Author: Archim. Efrem (Abbot of the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi)
Keywords: Mystagogy, prayer, inner joy, divine energy, Hesychasm, Liturgy
Abstract:
Our spiritual father Joseph was an arduous ascetic of the mystery of prayer and deification, and he tried to initiate us as well, to initiate us in the mystery that fulfils the meaning of man’s existence. Through prayer and word, he explained the divine mysteries to his apprentices. God ordained him spiritual father to give His grace to others. His whole life was a mystagogy of prayer, having Christ at its centre. When he meditated at the self-emptying (kenosis) of the divine Word and preached about it, he trembled and always shed tears. I remember his answer when I asked why he shed so many tears: “I can understand the martyrdom of the holy great martyrs, even that of the young girls who were martyrized, but His self-emptying is beyond my understanding and only its memory makes my tears flow, for I cannot bear the thought”.
Pages: 12-23