Excerpts from the Life of Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras (+1964)
By Hierodeacon Cyril (Kostopoulos)
1. The Zealot Parish Priest
Metropolitan Anthony of Patras assigned Father Gervasios as a parish priest to
the church of Saint Paraskevi and subsequently to the church of Saint
Demetrios. As a parish priest now Father Gervasios "was placed under the light,
so that he could shine to everyone in the house." He knew all his parishioners
personally. He turned with zeal mainly towards the youth. Catechetics, sermons,
confessions, Divine Liturgy four times a week—the zealous parish priest did
everything. He could be heard saying, "With zeal I was zealous for the Lord
Almighty." Just as the sentence of the Apocalypse puts it: "I would that thou
wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16). He would often repeat:
"The Lord, my children, wants not only the workers of the word, but also all
Christians, to be zealots and not lukewarm." ("Gervasios Paraskevopoulos". Our.
Liapikou, Athens 1971 page 19-20). In the summer months, when almost everyone
rested, Father Gervasios continued his pastoral activity.
When they asked him to discontinue at least for a time during those months, so
as to rest a little and return with new strength to his work, he would answer
with the Lord's saying: "My Father worketh hitherto... (St. John 5:17) and
continue "but does the Devil ever give up? If we could at least close him up in
a jar during the summer months, then we would also rest. It is precisely in the
summer that he works and moves even more without making a truce even for a
moment. Don't you see what is going on, how he has denuded us all with the
excuse that we're hot? Don't you see what's going on in the streets, on the
seashores? So we also haven't time to lose; we are obligated to work alongside,
in our own area, without diversion, in order to safeguard the sheep from the
wolf." ("Gervasios Paraskevopoulos". Our. Liapikou, Athens 1971, page 21).
In his tremendous zeal for anything that had to do with the beauty of the church
and its appearance in general, Father Gervasios went ahead with some changes,
or "innovations" in the view of many who reacted against them. He abolished the
passing of trays and transferred the selling of candles to the narthex, so that
people would not exchange money in the middle of the Divine Liturgy—we all know
this dreadful evil today also. Furthermore, he opened the side doors of the
church, so that poor Christians might be able to attend. Such people used to
hesitate to come and pray with the other Christians because they wore
unpresentable clothing or were short of money for the candles. This action of
Father's irritated the board members of his church and other churches so much
that they initiated various slanders to the Metropolis. The zealous parish
Priest gave them the same response as the Lord had to His critics, the
hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees: "My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves, a house of merchandise" (St.
Matthew 21:13; St. John 2:16). He forbade payment for the Sacrament of
Confession, (At that time the spiritual fathers were paid) since grace is
granted freely, as he used to say... He also abolished weddings of the 1st, 2nd
and 3rd categories. ("Gervasios Paraskevopoulos". Our. Liapikou, Athens 1971,
page 31-32)
What can we say about his exceeding love for church services? He was par
excellence the kind of parish Priest who loved services [can there be
any other kind?—ed.}. "I often heard him," says one of his spiritual children,
"barely audible, whispering and repeating Lord have mercy' in such a way that
it is difficult for me to express it in writing. That Grant this O Lord,' as
the Elder pronounced it, is unique in its expression and it will remain
unforgettably written in my soul. ("Gervasios Paraskevopoulos". Our. Liapikou,
Athens 1971, page 33).
The Elder loved the Hours and Vespers enormously. He said the prayers of Vespers
so compunctionately and slowly that one could not remain on earth when
attending him. He was often seen weeping during Vespers.
He fulfilled his parish duties to the full, as an excellent pastor, but he did
not abandon his personal askesis. This is very obviously illustrated
by the following incident described by Ourania Liapikou, one of his spiritual
children who loved him very much. "When his sister Helen was alive, simple and
virtuous woman that she was, she used to sleep at her own request in their
house, next to the church of the Prophet Elias, because she was alone. In this
house of theirs down below he had he cell-office, and whenever he came he would
stay there. The floor was single-board, and at that time, because I loved to
observe his life, in the quiet of the night I frequently heard—very faintly, of
course—his all-night prayers, usually the psalter. He would light candles and
incense and pray, while he continued writing homilies and sermons for the press
until the early morning hours, when he would set out for the church.
He recommended prayer at night as being more compunctionate, following the
example of the Prophet-King David, with the amomos [Psalm 118],
Orthros and the Six Psalms. He used to study the sacred Scriptures a great
deal. He took particular delight in the sacred Psalter, the Voice of the
Church", as he used to call it. ("Gervasios Paraskevopoulos". Our. Liapikou,
Athens 1971, pages 34, 35).
It should be noted that when he intended to celebrate the Liturgy he would not
lie down at all the previous night, but would spend the whole night sitting in
a chair. Consequently, he would celebrate the Divine Liturgy the next day,
reduced to a shadow. It was impossible for someone to observe a Divine Liturgy
celebrated by the holy Father, along with his fiery sermon, and not come out
flying in heavenly spheres. Allow me at this point to say that if today the
world has to a great extent become distanced from the Church and does not like
to attend her services or her sermons, this is due mostly to the parish Priest,
who goes up the steps of the altar or the apostolic pulpit without any
spiritual preparation whatever.
Father Gervasios, however, was aflame with divine love. Aware of his sinfulness
and the fearful service which the Heavenly Shepherd had entrusted to him, he
used to say, weeping: "God took me from the sheepfold and made me a King...
what more could I ask for?" He very evidently felt the pleroma [fullness]
of joy and gladness, according to Metropolitan Hierotheos of Hydra, as he
exercised the "reign" of his Priesthood. There was no void of some other
nostalgia. He appeared like one holding a scepter when he stood before the
steps of the Altar, or descended to the "jail" of his confessionals, or
ascended the homilists bema [pulpit]. Blossoms of paradise bloomed
around him when, because of his age, he could not walk any more. He exercised
with amazing youthfulness and grace his beloved work of catechist, and
especially of infants. "I see the angels of Heaven around me, " he used to say,
"and hear their chanting... this work is of Christ, Who exists always and in
the same way.' (Article of the Metropolitan of Hydra lerotheos, Religious and
Ethical Encyclopedia, vol. 10, column 52).
But the good shepherd did not overlook the poor and needy. He was charitable
both night and day. How many times was he seen, when thick darkness prevailed,
walking the poor neighborhoods in order to practise the virtue of charity!
In the person of Father Gervasios we had discerned the spirit of the sacred
Chrysostomos, Basil the Great, John the Merciful, and so many other pastors of
our holy Church, being re-lived. He brought to our minds all the virtues of the
first Fathers of the Church.
2. "The Preacher of Grace."
"The divine preaching, according to old and new teachers, is the soul and
spirit of every sacred service, and especially of the Divine Liturgy. Without
it, the holiest work of all, the execution of the Divine worship, is in danger
of turning into a dry ritual, ritual worship, because many people are
unfamiliar with the symbolism, not to mention the meanings of the words and
expressions of the prayers and hymns" (Archimandrite Gervasios
(Paraskevopoulos), Interpretative Overview of the Divine Liturgy [Patras,
19581, p. 129). Thus did Father Gervasios believe and preach in the city of
Patras.
In order to understand what great significance Father Gervasios attributed to
the service of the Divine word, it is enough for us to mention the typical
Sunday program.
To begin with, there was a sermon at the nocturnal Divine Liturgy which he
celebrated in the church of Saint Demetrios in Patras. Later on, he again
preached a sermon that would serve as an example of a catechism to the male and
female catechists, thirdly an afternoon sermon at Saint Demetrios and finally a
fourth sermon in the afternoon in the Cathedral Church of Evangelistria. When
he was finally relieved of his parish obligations he gave the sermons daily. He
was not afraid to work. The holy father was always thinking of ways to snatch
as many sheep as possible from the mouth of the noetic serpent. Neither old age
nor the various illnesses which had been plaguing him from long before could
moderate the zeal of Father Gervasios.
Especially during the last years of his life, when he could not getup from his
bed, he preached to the multitudes who crowded around by taking a microphone in
his hand and preaching from his bed into the special room outside his cell
which was set aside for this purpose. In this way the good shepherd could
maintain contact with his flock up to the last moment of his life. I also
ascertained this when I expected to see the Elder coming out of his cell to
preach, and instead of him I heard his voice coming from the microphone in the
room. This naturally aroused the anger of his enemies who thought differently,
and they began accusing him because of his continual Preaching. Woe to me if I
preach not the Gospel!" (I Corinthians 9:l6) he would answer with the words of
the Apostle Paul.
What zeal possessed Father Gervasios! "His preaching," writes Metropolitan
Hierotheos of Hydra, "was scriptural—he had a very deep knowledge of the Holy
Scriptures and especially of the Old Testament—and Patristic, full of
edification but also of censure, full of consolation but also of warning. There
are scenes which one could only encounter in the early Church. Those who
listened to his sermons interrupted him and amid sobs confessed their gravest
sins in public.' His great contribution is that he was not simply a
charismatic preacher from the pulpit. He was the initiate of the word. His
pulpit had in essence been established, as in certain ancient churches of the
East, on the Holy Table, and it was from there that he received the Body and
Blood of his Word'."
Father Gervasios had thoroughly studied the passage in Acts: "And they continued
steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers" (2:42). He wrote: "I perceived that the Divine preaching is
insufficient without the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist" (Interpretative
Overview of the Divine Liturgy, p. 7). Therefore, when he intended to
preach he previously celebrated the Divine Liturgy. "Only the harmonious
combination of Divine preaching and Divine Sacraments provides us with the
complete work, the Mystery of the Divine Incarnation of our Savior' (Interpretative
Overview of the Divine Liturgy, p. 131).
From all this one could easily come to the conclusion that many preachers fail
miserably because Divine preaching does not take place along with the sacred
Mystery of the Divine Eucharist. As we know, this is literally Protestant and
inappropriate for Orthodox.
"For this reason, when Father Gervasios spoke, he looked as if he were
celebrating the Liturgy," writes Metropolitan Hierotheos of Hydra. "If one were
to ask what he was chiefly—a celebrant or a homilist—his example gave the
answer, which interprets in a revealing way that sacramental phrase of the
Apostle Paul in Romans ("That I should be the minister of Christ Jesus to the
Gentiles, in the priestly service of the Gospel of God, that the offering of
the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit"
[15:16]). He was a celebrant of the Gospel. You could not isolate him. The
image of the homilist with his sinewy right hand raised up is inseparably
associated with the image of the celebrant dressed in white—with a simple linen
phelonion—with the barely audible censer slightly lifted up, with his
lofty figure and deep voice, which imparted to the souls the awe of the
heavenly powers standing before the throne of the Almighty. You would become
contrite as you observed Father Gervasios celebrating," but also when he was
preaching.
I remember with awe, when I would go to the chapel of Saint Tabitha in winter or
to the room in the summer in order to hear Father Gervasios preaching, that my
heart beat with sacred awe and joy. This occurred because I knew from before
that on returning something would change in my inner world. I attribute
this—not just me, but everyone who observed Father's fiery sermons—on the one
hand to the shining example of his holy life, and on the other hand to the
content of his homily. No sermon was inferior to the previous one. All bore the
stamp of Holy Scripture, both Old and New, of the Holy Fathers and the sacred
canons of our Holy Church. Thus, one who followed the preaching of the holy
father entered into the Patristic Tradition of the Orthodox Church. Truly
Father Gervasios was the preacher of Divine Grace.
3. The Founder of Catechetical Schools.
Youth had first place in the heart of Father Gervasios. He loved the youth
enormously. He was unimaginably joyful that he was the pastor of young people
as well. For this reason he undertook a spiritual crusade to safeguard the
children who wandered in the wilderness of ignorance and neglect.
To begin with, he founded catechetical schools in Patras for the first time in
the parishes in which he served as priest. But in the rest of Greece also there
were no catechetical schools. Consequently, he was the first to found them in
the year 1923 and the first to develop the idea of ecclesiastical nursery
schools. His students numbered in the thousands.
"I remember him," writes Professor Panagiotis Trembelas, "at Saint Demetrios,
where the catechetical schools functioned, surrounded by a multitude of
children.., with what patience, what approachability, with how much love and
calmness he stood! May his soul be blessed."
One would indeed see the austere and unyielding worker of the Gospel completely
change his expression before the young people. When he entered the church or
the room to catechize, he put up with all the idiosyncrasies of the young
people joyfully and with an ever-youthful disposition right to the end. Amid
the children he was like a child. "You older boys be careful, you will make
society"; "You older girls be careful, the future of society depends on you,"
he would say to the young students. "There is nothing sweeter and more
delightful than to tend the lambs of Christ," he wrote (St. John 21:15). He had
separated his students into groups with captains in charge of tens and fives,
in accordance with Deuteronomy 1:15. He paid great attention to the girls
because he believed that the renewal of society and the future of the nation
depended on the heart of the family, the mother. "Give me mothers," he used to
say, "and if everything else is abolished, but the bond of the family remains
unharmed, do not fear... the woman can prove to be vital to civilization, and
she will not be forgiven if she squanders her precious treasure, the provisions
she is endowed with, and her precious and invaluable time in unworthy matters
and vain occupations." Father Gervasios wanted the woman, and especially the
daughter, to be modest, prudent and sensible, and to invite respect rather than
ironic smiles; just as her dress was necessary for this, so also were her gait,
her conversation and even her laughter, which reveal and constitute her
character. That he gave so much weight to the edification of mothers is evident
from the fact that every Monday he instituted a special lesson for them. In
these lessons, according to a spiritual child of his, he deployed the teachings
of the Holy Apostles, the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes, the Psalter, the Wisdom
of Sirach, Proverbs, the Fathers, the Evergetinos and the holy
Ascetics. The content of his catechetical lesson in general was always such
that the student could support the teaching both Scripturally and
Patristically. That is, it began with the New Testament, continued with the Old
Testament and the Fathers of the Church, and ended with the Rudder.
This system of catechism was continued in my day too, but even today it goes on
in the same way. A female student, who was quite old and had completed only
second grade of elementary school, developed the doctrine of the Trinity in a
manner so clear and understandable that it was amazing.
It is impossible for a student to have come out or to be coming out of the
catechetical schools of Father Gervasios today and not to be moved simply at
the names "Fathers" or "Sacred Rudder." The catechists of Father
Gervasios would break into tears when they spoke about our Sacred Tradition.
Here is another very striking characteristic: never in any instance were songs
foreign to the hymnography of our Church ever heard. The catechetical children
were introduced to liturgics, dogmatics and at the same time to Byzantine
music. I admit that I recall most of the Church hymns I happen to know from the
catechetical school. For Father Gervasios songs of a Protestant nature and
European music were completely foreign. The influx of such songs and music into
catechetical schools and groups is probably the reason why our Church suffers
from a lack of chanters with an ecclesiastical style and attitude.
The activities of Father Gervasios for the youth who suffered terribly do not
stop here. Besides continuing catechetical schools during the summer months, he
created summer camps. In 1946 he established the first of these in the area of
the Prophet Elias, which is now a women's monastery. Afterwards he constructed
permanent buildings especially for this purpose at Sichaina near Patras, to
which he transferred the summer camps. Thereafter they remained in that place.
Just as in the catechetical schools, so here also the beginning and end of
Father's entire pastoral activity was the sacramental life. The center of the
whole summer camp life was the church. Inside the chapel of Saint Paraskevi he
celebrated the Divine Liturgy two or three times a week. The campers very often
went to confession. He believed that this was the only way of reforming our
youth, who had in many respects gone astray. Within this chapel events often
took place which reminded one of the early Christian times. In the evening,
when the shepherd and the flock were gathered inside the church for a report of
the day's activities, a "public" confession on the part of the campers would
take place. One would admire the good shepherd and at his good- hearted sheep.
Through all of these means—catechetical schools, catechetical nursery schools
and summer camps—Father Gervasios sought one thing: to offer as many saints as
possible to the Church of Christ. (pp. 36-53)
7. An unyielding champion of the sacred Traditions and sacred Canons of the
Orthodox Church.
Today because the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church of Christ is
attacked on all sides both from within and from outside by the accursed and
antichrist Ecumenism, when modernizing theologians, both clerical and lay,
preach the death of the sacred Traditions and dogmas of our holy Church, it is
most imperative that we make some reference to the above topic also. That is,
how the ever-memorable Elder Gervasios viewed and preached about the sacred
Traditions.
It is impossible for anyone to present the zeal and love that Father showed in
the execution of his pastoral duties. He spoke, but he also lived, from the
time he was still very young, as a truly Orthodox clergyman, not wishing to
depart even in the least from our holy Tradition and from the sacred Canons of
our Church. Father Gervasios very zealously guards the sacred Traditions
according to the letter with precision along with the dogmas. "Do not remove
eternal limits which our Fathers established," he would frequently say, and
according to the example of the Holy Apostles, the Apostolic Fathers and
Teachers of our most Holy Orthodox Church, he was an unrelenting persecutor of
heresies, a fervent critic and refuter of the various wolves in sheep's
clothing who in various ways pillaged the Church, as well as the camouflaged
organizations—the Uniates, Jehovah's Witnesses, Masons, Rotarians, etc. "We
are," he writes, "against innovations, modernizations, and westernizations.
Throughout our life we have supported a return to the past, to the years of the
Church's glory" (Interpretative Overview, pp. 19-20).
He also imparted this spirit to his spiritual children. It was moving to see
young people aged 12 and 14 saying in their conversations with others: "The
Fathers do not say this," or "Thus says the Tradition of our Church."
Everything performed in the Church, the sacred vessels, the sacred vestments,
the outward dress of the Clergy, the iconography, the ecclesiastical music, the
services—"everything," he used to say, "must be in harmony with the sacred
Traditions of our holy Church." He would fervently inveigh against the
innovative Papists. "The reception," he says, "of the deceptions and claims
after the schism and particularly the infallibility of the Pope, who
continually, unhesitatingly and unreservedly churns out whatever dogma and
deceptions serve his aims and advantages, from the deposit' of the dogmas, as
those under him consider it, is a denial, is a betrayal of Orthodoxy, that is,
of the correct dogmas, as the teaching of the Lord, the Holy Apostles and those
Apostolic Fathers and teachers with them handed down in traditions and in
Oecumenical Synods unadulterated." And he continues: "Great care and
sensitivity is needed, as much in matters of the faith and the dogmas, as in
the sacred Traditions and the appearance and form of the things which the
Church has been handed down. How many of those Fathers who maintained and
handed down Orthodoxy unadulterated, were tortured, maimed and suffered in
every way, and particularly from those Popes themselves, as occurred in the
pseudo-synod of Florence? How many shed their blood, in order to water the
God-planted heavenly tree of our orthodoxy persisting in the God-ordained
decrees, denying subjection, and betrayal of the Orthodoxy of our spotless
Church?"
Alongside Father's zeal, there also was his understanding in all matters.
Characteristic is the Elder's answer when he was asked by his spiritual
children what position they should take after the change of the Calendar. The
prudent clergyman answered: "What was done is not correct, because no one has
the right to change and alter anything at all, except after the calling of a
general synod, such as the Oecumenical Synods, because whatever the Fathers
decreed in Synods by the descent of the Comforter from on high, which so many
centuries respected, and which they sealed well with their blood and handed
down to us, is for every Orthodox the only appointed thing. Nevertheless, be
careful lest they proceed to other innovations arbitrarily, because as I see
it, this is the first step towards Papism. For the time being we will obey
these innovators, remaining on guard for subsequent changes. We are being
attacked from all sides. May the Lord preserve his flock, may God enlighten
them."
Father Gervasios was not intolerant, nor was he an imprudent clergyman. On the
contrary, he loved everyone. When you approached him and conversed with him
concerning matters of faith, then you looked at the wise Pastor who was also
inflamed by divine zeal for our most sweet Orthodoxy. When he spoke about
Orthodoxy he became all aflame. I cannot present to you with the pen even dimly
his burning love for the Traditions and sacred Canons of our holy Church. But
Orthodoxy for us," the holy Father characteristically writes, "is nothing other
than God and the sacred Canons. Ignorance of them is the main cause of the
spiritual downfall of the whole Orthodox pleroma, along with many of
the shepherds of the Church, not a few of whom, even though they are not
ignorant of the letter of these, nevertheless do not live according to their
spirit." Many of the modernist theologians maintain that the sacred Canons are
later inventions with no relation to the teaching of the Lord, or they consider
them to be archaic manuscripts. Father Gervasios, however, was grieved when he
saw the indifference, the coldness, and also the shamelessness of these
theologians or clergy. He writes with pain of soul: "It is grievous that on
what is today the naked and uncultivated field of the sacred Canons a spirit of
coldness and indifference is put forth. In word the Canons are honored by the
majority as the foundations of Orthodoxy, but in deed they are seldom
implemented. Freezing indifference deadens the voice which dares to defend the
angelic guardian of Orthodoxy. The Canons are considered to be archaic
manuscripts. They are in general a mighty corpse and honors are conferred on
them, a retired general who once led the armies of the Church to triumph." The
ringing of this small semantron was not enough for Father Gervasios.
He longed, if it were possible, "for the bells of the whole of Orthodoxy to be
rung, calling an alarm, so that this destructive delusion might cease." However
his weak strength, as he himself used to say, would not allow it. The various
voices which were heard at times against the guardian angel of Orthodoxy", as
he used to call the sacred Canons, he took to be "signs of the times." He
attributed every failure of ecclesiastical administration in problems of every
kind to not keeping the sacred Canons of the Orthodox Church. He wrote
characteristically: "How is it that we are working on the roof when the
foundations are being shaken? How is it that we await the blessing of God for a
work which ignores basic laws of the great spiritual matters? Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God,' the Lord said, and all these things shall be added unto
you' (St. Matthew 6:33; St.Luke 12:31). The first things are those which the
Oecumenical Synods and the Fathers decreed and handed down to us." And the holy
Father adds: "The pioneers of this undertaking are the pastors, the bishops
mainly and their clergy. The bishops are the guardians of the sacred deposit of
the Canons. Like other lions and eagles—eagles and lions adorn the bishop's
throne—they defend and attack, they inspire and raise up their faithful,
battling for the keeping and implementation of the Canons. Woe to the
generation of those Christians, whose bishops neglected or ceased struggling
for this battle above all." The eternal motto of the holy Father was: "Back to
the Canons and the Fathers." Of course he was considered to be an old-fashioned
clergyman, a man of extremes, more strict than necessary, etc. However, he
would not yield even in the least, for he was a pastor in all respects Orthodox
and Patristic. Are not the genuine shepherds today who seek the faithful
keeping of the sacred Traditions and the sacred Canons of our holy Church
viewed in the same light?
Nevertheless, the exhortation of the holy Father, "Back to the Canons and the
Fathers", is the only road for us newer clergymen and theologians to follow, so
that we may not lament becoming witnesses of undesirable states and
misfortunes. However, for this sacred battle, fighters are needed with very
deep faith and Christian heroism, as the holy Father also used to say. May God
grant that such fighters appear. Already though, let us not despair, for there
do exist such fighters and they do fight. (pp. 70-77)
From Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras: His Life and Pastoral Work
(Thessaloniki: "Orthodoxos Kypseli" Publications). Trans. By Fr. Nicholas
Palis. Ed. by Patrick Barker. Posted July 4, 2006.
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