Papa-Nicholas Planas
Translated from the Greek by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Papa-Nicholas Planas: The Simple Shepherd of the Simple Sheep; The Life and Endeavors of the Priest Nicholas Planas, Written by His Disciple the Nun Martha, with Letters and Pious Recollections of Several Christians Who Knew Him, and a Foreword by Photios Kontoglou
Publication Data: Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2001
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: lviii + 150
Dimensions (l × w × h): 19.6 cm × 13.4 cm × 1.4 cm
Additional Information: two-color printing, black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒913026‒18‒2
Translated from the Greek by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery
“The life of such a man is a great and soul-saving example for us in these present times when sin has mushroomed, and when men have become so accustomed to all manner of lasciviousness that they are completely ‘past feeling.’ In the darkest times, when the radiant face of God is hidden from the eyes of men, His love of mankind reveals in our midst one whom He has sent to establish us in the Faith by his manner of life, even though he may not speak many words. One thus sent was Papa Planas, who neither knew letters, nor had the easy speech of those whom the world is wont to call ‘theologians,’ who study in universities and other schools and receive diplomas. The mark of Orthodoxy is simplicity of heart which brings faith. And wherever there exist true and unshakeable faith, there are revealed all the spiritual graces and gifts of God.”
—“Foreword”
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE OF THE PUBLISHERS OF THE GREEK EDITION
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
SAYINGS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE WHICH BEFIT FATHER NICHOLAS PLANAS AND HIS SYNODIA
1 / The Life and Endeavors of the Priest Nicholas Planas Written by His Disciple, the Nun Martha
1. The birth of Papa-Nicholas
2. His ordination
3. He sees Saint Panteleimon
4. His Liturgies
5. His fasts
6. His “invoices and contracts”
7. The vision of the lawyer
8. The punishment of the caretaker
9. His patience and tolerance
10. The calendar
11. A lesson for the carriage-driver
12. The vision which the little boy saw
13. A light above his head
14. “Don’t put out the light, my Father!”
15. His lack of concern for money
16. “I don’t want your money; only your blessing!”
17. The lady who wanted to test him
18. The poison he drank without harm
19. The healing of Papa Dimitri
20. The appearance of Saints John & Panteleimon
21. The appearance of the Angel
22. In, but not of, the world
23. How he used to behave towards rich and poor
24. Liturgical majesty
25. The prosphoron of the Angel
26. “It’s the Bishop-Martyr Phocas!...”
27. The wondrous cure
28. The correction of vainglory
29. The Communion of the leper
30. Most fervent zeal and holy patience
31. A comfort and a refuge
32. The family which found its lost son
33. The honor and love of his parishioners
34. He prayed that they would let him pray
35. Secret Liturgies
36. He solves the difficulties of the faithful
37. The surprise of the carriage-driver
38. One of the achievements of his patience
39. His being set aside at the Vigil & his long-suffering
40. The punishment of the priest
41. Those present and those absent in the Liturgy
42. The tamed beast
43. How he used to behave towards his concelebrants
44. His thirst for prayer
45. The appearance of Prophet Elisseus
46. The confidence that his faith gave him
47. Above scandals
48. The carter who was benefited
49. Help and light from Heaven
50. Imitation of the Holy Fathers
51. “Not even enough for his carriage!”
52. “From now on you shall have no more pain”
53. “My steps do Thou direct...”
54. His final days on earth
55. “The capital city will undergo tribulations...”
56. And his disciple
57. Some miracles
II / Passages From Letters of Mother Martha a Nun, Which Supplement the Preceding Biographical Notes
III / Pious Recollections of Several Christians Who Knew Him
1. The holy priest with the gift of clairvoyance
2. The Unforgettable appearance of a Saint
3. “He isn’t walking on the ground!”
4. Two events
5. One of his spiritual children
6. “Look how high up the priest is!”
7. Alekos the chanter
8. “And all Thy Saints...!”
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX
GLOSSARY
EPILOGUE TO THE SECOND ENGLISH PRINTING
A SERVICE TO PAPA-NICHOLAS
Publication Data: Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2001
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: lviii + 150
Dimensions (l × w × h): 19.6 cm × 13.4 cm × 1.4 cm
Additional Information: two-color printing, black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒913026‒18‒2
Translated from the Greek by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery
“The life of such a man is a great and soul-saving example for us in these present times when sin has mushroomed, and when men have become so accustomed to all manner of lasciviousness that they are completely ‘past feeling.’ In the darkest times, when the radiant face of God is hidden from the eyes of men, His love of mankind reveals in our midst one whom He has sent to establish us in the Faith by his manner of life, even though he may not speak many words. One thus sent was Papa Planas, who neither knew letters, nor had the easy speech of those whom the world is wont to call ‘theologians,’ who study in universities and other schools and receive diplomas. The mark of Orthodoxy is simplicity of heart which brings faith. And wherever there exist true and unshakeable faith, there are revealed all the spiritual graces and gifts of God.”
—“Foreword”
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE OF THE PUBLISHERS OF THE GREEK EDITION
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
SAYINGS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE WHICH BEFIT FATHER NICHOLAS PLANAS AND HIS SYNODIA
1 / The Life and Endeavors of the Priest Nicholas Planas Written by His Disciple, the Nun Martha
1. The birth of Papa-Nicholas
2. His ordination
3. He sees Saint Panteleimon
4. His Liturgies
5. His fasts
6. His “invoices and contracts”
7. The vision of the lawyer
8. The punishment of the caretaker
9. His patience and tolerance
10. The calendar
11. A lesson for the carriage-driver
12. The vision which the little boy saw
13. A light above his head
14. “Don’t put out the light, my Father!”
15. His lack of concern for money
16. “I don’t want your money; only your blessing!”
17. The lady who wanted to test him
18. The poison he drank without harm
19. The healing of Papa Dimitri
20. The appearance of Saints John & Panteleimon
21. The appearance of the Angel
22. In, but not of, the world
23. How he used to behave towards rich and poor
24. Liturgical majesty
25. The prosphoron of the Angel
26. “It’s the Bishop-Martyr Phocas!...”
27. The wondrous cure
28. The correction of vainglory
29. The Communion of the leper
30. Most fervent zeal and holy patience
31. A comfort and a refuge
32. The family which found its lost son
33. The honor and love of his parishioners
34. He prayed that they would let him pray
35. Secret Liturgies
36. He solves the difficulties of the faithful
37. The surprise of the carriage-driver
38. One of the achievements of his patience
39. His being set aside at the Vigil & his long-suffering
40. The punishment of the priest
41. Those present and those absent in the Liturgy
42. The tamed beast
43. How he used to behave towards his concelebrants
44. His thirst for prayer
45. The appearance of Prophet Elisseus
46. The confidence that his faith gave him
47. Above scandals
48. The carter who was benefited
49. Help and light from Heaven
50. Imitation of the Holy Fathers
51. “Not even enough for his carriage!”
52. “From now on you shall have no more pain”
53. “My steps do Thou direct...”
54. His final days on earth
55. “The capital city will undergo tribulations...”
56. And his disciple
57. Some miracles
II / Passages From Letters of Mother Martha a Nun, Which Supplement the Preceding Biographical Notes
III / Pious Recollections of Several Christians Who Knew Him
1. The holy priest with the gift of clairvoyance
2. The Unforgettable appearance of a Saint
3. “He isn’t walking on the ground!”
4. Two events
5. One of his spiritual children
6. “Look how high up the priest is!”
7. Alekos the chanter
8. “And all Thy Saints...!”
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX
GLOSSARY
EPILOGUE TO THE SECOND ENGLISH PRINTING
A SERVICE TO PAPA-NICHOLAS
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