent for a few moments.
– We would also have liked you to tell us about yourself… whatever you can tell us…
– Oh, about me? Nothing! I am a sinner! What can I say? Bow down before His Eminence and simply say this to him: ‘Forgive me, for I am a sinner!’ And if he wishes me to answer a few questions, I shall do so gladly, out of obedience, for he too has visited me.
Then we began our little questions:
– How did you find the Holy Mountain when you first came, and what is it like now?
– The Holy Mountain is not now as it was before. Before, it had far greater spiritual depth. As Saint Paisios used to say, once the roads were opened up here, cars came in too, and the Holy Mountain has suffered spiritually as a result. Then came television screens, and now the internet. What can these bring to monastic life? They can bring nothing but spiritual decline!
The Holy Mountain is not now as it was before. Before, it had far greater spiritual stability. As Saint Paisios used to say, once the roads were opened up here, cars came in too, and the Holy Mountain has suffered a spiritual decline as a result.
– Which spiritual figures did you know?
– Forgive me, but I have known only my abbot, with whom I lived at Nea Skiti for over 30 years, and, after his passing, the Venerable Paisios.
– What word of salvation would be suitable for everyone, in these times of so many challenges?
– In order to have God’s blessing – as individuals, as families, as a nation, and as humanity – we must:
Be part of the Church!
Pray: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!’, ‘Most Holy Mother of God, save us!’
We must confess our sins and receive the Holy Mysteries!
Fast as the Church teaches us on Wednesdays and Fridays!
Let us study the Scriptures!
And let us do at least one good deed!
– I know that Your Holiness places great emphasis on charity in our relationships with one another…
– Yes, I always say: let us each perform an act of charity towards a poor family or individual so that we too may earn God’s mercy. Because in the grave we won’t even be able to say ‘Lord, have mercy!’. That is why I say every time: let us each do a good deed now!
You should know this: what we have given with our own hands is ours; the rest remains far from us—it does not belong to us.
That is why I often say this: I have lost everything, apart from what I have given away!
And again: Funeral suits have no pockets!
Or to put it another way: When something is only mine, it is not truly mine at all; for nothing is mine when it is only for me! (a play on words in Greek).
Or: People call a man ‘crippled’ if he has no hands, but the cripple’s hands are far better than those of the miser.
People call someone who has no hands ‘maimed’, but the hands of the maimed are far better than those of the miser.
So I say this, finally:
If you want to become truly poor, you and I must amass riches here on earth!
But if you want to have plenty, give it away!
If you wish to become a beggar one day, hoard and store away!
And if you want to starve to death in the hereafter, in the next world, close your eyes and ears to the suffering of people and the misery of your fellow human beings in this world!
– This path of unconditional and complete charity is a difficult one at times, Father.
– But why do you think we exist on this planet called Earth? To glorify God and to bring love and joy to others.
‘The greatest joy a person can feel here on earth is when they give joy’ (a play on words in Greek: ‘χαρά χαρίζει – hara harizei’).
– How lovely!
– Forgive me! May you all experience this joy of giving!
– But Father, wealth is in the hands of the world’s most powerful, not in the hands of poor Christians.
– Is that so? Very well. And if they go on to enact anti-Christian laws and do not repent, I have said before: not even hell will accept them. God will create a special hell into which He will cast all those who consciously work against Him, as well as those within the Church and the great and powerful of this world!
– Father, that is a terrifying thought!
– I understand, but God created us without asking our permission; yet He cannot save us without our consent. Therefore, without true repentance, we shall not be saved. We will suffer the same fate as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were all burnt up, and only Lot’s family were saved.
God gave us His Law so that we might be happy here on earth and go to heaven in the hereafter. If people had obeyed the Lord’s commandment, they would have made heaven here on earth. But we have cast aside God’s Law and now we have made up our own laws.
God gave us His Law so that we might be happy here on earth and go on to heaven. If people had kept the Lord’s commandment, they would have created heaven here on earth. But instead, we have turned our backs on God’s Law and now we have made up our own laws.
We have denied God! Do you understand? That is why repentance is necessary!
– Please forgive us, and what would you say to us monks now, at the start of Lent:
– For a monk to be saved, he needs two things: a pure purification of his thoughts and to learn to say ‘Blessed be!’ and ‘May He be blessed!’ wherever he may be. And so we shall be saved, by mortifying our will!
– I wish repentance upon you all. Amen!
Giving us these words as provisions for the journey towards salvation, Father Gavriil blessed us in his characteristic manner:
Thank you for coming to see me. Your love is as great as Athos itself. May God bless you and your families throughout your lives and for evermore. May God inscribe your names in the Book of Life! May God place you in paradise together with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! May you be among those who, at the Second Coming of the Lord, hear the words: ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, to inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’! May God grant repentance to all! May God our Lord, who is the One and Only, the Author and Giver of peace, grant peace and understanding to the world! Thank you once again for dropping by to see me. May God bless you now and in the age to come!