Vasileios
15th May 2007, 10:40 AM
Again from dinner with my parents...(gotta love it...)
Last Thursday Chrisopigi monastery held a small conference about the elder Porphyrios over two days. Chrisopigi monastery btw, is the original publisher of that wonderful book "Wounded by Love", as two nuns live there who recorded the elder while he was visiting them, and the book came from those tapes (and as a sidenote which I mentioned in another thread, there are still about 100hrs of material waiting to be published).
Anyway, the conference. Many great people were invited to talk, among them bishop Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpactos, who knew the elder well, bishop Evgenios of Ierapetra (my SF!), who talked about the elder's visits to Crete, my father who was the elder's doctor for his stomach problems...Also a priest from Finland, whose name my dad could not pronounce (:P), a bishop from Lebanon, bishop Irineus Bulovic from Serbia, who spent 7 years with the elder in Athens before under his advice went back to his home, archimandrite Vasileios from Mt. Athos and more...
As you can imagine it was an awesome gathering. And I missed it because unfortunately the date picked was terrible (in the middle of the week), and many compained about it. Hopefully, the video that was being taken will be made available. Apparently, the whole transcripts will be released in the future.
But anyway, some great stories from that conference:
Archimandrite Vasileios, who has said of Wounded by Love that it is the best book in the last 100 years in his opinion, talked about the elder, and at one point he couldn't help it and overwhelmed with emotion started weeping. Then he said with a smile: "I told them, there is no reason for me to talk but they insisted on me coming. So now you have to suffer this ridicule!"
When my father talked he added that "us doctors don't have a problem about getting ridiculed. We got used to it by the elder, when his diagnoses were so much more accurate and advanced than anything we could come up with!"
For those who do not know Archimandrite Vasileios, he is one of the main people responsible for Mt. Athos becoming healthy again with more monks and organizing the monastic communities. He was the igoumen of Stavronikita monastery and then Iviron. He recently retired to a little cell somewhere above the Iviron monastery. He is also the author of some amazing books. His little booklet on the Prodigal Son is a MUST read. A very well respected theologian as well as a valuable asset of mt. Athos.
Metropolitan Hierotheos, another famous theologian, talked about the elder in the context of the holy fathers in the tradition of Orthodoxy, saying that obviously the elder Porphyrios is one of them. He also shared some stories from his meetings with him. At one point he mentioned Archimandrite Sophrony, as he was his spiritual father and the respect and admiration he had for the elder Porphyrios.
The bishop from Lebanon, talked about how he came close to Christ by meeting such an example of him in person of the elder. After he had finished his studies in Athens, he asked the elder for advice. The elder told him that he would return to Lebanon and become a bishop. After a few days an amazing opportunity came up with a scholarship to go to the US. He accepted and at the back of his mind wondered how the elder could be wrong in his prediction. The night before he left he received a phone call from the Antiochian patriarch telling him to immediately come back, as he needed a bishop for Lebanon.
This bishop had many stories to tell. He has made an icon of the elder, with a halo. And he has written a service in his honour, which he uses. Basically he recognises the elder as a saint already.
Bishop Irineus Bulovic talked for about an hour. He related many stories he lived with the elder. He wanted to remain with him but the elder told him to go back to his country. That night bishop Irineus was very sad because he thought the elder did not want him to stay with him. The next day the elder aprpoached him and said "Don't be sad. I would love to keep you here. We would have a wonderful time! But your country needs you, the situation is not good there and they need people to teach them." Of course, Irineus was glad again. At Serbia he became a professor of the theological school. The elder (he kept in touch with him) told him that he would be asked to become a bishop but he should not abandon his teaching position. He should accept only if he could continue teaching. And that is exactly what happened.
My father's speech was short. He said that as it is known, the elder could see through the human body and see all the organs and what they do. So he went and bought a thousand-page atlas of the human anatomy to learn the names so he could communicate with doctors! It should be noted that the elder did not even finish the second grade school! He had the habit of reaching for a person;s pulse and when asked by my father he would say: "you doctors! there are lots of things you have no idea about the human body yet!". He said that the nervous, circulatory and respitory systems were all connected in ways not yet imaginable by medicine. Also that there were many more hormones than we have yet discovered and that we should be extremely careful with their administration. Of course he gave advice back then against some treatments that at the time were considered very beneficial and later proved catastrophic.
As for illnesses the elder was a museum of illnesses. And of course cancer. For that the elder said: "God doesn't give cancer to just anyone. He only gives it to special people!" (meaning as a gift). He also said he knew the cure of cancer but that he was not allowed to reveal it, as cancer is an illness that leads people to God. He only mentioned that it is something the doctors "see everyday and it is very common". By the way, this he told to very few people and if ti scandalises you ignore it.
Bishop Evgenios, talked about the elder's visit to Crete. He came here three times. At one visit he went to the monastery of Kapsas, where the recently canonized Jospeh gerontogiannis was buried. After praying on his grave he said "the elder is tired and wants to come up", signalling it was time to bring out the relics of the saint. Soon there were many signs and miracles from St. Joseph that there was absolutely no problem canonizing him! (you should all read his biography! Amazing story and he had a vision of heaven and hell. Also, when he wanted to find some rest from pilgrims, he used his cassock as a raft(!) to go to a nearby small island to pray). Bp. Evgenios also mentioned that the elder was in favour of small monastic communities that were dedicated to praying and fasting, instead of having "biological plantations" and small businesses...
Thats all I can remember right now. I know that the meat of the whole conference were the stories and unfortunately my parents could only remember a handful. As soon as I get my hands on the transcripts I will post what I can. I just wanted to share what I could for now.
May we all have the blessing of the holy elder Porphyrios!
Last Thursday Chrisopigi monastery held a small conference about the elder Porphyrios over two days. Chrisopigi monastery btw, is the original publisher of that wonderful book "Wounded by Love", as two nuns live there who recorded the elder while he was visiting them, and the book came from those tapes (and as a sidenote which I mentioned in another thread, there are still about 100hrs of material waiting to be published).
Anyway, the conference. Many great people were invited to talk, among them bishop Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpactos, who knew the elder well, bishop Evgenios of Ierapetra (my SF!), who talked about the elder's visits to Crete, my father who was the elder's doctor for his stomach problems...Also a priest from Finland, whose name my dad could not pronounce (:P), a bishop from Lebanon, bishop Irineus Bulovic from Serbia, who spent 7 years with the elder in Athens before under his advice went back to his home, archimandrite Vasileios from Mt. Athos and more...
As you can imagine it was an awesome gathering. And I missed it because unfortunately the date picked was terrible (in the middle of the week), and many compained about it. Hopefully, the video that was being taken will be made available. Apparently, the whole transcripts will be released in the future.
But anyway, some great stories from that conference:
Archimandrite Vasileios, who has said of Wounded by Love that it is the best book in the last 100 years in his opinion, talked about the elder, and at one point he couldn't help it and overwhelmed with emotion started weeping. Then he said with a smile: "I told them, there is no reason for me to talk but they insisted on me coming. So now you have to suffer this ridicule!"
When my father talked he added that "us doctors don't have a problem about getting ridiculed. We got used to it by the elder, when his diagnoses were so much more accurate and advanced than anything we could come up with!"
For those who do not know Archimandrite Vasileios, he is one of the main people responsible for Mt. Athos becoming healthy again with more monks and organizing the monastic communities. He was the igoumen of Stavronikita monastery and then Iviron. He recently retired to a little cell somewhere above the Iviron monastery. He is also the author of some amazing books. His little booklet on the Prodigal Son is a MUST read. A very well respected theologian as well as a valuable asset of mt. Athos.
Metropolitan Hierotheos, another famous theologian, talked about the elder in the context of the holy fathers in the tradition of Orthodoxy, saying that obviously the elder Porphyrios is one of them. He also shared some stories from his meetings with him. At one point he mentioned Archimandrite Sophrony, as he was his spiritual father and the respect and admiration he had for the elder Porphyrios.
The bishop from Lebanon, talked about how he came close to Christ by meeting such an example of him in person of the elder. After he had finished his studies in Athens, he asked the elder for advice. The elder told him that he would return to Lebanon and become a bishop. After a few days an amazing opportunity came up with a scholarship to go to the US. He accepted and at the back of his mind wondered how the elder could be wrong in his prediction. The night before he left he received a phone call from the Antiochian patriarch telling him to immediately come back, as he needed a bishop for Lebanon.
This bishop had many stories to tell. He has made an icon of the elder, with a halo. And he has written a service in his honour, which he uses. Basically he recognises the elder as a saint already.
Bishop Irineus Bulovic talked for about an hour. He related many stories he lived with the elder. He wanted to remain with him but the elder told him to go back to his country. That night bishop Irineus was very sad because he thought the elder did not want him to stay with him. The next day the elder aprpoached him and said "Don't be sad. I would love to keep you here. We would have a wonderful time! But your country needs you, the situation is not good there and they need people to teach them." Of course, Irineus was glad again. At Serbia he became a professor of the theological school. The elder (he kept in touch with him) told him that he would be asked to become a bishop but he should not abandon his teaching position. He should accept only if he could continue teaching. And that is exactly what happened.
My father's speech was short. He said that as it is known, the elder could see through the human body and see all the organs and what they do. So he went and bought a thousand-page atlas of the human anatomy to learn the names so he could communicate with doctors! It should be noted that the elder did not even finish the second grade school! He had the habit of reaching for a person;s pulse and when asked by my father he would say: "you doctors! there are lots of things you have no idea about the human body yet!". He said that the nervous, circulatory and respitory systems were all connected in ways not yet imaginable by medicine. Also that there were many more hormones than we have yet discovered and that we should be extremely careful with their administration. Of course he gave advice back then against some treatments that at the time were considered very beneficial and later proved catastrophic.
As for illnesses the elder was a museum of illnesses. And of course cancer. For that the elder said: "God doesn't give cancer to just anyone. He only gives it to special people!" (meaning as a gift). He also said he knew the cure of cancer but that he was not allowed to reveal it, as cancer is an illness that leads people to God. He only mentioned that it is something the doctors "see everyday and it is very common". By the way, this he told to very few people and if ti scandalises you ignore it.
Bishop Evgenios, talked about the elder's visit to Crete. He came here three times. At one visit he went to the monastery of Kapsas, where the recently canonized Jospeh gerontogiannis was buried. After praying on his grave he said "the elder is tired and wants to come up", signalling it was time to bring out the relics of the saint. Soon there were many signs and miracles from St. Joseph that there was absolutely no problem canonizing him! (you should all read his biography! Amazing story and he had a vision of heaven and hell. Also, when he wanted to find some rest from pilgrims, he used his cassock as a raft(!) to go to a nearby small island to pray). Bp. Evgenios also mentioned that the elder was in favour of small monastic communities that were dedicated to praying and fasting, instead of having "biological plantations" and small businesses...
Thats all I can remember right now. I know that the meat of the whole conference were the stories and unfortunately my parents could only remember a handful. As soon as I get my hands on the transcripts I will post what I can. I just wanted to share what I could for now.
May we all have the blessing of the holy elder Porphyrios!