Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos Vol. 1 (Archimandrite Cherubim Karambelas 1992)

By Archimandrite Cherubim Surrounded by the tranquil Mediterranean countryside of the Holy Mountain, the ascetics of Mount Athos struggle in “unseen warfare” to achieve a state of inner silence and purity. The only monastic republic in the world, Mount Athos has been inhabited solely by monks for more than a thousand years, setting the tone of Orthodox Christian spirituality worldwide and producing a continuous stream of saints.   “Do not forget that virtue is something hidden … mystically cultivated in the recesses of the heart.”—Elder Callinicus the Hesychast   CONTEMPORARY ASCETICS OF MOUNT ATHOS describes the lives and the spiritual images of ten Athonite Elders of recent centuries, who, although differing greatly from each other in their backgrounds, characters and ways of life, all bear the evident seal of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, testifying to a troubled world that the purpose of man’s existence is union with God.   “Study, my child, to a