Newly-Canonised St Paisios of Mount Athos (Celebrated July 12) On 13 January 2015, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “unanimously accepted the proposal of the Canonical Committee to incorporate the monk Paisios of Mt. Athos into the registry of the Saints of the Orthodox Church.”[i] St Paisios’ humble and Grace-filled life and practical and pastoral teachings, known through the famous biography written by Hieromonk Isaac[ii], the five volume set of St Paisios’ Spiritual Counsels[iii] and those who personally met him, continue to touch the lives of many thousands of Orthodox faithful around the world. Fr. Peter Alban [...]

Elder Sophrony of Essex (1896-1993) Elder Sophrony of Essex was born in Russia, but departed as a young man in 1921 for the intellectual and artistic hubs of Europe. He finally settled in Paris where he found success as an artist. During this time, he engaged in the practices of oriental mysticism. These were years of struggle as he searched for eternal beauty beyond the realities of time and space. Art was his way of accessing the spiritual experiences he had long desired. After some time, he returned to Christianity and became one of the first students of the Orthodox [...]