A book about true heroes. Introduce your children in your life to extraordinary moments from the lives and miracles of the Saints, the only true heroes!

Which angel visited the Mother of God? Which animals kept the little baby Jesus warm? What do the gifts that the Wise Men brought symbolize? Children learn about the birth of Christ through the world of Byzantine art. An art that is close to children’s souls, for it does not use shadow, peerspective, divisions or time. Dionysiou Monastery kindly gave permission for these wonderful frescoes to be reproduced in the present edition. It is their hope that these icons will speak to the souls of our children.

The Cross, persecution, sorrow, temptation are the legacy of the Church and of a true Christian. There is not an Orthodox Church that has not experienced her own persecution; neither has a saint lived that has not gone through his own furnace of afflictions, persecutions and temptations. A moving witness to the Cross is also the figure of Saint Luke, Archbishop of Simpheropol and Crimea, physician, professor of topographic anatomy and surgery; a man with rare talents and spiritual gifts, with a stunning scientific training, who ministered to human beings as pastor and doctor, with an admirable self-denial and love. This book has attempted to delineate his stormy life, the incredible torments and adventures, as well as his multifaceted work, in the hope that the suffering and his valuable testimony will offer a plenitude of gifts to God’s people and especially to doctors, those of the souls as well as those of the bodies.

A year and a half has already passed since the 13th January 2015, the day when Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain was declared a Saint of the Orthodox Church by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Since then he has been venerated as a Saint, even though he was considered a Saint during his lifetime. A special service has been written for his name day, the 12th July, icons of him have been written. The appropriate honor and devotion is his. This has been a great, long awaited and joyous event; a pleasant, yet not unexpected surprise, given to us by God’s love in these evil days. The joy and jubilation of Resurrection warms our hearts, tears are streaming from our eyes, for the Holy Elder, whom we knew and loved and in whom we placed, after God, all our hopes, has been formally glorified as a Saint. So much has been written about the Elder since his blessed fall­ing asleep in 1994, by people who have known him intimately. Some of these witnesses happen to be Elder Isaac’s (of Blessed memory) Holy Synodeia from the Hermitage of the Resurrec­tion, Kapsala, on Mount Athos. We now present their book Elder Paisios of Mount Athos, a Life to the English speaking pub­lic in a second edition, since the first edition has gone out of print. This book has been very warmly received, especially in America and Australia. May the blessing of Saint Paisios be with the readers of this book. From the Preface of Second Edition by The Abbot of the Monastery “Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian” Archimandrite Theoklitos Bolkas

Prologue 9
An Introduction to the Elder’s Counsels 19

PART ONE
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LOVE
CHAPTER ONE
The Indifferent Generation 33
CHAPTER TWO
The Presence of a Christian Is a Confession of Faith 49
CHAPTER THREE
To the Pure All Things Are Pure 68
CHAPTER FOUR
Actions With Prudence and Love 81

PART TWO
STRUGGLE AND DEVOUTNESS
CHAPTER ONE
The Good Fight 103
CHAPTER TWO
How the Devil Works 123
CHAPTER THREE
The Benefits of Good Fellowship 134

CHAPTER FOUR
Devoutness Moves God 147
CHAPTER FIVE
Self-Offering Provides Divine Oxygen 171

PART THREE
SPIRITUAL BRAVERY
CHAPTER ONE
The Signs of the Times 197
CHAPTER TWO
Sacrifice Brings Joy 218
CHAPTER THREE
Bravery Is Born of Trust in God 241
CHAPTER FOUR
For the Faithful, Martyrdom Is a Festival 257

PART FOUR
DEPENDENCE UPON HEAVEN
CHAPTER ONE
God’s Providence For Man 277
CHAPTER TWO
Faith and Trust in God 294
CHAPTER THREE
Where Man Cannot Reach, God Provides Help 315

PART FIVE
SPIRITUAL WEAPONS
CHAPTER ONE
Prayer Is a Powerful Weapon 333

CHAPTER TWO
Monasteries Are the Fortresses of the Church 355
CHAPTER THREE
The Deeper Meaning of Life 3 81

INDEX
Scriptural Index 399
General Index 403

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.13
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE THIRD EDITION.15
PROLOGUE TO THE SECOND EDITION.21
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.24
WHAT IS AN ELDER.29
SHORT BIOGRAPHY.33
THE FAREWELL LETTER OF ELDER PORPHYRIOS.55
A TEXT THAT THE ELDER LOVED.57
A TEACHING FROM ELDER PORFYRIOS.59
CONVERSATIONS WITH GREEK AND CYPRIOT FRIENDS.67
HIEROMONK ANTANASIOS.67
PROTOPRESBYTER GEORGE METALLINOS.73
PRESBYTER GEORGE C. EVTHIMIOU.87
ARCHIMANDRITE DANIEL GOUVALIS.99
ARCHIMANDRITE IOANNIKIOS KOTSONIS.115
MONK MOSES.123
MONK NIKODEMUS BILALIS.127
STAVROS KALKANDES.153
PANAGIOTIS SOTIRCHOS.167
N.N.181
ANDREAS TYLLIRIDES.197
H.H.201
GEORGE DEMETRIOU.211
ELDER SOPHRONY.219
ARCHIMANDRITE PAUL.223
TALKS ABOUT ELDER PORPHYRIOS.227
METROPOLITAN IRENAEUS.227
CONSTANTINE SCOUTERIS.243
PANAGIOTA GHIKA – DOITSINI.253
THEY WROTE ABOUT ELDER PORPHYRIOS.265
GEORGE PAPAZAHOS.265
ALEXANDER M. STAYROPOULOS.273
NIKOS ZIAS.295
CONSTANTINE GREGORIADES.295
EVANGELOS KARADEMOS ( POEM ).300
ELDER PORPHYRIOS AS I KNEW HIM.307
FR. MICHAEL MICHAEL.307
THEODORA SOLOMONIDOU.309
MARY KONTOGIANNI – IOANNIDOY.313
ACCOUNTS ABOUT ELDER PORPHYRIOS.327
ELDER PORPHYRIOS’ CONVERSATIONS WITH CYPRIOTS.339
ELDER PORPHYRIOS’ OWN ACCOUNTS.347
AN ANTHOLOGY OF ELDER PORPHYRIOS’ CONVERSATIONS WITH HIS SPIRITUAL GHILDREN.355
INSTEAD OF AN EPILOGUE.361
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE AUTHOR.365