[…] After twenty years of harsh
struggles in the strict coenobitic life of Dionysiou [on Mount Athos], where he
received the monastic tonsure and the priesthood, he spent thirty years in
Piraeus, continuing his labors and assisting the Christians there.
He was a teacher in his homeland
of Northern Epirus.
His great asceticism, sacrificial
love, and the sweetness of his character made him a loving Spiritual Father to
many faithful.
Utterly free from the love of
money and completely without possessions, he always lived as a guest.
He never acquired a home of his
own.
He slept very little, did not
light a fire in the winter, prayed fervently, and kept silence intentionally.
Whatever money was given to him,
he distributed as alms.
He often kept vigil.
When he read the exorcism
prayers, the demons departed, on account of his great purity and humility.
His great joy was the daily
Divine Liturgies in humble chapels.
Those with pure eyes saw him not
touching the ground.
His frequent meal was the
prosphora from the Proskomide.
He did not abandon his strict
ascetic rule until the end of his life.
Beneath his worn-out cassocks, he
wore heavy iron chains that had eaten into his flesh.
He slept on a low stool, and for
this reason, he had become hunched.
From the journeys and long hours
of standing, his feet had begun to rot, yet they never gave off a foul odor.
His friends advised him to visit
doctors. With the sweetness that always characterized him, he would reply: “I
will go with Saint Anna…”
He loved the Theotokos
exceedingly, and her holy mother—the “grandmother” of all the Athonites. He
would recite her Salutations many times a day.
It is not without significance
that his death came at the dusk of the feast of Saint Anna. That morning he had
served his final Divine Liturgy. He exited the holy sanctuary with tears and
joy.
On his face one could see the
blessed repose from his many labors.
On his lips one could barely hear
the final “Rejoice” of the unceasing Salutations to the Ever-Virgin Theotokos.
Truly, the mother of the Mother of God received him near her through her
intercessions.
To that place where, from his
youth, he longed to go and to end his journey—the one long prepared.
Seated on his stool and holding
his prayer rope, he ended his life in sanctity.
When the priests wrapped his body
in the burial cloth, they saw his wounded feet full of worms and marveled.
From his grave, they beheld light
coming forth […]
Greek source:
https://imlp.gr/2024/12/11/%CE%B9%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BC%CF%8C%CE%BD%CE%B1%CF%87%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%B5%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BF%CE%BD%CF%85%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-1875-9/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.