On March 5, 1929, Father George Aspropoulos (1863 -1929), the virtuous priest of Lefkes on the island of Paros, who baptized the well-known Saint Joseph the Hesychast (who was baptized with the name Francis) and had a very positive effect on his subsequent course, reposed.
Father George was poor and suffered much in life, but he was full of mercy and good works and served his parishioners sacrificially as a humble shepherd. He was a model of faith and virtue, a bright lamp for all who knew him in the difficult times he ministered. This inspired young Francis to respect the cassock and its incalculable value.
In his 31st Epistle, Saint Joseph would later make a reference to Father George, who appeared to him once in a vision:
"I once saw the Priest who baptized us all in the homeland. What a holy man he was. He kept his virginity. He did much almsgiving. And in my sleep he said to me: 'When I was alive I thought that only Liturgies take souls out of Hades, but now that I have died, I have seen in practice that even the prayers you say take souls out of damnation. So don't stop praying for souls. Because the merciful God looks for cause and occasion to save a soul.'"
Father George was poor and suffered much in life, but he was full of mercy and good works and served his parishioners sacrificially as a humble shepherd. He was a model of faith and virtue, a bright lamp for all who knew him in the difficult times he ministered. This inspired young Francis to respect the cassock and its incalculable value.
In his 31st Epistle, Saint Joseph would later make a reference to Father George, who appeared to him once in a vision:
"I once saw the Priest who baptized us all in the homeland. What a holy man he was. He kept his virginity. He did much almsgiving. And in my sleep he said to me: 'When I was alive I thought that only Liturgies take souls out of Hades, but now that I have died, I have seen in practice that even the prayers you say take souls out of damnation. So don't stop praying for souls. Because the merciful God looks for cause and occasion to save a soul.'"
