English Archives - Ormylia Monastery

Christian Polity the Salt of Society

ormyliashop — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:43:46 +0000

With a deep sense of respect and awe, our sacred Dependency, the Convent of the Annunciation of the Theotokos (Ormylia, Greece) proceeds with the publication of another English translation of one of the many homilies given by our revered Elder, Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra. This homily was delivered on 16 March 1988, at the Centre of the Epirotic Society in Ioannina, Greece.
In it, the reader will come to understand how the redemptive teaching of the Elder was both pertinent and eschatological for his Greek listeners. Today his voice becomes even more stentorian as we circulate his homily to our anglophone brothers and sisters around the world. The Elder’s message is powerful, indeed: “The Church remains victorious and will never lose the slightest thing.”
In our experience, it is true that the Church defeats the world, even though the world does not stop persecuting her. One of the greatest paradoxes of our day is that the world is unaware that it is a hiding place for God to work mysteriously and ‘snatch away’ countless people. We witness this reality every day on Mount Athos. The return of so many people to the Paternal bosom confirms that the Church remains the theanthropic producer of saints: citizens of the heavenly kingdom.
Due to the modern phenomenon of globalisation, societies live according to a more secular spirit. Despite this problem, the Elder stresses that the Christian way of life cannot be abolished—quite the contrary! Through the heroism of the Church’s members and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the institutions of this fallen world and the lifestyle of its society are transfigured.
Simultaneously, the Elder goes on to remind us that our mission as Christians in the world does not allow us to be complacent or defensive—nor to be alarmed by what goes on around us—but to become, through our own personal struggle, the good yeast that leavens the whole world (see 1Co 5:6).
Being the inheritors of such a teaching, we cannot “hide it under a bushel” (Mt 5:15). We offer it to everyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see (see Pr 20:15) for their own spiritual edification and inspired guidance.

Archimandrite Elisaios

Abbot of the Holy Monastery
of Simonos Petras.

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The Characteristics of the Saints and the Significance of the Feasts

ormyliashop — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:38:51 +0000

Each of us is called to be a saint, and this is something that we must pay close attention to, for God has given each one of us personally all the means and all the potential to become saints, lacking in nothing compared to the other saints. Our holiness depends on the extent to which we love, give ourselves, and make sacrifices for God. The more we offer ourselves, the closer we come to God. (Page 25-26)

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Homily on the Holy Spirit

ormyliashop — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 08:51:34 +0000

This publication of Elder Aimilianos “Homily on the Holy Spirit” is an English translation of a talk that was given to a group of his spiritual children at the Rousanou Monastery of Meteora, Greece on 13 June, 1970. It was the day before the feast of Pentecost according to the Orthodox ecclesiastical calendar of that year, a fact that makes the Elder’s desire perfectly clear to us: He wanted to pre pare his spiritual children for their “inebriation” by the Spirit’s Divine Presence.

The original Greek text of this homily was published in 2006. In that publication, our revered Elder’s successor, Archimandrite Elisaios, the current Abbot of Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, wrote the following description in his prologue: “The personal experience which the Elder was transmitting to our youthfulness at that time, forever reminds us, even today, that the only way, the only purpose and the only joy of our life is communion with the Holy Spirit. By desiring this exclusively and striving for it, it is gifted to us abundantly.”

It is our prayer, through the circulation of this translation, that the teachings of our revered Elder will be handed over to a larger group of people who are also desirous of the same experience lived by him, which is none other than ‘life in the Spirit’.

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On Hope & Repentance

ormyliashop — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 18:35:39 +0000

This booklet is a translation into English of a talk that was given by our revered Elder, Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, on 4 March 1989 to the monastic community of the Holy Convent of the Annunciation, Ormylia, Halkidiki, under the title On Hope and Repentance. It is a brief commentary on a chapter by our holy father among the saints, Peter of Damaskos: That we should not despair even if we sin many times, which can be found in The Philokalia.

As we carefully ecxavate the ‘golden earth’, which is the word and spirit of the Elder, we will find a wealth of hidden treasures. Searching more deeply and persistently, we will amass priceless gifts of encouragement, hope, faith, a willing disposition for struggle, repentance, and gratitude towards our benevolent and loving God, “for Whom everything is possible, and nothing is impossible” (cf Job 42:2).

As the world struggles today in the secular atmosphere, which pervades the grind of our everyday life, we fervently and ardently pray that the word, mystical prayers, protection, paternal love and blessing of our Elder, will accompany and encourage all of us—from those who have contributed to this publication to the very last reader.

The Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras

Archimandrite Elisaios

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Return to God through the Sacramental and Mystical Life

ormyliashop — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:10:56 +0000

In this homily, Return to God through the Sacramental and Mystical Life, the teachings of ourever-memorable Spiritual Father, Archimandrite Aimilianos, refresh and strengthen the hearts of the weary, both laymen and monastics alike. It was given by the Elder on 15 March 1987 at the holy church of the Crucified One (Aigaleo, Greece).

Through Baptism, we have all been immersed in the life-giving waters of the Holy Trinity—we have all received the “adoption as sons” (Eph 1:5)—yet, for the most part, we still live as sons and daughters of the old Adam. Having realized this truth, may the present homily kindle within us the fire of the love of God, that we may return to the sure path that leads to Him, which isthe sacramental and mystical life of the Orthodox Church.

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Fools for Christ

ormyliashop — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 09:01:18 +0000

The import of this homily is timeless yet also timely. It is timeless because, recurrently, over the centuries, “Christians felt that they were on the brink of death, fools for the sake of Christ... they lived a life that the people of the world could not understand, and that is why the world considered them the offscouring, the scum of society.” Yet the homily is also timely because, during this so-called time of crisis, in the climate of confusion, insecurity, and disillusionment, its admonitions can resurrect our values, give us a sense of security and hope, generate enthusiasm in our soul “that does not advocate anything, other than our sacrificing everything just to be with God.” …
It is not easy, nor is it accepted, in this day and age for someone to live as a fool for Christ. However, “all of us are ‘fools for Christ’ - to a greater or lesser degree - as the apostle Paul had said (cf 1Cor 4:10). Which Christian, living in the world, does not differ from those who do not believe?” Both the homily and the lifestyle of the saintly fools for Christ are a loud wake-up call to the lethargy of the day, an escape from worldly dignity and the passions, a readjust¬ment of the arrangements that provide for a life of indolence, and a “push and shove,” or a hopeful point de depart, for the people living around us.
Reading the homily for the first time, the reader will probably want to read it again a second or third time. Maybe for others it will be a source of delight, a booklet of daily comfort, or a dear companion as one braves the waves, the abuses, and the false dreams of life. We wish this to be true from the depths of our soul.

From the Prologue of The Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras Archimandrite Elisaios

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Our Daily Report to God

ormyliashop — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 08:55:32 +0000

Looking back in time, over the span of centuries up to the present day, every person, within the depths of his soul, aches at the loss of commun-ion with God in Paradise. Because of that, no man can truly rest while here on earth. One desires the fruit of the Fall; another awaits the resurrection of the dead; all are in search of finding our lost homeland - our communion with God.
The way of restoring that communion is what Elder Aimilianos desired to experientially impart in his talk Our Daily Report to God which he gave to students of the Polytechnical University of Xanthi, Greece, on 18 March 1984.
It is our hope that the inspired teaching of the Elder will encourage and strengthen the readers in their attempt to move nearer to God.

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On Prayer – Problems and Temptations

ormyliashop — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 08:26:27 +0000

The edition under the title ON PRAYER: Problems & Temptations puts into print the oral teaching of our revered Elder, Archimandrite Aimilianos, as addressed to the monks of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras1 on 29 November 1978.

In this catechetical work, Elder Aimilianos unlocks the door to the depths of our souls, in the sense that he reveals to us the causes that daily bring to our attention various problems in our prayer in general, and in particular, in the practice of the Jesus Prayer. It often happens that, not knowing what is really in our best interests, we are led to mistaken conclusions, and attribute the responsibility for this to ourselves, with the result that we discontinue our prayer. “No,” says the Elder, “we have only to strengthen our conviction that our prayer is exactly as it should be, that we are on the right road, and that it will draw grace in its wake.”

Knowing that prayer comprises the main task of us all, we express the wish that this edition will help to solve many of the problems that arise in its realisation.

This is the first booklet being published after the Elder’s repose on 9 May 2019 with an English translation of one of his homilies. The task of translating it was undertaken by the erudite professor emeritus of the English language and astute scholar of Ancient Greek, Dr. Richard Matthews. As we express our gratitude to him, it is our wish that he also will reap from the spiritual benefit that will be received by all those who will read this work.

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Spiritual Instruction And Discourses 1 – The Authentic Seal

marina — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 16:23:48 +0000

The present collection consists of two parts: the first contains texts which are concerned with the regeneration, organization and operation of Orthodox monasticism, in particular the cenobitic system. The second part is made up of talks of wider spiritual interest.

The written texts were composed for specific occasions, while the homilies were addressed to a variety of audiences and were delivered at different times in the Church year. In both cases, however, the governing concept is the same: the beauty of the monastic state, its discovery and the experience of it.

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The Church At Prayer – The Mystical Liturgy Of The Heart

marina — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:48:50 +0000

[…] Αbove all, the works collected in this volume reflect the importance which the Elder consistently attached to prayer, spirituality, community life, worship, and liturgy. Thus the experientially based works On Prayer, and The Prayer of the Holy Mountain, which deal primarily with the Prayer of the Heart, appear first, followed by the summary addresses on The Divine Liturgy, and Our Church Attendance. These are in turn followed by the more socially oriented diesourses on Our Relations with Our Neighbor, and Marriage: The Great Sacrament. Finally, the present volume closes with the sermons on Spiritual Reading and The Spiritual Life, which in a simple and yet compelling manner set forth the conditions for ascending to heaven on the wings of the Spirit. […]

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