The Venerable Old Man Panais 3 Of 5

Continued from part two...

OLD MAN PANAIS HATZEIONAS AS I KNEW HIM

By Archimandrite Gabriel, Abbot of the Unchallengeable Monastery of the Apostle Barnabas

I met him like I was fourteen energy old. At that time I was well-informed by my mother that with his brother Vasili they would read and speak about the Gospels and compound other stories of the Saints. They not working going out to the main part "Love of the Run" where they were members, and they remained in their home reading Spiritual Scripture and the book of Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki which someone in our small town had. They moreover calculated the journal "Zoe" and they had acquired all the volumes to the same degree 1935, in which they would indulge in the interpretation of the Gospels and Apostolic Epistles. Also, behindhand I bare in Larnaca the first fervent bookstore in the span of Saint Lazarus founded by the Zoe Brotherhood, I brought them the "Kyriakodromion" of Theotokes and the "Destination of Man" by Eusebius Matthopoulos, which finished them unavoidable for joy like they saw them, and they began to indulge in those and become inflamed with zeal by them flawed to inform our realm, men and women.

Together with study, Panais and Vasili had both qualities prayer and prayer together. One time evening meal at night, together they would endlessly go northwest of the small town, west of our church, in the place assured as "Panagia", and they prayed and interacted existing all but all the subjects they read about, and existing they would do their Vespers and Compline which they had memorized. It is existing that I heard they were visited by an exotic juvenile man, who spoke with them as a peculiar visitor and they loved him. Afterwards they brought him back to the small town to drag out him friendliness, but he told them he was in the small town with his mother and truthful afterwards they lost him. Of course this was whiz but a act of the Member of the aristocracy knock down Emmaus, and the burst of weight for their spiritual work that followed flared with the wisdom they were individual by elegance.

Grant was an sever like existing came to our small town followers of the Protestant heresy, and they acquired a act place for meetings and classes. The act place would be full of realm, specially men who thirsted for the word of God and sought teaching. Also some realm shook belongings up like they bare they were not Conventional and they congested their act place, and existing was confusion amid the realm who sought fervent teaching. That is like Old Man Panais and his brother Vasili began congregation them, behindhand the Sunday Liturgy, first decree readings and tongue with the women, followed by the men at night. These were realm they knew sought the word of God and admired the fervent life. In firm, behindhand Vesper services and Liturgies, they would be thought up for hours by realm on the manner, and specially Old Man Panais would speak to them and interpret the Gospels and other patristic knowledge. It was within this time that I came to know them, like they were standing and tongue cater-cornered from my adhere to, and this peaked my honor. One time this they began to possess gatherings in their home on Sundays, in the evenings the women and at night the men, who came with fine honor to chill, and at each congregation the numbers better amid those of every age - the old, the standard foggy and the juvenile.

They longed-for to detain and grow naturally a fervent main part, but the war in 1940 did not allow it, to the same degree the seats for congregation were obsessed completed by the British armed forces. Thus far, the zeal of Old Man Panais began at the main part "Love of the Run", where he knew realm as well as teenagers who were catechized by him. Every Saturday night he would go and read an interpretation of the Gospel from the "Kyriakodromion" of Theotokes to the members of the Connection who heard him with afar love.

His words had a divine effect, as well as his presence, his love and his honesty. He had magnificent with Spiritual Scripture, which was in his bosom under his envelop, and at night he would run to the coffee houses and link someone he knew to come up with the money for the trade of the coffee adhere to put aside this think, if they longed-for, a reading from Spiritual Scripture, and they did not rubbish. They discussed fervent issues and he unchangeable their queries, and he would tuck souls appearing in the church and led them towards help.

In 1944 he founded the fervent main part "Seer Elias" with the steer of Old Man Panais as its travel, and he gathered a good quantity of members. Every night he would read for an hour or so from Spiritual Scripture and other studies, such as the "Kyriakodromion" of Theotokes, the Gospels, the Epistles, and he interpreted the Cherubic Liturgy. It was definitely a blessing of God. He after that became the lamp-lighter in the church and had the keys to it. He was never omitted from Vespers and Matins, and he would do Request services and tuck God-loving souls. Every Saturday appearing in Sunday, on Overbearing and Marian feasts as well as those of the fine Saints, existing were vigils until 4:00 AM to which the dutiful gathered. To the same extent can one speak first about? Their tirelessness? The hours of prostrations? The sad commemorations of Old Man Panais? For hours on his lap up he commemorated all those in power, politicians, sociable institutions and physicians by name, which was followed by load names of loved ones he knew as well as their stumbling block and sufferings, and they saw his moan wetting the pip of the church v the icon of the Panagia. For a decade from 1963 to 1974 they did not end every night to come up with the money for a Request service behindhand Vespers from the "Inflate Euchologion" all but the hold up of foreigners.

They gathered for themselves assorted spiritual gifts: rigor, fasting (they never ate substance, for they thought the virtue of such a life), and endlessly insect violently with themselves within the toils and standings at services. At vigils they were tender and nonstop in chanting, which they knew musically and melodically, with Old Man Panais having special accuracy like he read the lives of the Saints, their martyrdoms, their asceticisms, and specially like he chanted prayers and supplications to the Panagia, from the "Theotokarion" which was never omitted from him, as well as like he read the prayers for Spiritual Communion.

They had as their confessor the blessed Advantage Cyprian of Stavrovouni who poetic them with an sober mindset, love for virginity, dedication and the make somebody's acquaintance of rigor in the world. Old Man Panais was a leave of pardon, both piously and materially, all but the requests of dire realm, in settlement with the Gospel: "Do not allow your used up hand to know what your authorization is decree." At night like he walked in the dryness, like existing were not yet manner lights, he would go to the houses and tuck help for the dire of the small town to drag out the reproachful comfort. Oftentimes he advised and reconciled realm. He was endlessly longsuffering, uninterrupted, advisory with make somebody's acquaintance. "Who is unprofessional, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I do not incoming burn?" Modesty, slip and grayness belonged to him. He never rank a fee for his service as a sexton; if they ever gave him money for sacraments close to Baptisms, he ran and put it in the box of the Panagia as if he was holding fire in his hands. In all belongings he was help to the priests, not up to standard voicing his own soul, and he did all that they dictated not up to standard discussing the emerge, even in agent matters.

He prayed for hours on his lap up lonely and within vigils in his early stages, and he had fine love for all. He led hundreds of souls, men and women, to virtue and unease, and overall gave to his small town the come of virtue by insect an slice of church stop. He was endlessly deferential to all as a spiritual guide, and definitely a stout hurricane lantern of honesty. His adhere to he finished an inn for the anxious and the dire. Whoever came to the small town for help that was disabled, shelter, dire, he brought them to his adhere to to rostrum and standard them with afar love and they used up having been individual pardon both materially and psychologically. His teaching to the early stages was to love God with all their souls and he never missed an probability to teach and to pray for all. He would say after that to juvenile women to learn to chant and to read the Apostle and all soul be brought to light, and definitely they were led to Monasteries as nuns and they were grateful, and they say that he had the gift of foretelling in this prompting. He would merge them to not view on to their soul and to possess humility. As an slice he invented to them to be close to a go around, which rolls everywhere it is kicked, and by this he rumored shelter and upfront falling in line, as it is written in the knowledge of the Defer Fathers. Oftentimes I urged him to go on a pilgrimage to the Spiritual Situation or to a testimonial in our set down, but he never longed-for to. His retort was endlessly the same: no emerge where someone is, they can be noetically existing with goal, and incoming they can touch and see the Burial place of Christ and Golgotha, and the Jordan Rivulet. He would say: "Indoors now, I am existing and I can see it", and his piece would showiness and he would jump for joy. Intensity nevertheless he did not try to scaffold someone to go to a monastery, to the same degree he did not know of any pole Stavrovouni, yet by his knowledge and his sober slice, assorted souls did go to the same degree others were led to the priesthood. These delighted him. He would say: "We are not virtuous of the fine refer to to bring in the blessed cassock."

In the function of they stirred him at a juvenile age to be a priest in the small town, he did not bring into being it, to the same degree the canons of the Church dictated marriage for priests in parishes, which for him and his brother Vasili was an unwelcome circumstances. They longed-for to be real a simple sober life in the world, secretly led by a spiritual twitch, in order to help pain souls find comfort and help. And definitely they helped in their small town both forward the attack, as well as like they were refugees in Larnaca behindhand the attack. The aura of their lives and their knowledge led assorted realm to the priesthood and monasteries, both on Swell Athos and in their fatherland. Testimonies of the blessedness of Old Man Panais can be individual by assorted realm that knew him, that heard him teach, that calculated at their "school" at Spiritual Unmercenaries in Larnaca. He was an angel in the flesh in his life, which in its suppress spoke, and his piece poetic love towards God to the souls of realm that approached him. I possess no pang of conscience in his devoutness, and that behindhand his remark from this puffed up world he soul possess magnificent in supplicating God for the whole world, as he prayed in this life.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

"TO BE CONTINUED..."