Teaching of Elder Aimilianos on the Monastic Life

The contemporary respected Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra Monastery on the Holy Mountain reposed last month.* He was the founder and spiritual father of the Convent of the Annunciation near Ormylia, Halkidiki in Greece. What follows here are notes of conversations of an American nun with a sister of the above mentioned convent.

I asked sister what Elder Aimilianos emphasizes most in his teaching on monastic life. She immediately said, “Joy. For Geronta (Geronta is Greek for Elder) this is the most vital thing. Whenever he gives a talk, whether in Thessalonika or just for the nuns, no matter what the subject, he always brings this in. If one is joyful, then no matter what happens, he will not fall. If we are joyful we have an open heart, and God can enter. If we are unhappy, our heart is locked and He can’t enter. If we are free, joyful and accept everything, then God continuously blesses. Geronta says, ‘Even if you sin, stay happy and repent but don’t despair.’”

I asked, “How to acquire joy?”

Sister answered, “Don’t think about yourself. The more we are wrapped in ourselves and our troubles, the more we lose joy. If we don’t think about God or the other sisters it follows that joy will depart from us for we are wrapped up in ourselves. Geronda gives examples—if an earthquake happens, or the Turks or Communists invade, so what remain joyful! When we were putting up new buildings Geronta told us, ‘Suppose we finish the building and then an earthquake occurs and knocks it all down—so what! We start over again. Suppose a persecution comes—isn’t God above everything? Doesn’t God know what is happening? He could have stopped it, but He didn’t. Suppose all the sisters are called together for something and only you area forgotten, no one calls you. So what! God could have caused one sister to remember you and call you but He didn’t. So you went to your cell, said your prayers and you were with God.’”
On illnesses

“If we get a serious illness, we should be grateful that God gave the illness to us rather than someone outside the monastery who has a family—a cross would be greater for that one. Illness is a great blessing, but we do not ask for it because we don’t know if we could bear it. Illness brings you closer to God because you are humbled and think more of God. Geronta Aimilianos has always been sick, ever since childhood, but he never said, ‘Why God?’ Spiritual people never ask that their illness leave them but they thank God for it. God gives us only what we can bear; God wouldn’t have given it if we couldn’t bear it, so why be upset? This is another reason for joy.”
Standing in church

Geronta tells them always to stand in church and only sit if they really have a health problem. He tells them to be like burning lamps in church. So most of the sisters stand—it’s a spiritual fight in church. He tells them if you train yourself to stand all the time, and to be still—not to go in and out—you will be able to; it’s a matter of training.

In vigils (vigils are between 5 and 6 hours) Geronta has set a rule of two times that they can leave if they need to go to the restroom, but he doesn’t like it. He says, “Make a decision that you don’t need to go.” He stresses making decisions decisively. If they leave church, they tell Gerontissa (Greek for Eldress), or the second in charge, or the sister in charge of seating, why they are leaving, and they don’t leave without a blessing. At first they had only a small chapel—most of them stood in the corridor—and there was a lot of movement in and out, so after a while he laid down the law. Sister said, “He educates us gradually. But even when he makes a law there is flexibility to it—he states things in an absolute way, to impress upon them the importance of his point, but in actuality he is flexible.”…to be continued

*Brief biographical information can be found on http://www.orthochristian.com