The Moving Words of the Bedridden Monk Sophronios from Crete Who Suffers from an Incurable Disease
July 16, 2018
Bema Orthodoxia
The bedridden monk Sophronios, who suffers from terminal Motor Neuron Disease, recently gave a moving interview to Crete TV with the help of an eye-tracking typing system.
Q: They say that pain completes human existence. Do you experience this — and how?
A: Pain is a great school and teaches self-knowledge, which leads to knowledge of one’s brother and ultimately to knowledge of God. Pain humbles you, and through humility our heart softens and opens to God and to our fellow human being. I communicate with people all over the world who suffer from physical or psychological illnesses. With God’s help, through my experience on the bed of pain, I understand them — even if only a little — so that I may tell them a comforting word, a word of our Christ. Today there is so much loneliness in the world, and turmoil and fear. We Christians, who have the gift from God of knowing Christ, must share with our fellow human being the joy, the peace, and the love which is Christ. Is this not the goal of our existence — that we all be saved?
Q: What would you say to someone who wants to undergo euthanasia?
A: Life is a gift from God to all of us. I understand this better than ever now that I am in bed. None of us came into life by our own will. So how can you bring an end to your life, when in essence it does not belong to you? In my opinion this is the problem of our era: it cultivates in modern man a self-centered way of life, cut off from the social whole — from the family, the neighborhood, the homeland, etc. — with the result that we think we are independent, self-directed in this world. I think it is a mistaken view of life that leads the person of our time from “self-deification” to suicide. I understand that the patient does not want to become a burden to others or does not want loved ones to see him suffer. It is very humiliating — I know this very well. But the humble one has the Kingdom of God, not the egotist.
Q: Do you believe that if you did not have faith you would have the same attitude toward pain?
A: Without Christ I would be in a terrible state. There is another pain more painful than the pain we are speaking about — the pain the soul feels when it lacks the presence of God, who gives life to everything and gives meaning even to this human suffering. The absence of God from a person’s life today is the most painful and most unbearable pain.
Q: In your bed of pain, are there moments that make you question God and your faith?
A: On the contrary, it unites me with God and I feel His love and presence more intensely. But that does not mean that moments of human weakness do not come. A Christian needs faith, courage, and boldness. God never abandons you.
Q: How can pain become a blessing? What can “life” mean when you are confined to a bed of pain?
A: Pain and difficulties are sometimes unbearable for a person. In those moments I feel the presence and consolation of God more intensely. I think that to both of these questions the answer can be given by the One from whom I also receive it in my difficult moments, when I contemplate Christ who suffered and was crucified. He was the first to transform His own pain into a blessing. And His life upon the Cross was glorified and has remained in history as the King of Glory. He is the model and at the same time the rest of every suffering person.
Q: What are the difficulties of your illness?
A: I have ALS/MND — the disease of Stephen Hawking. It has no cure. I am paralyzed; I can only move my eyelids and my lips. I cannot swallow; I am fed through a gastrostomy tube. I do not breathe on my own, except with the support of a ventilator. I could tell you details, but it is enough to say that I cannot do anything without the help of someone to care for me. As a layman I was very independent — to a very egotistical degree. Now that I cannot do the slightest thing without someone else, I understand why Christ taught us to be united in one body. We need one another, to live in communion with our fellow human beings.
Bema Orthodoxia
The bedridden monk Sophronios, who suffers from terminal Motor Neuron Disease, recently gave a moving interview to Crete TV with the help of an eye-tracking typing system.
Q: They say that pain completes human existence. Do you experience this — and how?
A: Pain is a great school and teaches self-knowledge, which leads to knowledge of one’s brother and ultimately to knowledge of God. Pain humbles you, and through humility our heart softens and opens to God and to our fellow human being. I communicate with people all over the world who suffer from physical or psychological illnesses. With God’s help, through my experience on the bed of pain, I understand them — even if only a little — so that I may tell them a comforting word, a word of our Christ. Today there is so much loneliness in the world, and turmoil and fear. We Christians, who have the gift from God of knowing Christ, must share with our fellow human being the joy, the peace, and the love which is Christ. Is this not the goal of our existence — that we all be saved?
Q: What would you say to someone who wants to undergo euthanasia?
A: Life is a gift from God to all of us. I understand this better than ever now that I am in bed. None of us came into life by our own will. So how can you bring an end to your life, when in essence it does not belong to you? In my opinion this is the problem of our era: it cultivates in modern man a self-centered way of life, cut off from the social whole — from the family, the neighborhood, the homeland, etc. — with the result that we think we are independent, self-directed in this world. I think it is a mistaken view of life that leads the person of our time from “self-deification” to suicide. I understand that the patient does not want to become a burden to others or does not want loved ones to see him suffer. It is very humiliating — I know this very well. But the humble one has the Kingdom of God, not the egotist.
Q: Do you believe that if you did not have faith you would have the same attitude toward pain?
A: Without Christ I would be in a terrible state. There is another pain more painful than the pain we are speaking about — the pain the soul feels when it lacks the presence of God, who gives life to everything and gives meaning even to this human suffering. The absence of God from a person’s life today is the most painful and most unbearable pain.
Q: In your bed of pain, are there moments that make you question God and your faith?
A: On the contrary, it unites me with God and I feel His love and presence more intensely. But that does not mean that moments of human weakness do not come. A Christian needs faith, courage, and boldness. God never abandons you.
Q: How can pain become a blessing? What can “life” mean when you are confined to a bed of pain?
A: Pain and difficulties are sometimes unbearable for a person. In those moments I feel the presence and consolation of God more intensely. I think that to both of these questions the answer can be given by the One from whom I also receive it in my difficult moments, when I contemplate Christ who suffered and was crucified. He was the first to transform His own pain into a blessing. And His life upon the Cross was glorified and has remained in history as the King of Glory. He is the model and at the same time the rest of every suffering person.
Q: What are the difficulties of your illness?
A: I have ALS/MND — the disease of Stephen Hawking. It has no cure. I am paralyzed; I can only move my eyelids and my lips. I cannot swallow; I am fed through a gastrostomy tube. I do not breathe on my own, except with the support of a ventilator. I could tell you details, but it is enough to say that I cannot do anything without the help of someone to care for me. As a layman I was very independent — to a very egotistical degree. Now that I cannot do the slightest thing without someone else, I understand why Christ taught us to be united in one body. We need one another, to live in communion with our fellow human beings.
Q: How many years have you been bedridden, and how do you communicate?
A: I have been permanently in bed for six years. I communicate with a computer system that allows me to write with my eyes. Glory be to God! You see what the good God provides!
Q: What do you consider the most positive thing you have gained from your illness?
A: Without a doubt, the most positive thing is my union with God — I feel His love filling my heart.
Q: How is your relationship now with your brothers at the Sacred Monastery of Gouverneto, in light of your illness?
A: I am very blessed at the Sacred Monastery of Gouverneto. It is a holy place under the protection of the Panagia. With the strong presence of Saint John the Hermit and as a place of martyrs, it has great grace. In Divine Providence I have a very blessed abbot, Elder Eirenaios, a man of God, full of love. The brotherhood is very loving, with humble fathers who struggle in their spiritual life. They care for me with self-sacrificing love. An example of the love that exists here: At the same time that I entered as a novice, my illness appeared. I was diagnosed with ALS, an incurable disease. When I learned how it would progress, I told my elder that I did not want to become a burden to the brotherhood and that I would not become a monk. But the elder and all the fathers said that they wanted me as I am. That is the love of Christ.
Q: What would you like to say to the viewers watching you right now, whether ill or not?
A: Life without Christ is not life. With Christ at the center of your life, you have love and peace, and life takes on a different meaning. As Saint Porphyrios used to say: “Christ is everything.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
A: I have been permanently in bed for six years. I communicate with a computer system that allows me to write with my eyes. Glory be to God! You see what the good God provides!
Q: What do you consider the most positive thing you have gained from your illness?
A: Without a doubt, the most positive thing is my union with God — I feel His love filling my heart.
Q: How is your relationship now with your brothers at the Sacred Monastery of Gouverneto, in light of your illness?
A: I am very blessed at the Sacred Monastery of Gouverneto. It is a holy place under the protection of the Panagia. With the strong presence of Saint John the Hermit and as a place of martyrs, it has great grace. In Divine Providence I have a very blessed abbot, Elder Eirenaios, a man of God, full of love. The brotherhood is very loving, with humble fathers who struggle in their spiritual life. They care for me with self-sacrificing love. An example of the love that exists here: At the same time that I entered as a novice, my illness appeared. I was diagnosed with ALS, an incurable disease. When I learned how it would progress, I told my elder that I did not want to become a burden to the brotherhood and that I would not become a monk. But the elder and all the fathers said that they wanted me as I am. That is the love of Christ.
Q: What would you like to say to the viewers watching you right now, whether ill or not?
A: Life without Christ is not life. With Christ at the center of your life, you have love and peace, and life takes on a different meaning. As Saint Porphyrios used to say: “Christ is everything.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
A
Sick Greek-American Monk Explains to National Herald How He Met God — A
Meeting With Fr. Sophronios at the Monastery of Gouverneto
By Antonis H. Diamataris
National Herald
December 20, 2025
NEW YORK. It was, apparently, a chance yet moving encounter — one of those very rare meetings that stay with you, that give you strength and hope.
I am referring to the meeting my wife and I had with the Greek-American monk, Father Sophronios, at the historic Monastery of Gouverneto in Chania.
This monastery lies on the Akrotiri peninsula of Chania, on a plateau near the Chania airport and the Monastery of the Three Hierarchs (Tzagarolon), and it was founded between 1537 and 1548.
Elder Eirenaios, the abbot of the monastery — who immediately wins you over with his kindness and humility — received us in the reception room. He offered us refreshments and spoke to us about the history of the monastery and how he, together with a few other monks, left Mount Athos and went there, gradually restoring it.
At the end of the meeting he told us that a Greek-American monk also lives at the monastery who suffers from an incurable — so far — illness, and he asked us if we would like to visit him.
Father Sophronios suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease as it is known — a “disease that affects parts of the nervous system which control voluntary muscle movements (the muscles that move by a person’s will, such as those of the arms and legs).”
We could not imagine what we were about to encounter.
Father Sophronios lies bedridden on a bed, with a computer screen in front of him and another screen turned toward his visitors. He receives care 24 hours a day.
His eyes lit up as soon as he saw us. We introduced ourselves. He looked at us with love.
He began to write — with his eyes — thanks to technology that, in this case, is miraculous.
“I know you,” he wrote, “and I thank you for your contribution to the Greek community, to our language and to Hellenism…”
We were stunned. We could not believe it. We tried to remember whether we knew him, while he continued to look at us, sensing our puzzlement.
But what surprised us more than anything else was his serenity, his calmness — a brightness, a radiance emanating from his face.
How is it possible for these things to coexist with the fact that he has been confined to bed 24 hours a day for almost 15 years?
Since then, we have tried to visit him every time we go to Chania (my wife is from there).
I do not think we offer him anything. Yet we benefit from him so much!
So I felt I ought to “introduce” him to you as well.
He has so much to teach us all through his faith and through his example. I asked him to grant us an interview.
I scheduled it to be published in our Christmas edition, on the feast of the miracle of the Nativity of Christ — of hope, optimism, strength, and faith. Because these are what Father Sophronios radiates and teaches by his example.
I thank him for accepting.
National Herald
December 20, 2025
NEW YORK. It was, apparently, a chance yet moving encounter — one of those very rare meetings that stay with you, that give you strength and hope.
I am referring to the meeting my wife and I had with the Greek-American monk, Father Sophronios, at the historic Monastery of Gouverneto in Chania.
This monastery lies on the Akrotiri peninsula of Chania, on a plateau near the Chania airport and the Monastery of the Three Hierarchs (Tzagarolon), and it was founded between 1537 and 1548.
Elder Eirenaios, the abbot of the monastery — who immediately wins you over with his kindness and humility — received us in the reception room. He offered us refreshments and spoke to us about the history of the monastery and how he, together with a few other monks, left Mount Athos and went there, gradually restoring it.
At the end of the meeting he told us that a Greek-American monk also lives at the monastery who suffers from an incurable — so far — illness, and he asked us if we would like to visit him.
Father Sophronios suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease as it is known — a “disease that affects parts of the nervous system which control voluntary muscle movements (the muscles that move by a person’s will, such as those of the arms and legs).”
We could not imagine what we were about to encounter.
Father Sophronios lies bedridden on a bed, with a computer screen in front of him and another screen turned toward his visitors. He receives care 24 hours a day.
His eyes lit up as soon as he saw us. We introduced ourselves. He looked at us with love.
He began to write — with his eyes — thanks to technology that, in this case, is miraculous.
“I know you,” he wrote, “and I thank you for your contribution to the Greek community, to our language and to Hellenism…”
We were stunned. We could not believe it. We tried to remember whether we knew him, while he continued to look at us, sensing our puzzlement.
But what surprised us more than anything else was his serenity, his calmness — a brightness, a radiance emanating from his face.
How is it possible for these things to coexist with the fact that he has been confined to bed 24 hours a day for almost 15 years?
Since then, we have tried to visit him every time we go to Chania (my wife is from there).
I do not think we offer him anything. Yet we benefit from him so much!
So I felt I ought to “introduce” him to you as well.
He has so much to teach us all through his faith and through his example. I asked him to grant us an interview.
I scheduled it to be published in our Christmas edition, on the feast of the miracle of the Nativity of Christ — of hope, optimism, strength, and faith. Because these are what Father Sophronios radiates and teaches by his example.
I thank him for accepting.
National Herald: Tell us about your childhood — your parents, your siblings, your memories as a child.
Fr. Sophronios: I was born in Washington Heights, in the community of Saint Spyridon. Both of my parents were devout Orthodox Christians, and Greek-American traditions were central in our lives. Eventually we moved to Riverdale in the Bronx, where my brother was born. We were a close-knit family and I thank God for the way our parents raised us.
N.H.: As you were growing up, were you involved in the Church?
Fr. Sophronios: Although I believed in God and never had doubts about my faith, I was not particularly involved in the Church. I was involved in athletics, and that was my goal growing up.
N.H.: What did you study? Where did you work?
Fr. Sophronios: I had the blessing to be accepted to Columbia University and to receive two degrees there. I studied History and focused especially on the immigrant experience in New York. I had excellent professors. After Columbia, I taught History at the Horace Mann School and had a good career there. I moved to Greece in 2001 and had a good administrative career at the American College of Greece.
N.H.: When did you first visit Greece? What do you remember from that visit?
Fr. Sophronios: My late father had a dream to take his family to Greece so we could visit our relatives and see my grandparents’ villages. But we did not have the financial means to go as a family until 1986. The trip was transformative for me. Although I did not speak Greek well, I felt that Greece was my homeland and I immediately believed that I would live in Greece one day.
N.H.: Can you tell us what you thought when your doctor informed you that you had this illness? Can you speak to us about your illness?
Fr. Sophronios: I was an athlete, healthy, and had never needed medical care. I did not know much about ALS except that it was commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. When I was diagnosed, I said to the doctor: “Alright, what is the treatment?” When the doctor said, “There is no cure and life expectancy is 2–5 years after diagnosis,” I was shocked. I could not process what he told me. It is a terribly humbling illness. Eventually, you cannot do anything for yourself — you depend completely on others. Fortunately, in most cases the mind is not affected by this disease. I have lived with ALS for 15 years. I am blessed with wonderful caregivers in the stillness and peace of the Monastery. Glory be to God for all things.
N.H.: How did you come to the Monastery of Gouverneto?
Fr. Sophronios: After I visited Mount Athos, a friend asked me, “Do you want to visit Mount Athos in Crete?” Out of curiosity, I accepted his proposal. Everything was in God’s providence.
N.H.: What made you decide to choose it?
Fr. Sophronios: I was impressed by the love and kindness of Fr. Eirenaios, the abbot of the Monastery. I was moved by the life of Saint John the Hermit, an ascetic who lived in a nearby cave many centuries earlier. The brotherhood lived in harmony according to the Athonite tradition. All the monks warmly received me.
N.H.: How many years ago was that?
Fr. Sophronios: My first visit to the Monastery was in 2007. I was tonsured a monk 3 years later, the same year I was diagnosed with ALS.
Fr. Sophronios: I was born in Washington Heights, in the community of Saint Spyridon. Both of my parents were devout Orthodox Christians, and Greek-American traditions were central in our lives. Eventually we moved to Riverdale in the Bronx, where my brother was born. We were a close-knit family and I thank God for the way our parents raised us.
N.H.: As you were growing up, were you involved in the Church?
Fr. Sophronios: Although I believed in God and never had doubts about my faith, I was not particularly involved in the Church. I was involved in athletics, and that was my goal growing up.
N.H.: What did you study? Where did you work?
Fr. Sophronios: I had the blessing to be accepted to Columbia University and to receive two degrees there. I studied History and focused especially on the immigrant experience in New York. I had excellent professors. After Columbia, I taught History at the Horace Mann School and had a good career there. I moved to Greece in 2001 and had a good administrative career at the American College of Greece.
N.H.: When did you first visit Greece? What do you remember from that visit?
Fr. Sophronios: My late father had a dream to take his family to Greece so we could visit our relatives and see my grandparents’ villages. But we did not have the financial means to go as a family until 1986. The trip was transformative for me. Although I did not speak Greek well, I felt that Greece was my homeland and I immediately believed that I would live in Greece one day.
N.H.: Can you tell us what you thought when your doctor informed you that you had this illness? Can you speak to us about your illness?
Fr. Sophronios: I was an athlete, healthy, and had never needed medical care. I did not know much about ALS except that it was commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. When I was diagnosed, I said to the doctor: “Alright, what is the treatment?” When the doctor said, “There is no cure and life expectancy is 2–5 years after diagnosis,” I was shocked. I could not process what he told me. It is a terribly humbling illness. Eventually, you cannot do anything for yourself — you depend completely on others. Fortunately, in most cases the mind is not affected by this disease. I have lived with ALS for 15 years. I am blessed with wonderful caregivers in the stillness and peace of the Monastery. Glory be to God for all things.
N.H.: How did you come to the Monastery of Gouverneto?
Fr. Sophronios: After I visited Mount Athos, a friend asked me, “Do you want to visit Mount Athos in Crete?” Out of curiosity, I accepted his proposal. Everything was in God’s providence.
N.H.: What made you decide to choose it?
Fr. Sophronios: I was impressed by the love and kindness of Fr. Eirenaios, the abbot of the Monastery. I was moved by the life of Saint John the Hermit, an ascetic who lived in a nearby cave many centuries earlier. The brotherhood lived in harmony according to the Athonite tradition. All the monks warmly received me.
N.H.: How many years ago was that?
Fr. Sophronios: My first visit to the Monastery was in 2007. I was tonsured a monk 3 years later, the same year I was diagnosed with ALS.
N.H.: How do all these things coexist with the fact that you are confined to your bed 24 hours a day?
Fr. Sophronios: From childhood I desired to know God. Through my illness I have come to know Him. The love and mercy of Christ are great and beautiful, and this is the source of my joy.
N.H.: Aside from health, what other gift do you consider the most precious of all?
Fr. Sophronios: Greater even than bodily health is salvation. That is why Christ endured the Crucifixion and rose again — so that we might be saved. In repentance, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. Repent, confess, so that you may be saved by our Merciful Lord.
N.H.: How do you see the outside world from your bed?
Fr. Sophronios: My heart breaks for the world. We have pushed God to the margins. And in an atheistic society there is pain, suffering, depression, anxiety, division, wars, violence, injustice, sorrows — and no hope. God awaits our embrace. Personal repentance will change the world and transform global misery into global peace.
N.H.: If you had to give people one piece of advice, what would it be?
Fr. Sophronios: Live according to the Ten Commandments and follow the teachings of Christ.
N.H.: What advice would you give to our compatriots, the Greeks of the Diaspora?
Fr. Sophronios: Do not forget Greece. Visit Greece. Keep the traditions of our ancestors. Keep the Greek language alive. And make the Orthodox faith the center of your life.
N.H.: Do you have a goal in your life that you have not yet fulfilled?
Fr. Sophronios: Yes — to become a humble servant of God.
N.H.: What is your wish for the Christmas and New Year holidays?
Fr. Sophronios: I wish that Christ be born in your hearts, and that His Grace increase within you forever. I wish that we may all be found in the Kingdom of God!
Thank you, Mr. Antonis, for this opportunity. May God bless you and your family.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Fr. Sophronios: From childhood I desired to know God. Through my illness I have come to know Him. The love and mercy of Christ are great and beautiful, and this is the source of my joy.
N.H.: Aside from health, what other gift do you consider the most precious of all?
Fr. Sophronios: Greater even than bodily health is salvation. That is why Christ endured the Crucifixion and rose again — so that we might be saved. In repentance, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. Repent, confess, so that you may be saved by our Merciful Lord.
N.H.: How do you see the outside world from your bed?
Fr. Sophronios: My heart breaks for the world. We have pushed God to the margins. And in an atheistic society there is pain, suffering, depression, anxiety, division, wars, violence, injustice, sorrows — and no hope. God awaits our embrace. Personal repentance will change the world and transform global misery into global peace.
N.H.: If you had to give people one piece of advice, what would it be?
Fr. Sophronios: Live according to the Ten Commandments and follow the teachings of Christ.
N.H.: What advice would you give to our compatriots, the Greeks of the Diaspora?
Fr. Sophronios: Do not forget Greece. Visit Greece. Keep the traditions of our ancestors. Keep the Greek language alive. And make the Orthodox faith the center of your life.
N.H.: Do you have a goal in your life that you have not yet fulfilled?
Fr. Sophronios: Yes — to become a humble servant of God.
N.H.: What is your wish for the Christmas and New Year holidays?
Fr. Sophronios: I wish that Christ be born in your hearts, and that His Grace increase within you forever. I wish that we may all be found in the Kingdom of God!
Thank you, Mr. Antonis, for this opportunity. May God bless you and your family.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
