The sacrificial self-denial of Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos and his cure by Saint Panteleimon

(edited by Stelios Koukos)

Archimandrite Efraim Vatopaidinos writes that at one time Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos suffered greatly with his stomach. His only food was pasta. He didn’t give himself a dispensation to use oil, because of sickness, when the rule ordained food without oil. He’d eat pasta, with and without oil.

Despite the poor condition of his health, and although he was not required to take his share in the common labors of the skete, he went willingly to lend a hand. This was despite the fact that the rule said that the fathers from the rough huts beyond the Tower weren’t numbered among the houses of the skete, but were directly dependent on the ruling monastery, meaning that there was no obligation on the part of these monks to take part in common labors, as the others had to.

The late Elder Konstantinos, of the house of Saint Haralambos tells of the great self-denial of Elder Iosif.

As was his wont, the Elder had gone on a common labor project on the mountain, the aim of which was to clear the springs from which the skete took its water. Every year, usually after bad weather, branches, leaves, mud from landslides and so on, would fall into the springs and they’d need to be cleared.

This involved hours of spadework and other onerous tasks. As was the norm in such situations, the monks would take with them some food and a little wine to strengthen them in their efforts.

When the time came to eat, the Elder asked forgiveness for being unable, for health reasons,  to eat what the others had brought by way of food and drink, but he contributed his own food, which was pasta.

Father Konstantinos wept with emotion at his sacrificial spirit and said: ‘Elder, anybody else in your state of health, especially given that you live in the rough huts and have no obligation to take part, wouldn’t even have come down to find out the reason why the bell was ringing to call the fathers to common labor. Yet you came with us and worked so hard, even at the risk of opening up the wound in your stomach’.

He had to be patient with his stomach the whole time. There was no possibility of a cure through human intervention except by operation, on which he decided at the urgings of his spiritual brothers.

But, as Elder Iosif said: ‘When I was exhausted and had run out of patience, divine grace made its presence felt’.

Then old Theofylaktos, his fellow ascetic, saw in a vision Saint Panteleimon, the exarch of the holy unmercenary doctors, who said to him: ‘Tell the monk to leave it to our Lady and all will be well’. Father Theofylaktos saw Saint Panteleimon as he’s depicted in the icon of the Skete of Saint Panteleimon.

The Elder believed Father Theofylaktos, and from that day a spectacular improvement in his condition began, to the point where he became completely well and had no pain at all. The only thing he had was slowness of digestion. From then until his demise, the Elder was never troubled by his stomach again.

Later he wrote: ‘I had an ulcer which was well-developed and no diet or medication brought me any relief. After I’d abstained from any foods in my diet that irritated it, there was no other solution but an excision (operation).  Then, Christ’s holy and great martyr, the most beloved Panteleimon, intervened and told Elder Theofylaktos to tell me in no uncertain terms that I was not to have the operation but I was to leave it to the providence of our Lady.

I was completely cured immediately, and to confirm this I visited the doctors who’d attended me and knew the full extent of my illness. I wanted them to tell me what condition I was in. They did an X-ray and found absolutely nothing, other than a small scar from an older wound which had healed’.