When the late Prime Minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou was hospitalized at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens for serious health problems in late 1995 and early 1996, his wife, Dimitra Liani-Papandreou, called Elder Ambrose Lazaris of Dadiou Monastery to have him hear his confession.
Eldress Parthenia, Abbess of the Dadiou Monastery, did not want to let him go, because she was afraid he would be televised; she preferred the Elder to be obscure and humble.
However, he, who was both sure of himself and interested in the salvation of every soul, decided otherwise.
"Parthenia, I will pass in front of everyone and all the cameras, but no one will record me," he told her.
And so it happened.
The limousine with the later Prime Minister George Papandreou went and picked him up, and they arrived at the hospital. Elder Ambrose then passed through a crowd of cameras and went up to see the Prime Minister, without anyone paying attention to him.
"My child, all the photographers were standing right and left, they saw that Papandreou’s car had arrived and they didn’t take a single photo."
"The Elder passed through without them seeing him," the Eldress would relate afterwards, relieved, but also in awe.
Source: From the book of the Sacred Monastery of Panagia Gavriotissa, Elder Ambrose Lazaris, The Spiritual Father of the Monastery of Dadiou, The Bosom Friend of Saint Porphyrios. Texts by Michalis Leventis, published by Athos Publications. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
Eldress Parthenia, Abbess of the Dadiou Monastery, did not want to let him go, because she was afraid he would be televised; she preferred the Elder to be obscure and humble.
However, he, who was both sure of himself and interested in the salvation of every soul, decided otherwise.
"Parthenia, I will pass in front of everyone and all the cameras, but no one will record me," he told her.
And so it happened.
The limousine with the later Prime Minister George Papandreou went and picked him up, and they arrived at the hospital. Elder Ambrose then passed through a crowd of cameras and went up to see the Prime Minister, without anyone paying attention to him.
"My child, all the photographers were standing right and left, they saw that Papandreou’s car had arrived and they didn’t take a single photo."
"The Elder passed through without them seeing him," the Eldress would relate afterwards, relieved, but also in awe.
Source: From the book of the Sacred Monastery of Panagia Gavriotissa, Elder Ambrose Lazaris, The Spiritual Father of the Monastery of Dadiou, The Bosom Friend of Saint Porphyrios. Texts by Michalis Leventis, published by Athos Publications. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
