"Glorify the Name of God Through Science" (St. Paisios the Athonite)

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The quote I placed in the title of this article are words of Saint Paisios the Athonite from a letter he wrote, which is in fact handwritten.

I say this because some people transmit words Saint Paisios delivered to them orally, which may not be preserved in their authentic expression. If even one word is changed or missing or added it can take on an entirely different meaning.

Reading the book of Hieromonk Paisios, who was a novice under Saint Paisios, titled Perfume Emptied (Μύρον ἐκκενωθέν, published by the Monastery of Saint Hilarion in Promachoi Aridaía), I noticed that he has preserved many incidents from the many years of communication with him, on various matters, and I also read towards the end that he also published two letters Saint Paisios addressed to him.

George Blatzas, the Doctor of Saint Paisios, Has Reposed

George Blatzas reposed in the Lord on the Monday of Renewal Week, 3 May 2021, on the feast of his patron saint, the great martyr George.

George Blatzas was not only a leading surgeon, but also a consistent Christian and confessor of the Christian faith from his teenage years, as a mediator of the civil strife. The spiritual son of the preacher of the Metropolis of Kitros and Katerini and later a well-known missionary of Africa, Fr. Charitonos Pneumatikakis, he had a connection early with Mount Athos and especially with Saint Paisios.

Saint Paisios the Athonite and the Chemist

The following testimony comes from a priest and theological professor from Brussels with the initials K.K., whose full name appears in the book where the testimony can be found in Όσιος Παΐσιος ο Αγιορείτης (1924-1994), Μαρτυρίες προσκυνητών (vol. 1, 7th edition).

In the spring of 1989 a Greek researcher, a chemist from the European Commission, had entered the Holy Mountain with me, and for him it was the first time coming.

A Response to the Teaching of Saint Paisios on Evolution

By John Sanidopoulos

Like most teenagers of his time and even of the present, St. Paisios was taught about evolution in the context that either you believe in Darwinian evolution and reject God, or you accept God and reject evolution. In his own words, he explains this is what happened to him when he was fifteen years old, when a friend of his brother tried to dissuade the young Arsenios (this was his name prior to becoming a monastic) from the "nonsense" of prayer and fasting. Arsenios saw this as a temptation that he had to overcome (read more about this here). And indeed it was, since he was presented with various theories to dissuade him from faith in Christ. As a reward for remaining faithful, even at his young age he was made worthy of a vision of Christ immersed in divine light, confirming his faith.

It is Good to be Able to Go to the Moon, but Better to Attain God (St. Paisios the Athonite)

On the topic of the sanctification of knowledge, St. Paisios the Athonite (+ 1994) said the following:

Education and knowledge are good things, but if they are not sanctified, they are a waste and lead to disaster. Some university students arrived at my hut one day, loaded with books. They said, "Elder, we are here to discuss the Old Testament with you. God permits knowledge, doesn't He?"

"What kind of knowledge do you mean?" I asked them. "Knowledge acquired with the mind?"

"Yes," they answered.

"This kind of knowledge," I replied, "will take you up to the moon, but will not lead you to God."

Elder Paisios on Science and the Spiritual Life

The following excerpt comes from the book Elder Paisios of Mount Athos, Spiritual Counsels I: With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man, pp. 228-229.

Evil starts when the mind concentrates only on science and is totally separated from God. This is why it is difficult for people who think this way to find inner peace and balance. By contrast, when the mind revolves around God, and is illumined and sanctified, science is used both for our spiritual edification and for the benefit of the world.

- Do you mean to say, Elder, that science does not help people?