Monasticism is for our Church the unique state that has been uninterrupted for twenty centuries, which has been illuminated, in all ages, by great ascetic figures. One of them is Saint Dionysios on Olympus, one of the greatest representatives of monasticism in Greece in recent years.
Born in 1500 at the village Sklatina Mouzakiou Karditsaς, today Dragon hole. His parents were Nicholas and Theodora poor, but pious people. Dionysios owed his piety to them. They saw in his cradle a bright cross, believing that God destined him for great honors and preeminence.
With the meager means at their disposal, they took care to study him, showing a great appeal for letters. He enjoyed studying the Bible and other spiritual books. He also had an appeal for calligraphy, wanting to copy the Holy Bible and liturgical books of the Church, to benefit himself and other people.
His parents died when he was still a teenager and so he was forced to work as a teacher to the children of his village. Along with the lessons, he also taught them the faith of our Church. But he quickly made the decision to become a monk. The occasion was the tour to the village of a monk named flowery, by Meteora. From a conversation he had with him, he was convinced and followed him. There in Meteora he submitted, as a cadet, to a virtuous monk named Savva, who introduced him to orthodox monasticism. He served him with obedience and humility, showing signs of spiritual maturity.
After some time he decided to go to Mount Athos with a view to meeting holy Elders and benefiting from them and imitating them. He found a holy renowned elder, the virtuous monk Seraphim, who accepted him as his subordinate and valuing him, gave him the solitary haircut, giving him the name Dionysius. Soon after he was ordained an elder. Everyone loved him and admired him for his intellectual fortitude.
Later Dionysios asked for the blessing of his Elder to take refuge in the most desolate part of Mount Athos for greater peace. So he fled to Skete Caracallou, where she settled in a difficult place, building a small cell and her small church Holy Trinity. There he continued with prayer, fasting, vigil, abundant tears and incessant study of the Holy Bible. He ate only once a day, after the ninth hour (3pm). He was absolutely landless, in fact he never locked his cell, because there was nothing important to steal from him.
He stayed in this secluded hermitage for three years. Then he had the desire to go to the Holy Land to make the Holy Pilgrimages. Indeed, God claimed him and fulfilled his wish, deriving great benefit from this pilgrimage. He returned to his cell again and stayed another ten years, intensifying his spiritual struggle and experiencing rare spiritual experiences and miracles.
His fame spread throughout Mount Athos. He was proposed to be her abbot Holy Monastery of Philotheou (Bulgarian then). Despite his objections, he accepted and undertook a great effort to rebuild the almost ruined Monastery. He traveled to Constantinople to find sponsors. There he succeeded and collected enough money. Several young people followed him. In his attempt to change the Greek Monastery, he found a great reaction from the Bulgarians and was slandered. That's why he decided to leave.
In 1524 he said goodbye to the brothers of the Monastery and left for a hermitage in Veria. Build her Holy Forerunner Monastery, beginning a new period of spiritual struggle. His fame spread throughout the surrounding area. Thousands of people ran to him to receive his blessing and consult him. When the bishopric of Berea became a widow, he was offered the position of bishop, but he categorically refused.
After a while, wanting to live in peace, she left for him Olympus, near the deserted monastery of Agia Triado, where he settled in an adjacent cave. When a monk appeared, he left the cave and settled with his brother in the Monastery, starting the reconstruction. But he met the strong reaction of the local ruler. The Turkish judge of Larissa ordered and brought them bound to the Thessalian capital, on the charge of renovating the Monastery without permission. The real instigators were local residents, who looted the property of the Monastery. They were exiled to Pelion, near Zagora, where they built the Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Survia. But then the unexpected happened: a severe drought hit the area. The residents attributed the phenomenon to the unjust persecution of the two monks. A committee went to Pelion, begging Dionysius to forgive them and end the deadly drought. They had with them a document from the local lord, with which they were allowed to return to the Holy Monastery. Dionysios forgave them, the drought ended and he returned again, with the other monk, to the Monastery, where he continued the work of reconstruction and the spiritual elevation of the inhabitants of the area. Twice a year, (July 20 and August 6), he climbed to the top of Olympus and worked. He had also developed a great national activity.
At the end of his life he reached the heights of sainthood. He was reputed to have a prescient and far-sighted gift. He had revealed to the abbot Virgin the time of his death. After fervent prayer, he slept peacefully on January 23, 1542. His body was buried in the narthex of the Monastery. Later, when his remains were exhumed, they were found fragrant and miraculous. His memory is celebrated on January 23.
photo https://news.tv4e.gr/
