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THEOLOGY

ORTHODOXYTODAY A L SO H ERE YOU

CHRISTWAITSFORFAITHFROMUS CAN READ
HOMILIESANDSPIRITUAL

INSTRUCTION
ThelifeandinstructionsofGerontissaMacrina(Vassoloulou) AnAsceticofPrayer:Schemanu
SAINTS.ASCETIESOF (19211995) Maria

PIETY.CHURCHHOLYDAYS OntheSundayoftheMyrrhbear

CHURCHESAND
OlgaRozhneva
QuietFaithfulness
MONASTERIES
1 Recommend 227 Tweet 2
PaschalReflections:Tolove
CHURCHHISTORY Sundayandlivewithitsblessing
COMINGTOORTHODOXY Gerontissa[1]MacrinawastheabbessoftheMonasteryofPanagiaHodigitrianearthe SettingourTone
SRETENSKYMONASTERY city of Volos, a spiritual child of Elder Joseph the Hesychast ( 1959) and Elder
EDUCATION Radonitsa
Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona. Gerontissa led monasteries founded with the
ORTHODOXYAROUNDTHE blessingofElderJosephtheHesychastformorethanthirtyyears,from1963to1995. ChristisRisen,Part2.TheEmp
Tomb
WORLD Sheacquirednumerousspiritualgiftsandwasblessedwithhighspiritualstates.
SUFFERINGCHURCH OnJohn20:2425,theApostle
Thomas
CHURCHANDSTATE Shewasapersonofunceasingprayer
PHOTOGALLERIES WeAreMoreBlessedThanthe
Gerontissa lead a difficult life, full of sorrows. Apostles

She was born in 1921 in a village not far from ItWasHeavenonEarth

theinfamouscityofSmyrnainAsiaMinor.Just ThefeastoftheLifeGivingSpri
a year after her birth the city and its IconoftheMotherofGodatthe
HolyTrinitySt.SergiusLavra
surroundings suffered a terrible tragedy,
TheBrightWeekProcessionson
INTERVIEWS becoming the final episode in the Greco Mt.AthosTheTheotokosBegin
theRoundsofHerDomain
MEDIAMONITORING Turkish War of 19191922. September 9, 1922
BOOKS TurkishsoldiersenteredintoSmyrna(modern
AUDIO dayIzmir)andorganizedaterribleslaughterof
VIDEO
theChristianpopulationofthecity.Duringthe
PHOTO
slaughter and ensuing fire around 200,000 Orthodox
78.
people were killed. The remaining Christians
left Smyrna, and the city became completely
GerontissaMacrina
Turkish.

GerontissasfamilymiraculouslysurvivedacatastropheinAsiaMinortheexpulsionof 10

theindigenousGreekpopulationfromtheseplaces,fromtheirancienthomelandsand
managed to relocate to Greece. The fate of around 1,500,000 Greek immigrants and
refugees in wartorn Greece was very difficult. A great number of people died of
starvationandsickness.

Gerontissa Markella, from the Monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos Lifegiving
Spring(Dunlap,CA)spoke about Gerontissa Macrinas parents: Her parents, mother
andfather,wereveryspiritualpeople.Onceherfathertoldher:Iwilldiethisyear,on
Clean Monday. And your mother will die next year. And so it happened. Great Lent
began,andhedied,andayearlaterhermotherdied.Thetenyearoldgirlwasobliged
toworkforanyamountinordertofeedherselfandheryoungbrother.

The Lord did not abandon the orphans. Maria stood up for herself and raised her
brother.Whatitcosther,onlythePanagia,whopraysfororphans,knows.

WhilestillachildtheLordsentMariaanacquaintancewithoneofthedisciplesofElder
Joseph the HesychastHieromonk Ephraim (Karaiannis), who taught her the Jesus
Prayer.Shewasazealousasceticandespeciallylovedtoprayatnight.

Maria lived with her brother in Volos, a city in the center of mainland Greece, 300
kilometers to the north of Athens, near Mt. Pelionthe most beautiful in the country,
glorifiedinGreekpoetry.

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Life was improving, but on October 28, 1940

the Italian army began its invasion of Greece
from Albania, and Greece entered the Second
WorldWar.Mariawasthennineteenyearsold.
The brave Greek soldiers defeated the
aggressor,andtheItaliansretreatedtoAlbania,
but in April 1941 Hitler sent his troops to
captureGreece,havingpostponedtheattackon
the Soviet Union for six weeks. This was
followed by the occupation of the country by
German soldiers and again the horrors of war
and famine. Greece experienced particularly
severe destruction by the occupants in
comparison with other European countries,
onlyRussiasufferingmore.Thestarvingpeople
atehedgehogs,mules,andturtles.

In his memoirs, the Swedish diplomat and MariaVassoloulou

memberoftheRedCrossinGreece,PaulMon
describestheGreekcapital:Thecitypresentsitselfasadesperatespectacle Children
withashenfacesandthinlegslikeaspidersarefightingwithdogsbythegarbageheaps.
When the cold started in the fall of 1941 people were collapsing in the streets from
exhaustion.EverywintermorningthisyearIstumbledovercorpses.

InVolostherewasnofoodorgroceries.Mariaandherbrotherwerestarvingandonthe
vergeofdeathfromexhaustion.Theywereforcedtoseparateinhopesthatatleastoneof
them would be saved. Her brother went to Thessaloniki, the second largest city of
Greece, thinking he would find sustenance there, but Maria remained in Volos and
lamented their separation. Again she fervently prayed. Such prayer became her main
supportinherdifficultlife.

AfterthewarMariaworkedveryhardtobeabletobuyapieceofbread.Shesharedher
earningswiththepoor:shewasdistinguishedforherkindness,forgiveness,greatmercy,
andpatienceinhardships.

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou was born in Volos, spent his childhood and adolescence
there,andknewMariafromchildhood,andrecalledabouther:

OnceatPascha,afterlongandhardwork,shemanagedtogathermoneytobuy
herself a candle at the service of the Bright Resurrection of Christ. However,
whenshewenttochurch,sheranintoapoorandhungrygirl.Notthinkingabout
herownpovertyintheslightest,shegaveherwhatshehadgatheredwithsuch
labor.Soshewenttochurchwithoutacandle.Whenthemomentcametoreceive
theholylightandallthepeoplewentuptothepriestwiththeircandles,Maria
stood behind everyone, having no candle. She stood in darkness, crying and
saying: O, my Christ! What a sinner I am, not worthy of even one candle on
Yourfeast.Atthatmoment,asshewassayingthiswithtearsandselfreproach,
shesuddenlysawtheUncreatedLight.Marialostconsciousness,andthepeople,
thinkingshefaintedfromhunger,carriedherhomeintheirarms.

Gerontissaherselftoldhersistersaboutherspiritualexperience:

Atthattimeourspiritualfatherhadthecustomofbowingbeforetheiconofthe
Resurrection of Christ immediately upon entering the church after the Paschal
procession. As soon as I kissed it, I immediately felt as iftheHolyResurrection
enteredmyheartandfilleditup.Iheardsuchavoiceasifalltheloudspeakersin
the world had been turned on I heard the Paschal Gospel inside myself,
although Father hadnt read it yet, and I swooned. I didnt understand what
happenedtome.WhenIcameto,theGospelwordwasinmyears,remainingin
my heart. Such a satiety came to me, as if I had eaten eggs, cheese, and meat
from all around the world. I dont know how long I was unconscious. These
wordsetchedthemselvesinmysoul.Iheardthisbeautifulvoicethroughoutthe
wholePaschalserviceandtheGospelwordsbroughtmesuchsatisfaction.ThenI
hadthe thought: This would appear to be the kind of satiety the fathers felt in

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the desert, eating nothing I was exhausted throughout Holy Week from not
eating and deprivation, but now a strength appeared with me. I felt like some
kindofstrongman.Whenmyspiritualfathersaidtome:ChristisRisen!Ifelt
withinmysoulanevengreaterspiritualrichness.WhenIcommuned,thissatiety
reached its limit. I headed home. I arrived. I didnt want to eat or drink. My
cousin invited me to break the fast. But how to tell her that I already ate? I
went, but I couldnt handle even one spoonful So it is truly said in the Gospel
thatpeople do not live by bread alone, but by the grace of God. To the glory of
Christ I tell you that I felt the grace of Christ take away my hunger, suffering,
and destitution. God granted me to understand what such hardships lead to.
Whatgoodnesscontinenceandprayerbringaman!

Elder Ephraim recalls about how his mother

(the future nun Theophano) met Maria
Vassoloulou, and about how a small womens
communitywasformedinVolos:At that time
young Maria met my righteous mother. These
holy souls prayed together in our kitchen,
standing on their knees all evening, shedding
many tears and making many prostrations to
the ground. Their holy example taught me a
great deal. Thanks to Marias virtues, several
virtuous girls gathered around her from the
time of the occupation, desiring to become
bridesofChrist.

Fr. Ephraim (Karaiannis) told this womens

community about his elder Joseph the
Hesychast, and about his instructions and
ThefutureElderEphraim spiritual guidance. When Fr. Ephraim
(Karaiannis)returnedtotheHolyMountainin
1952,thesistersofthecommunitywrotealettertoElderJosephtheHesychast,saying
they learned about him from his spiritual son, Fr. Ephraim, and asking that he would
receivethemalsointothenumberofhisspiritualchildren.

ElderEphraimofPhilotheouandArizonarecalls:

IwasalreadyontheHolyMountainthen,withElderJosephtheHesychast.The
elderansweredthem:Ifyouwillrenderobedience,thenIwillreceiveyou.Ifyou
dont, then I will leave you. They replied: Father, whatever you command us,
wewillobey.ThentheelderorderedthemtoobeyMaria,whohehadnevereven
seeninhislife.Heexplainedthereasonforhiscommand:Renderobedienceto
Maria,forIbeheldherinavisionthiseveningduringprayer.Isawmanysheep
aroundher,andshestoodinthemiddle.SoIunderstoodthatIshouldmakeher
the gerontissa. So, listen to Maria, and may no one contradict her. They
answered:Mayitbeblessed!andtheelderrejoicedintheirobedience.

When Maria learned of Elder Josephs choice, she was very afraid of becoming the
superiorandtakingresponsibilityforthesistersspirituallives,becauseshewasoneof
theyoungestinthecommunity.Thenthe elder prayed and by his prayers Maria had a
vision:shesawamultitudeofmonasticsascendingtoHeaven,andbeforethemwentSt.
John the Forerunner with a sacred staff. Suddenly the saint turned to the girl and
handedherthestaffthesymbolofabbatialauthority.

OneofthenunstestifiedtotheclosespiritualconnectionbetweenthesistersandElder
JosephtheHesychastandrememberedatimewhenMaria,alreadyhavingreceivedthe
monastic tonsure and having become Gerontissa Macrina, became seriously ill and
begantocoughblood:

Wehadnophonetotellhim[ElderJoseph]aboutitwehadtowriteeverything
inletters.Butwedidntmentionthisinaletter,buthiditfromhim.Wedecided
nottoupsethimandpullhimawayfromhisprayer.Hesentusthisreply:My
children,whydidntyouwritetomethatGerontissaissickandsuffering,thatwe

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couldprayaboutit?Youactedverypoorly,decidingasifitwouldsevermefrom
prayer.Afterall,wesawherintheeveningmentally,whenIwaspraying with
Fr.Arsenios,andrealizedthatGerontissaMacrinawasseriouslyill.Weardently
prayed.Mychildren,Iwantyoutotellmeabouteverythingthathappensinthe
monastery, and especially with Gerontissa. Write me about it. But Gerontissa
Macrina saw them both that evening next to her pillowElder Joseph and Fr.
Arsenios,astheywereprayingwiththeirprayerropes, making the Sign of the
Cross,andsaying:OLord, heal Thy slave! This happened many times. When
Elder Joseph and Elder Arsenios prayed, they saw how things were here and
howweweredoing.

ElderEphraimandGerontissaMacrina

Before his repose in 1959, Elder Joseph the Hesychast moved the sisters under the
spiritualguidanceofFr.Ephraim,nowElderEphraimofPhilotheouandArizona.Elder
Ephraimbegantoministertothesisterhood.Soonthesistersacquiredaplotoflandin
thevillageofPortarianearVolosandbegantoorganizeamonasterythere.

SpiritualchildofElderEphraim,AlexandraLagos,describesitthisway:

While Elder Joseph was still alive, he knew that his novice Ephraim would at
some point have to take on the pastorship of this blessed community, and once
gaveahimalettertoreadfromthesisters,sothathewouldalreadyhavesome
connectionwiththesisters.AndofcoursethesistersknewElderEphraimwhile
stillintheworld.Ashortwhilelater,afterthedormitionofElderJoseph, Elder
EphraimlefttheHolyMountainforthefirsttimeinordertovisitthesisterhood,
amongwhichwashisownmama.Hispapahadalreadydiedbythistime,and
his mother had joined this blessed sisterhood. Gerontissa Macrina and other
sisterswerealsothere.Whentheymettheelder,hismotherdidntrecognizehim
atfirst.Somanyyearshadpassedsincethenineteenyearoldunbearded youth
hadlefthisfathershouse.YearsofpodvigsandhardshipsontheHolyMountain
greatly altered his appearance. Moreover, here he stood before the sisters as a
hieromonk,andthecustominGreeceatthattimewassuchthatwomendidnot
dare to look a monk in the face. The elders mother sat together with the other
sisters,headbowed,notguessingthatitwashersoninfrontofher.Butassoon
as she realized with whom she was speaking, her face immediately changed
expressions, and she very strictly said to her son: What is this?! Why did you
leavetheHolyMountain?NosuchHello,dearson!Letmelookatyou!Howis
yourhealth?Shecalmeddownonlywhenheexplainedthathewasfulfillingthe
obedience of Elder Joseph. Such an education Elder Ephraim received from his
blessedmother.

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ElderEphraimwiththesisters

ThefirsttonsurewhichElderEphraimcelebratedintheVolossisterhoodwasthatofhis
mother, in 1963. He tonsured her with the name Theophano. The second tonsure was
Gerontissa Macrina (also in 1963), and Gerontissa Theophano became her sponsor.
GerontissaMacrinaalwaysconsidered Gerontissa Theophano her spiritual mother and
obeyedherinallthings.Theyhadonecell,likemotheranddaughter.ElderEphraims
motherhadnodaughters,justthreesons,butGerontissaMacrinabecameadaughterfor
herinstead.

Inthefirstyears,ElderEphraimoftenlefttheHolyMountainandstayedinPortariafor
a short while, up to a month, and once longer. He instructed the sisters in the Jesus
Prayer, so that they experienced spiritual states many times. In this way the nuns in
Portaria received a unique spiritual education and great help from Elder Ephraim and
Gerontissa Macrina, who was a holy person, and from Gerontissa Theophano, Elder
Ephraimsmother.

The abbess Macrina and her sisters were very successful spiritually. Archimandrite
Sophrony(Sakharov) saidof Gerontissa Macrina:Sheisatitanofspirit!Manytimes
during his nighttime vigil, Elder Ephraim of Katounakia saw with spiritual eyes two
pillarsoffireinVolos,toweringfromearthtoheaven.TheysignifiedGerontissaMacrina
andoneofhergloriousnuns.AndFr.Ephraim
said, rejoicing: Amazing! Just look! We labor
here on the rocks so much just to find a few
crumbs,butthoseintheworldhaveacquiredso
much grace! He also said about Gerontissa
thatshewas of such a spiritual degree as was
ElderJosephtheHesychast.

AthanasiosKrallistofScholari,Greecerecalls:

Once a bus of pilgrims came to the

monastery, and the monastery was
downtoitslastpacketofrice.Gerontissa
told the sisters to make this rice to feed
the guests. The sisters exclaimed:
GerontissaMacrina
Gerontissa,itsthelastwehavetheres
nothing left for us, but Gerontissa
insisted:Preparethericeforourguests,andtheMostHolyTheotokoswilltake
careofus.Thesistersobeyedandfedtheirvisitors,andassoonas theyleft, a
manappearedinthemonasterywhohadbroughtanentiresackofrice.Shehad
somuchfaithinGodandloveforpeople,forallpeople!

Stavros Kourousis, professor of Byzantine

philology at Athens University, testifies about
GerontissaMacrina:

Whenpeoplespokewithher,theysawinherfacethevirtuesofvirginity,purity,
humility,obedience,unacquisitiveness,andboundlessloveforGodandneighbor
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notonlyforhersisters,butforeveryonewho
came to her seeking spiritual and material
support.Shewasapersonofunceasingprayer
and communion with God and the saints, by
which she constantly received help in
numerous temptations arising in her work of
nourishingthesoulsentrustedtoher.

Gerontissa Fevronia from the Monastery of St.

John the Forerunner (Serres, Greece)
remembers about Gerontissa: Of all earthly
things,shemostofalllovednatureandflowers,
but, of course, most of all she loved spiritual
things. Thus she passed from earthly beauty
GerontissaMacrina andDivinegifts,whichshehadinthistemporal
life, to Heavenly. Her especial interest was
always all of Heaven. She was carried from this life to another in her contemplations.
FromearthsheconstantlyroseuptoHeaven.

GeronitssaMarkellatellsthestory:

OnedayIwenttohercellwhenshewassleeping.Iwasntsureifshewasasleep
orawake,soinanycaseIdecidedtoenterquietlysoasnottowakeher.Ibegan
to slowly turn the handle of the door, and when the door opened I saw
Gerontissa.Shewassleeping,butatthesametime her hand relentlesslymoved
acrossherprayerrope. She was praying while in a state of deep sleep. I never
saw such a thing. Sure, they say that prayer of the heart can continue even
duringsleep,buttoprayerwithyourprayerrope?!

Sisters Agnes and Parthenia from the

MonasteryoftheProphetandForerunnerJohn
(Goldendale,Washington)testify:

Shecouldntmanagetobestrictwithus.
It just didnt work. She herself was a
verysensitive,verydelicateperson,and
shefeltsheshouldrelatetousthe same.
If she wanted to make a comment to
someone, she always called them by an
affectionate diminutive name. She was
very gentle, very soft. Sometimes she
even used the plural to soften the
reproof. She wanted us to realize
ourselves what precisely we had done
wrong,howwehadmessedup.Shewas
very, very how to say as in her GerontissaMacrina
conversations she says that its
necessary to touch the soul of another person lightly and gently, like a feather.
Thatisexactlyhowshetriedtotouchoursouls.

GeorgeLagos,professorofneurologicalmedicineattheuniversityinIoannina,Greece,
says:

In Orthodoxy, I think, the most important thing is to live Orthodoxy. Our faith
and our relationship with God are living and acquired by experience. Holy
peopleendurethisexperiencetoagreaterdegree.Havingexperiencedit,theytell
usaboutGod,abouttheHolyTrinity,andaboutthedogmasoftheChurch.The
saintsarethosewholiveinitandexperienceit.GerontissaMacrinawasonesuch
holy person. We saw many miracles of Gerontissa Macrina. We received help
from hergreat spiritual assistance I can vouch that I saw and felt the
personalholinessofGerontissaMacrinaandgreatspiritualsupport.Shewasmy
spiritual mother, and even after her death I feel her help and prayerful
intercession.

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NunTheoteknaoftheMonasteryofSt.Stephen(Meteora,Greece)recalls:

Based on my fortyfive years of experience of monastic life, I can say that she
was one of the most remarkable nuns in Greece. She was a great ascetic. Her
advice helped many, and not just nuns, but many laity, and even many monks
from the Holy Mountain turned to her for advice. She was a tall, majestic
woman,andherwholeappearancewasimposing.Herfacewasilluminated.As
soon as you saw her, from the first moment you understood that with her you
hadtospeakseriously,aboutseriouslifeproblems.She was educated in Divine
things,andknewwellthelivesofthesaints,theSynaxarion,andthesayingsof
the desert fathers. Although she never had any secular education or university
titles,shehadthegiftofspiritualdiscoursebythegraceoftheHolySpirit.You
couldtalkwithherforhours.Shecouldspirituallybuildupanyvisitor,especially
thosewhostrovetoloveChrist.

Gerontissa'sgrave

Gerontissa Macrina reposed in the week of All Saints on May 22/June 4, 1995.
ThroughoutthefewdaysbeforeherdeathsheconstantlysawtheTheotokosinhercell.
Nuns left her monastery to restore a few Greek monasteries, and the sisters of those
monasteries, in their turn, were sent to America. Elder Ephraim always wanted to
populatethesemonasterieswithsistersfromPortaria,becausethosenunswentthrough
auniquespiritualschoolandwereveryexperiencedinspiritualterms.

InstructionsofGerontissaMacrina

GerontissaMacrina

Idletalkislikeafire

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Wemustavoidallidletalk,becauseidletalkislikeafire,theholyfatherssay.Aswesee
whole forests burnt, such that mountains are completely naked, so idle talk carries all
goodoutofoursouls,removesitfromourheart,andamanbecomesuseless,likearusty
tincan.

Hewhocreepsahead,Christwillpullback

Our intentions must be put in order, that is, to convince ourselves that for the sake of
beingsaved,wemustbecomethelastofall.Hewhocreepsahead,Christwillpullback,
buthewhoplaceshimselfbehindallotherswillbemovedahead.

YouseeyourbrotheryouseetheLordHimself!

We must be attentive to our style of life, to our manners, to how we relate to those
aroundus.Howimportantitis!YouseeyourbrotheryouseetheLordHimself!Thisis
whytheholyfathershadsomuchloveandcompassion.

Ontheremembranceofdeath

Afterherdormition,GerontissaMacrinaappearedtooneofherspiritualdaughtersand
said:Iwouldliketosaytothoseonearth:theywillbeaskedaboutalltheirmanydeeds,
andtheywillgiveanaccountafterdeath!

Onpurity

Thoseyoungpeoplewhopreservetheirpuritywillhaveinthenextlifethegraceofthe
ancientconfessors.

Onpatience

Thegraceofpatienceisthestrongestofall,becauseitisthefoundationforalltheother
virtues.

Oncharity

Thegreatestcharityisprayerforthereposed.

PrayeristhegreatestgiftofGod

Whenamanhasprayer,theHolySpiritisactiveinhissoul,thatis,heabidesintheHoly
Spirit.

Noticehowoftenitissaidaboutpeoplewhohavementalprayer:Oh,whataman!His
faceisallaglow!Whatamiraculousworkisprayer.

Prayer is the greatest gift of God, and when the love of God comes to a man during
prayer,heisasifbathinginthislove.

If we acquire prayer, then some light will appear in our souls, and some kind of
protection,becauseGodwillnotabandonusandwillcoverus.

When a man makes progress in prayer, then he understands those states which he
couldntevenimaginebefore.Itisasifheentersdeeperanddeeperintotheeternallight,
andseeshimselffromtheinside.Thisallhappensforthesakeofperfectobedienceand
humility,whenamanhas extreme precision and doesnt say to himself: Forget it, its
nothingtoworryabout.Comeon,dontpayattentiontothesmallthings.

Whenthesoulhumblesitself,thencomepurityofmind,highthoughtsand
blessedness

When the soul humbles itself, then come devotion, love, respect, and rejection of
thoughtsandjudgments.SeeingsuchgreatloveofChristforitself,thesoulalreadypays
noattentiontothemisdeedsofothers.Ah,Helovesmeso,andtakessuchcareofme,
adornsmefromheadtotoeandholdsmeinHisembrace!HowcouldIbeungrateful?
And cleansing himself with tears, after which comes purity of mind, a man already
cannot behave defiantly, or say anything unseemly. When our clothes become soiled,
dont we put them in water and wash them with soap and a brush? We should act the
samewaywithourselves,andthenwewillshineandacquirejoyandease.

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How can we not come then to tears how can we not come to blessedness and high
thoughts? When you taste of this once, you will try with all your might to be extra
attentive to yourself, and this attention brings prayer. For example, you will begin to
refrainfromidletalkandcomplaints,althoughasmenwewillstillsometimessin.But
try to immediately take note of your fall. That is, as soon as we notice that we have
disappointedChristinsomeway,immediatelysaytoHim:Forgiveme!Andwhenone
of the sisters disappoints us? The first thing is to say: bless and forgive, with a
prostrationtoChristandourneighbor.

Christwaitsforfaithfromus

IsitreallyhardtoloveChrist?Ofcoursenot.Itsquiteeasytoattain.Manypeoplereach
out for Him with their own handsprecisely like that: with their own handsbecause
they have great faith. And they tell him about their pain, about the heaviness in their
souls,asifspeakingwithanotherpersonwhotheyknowwillansweralltheirquestions.
Dont speak coldly or doubting that you will receive what you have asked. Do this for
me, Christ. Whether I want it or not, guide me to Paradise. Christ does not abide
lukewarmnessthelukewarmhewillspewout.Christwaitsforfaithfromus.

ThebookWordsoftheHeartwasusedforGerontissaMacrinasbiography,including
herinstructionsandconversations,publishedbytheMonasteryofPanagiaHodigitria,
andthefilmabouther,EchoesoftheHeart,firsttranslatedfromtheGreekbyOlga
Zatushevskaya,andalsothebookMyElderJosephtheHesychastbyElderEphraim
ofPhilotheou,andrecollectionsofGerontissasspiritualchildren.

PreparedbyOlgaRozhneva
TranslatedbyJesseDominick

Pravoslavie.ru

27/11/2016

[1]Gerontissa,thefeminineformofgeronda,istheGreekwordusedtodenoterespectforanabbess
orfemalespiritualinstructor.

SEEALSO:

Anoviceofherownson:On Youhavenomorecancer! IWillMakeYouaGerontissa

GerontissaTheophano,the
motherofArchimandrite OlgaRozhneva OlgaRozhneva,Gerontissa
EphraimofPhilotheou Theophano

OlgaRozhneva,OlgaZatushevskaya

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5/14/2017 OlgaRozhneva.Christwaitsforfaithfromus.ThelifeandinstructionsofGerontissaMacrina(Vassoloulou)(19211995)/OrthoChristian.Com

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