Really amazing story and journey. I was there a couple years ago as a new orthodox convert. One monk put it to me this way, “when you go to mount Athos, you put yourself in the hands of the Theotokos and you will have the experience she wants you to have.”
Nick Probst Christ is Risen! Thanks for your comments. I’m hopeful that my plans to return to Mount Athos this September will still be possible. If so, I agree that the experience will be what it needs to be.- for my benefit. Glory to God! Jurgis
Well done mate, I converted to Orthodox 18 years, I am looking forward to going to Mount Athos next year, and seeing the Holy Monasteries of Orthodoxy,,Amin and blessed love to my orthodox brothers and sisters 🙏☦️🙏☦️☦️☦️🙏.
Just came across your channel a couple of days ago and id like to thank you for sharing your journey. As an Orthodox from birth I don't know many people who have shared such a journey. It's always so nice to hear/see how a non Orthodox finds his/her way with God's blessing into the faith. May God continue to bless you and strengthen you ☦️🙏
I’m so glad you took my suggestion of going to the monastery of St John The Baptist in Essex. I’m so glad and happy for you that you enjoyed the whole experience. I wish I’d known the dates you were there as I would’ve loved to have visited this lovely monastery and had met you too. May God be with you, brother ☦️
I am so happy that you reached out to me too! I was very tempted to go with my original plan to visit a few gardens, but I would have missed the very special blessing I received during the Evening Prayers. May God bless you!
God bless you brother. If I am correct you have been there twice. But both times you visited the West Shore. You should definitely visit the other side and most important the Iviron Monastery where the holy icon of Virgin Mary the Portaitissa is. Personally I go twice a year the last ten years to the monastery of Karakallou. Maybe we might meet there sometime.
Greetings! You are correct as I have been on the West side. However, while I was at Hilandar Nikola took me to see the water on the East side. I hope to return in September (my third trip) and have plans (yes, the West side again) to visit Hilandar to see Nikola, Simon-Peter, Xenophontos (dedicated to St. George) and Gregorio. I walked through Gregoria on my first visit and thought it was a nice setting for a gardener to enjoy. Plus, Nikola tells me the Fathers there are truly wonderful. If I can figure out a way to get a blessing to stay longer, I will try to visit Iviron and Karakallou as well. Thank you for the suggestion. May God bless your journey there as well. Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
Ah, Iviron, the georgian monastery!Beautyful place, near the sea. That is where I visited for my first time, and uploaded a video with music in it. ua-cam.com/video/JyUp1qVz01k/v-deo.html
I enjoyed your documentaries about your first and second visit to Mount Atos. Last year I was on Mount Athos for the first time, in Vatopedi and Chilandar. I recognized your friend Nikola from the picture in this video. I met him last year, he is now monk Longin. I am going again to Mount Athos this august. Best regards from Serbia brother George.
Glory to God! Thank you so much for your kind words and for also giving me an update regarding Nicola. I was not able to make it to Chilandar monastery last year while I was on Mt. Athos for Pascha. If you see Fr. Longin during your trip this August be sure to send him my greetings. He was an instrument used of God to minister to me in a very special way. Also, tell him the book he gave me to deliver to Fr. Cherubim at Gregorio Monastery never made it, because the ferry didn’t operate in poor weather. Instead of Christmas spent at Gregorio I spent an extra night at Xenophondos but was blessed by their Christmas Liturgy. I hope to eventually return to Gregorio one day - God willing! Be well. ~ Jurgis
Sorry, I was not able to live chat with you during the Premiere. I think I remember one question that asked where I got my St. George medallion from - Amazon. On another matter, I kept encouraging people to go to Mount Athos but failed to point out that only men are allowed there. Thanks for your patience as I'm still figuring out how the Premiere feature works but it will come. Have a great day!
Γεια σου, George! I hope every time you visit Mt. Athos to take the time to visit some of the beautiful byzantine churces in Thessaloniki. And also the Vlatades Monastery in Ano Poli.
Thank you for sharing. I hear the liturgy at mount Athos is out of this world. At five am and candle lit. The chandelier with the candles is gently swayed from right to left and the flames look like "angels" in the dark. God bless you.
@@cuttlefisch I believe it must be wonderful, it gives a sense that you out of this world. You are blessed to have experienced it🙏. I pray one day to be able to go to a monastery with candle lit liturgy.
Hey George thank you for sharing your experience and your honesty. At the end of the video where your birds didn't allowed you to talk my birds in Greece where responding to the sounds of yours in Kansas and I was laughing to. May the lord bless you.
Christ is Risen! That's hilarious! Sometimes my birds join me in the morning when I say the Jesus Prayer - but they are more respectful. Have a great day. Glory to God!
The name George is from the Greek 'Γιώργος' which means tiller of the earth. It is a fitting name knowing your assignment as a gardener. Praise be to GOD
@@OrthodoxGardener @Orthodox Gardener take also in consideration that Geo is the root form of quite words related to Earth. Geo logy (science of Earth) Geo graphy (designing of Earth) Geo metry (measuring of Earth) Geo strategy (self explanatory) Actually a scramble aiding site mentions that there are 517 English words starting with Geo.
I am trying to become Orthodox now although I chose a bad time as my church is closed due to Coronavirus. I have studied so much that I should have a theological degree in Orthodoxy right now! :-)
Yes January 7th on the old calendar. There are two old calendars so you are either old calendar or new calendar and then we have our Gregorian calendar to plan our days out in between like everybody else has
I watched this hoping for an other look at Mount Athos, kept watching fascinated by the story of your spiritual travels. I wish you well in jour journey, hope you can find fulfillment and peace.
Thanks, perhaps I’ll attempt a climb to the top of Mt. Athos on my next journey. It would be a blessing to experience the scenery up there and to pray along the way. Be well!
Hi my friend our Lords blessings upon you thank you for this video for Loving our Blessed Lord and Trinity for taking the time and loving us to share your experience. I’m not sure if you are aware I just wanted to let you know that there is an incredible monastery in Arizona called Saint Anthonys Monostary it was built from one of the incredible Monks from Mount Athos Father Effrem it was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had I haven’t been to Mount Athos I pray one day I’ll be able to make it but I truly believe in my heart that you will find it if you want to experience something similarTo mount Athos it will be at Saint Anthonys Monostary in Arizona. The story behind Him and the Monostary is incredible he was a disciple of Saint Paisios
Thank you for reaching out to me and letting me know that you enjoy my videos. Yes, I have heard of St. Anthonys in Arizona and I hope to visit it in the near future, as well as Holy Trinity Monastery in West Virginia. I may make a road trip this summer to visit a few American sites, in addition to hopefully returning to Mt. Athos in September - God willing. May God bless you, Andrew! Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
When I was getting ready to go to Mt. Athos my wife approached me with the weepy look on her face and asked me: "You are coming back right?" She was afraid I may decide to go monastic and would be out of her reach as no females can go to Mt. Athos. It was so funny... :o)))) . God bless you brother.! Glory to God.!
That's funny but I understand as my wife was wondering the same thing. Mt. Athos is beautiful, but my wife is my life partner and blessing. However, there are some pangs of regret that I can't travel to Mt. Athos next week as planned. Glory to God for all things!
They usually let a single person film inside the monastery or when you are having a talk with them. They just let 60 Minutes in not so long ago with all of their cameras. They haven't allowed the press in for something like forever!
Danny - You need to determine what three night/four days you want to go to Mount Athos and contact the Pilgrims Office, no more than six months in advance at athosreservation@gmail.com. Once they grant you permission than you need to decide which monasteries to visit, and contact each one asking for their blessing to spend one night. I will be returning in September - God willing! Thanks for reaching out to me and I pray you are able to visit Mt. Athos yourself. Glory to God! ~Jurgis
Wonderful! I pray you have a blessed trip. I will be returning in September. The address is: 1 Hara ton Thlivomenon Paleochori, Halkidikis TK 63074 Greece Tel +306948172540 Email: osathan@hotmail.com
I flew cheap and I travel cheap so it was less than $1,000 for everything round trip from Kansas City. I stayed at hotels in Thessaloniki but took the bus to get to Ouranopoli to catch the ferry to Mt. Athos. Hope that helps.
Really amazing story and journey. I was there a couple years ago as a new orthodox convert. One monk put it to me this way, “when you go to mount Athos, you put yourself in the hands of the Theotokos and you will have the experience she wants you to have.”
Nick Probst Christ is Risen! Thanks for your comments. I’m hopeful that my plans to return to Mount Athos this September will still be possible. If so, I agree that the experience will be what it needs to be.- for my benefit.
Glory to God!
Jurgis
Well done mate, I converted to Orthodox 18 years, I am looking forward to going to Mount Athos next year, and seeing the Holy Monasteries of Orthodoxy,,Amin and blessed love to my orthodox brothers and sisters 🙏☦️🙏☦️☦️☦️🙏.
I hope that you are able to visit in the near future, as it was a blessing me. May God bless your pilgrimage. Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
I entered the Orthodox church this year at Pascha. I love to hear stories of the Holy Mountain Athos. Thank you for sharing! 💒
Thank you for sharing this visit.
As a convert and a woman I was grateful to "see" the Holy Mountain last year.
Sue ua-cam.com/video/U5pwfLRI-R8/v-deo.html
Just came across your channel a couple of days ago and id like to thank you for sharing your journey. As an Orthodox from birth I don't know many people who have shared such a journey. It's always so nice to hear/see how a non Orthodox finds his/her way with God's blessing into the faith. May God continue to bless you and strengthen you ☦️🙏
I saw your last video and liked it. Congradulations on your conversion! Very happy for you. God bless from a Massachusian in Texas.
Greetings! Thanks for watching. May God bless you in Texas.
Be well ~ Jurgis
I’m so glad you took my suggestion of going to the monastery of St John The Baptist in Essex. I’m so glad and happy for you that you enjoyed the whole experience. I wish I’d known the dates you were there as I would’ve loved to have visited this lovely monastery and had met you too. May God be with you, brother ☦️
I am so happy that you reached out to me too! I was very tempted to go with my original plan to visit a few gardens, but I would have missed the very special blessing I received during the Evening Prayers. May God bless you!
Orthodox Gardener it makes me happy to hear you received this special blessing and that the whole trip was a success.
God bless you, brother. I have to visit the Holy Mountain again. I miss it
God bless you brother. If I am correct you have been there twice. But both times you visited the West Shore. You should definitely visit the other side and most important the Iviron Monastery where the holy icon of Virgin Mary the Portaitissa is. Personally I go twice a year the last ten years to the monastery of Karakallou. Maybe we might meet there sometime.
Greetings! You are correct as I have been on the West side. However, while I was at Hilandar Nikola took me to see the water on the East side. I hope to return in September (my third trip) and have plans (yes, the West side again) to visit Hilandar to see Nikola, Simon-Peter, Xenophontos (dedicated to St. George) and Gregorio. I walked through Gregoria on my first visit and thought it was a nice setting for a gardener to enjoy. Plus, Nikola tells me the Fathers there are truly wonderful.
If I can figure out a way to get a blessing to stay longer, I will try to visit Iviron and Karakallou as well. Thank you for the suggestion. May God bless your journey there as well.
Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
Ah, Iviron, the georgian monastery!Beautyful place, near the sea.
That is where I visited for my first time, and uploaded a video with music in it.
ua-cam.com/video/JyUp1qVz01k/v-deo.html
I enjoyed your documentaries about your first and second visit to Mount Atos. Last year I was on Mount Athos for the first time, in Vatopedi and Chilandar. I recognized your friend Nikola from the picture in this video. I met him last year, he is now monk Longin. I am going again to Mount Athos this august. Best regards from Serbia brother George.
Glory to God! Thank you so much for your kind words and for also giving me an update regarding Nicola. I was not able to make it to Chilandar monastery last year while I was on Mt. Athos for Pascha. If you see Fr. Longin during your trip this August be sure to send him my greetings. He was an instrument used of God to minister to me in a very special way. Also, tell him the book he gave me to deliver to Fr. Cherubim at Gregorio Monastery never made it, because the ferry didn’t operate in poor weather. Instead of Christmas spent at Gregorio I spent an extra night at Xenophondos but was blessed by their Christmas Liturgy. I hope to eventually return to Gregorio one day - God willing! Be well.
~ Jurgis
Sorry, I was not able to live chat with you during the Premiere. I think I remember one question that asked where I got my St. George medallion from - Amazon. On another matter, I kept encouraging people to go to Mount Athos but failed to point out that only men are allowed there. Thanks for your patience as I'm still figuring out how the Premiere feature works but it will come. Have a great day!
Γεια σου, George! I hope every time you visit Mt. Athos to take the time to visit some of the beautiful byzantine churces in Thessaloniki. And also the Vlatades Monastery in Ano Poli.
Thank you for sharing. I hear the liturgy at mount Athos is out of this world. At five am and candle lit. The chandelier with the candles is gently swayed from right to left and the flames look like "angels" in the dark. God bless you.
Yes, it was a blessing for me to witness all the chandeliers swaying with candles! The Christmas Liturgy was beautiful!
I once went to a monastery in Woking, England where the same thing was done during the Liturgy.
@@cuttlefisch I believe it must be wonderful, it gives a sense that you out of this world. You are blessed to have experienced it🙏. I pray one day to be able to go to a monastery with candle lit liturgy.
Hey George thank you for sharing your experience and your honesty.
At the end of the video where your birds didn't allowed you to talk my birds in Greece where responding to the sounds of yours in Kansas and I was laughing to.
May the lord bless you.
Christ is Risen!
That's hilarious! Sometimes my birds join me in the morning when I say the Jesus Prayer - but they are more respectful. Have a great day.
Glory to God!
Beautiful thank you & on praying. . Inspiring
Glad you enjoyed it. Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
The name George is from the Greek 'Γιώργος' which means tiller of the earth. It is a fitting name knowing your assignment as a gardener.
Praise be to GOD
I did not know that until afterwards. es, I also agree that it is fitting.
Glory to God!
Jurgis~
@@OrthodoxGardener @Orthodox Gardener take also in consideration that Geo is the root form of quite words related to Earth.
Geo logy (science of Earth)
Geo graphy (designing of Earth)
Geo metry (measuring of Earth)
Geo strategy (self explanatory)
Actually a scramble aiding site mentions that there are 517 English words starting with Geo.
I am trying to become Orthodox now although I chose a bad time as my church is closed due to Coronavirus. I have studied so much that I should have a theological degree in Orthodoxy right now! :-)
I likewise enjoy study but I need to remember to pray "never-ending" as well. Glory to God! May God bless your journey.
Jurgis ~
God Bless!
Yes January 7th on the old calendar. There are two old calendars so you are either old calendar or new calendar and then we have our Gregorian calendar to plan our days out in between like everybody else has
Bless you my brother in Christ.
Thank you for reaching out to me. I'm glad you enjoyed the video - Glory to God! ~Jurgis
I watched this hoping for an other look at Mount Athos, kept watching fascinated by the story of your spiritual travels. I wish you well in jour journey, hope you can find fulfillment and peace.
Thanks, perhaps I’ll attempt a climb to the top of Mt. Athos on my next journey. It would be a blessing to experience the scenery up there and to pray along the way. Be well!
Congrats bro. Welcome to the fold.may the holy spirit visit u n open ur life to true Christian life.
I so relate to finding a prayer rule. I'm not a convert and it's a mystery to me. God bless you for sharing.
Hi my friend our Lords blessings upon you thank you for this video for Loving our Blessed Lord and Trinity for taking the time and loving us to share your experience. I’m not sure if you are aware I just wanted to let you know that there is an incredible monastery in Arizona called Saint Anthonys Monostary it was built from one of the incredible Monks from Mount Athos Father Effrem it was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had I haven’t been to Mount Athos I pray one day I’ll be able to make it but I truly believe in my heart that you will find it if you want to experience something similarTo mount Athos it will be at Saint Anthonys Monostary in Arizona. The story behind Him and the Monostary is incredible he was a disciple of Saint Paisios
Thank you for reaching out to me and letting me know that you enjoy my videos. Yes, I have heard of St. Anthonys in Arizona and I hope to visit it in the near future, as well as Holy Trinity Monastery in West Virginia. I may make a road trip this summer to visit a few American sites, in addition to hopefully returning to Mt. Athos in September - God willing. May God bless you, Andrew!
Glory to God! ~ Jurgis
A small correction if I may. Father Ephraim was a disciple of Saint Joseph the Hesychast. St. Paisios didn't have disciples.
Great to see you becoming Orthodox
Yes, it is a beautiful and blessed journey... that continues. Blessings to you.
Jurgis
nice video thank you
When I was getting ready to go to Mt. Athos my wife approached me with the weepy look on her face and asked me: "You are coming back right?" She was afraid I may decide to go monastic and would be out of her reach as no females can go to Mt. Athos. It was so funny... :o))))
.
God bless you brother.! Glory to God.!
That's funny but I understand as my wife was wondering the same thing. Mt. Athos is beautiful, but my wife is my life partner and blessing. However, there are some pangs of regret that I can't travel to Mt. Athos next week as planned. Glory to God for all things!
thank you for this video
Glory to God!
Jurgis ~
They usually let a single person film inside the monastery or when you are having a talk with them. They just let 60 Minutes in not so long ago with all of their cameras. They haven't allowed the press in for something like forever!
How can one live in Mount Athos? What steps must be taken?
Danny Corleon ua-cam.com/video/U5pwfLRI-R8/v-deo.html
@@ΧάρηςΒ-ζ1φ thank you.
Danny - You need to determine what three night/four days you want to go to Mount Athos and contact the Pilgrims Office, no more than six months in advance at athosreservation@gmail.com. Once they grant you permission than you need to decide which monasteries to visit, and contact each one asking for their blessing to spend one night.
I will be returning in September - God willing!
Thanks for reaching out to me and I pray you are able to visit Mt. Athos yourself.
Glory to God!
~Jurgis
@@OrthodoxGardener thank you very much. Your info is very helpful. God bless.
Do you happen to have contact info for the monastery in Paleochori? Hopefully visiting in June en route to Mt Athos
Wonderful! I pray you have a blessed trip. I will be returning in September. The address is: 1 Hara ton Thlivomenon Paleochori, Halkidikis TK 63074 Greece Tel +306948172540 Email: osathan@hotmail.com
I used to live in the UK for many years and when I decided to move to Morocco my ticket was only $200 from Heathrow to Casablanca.
Glad you went to essex monastery, fr zacharias (disciple of st sophrony) is my spiritual father, a true living saint.
You are blessed to have him as your Spiritual Father! Glory to God!
Scott, can you share the approximate cost of your trip? Thanks .
I flew cheap and I travel cheap so it was less than $1,000 for everything round trip from Kansas City. I stayed at hotels in Thessaloniki but took the bus to get to Ouranopoli to catch the ferry to Mt. Athos. Hope that helps.
I see an icon corner! :-)
I am a hop skip and a jump away in Maine!
I love Maine! I grew up in Massachusetts.
Glory to God!
Jurgis~
I heartily recommend the book Living Witness of the Holy Mountain by Archbishop Alexander
Elijah Jacob Thanks for the recommendation - I ordered it tonight.Blessings!
Orthodox Gardener wonderful! Enjoy
I can't go number 1 I am a woman and number two I'm in a wheelchair for walking any long-distance.
Just beautiful ❤