This phrase of Elder Paisios renders in a clear and absolute way “the different” that the Athonite monk introduced into the modern life of the Greek Orthodox Church: modesty and self-knowledge.
At the same time, it turned out to be prophetic because after his death hundreds of books were published with his “sayings – positions and views” which reached us through the stories of third parties and not from his own writings. This had as a result the adoptation of exaggerations, which in many cases reach the verge of myth.
Besides, if one talks to the fathers of Mount Athos, to his relatives and to people who have lived close to him, will find that much of the information that has reached us does not correspond to reality and does not reflect the life and speech of the monk, who “taught simplicity” and humility.
Everything that has been written or made known by “unwritten testimonies” has created an image which he himself rejected without a second thought. And this is obvious by his course in monasticism.
He used to sign his letters as “the great sinful monk Paisios” and did not hesitate to describe himself as a “squash” or a “tit” when people included him in the circle of saints, trying to prove to them that the life of a monk and of a good Christian is a constant struggle.
Whether someone is close to the Church and Orthodoxy or not, Paisios as a monk-symbol of our time has either indirectly or directly influenced thousands of people in Greece and abroad. It is no coincidence, after all, that books on his life and work have been translated or are being translated into more than 20 countries, while his reputation is respected by all doctrines, even Catholics, as the Italian Monk, Lorenzo Diletto, described in his book “Journey to Mount Athos”.
Aside from the books, perhaps the greatest proof of how much Paisios influenced the world is the hundreds of thousands of believers from around the world -without exaggeration- who arrive at the Holy Monastery “Evangelist John the Theologian” in Souroti, Thessaloniki to worship his grave.
But who was the man from Farasa, Cappadocia of Asia Minor, who when was a 40-day-old baby ended up in Konitsa, Ioannina, later wandered on Mount Athos, then practiced asceticism in Sinai and was finally buried in Thessaloniki?
If some imagine that Paisios was a broadly educated man, they are wrong. As he said, he was an “illiterate” man who had only finished primary school education. He was abstinent, “skinny”, he fasted, worked hard and prayed even harder. His whole household was a tin can, which he used as a pot, a glass, a cup, and a spoon. He never had electricity, telephone, television. He did not use a propane stove.
He loved children, nature, wild animals and unlike other Athonites he was not strict with those who could not understand the deeper meaning of fasting and prayer.
However, he was strict with the politicians, the leadership of the Church and with those who forcibly imposed “rules” on ordinary people, many times against the positions of the official Church. For instance, when asked if children born to parents who were married in a civil ceremony should be baptized, he would reply: “It is not the poor children’s fault…”
It was this approach that made him accessible and particularly dear to many. He always argued that it is not the “sinners” who are to blame, but those, in this case, the monks and the clergy, who have failed to convey to them the essence of the faith.
