It is not without reason that Holy Mount Athos is one of the most visited places by Christian pilgrims. Believers come here from far-off corners of the planet to enter a monastery, worship icons, and receive wise advice …
In the evenings, Athos really amazes the imagination - it is illuminated by many flickering lights. Monks and elders live here. Their life is spent in self-knowledge, prayer and service to God.
Athonite elders
The monks and elders of Athos are sure that the main salvation of every person is his faith. It is to the strengthening of this virtue that they pay much attention. Their instructions are imbued with age-old wisdom and decades lived away from the bustle of the world.
“Making his life's journey with faith, turning to God for help, a person begins to notice miracles. At first such events are insignificant, then they become more and more. At the same time, faith deepens. Having a meek heart, a person begins to believe in the infinity of God's power, learns His secrets, is upset that others do not have faith,”- Elder Paisiy Svyatorets.
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“Unbelief takes strength in pride. Such a person wants to know everything with his mind, but the Lord reveals the truth only to the humble. He reveals His deeds only to believers”, - Elder Silouan the Athonite.
“The initial faith is born of the power of the word of God, after which we cleanse ourselves of sinful passions and grace is sent down to us. But in moments of discouragement and despair, our faith can weaken. It is in difficult times that it is important not to lose trust in God. Only after experiencing hesitation, we gain perfect faith, - Archimandrite Sophrony.
“The believer can do anything. The one who longs for courage must strengthen his faith. After all, it is faith that is the source of any courage”, - Elder Joseph of Vatopedi.
“Blessed is he who fears the Lord, because it is fear that gives rise to faith. Submitting to the will of the Lord, a person puts faith above knowledge. And when faith gets stronger, the secret of knowledge will be revealed to him. And faith and knowledge will always be with him, like two sisters of the inseparable,”- Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
“Unbelief is the source of fear, pain and disease. A person mistakenly believes that he is free, but he feels a lack of something important. Contradictions are tearing his soul apart. Joy is not given to him. It is important to understand that faith is simple, but unbelief is complex …”- Moses Svyatogorets.
It is not for nothing that the convictions and prayers of the Athonite elders so often concern questions of faith. After all, it is faith that turns ordinary words into prayer. And although the text itself can be both voluminous and laconic, the main thing is to believe in a conversation with the Lord. Many treat prayers like incantations - they repeat many times. But the Holy Spirit doesn't fulfill orders.
The inhabitants of Athos are famous not only for the art of prayer and service to God. It is known that people here do not get cancer and live on average over 90 years. And the secret is not only in faith, but also in the way of life.
