Words of Life – Teachings by Holy Elders of the 20th Century

by Protopresbyter Dionysios Tatsis

translated by Ekaterina Nikolopoulou 
145 pages

Prologue

The Elders, whose teachings I compiled as an anthology in this book, were people dedicated to the Church, without personal ambitions. They lived God’s will with dedicated asceticism and fought the devil all their lives. From this unceasing struggle they had gained valuable experience, which they humbly offered to their brothers. The Elders had helped well-meaning souls spiritually. They had been guides to genuine piety. They were fathers who comforted the suffering. They were exponents of God’s Will, at a time when there was confusion of ideas around them. They were, in short, people of practice and not of theory, which is why their spirituality was deep and evident. The Elders mentioned in here had one thing in common: the monastery. Some spent their entire life in a monastery; others began from there and others ended up in one. But all of them preserved their individuality. Each Elder had his own particular grace and his own charismas (gifts).

Protopresbyter Fr. Dionysios Tatsis

Contents

Prologue 5

Prologue by Archimandrite Antonios 9

1. Christ is everything 11

2. Love 15

3. Prayer 23

4. Nous 35

5. Thoughts 39

6. Hesychasm 43

7. Spiritual Struggle 47

8. Spiritual Study 59

9. Trials 63

10. Spiritual Experiences 69

11. Sin-Repentance-Confession 73

12. Holy Communion 79

13. Faith-Humility-Almsgiving 83

14. The Clergyman and his opus 91

15. Monasticism 109

16. Pains and Sorrows 117

17. Marriage and child-rearing 121

18. Miscellaneous Topics 127

     a. On death. 127

     b. On the soul. 130

     c. On avarice 130

     d. On contemporary people 131

     e. On Orthodoxy 133

     f. On dealing with heretics 134

     h. On nature 135

     i. On Greece today 136

19. Biographies of Elders (in alphabetical order of name) 139