Four New Athonite Saints Canonized (source)
The numbering very soon among the Saints of the Church of the Athonite Fathers Daniel of Katounakia, Ieronymos of Simonopetra, Joseph the Hesychast and Ephraim of Katounakia was officially announced today on October 20th, 2019 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on his trip to Mount Athos. The Athonite Fathers in attendance received this news with tears in their eyes, and received this as a great blessing from the Patriarch.
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And as a "final surprise" from Patriarch Bartholomew was the likely upcoming canonization of Elder Sophrony of Essex, though this was only reported by one source.
Two of these Saints have biographies previously posted on this site and linked to above. For the other two I include brief biographies below:
Elder Ieronymos of Simonopetra (source)
Elder Ieronymos of Simonopetra was born John Diakogiorgis in 1871 in Reis-Dere of Asia Minor (near Cesme). He entered the Holy Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos on October 28th, 1888 and was tonsured a monk on March 21st, 1893, on Palm Sunday. On April 11th, 1920 he was ordained a deacon, and on April 12th the same year a priest. On April 20th, 1920, the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, he was enthroned as the Abbot of the Monastery of his repentance (Simonopetra). On June 15th 1931 he was exiled to the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou and in three months he was sent to the "Metochion" ("Dependency") of Simonopetra in Athens named after the Holy Ascension of Christ. In 1937 he was re-elected Abbot of Simonopetra, but he declined this, and he remained at Holy Ascension for twenty more years, until he reposed on January 7th 1957 (the feast of Christmas on the Old Calendar). Therefore, he lived 17 years in his homeland of Asia Minor, 43 years in the Monastery of Simonopetra and 26 years at Holy Ascension in Athens.
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A more extensive biography of Elder Ieronymos in Greek is available here.
Elder Daniel of Katounakia (source)
Elder Daniel of Katounakia, known in the world as Dimitrios Dimitriadis, was a monk, the founder of Danielaioi brotherhood at Mount Athos.
Born in 1846 in a family of a armourer in Smyrna, he was the youngest child in the family and was characterized by outstanding abilities. In his teenage years Dimitrios knew by heart almost all Philokalia. At the island of Paros, he met Saint Arsenius of Paros who blessed Dimitrios to go to St. Panteleimon monastery at Mt. Athos.
In St. Panteleimon monastery, he was tonsured a monk with the name of Daniel. Later he lived in Vatopaidi monastery. For 10 years he suffered with nephritis and on August 31, when the Vatopaidi monastery celebrated the feast of Holy Belt of the Mother of God, he was suddenly healed. After 5 years in Vatopaidi he moved to Katounakia where lived alone for 3.5 years. Starting from 1883, other monks started to settle there, so that Danielaioi brotherhood was formed. Elder Daniel was offered to be a bishop but considered himself to be unworthy of it.
Elder Daniel had a gift of spiritual counsel and consolation in sorrows. He guarded or cured many monks and lay persons. He was in spiritual friendship with St. Nectarios of Pentapolis. Also he was in correspondence with Philotheos (Zervakos) of Paros and other monks from the monastery of Longovarda at the island of Paros. Elder Daniel guarded them from the heresy of theologian A. Makrakis. About 200 letters to the abbess Theodosia from the monastery at the island of Tinos and 70 other writings of elder Daniel are available until now.
Kostis Marmaras, a lay person, was interested in spiritualism. He wanted to know whether it comes from the electric forces of from the spiritual forces. Then he found out that it was from the spirit and in his opinion, from the Holy Spirit. So Kostis practiced spiritualism for 30 years, reading thoughts, speaking with "saints", "spirits of reposed people" etc. After that he found a book of elder Daniel against spiritualism and started to doubt about holiness of the participating spirit. He started to write letters to the elder asking about it. The elder succeeded in convincing Kostis that spiritualism was a delusion. But it took a very long time for Kostis to be healed completely. When Kostis started to read the prayers of exorcism of St. Basil the Great, the demons beat him unmercifully in the night. Then he started to see demonic visions and thought that it comes from grace. In the end, Kostis managed to get out of the net of demonic tricks, but that happened only with help of Divinely wise elder Daniel.
Fr. Callistratus in the end of his life fell into prelest. During the Divine service, he started trembling and was thinking that this is an action of grace. But he was not absolutely certain and decided to write to elder Daniel. The elder replied with an extensive letter "On noetic prayer. Letter of elder Daniel to Callistratus" (1916, In: "Angelic Living"). Elder Daniel analyses in detail the actions of grace and the trembling that comes from God and the one that comes from the evil side. He writes that no one of the Saints was trembling as Fr. Callistratus. He also tells about another similar case of trembling that was coming from the evil forces with monk Alipius who did not notice that was praying with unnoticeable vainglory. And the elder showed with convincing arguments that the trembling for Fr. Callistratus was coming from the same force. In a reply, Fr. Callistratus is amazed at the action of the elder Daniel's letter, the meekness of the elder and the way how he showed the delusion.
In a letter "Reply of monk Daniel to Markianus, a monk of Iveron skete, about rejection of dreams" (1918, In: "Angelic Living"), elder Daniel writes about a man of great learning by the name of Nicolaus who thought of himself that he had received a gift of unceasing heart prayer from the icon of the Mother of God and then started to see visions. He asked God to receive the same visions as the Prophets of the Old Testament. Then the Devil offered him many other heretic superstitions: at the feast day of St. Spyridon, this "saint" appeared in front of Nicolaus and told him to "sacrifice" his hand to Christ and to burn it with candle; the man even took baptism for the second time from the protestants because the demons told him that only protestants keep proper baptism from the times of Apostles. When elder Daniel asked whether this man confessed everything, he replied that "Christ" told him that it is not necessary and there are no true confessors now. After listening for 6 hours about different delusions, it took elder Daniel 2 hours to bring that person to reason based on many places in the Divine Scriptures and reasonable arguments. The man was convinced and started to resist the visions, though the traces of delusion were seen to the end of his life.
In September of 1929, the elder fell ill with a cold. He was foreboding his death and asked to take the Holy Communion. On September 8 (21), 1929, on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God, after the Divine Liturgy and the Sacrament of Anointment of the Sick, elder Daniel reposed.
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The New Choir of Athonite Fathers, including left to right: Saints Joseph the Hesychast, Ephraim of Katounakia, Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia and Paisios the Athonite (source)
Apolytikion of the Holy Fathers in the Fourth Tone
O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through their prayers.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!
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