Seven Years on Mount Athos

The Power of Believing

By: Christos Palaskas

Narrated by: Christos Palaskas

In the book Seven Years on Mt. Athos: The Power of Believing, you will find the experiences and the internal struggle of a young monk from the desert of the “Holy Mount” Athos. After being in isolation for seven and a half years, monk Clement faces a dilemma: continue living till the end of his life in hermetism, or return to society. He wants to leave, but is also trapped by the teachings of his order. How can he escape?

Transferred through the narrative of his biography are his thoughts and reactions that led him to isolation in the first place, and eventually back to society. He reveals his secret actions and thoughts, for the time he lived in the hermitage on Mt. Athos, that led to the decision to return. This is a case of an honest confession of a human who accepts his own mistakes with dignity, and shares the teachings of his former order that he found applicable to everyday life in society, where he lives as a husband and a father.

©2022 Christos Palaskas (P)2023 Christos Palaskas

Wonder, Heartbreak & Hope

I found Christos’ story interesting & compelling every step along the way. He tells it with a spirit of generosity and, perhaps, confession. I was very glad to have shared this experience with him. Going to Athos is a death to the world, but the reverse is also true & I did feel a sense of loss & grief, even as I was happy for his freedom and choice. Thus it is with all great turnings in one’s life.
I really recommend this book.

Even better when read by the author

I highly recommend this book! It is about the author’s adventure as a monk in Greece and then his re-entry into civilization after leaving. The audible version is honestly my favorite because you can hear it with the author’s Greek accent! He really does great job!

Quite a unique journey

This story is about choices, discipline and the desire to find truth. I liked the Greek words in the narration, gives it an authenticity.

Interesting autobiography

Details the psychological, philosophical and worldview developments of a young Greek man expressed in his own words, with some quotes from famous people and a lot of description of his experiences being raised by a zealot old calendar mother and living for seven years as a zealot athonite monk in his youth, and how he returned to worldly life. It is a very simple and straightforward narrative. I think the author could continue writing and editing this autobiography to develop it more, and to include more details and reflect on how his thinking has been developong and how he makes sense of modern Greece, the modern West, and global and intercultural history and eschatology.