Elder Ieronymos of Aegina

[Matthew]

Does anyone here have any personal stories or experiences, either your own or told you by people you know, who have met the Elder Ieronymos of Aegina or have been visited by him or had their prayers answered by him? If so, I would love to hear them. I found reading his life extremely profitable and encouraging. There is just something so grounding and yet uplifting about his simple and true and holy and humble compunctionate life of love and prayer, that I am hoping to find more spiritual gold by way of other's accounts or experiences not found in the book.

Thank you,
Symeon

[Maria]

Does anyone here have any personal stories or experiences, either your own or told you by people you know, who have met the Elder Ieronymos of Aegina or have been visited by him or had their prayers answered by him? If so, I would love to hear them. I found reading his life extremely profitable and encouraging. There is just something so grounding and yet uplifting about his simple and true and holy and humble compunctionate life of love and prayer, that I am hoping to find more spiritual gold by way of other's accounts or experiences not found in the book.

Thank you,
Symeon

Can you recommend a biography that you have read? Anything online would be awesome.

[jgress]

The life I have is by Peter Botsis, and is published by HTM. I can't tell you if it is available online.

[Matthew]

Hello Maria,

A little of the book I read can be seen here in PDF. It inspired me to buy it. It includes really qood quality photos too that you can look at as well as a bit of info on the Elder. Kind of like a teaser trailer but for a book rather than a movie. Quite effective.

http://www.bostonmonks.com/pdfs/b046-el ... -flier.pdf

[Barbara]

I so enjoy that type of question posed by Icxpion, not just for this elder but for many, many holy figures !

I love to read any and all accounts.

I haven't even heard of this elder, I believe.
I am going to check a book of Greek Elders as soon as time permits to see whether he is included.

What did you find grounding about him - by the way ?

[Matthew]

It was his simplicity, and deep compunction. He was really emptied of himself in the healthiest way possible. It is well worth reading his life if you can get it.
Symeon

[joasia]

Very interesting. I received a gift of the Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian and Elder Ieronymos is dedicated in it along with Elder Joseph the Hesychast. They lived their lives by St. Isaac's writings. Elder Ieronymos instructed that one page should be read a day. No more or no less. There you will see yourself as if in a mirror.

His monastic life of

simplicity and deep compunction

was due to his imitation of St. Isaac's teachings. It is an ancient way of life that not many monks can follow now. And it seems so far away from a regular monastic lifestyle that we are used to.

Icxypion,

if you want to know more about Elder Ieronymos then read the book I mentioned. That's the

spiritual gold

that you are looking for and which he imparted to others. He was so greatly influenced by St. Isaac that he lived by his teachings.

And what is the spiritual gold? It's the teachings of Jesus Christ. Repent, have mercy, love your neighbor as yourself. Put others before yourself. And by doing all this, you take up your cross. That is what Elder Ieronymos lived everyday. What you see in him is not a reflection of such a great man, as our secular minds analyze, but it is the image of Jesus Christ in him. And that is what made Elder Ieronymos beyond this world and so amazing to our sinful observations.

We can all achieve that level, in our own way.