Eldress Myrtidiotissa: The Ascetic Struggler of Klissoura (1886–1974)

Publication Data: Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1999
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: x + 101
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.3 cm × 13.8 cm × 0.6 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒911165‒40‒1

   
by Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili
Translated by Hieromonk Patapios
Edited by Archbishop Chrysostomos

“Let the figure of this valiant struggler be our guiding light on the path that leads to our own Cross and Resurrection, a path characterized by inner contrition, joyful sorrow, patience, hope, and compassion. I have attempted to penetrate the inner recesses of a miraculous world and to approach what lay hidden beneath the external insignificance of a woman who was treated with disdain. ‘Thou hast achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty....’ She was a treasure concealed in rags, unkempt and coarse, who lived in unending obscurity, so that God might manifest Himself; she was a place in which God revealed Himself to the humble. She was honorable before God and a precious vessel of His wonders. A purveyor of our sanctified Tradition, flowing in the goldbearing stream of an everlasting holiness, she lived already in the present life the glory of the Kingdom. She belonged to that familiar choir that enraptures us with its radiant beauty and gives us courage with its ‘paradoxes’ and ‘contradictions.’”
—“‘A Small Entrance’ into the Miraculous World of a Contemporary Saint”

CONTENTS

   “A Small Entrance” into the Miraculous World of a Contemporary Saint
Part I
“For Whom He Did Foreknow, He Also Did Predestinate..., Them He Also Called”
   1. The Ascetic of Klissoura
   2. Fond Memories
   3. Pontos the Blessed
   4. The Most Critical Period
   5. The Monastery of Klissoura
Part II
“They that Sow with Tears...”
   1. On the Paths of True Wisdom
   2. The Difficult Years
   3. Ascent through Descent
   4. Her Singular Asceticism
   5. The Guardian Angel of the People
   6. All One Living Prayer
   7. At One with Nature
   8. A Woman Sent by God
Part III
“...Shall Reap with Rejoicing”
   1. “Who Shall Find a Virtuous Woman?”
   2. “I am on Fire, I am on Fire...’
   3. “And Thou Didst Uphold the World by Thy Prayers”
   4. Heavenly Gifts
   5. Amazing Miracles
   6. “This is the Correct Calendar”
   7. Myrtidiotissa the Nun
   8. “I’m Going on a Long Journey’
   9. The Area was Fragrant
   10. She Did Not Abandon Us
   11. Beyond Conventions
Appendix
   1. Apolytikion
   2. “The Righteous Shall Flourish Like a Palm Tree’
   3. Necessary Clarifications