What do you think?
Rate this book
Spiritual Counsels #2
Слова. Том 2. Духовное пробуждение
Russian Book. Orfograf. 400. 2017.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1999
About the author
Paisios of Mount Athos
19 books79 followersElder Paisios of Mount Athos (Greek: Γέροντας Παΐσιος ο Αγιορείτης), born Arsenios Eznepidis, was a well-known Eastern Orthodox monk from Farasa, Cappadocia. He is famous for his spiritual teachings. Many people worldwide, especially in Greece and in Russia, highly venerated Elder Paisios, even before his formal canonization as a saint, which took place on January 13th 2015.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 12, 2020
Another great book in the series on the writings and teachings of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos. In this volume, Paisios discusses topics dealing with how to live a Christian life of love, justice, and faithfulness to God; the struggle against sin and combating the influence of the Devil and his works; growing stronger and braver spiritually in a world that's rejected the truth; handling doubt and increasing faith in God; and employing prayer as a spiritual weapon against evil in conjunction with a life of discipline and asceticism.
As has been the case with other writings of St. Paisios, he is good at taking complicated issues and questions, and answering them in a way that is practical, sensible, logical, and understandable. It's one reason I've found his body of knowledge to be a useful aid in strengthening me for the Christian way of life. Prior to becoming a monk, during his youth, Paisios served as a soldier in the Greek Army during the Greek Civil War, and he uses examples and stories from his wartime experiences to illustrate many of the truths he's relating --- features that to me as a veteran I especially appreciated.
I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking answers to Christian spiritual issues, improving their prayer life, delving deeper into Christian spirituality, or desiring to learn more of how Orthodox thinkers view many of the situations in life that make us doubt or question God.
As has been the case with other writings of St. Paisios, he is good at taking complicated issues and questions, and answering them in a way that is practical, sensible, logical, and understandable. It's one reason I've found his body of knowledge to be a useful aid in strengthening me for the Christian way of life. Prior to becoming a monk, during his youth, Paisios served as a soldier in the Greek Army during the Greek Civil War, and he uses examples and stories from his wartime experiences to illustrate many of the truths he's relating --- features that to me as a veteran I especially appreciated.
I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking answers to Christian spiritual issues, improving their prayer life, delving deeper into Christian spirituality, or desiring to learn more of how Orthodox thinkers view many of the situations in life that make us doubt or question God.
June 10, 2025
“We should pray with faith for every matter and be patient, and God will speak. Because when one prays with faith, God is in a sense obligated by his faith to fulfil his request. Thus, when we ask for something from God, we should not doubt and we shall be heard. The Lord said, "Have faith and doubt not?" God knows when to give us what we ask for, so that we will not be harmed spiritually.”
Ahhh, I just LOVE him. Reading St Paisios words just gives me such peace. His wisdom is so specific and practical, and on many occasions EXACTLY what I needed to hear.
Ahhh, I just LOVE him. Reading St Paisios words just gives me such peace. His wisdom is so specific and practical, and on many occasions EXACTLY what I needed to hear.
October 8, 2026
This book was given to me by a friend I made while staying at the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England. He wanted to buy me a book from the monastery book store, and I asked him to choose one for me. This is what he picked.
Famously, after the death of the beloved Mr. (Fred) Rogers, his wife Joanne said in response to someone calling him a saint: “You know, I'm not fond of that term. If you think of him as a saint then his way of being is unattainable.”
St. Paisios, contrary to making sainthood seem unattainable, is a testament to God’s ability and delight to take ordinary people and make them holy. The path of holiness is not without struggle, however. As Joanne Rogers added about her husband, “He works at it all the time. It's a practice.” This collection of St. Paisios’ counsels on spiritual awakening (originally given to the nuns at the Convent of St. John the Theologian) are about the struggle toward holiness, saintliness, and its attainability through the grace of God.
In Spiritual Awakening, Paisios continually warns against the great killer of spirituality and holiness: Indifference. He contrasts this with what he calls “Philotimo,” a sense of self-sacrifice and valor filled with one’s gratitude toward God and their fellow men. In her prologue to this volume, Abbess Philothei writes, “Philotimo comes from a deep, abiding communion with God, so that one is constantly moved to do and seek that which is good, right, and honourable.” As an antidote to the indifference endemic to our modern/post-modern world, we must cultivate a sense of philotimo in our spiritual lives and in our relationships with others.
Far from reading like the work of an ivory-tower theologian or an otherworldly mystic, the sayings of St. Paisios are as down-to-earth as they are profound. Paisios served as a radio operator during the Greek civil war in the late 1940s, and much of his teaching is sprinkled with stories and analogies from this experience. He is also a spit-fire, and his unique voice jumps off of each page. One finds in Elder Paisios a loving grandfather figure, freely giving warm encouragement (or a kick in the pants) as needed.
The only problem I had with this book was really a problem with me: I read it too fast. This is certainly a volume I see myself coming back to as a companion on my own journey and struggle toward holiness.
Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:
- “Geronda (Elder), how do you pray about a certain matter?”
- “The entire basis is for one to be pained, anguished. If one is not in anguish, he could sit for hours with the komboschoini (prayer rope), and his prayer will have no result whatsoever. If he is anguished about what he prays for, even with a single sigh his prayer rises from the heart. Many, who, when asked to pray have no time, will sigh for the other’s problem and that in itself is a prayer. I am not saying that one should not pray, but if there is no time, a sigh of pain for another is a heartfelt prayer; it equals hours of prayer. You read, for example, a letter; you realise there is a problem; you sigh over it and then you pray. Ooh, that is a monumental thing! Before you even pick up the telephone receiver, even before you call, God hears you! And how the other person learns of it! You should see how those possessed by demons realise when I pray for them, and cry out wherever they may be.”
Famously, after the death of the beloved Mr. (Fred) Rogers, his wife Joanne said in response to someone calling him a saint: “You know, I'm not fond of that term. If you think of him as a saint then his way of being is unattainable.”
St. Paisios, contrary to making sainthood seem unattainable, is a testament to God’s ability and delight to take ordinary people and make them holy. The path of holiness is not without struggle, however. As Joanne Rogers added about her husband, “He works at it all the time. It's a practice.” This collection of St. Paisios’ counsels on spiritual awakening (originally given to the nuns at the Convent of St. John the Theologian) are about the struggle toward holiness, saintliness, and its attainability through the grace of God.
In Spiritual Awakening, Paisios continually warns against the great killer of spirituality and holiness: Indifference. He contrasts this with what he calls “Philotimo,” a sense of self-sacrifice and valor filled with one’s gratitude toward God and their fellow men. In her prologue to this volume, Abbess Philothei writes, “Philotimo comes from a deep, abiding communion with God, so that one is constantly moved to do and seek that which is good, right, and honourable.” As an antidote to the indifference endemic to our modern/post-modern world, we must cultivate a sense of philotimo in our spiritual lives and in our relationships with others.
Far from reading like the work of an ivory-tower theologian or an otherworldly mystic, the sayings of St. Paisios are as down-to-earth as they are profound. Paisios served as a radio operator during the Greek civil war in the late 1940s, and much of his teaching is sprinkled with stories and analogies from this experience. He is also a spit-fire, and his unique voice jumps off of each page. One finds in Elder Paisios a loving grandfather figure, freely giving warm encouragement (or a kick in the pants) as needed.
The only problem I had with this book was really a problem with me: I read it too fast. This is certainly a volume I see myself coming back to as a companion on my own journey and struggle toward holiness.
Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:
- “Geronda (Elder), how do you pray about a certain matter?”
- “The entire basis is for one to be pained, anguished. If one is not in anguish, he could sit for hours with the komboschoini (prayer rope), and his prayer will have no result whatsoever. If he is anguished about what he prays for, even with a single sigh his prayer rises from the heart. Many, who, when asked to pray have no time, will sigh for the other’s problem and that in itself is a prayer. I am not saying that one should not pray, but if there is no time, a sigh of pain for another is a heartfelt prayer; it equals hours of prayer. You read, for example, a letter; you realise there is a problem; you sigh over it and then you pray. Ooh, that is a monumental thing! Before you even pick up the telephone receiver, even before you call, God hears you! And how the other person learns of it! You should see how those possessed by demons realise when I pray for them, and cry out wherever they may be.”
September 9, 2021
All books from Saint Paisios are great and practical. This one is a step forward from his Counsels V: Passions and Virtues book. I recommend to come to this book once you read and understand Counsels V: Passions and Virtues.
December 19, 2021
"The vaccine which they will universally mandate will be the beginning of the marking (of the Antichrist.)" p, 254
What an incredible prophecy.
What an incredible prophecy.
December 13, 2022
BEAUTIFUL☦️
October 26, 2024
Buna de citit cu inima deschisa
February 26, 2026
This book was extremely helpful for me. I’ve been orthodox a little over two years. It was encouraging and convicting. I think it is very practical for modern man as well.
April 29, 2026
I have been extraordinarily blessed by this collection of aphorisms from Saint Paisios of Mount Athos. While this second volume has not replaced With Pain and Love for Modern Man as my favorite from the series, it follows in the same vein as its predecessor, a pragmatic guide on how to be Holy in the 21st Century.
St. Paisios is the antidote to Western materialism. His ontological commitment to spiritual realism exposes the subtle atheism latent in the modern ethos. For the Evangelical everything is allegory for the spiritual, and everything spiritual is void of reality. The sacraments are where we see this demonstrated most clearly. Sacraments are “spiritual” in nature, but have no concrete observable benefit. Conversely, for St. Paisios, the whole world is a sacrament of God’s divine presence. To the Evangelical nothing is sacred, all is common. To St. Paisios all things have been consecrated to God.
Bultmann’s claim that: “We cannot use electric lights and radios and, in the event of illness, avail ourselves of modern medical and clinical means and at the same time believe in the spirit and wonder world of the New Testament.” Is essentially correct. The problem then, is not to demythologize the New Testament, but to reject the modern world.
St. Paisios is the antidote to Western materialism. His ontological commitment to spiritual realism exposes the subtle atheism latent in the modern ethos. For the Evangelical everything is allegory for the spiritual, and everything spiritual is void of reality. The sacraments are where we see this demonstrated most clearly. Sacraments are “spiritual” in nature, but have no concrete observable benefit. Conversely, for St. Paisios, the whole world is a sacrament of God’s divine presence. To the Evangelical nothing is sacred, all is common. To St. Paisios all things have been consecrated to God.
Bultmann’s claim that: “We cannot use electric lights and radios and, in the event of illness, avail ourselves of modern medical and clinical means and at the same time believe in the spirit and wonder world of the New Testament.” Is essentially correct. The problem then, is not to demythologize the New Testament, but to reject the modern world.
Read
March 11, 2016Great book!
Read
October 13, 2017great book
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews