L'Ancien Païssios du Mont-Athos (1924-1994) est, parmi les grands spirituels orthodoxes du XXe siècle, un géant. Les dizaines de milliers de personnes qui ont trouvé auprès de lui lumière, espoir, consolation, force, paix et joie le savent déjà. Ceux qui liront ce texte en seront rapidement convaincus. Bien qu'il se présente comme une biographie, ce livre relève du genre hagiographique.
A must read for any contemporary Orthodox Christian. It's seven hundred pages long and WELL worth the cover price. Though uncanonized, some have called him the greatest saint of our times. I'm not one to say that one holy person is better than another, but I can say with certainty that Elder Paisios was and remains a beacon of light in a dark and darkening age.
Elder Paisios is one of (if not THE) most famous Elders of our days, and rightly so. [Let me note now that I will be referring to Elder Paisios frequently as a Saint of the Church. This is not technically true in that he has not been canonized by the Orthodox Church, but I believe it will be true one day.]
This book does an excellent job of outlining the life and works of the Elder, and truly shows us one of Christ's Saints in action. There really aren't words to do the Elder justice, so I will just say that if you want to get an in depth look at a life of a modern Saint then look no further.
It's one thing to read a brief life of a Saint from a thousand years ago, but quite another to read the life of one so close to us in time. To me, the temporal nearness makes him all the more real and inspiring. The Elder fought in wars that we would be familiar with, he was of the modern world just like we are, but he transcended that world, and cast it off in favor of better things. The Elder should serve as an example to all who would call themselves Christians.
I certainly hope his example will inspire me to pray more, to be more disciplined, and in general to more fully and truly live the life of Christ that I claim to be a part of. Because that's what the Elder did - he put on Christ as surely as anyone ever has, and the happenings in this book and the testimonies given should spur us on to do the same.
Aside from the subject matter I would point out that the book itself is very well written. I never found myself yawning through some ponderously boring section of details that I struggled to recall later. The book reads well, is memorable in all respects, and the pages turn so fast you'll wonder how you made it through a 700+ page book in so little time! The way the book is divided into his life, the themes of his teachings, 'miraculous' events, etc, are all very well done.
This book goes in the favorite pile and will definitely make another appearance soon!
Elder Paisios is one of the greatest fathers of Christianity. This book inspired me, gave me a different view of life, made me think and reconsider about everything. It really touched my heart. Loved it.
I would not recommend this as an introduction to orthodoxy or the saints. But for those who are already orthodox or familiar with orthodoxy, this is an excellent choice. Part biography, part spiritual, part history. Well written and translated, easy to read especially since St. Paisios was a man of our modern era.
I dont normally reread books, I will with this one. I read it for lent and tried to read a little each day. I just finished and I want to keep reading, so I will start over!
I took almost exactly a year to finish this book because I never wanted it to end. Every page was as rich as pure, dark chocolate and as hearty as a filet mignon. We are blessed to have Saint Paisios’s writings and accounts for us to read. Saint Paisios, pray for us!
A book of applied theology at it's best. Easy to read, inspiring, slightly conservative but still without filters. If men of god exist, this guy is the top dog. Essential.
Fantastic book! The life of St Paisios is one which encourages, and never discourages, the readers to follow his example, because he follows Christ. His life is also a teaching of the Gospel way, and all sorts of subjects are covered, from issues that relate to the Church to Christian teachings on politics and patriotism. I hope to reread this in a year or so.