Extra: Life on Mt. Athos

Are monks living at Mt. Athos in northern Greece happier people than people in the outside world? Father Matthew certainly thinks so and explains why.

[augustaugust]

You have to watch the whole documentary to understand what this is all I think it's pretty amazing these guys only sleep 3 hours a night they have massive responsibilities I love the portion they did on the artist painting and how they store these amazing paintings, .... The only thing is that I wish that they would do something with the paintings rather than packing/storing thousands of masterpieces.

[sevsen]

don't feel sorry'-))) i am sure Mr. Simon is considering how great would be if he were called to be a monk in Holy Athos. in a sense he is coming to be a good novice and then a blessed monk after hard labor and passion's eradication. he looks a very brave and a sweet man who had courage to shoot this documentary and help millions to understand where God is+

[demetrios]

In response to some of the comments below:

The monks of Mt. Athos follow the Eastern Orthodox tradition of monasticism which dates back to around 250 AD. Is their ascetical life right or wrong, good or bad? Who knows? Why judge? Of course we are all entitled to our opinions which will never reveal the truth.

However, what is certain is that these monks are thoroughly immersed in the belief that God and the Holy Trinity exist. The Jews look up to Yahweh. The Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha and on and on. As long as there are human beings, there will be religion.


If God exists or does not exist, I see no harm in what these monks do. There seems to be little destruction caused by those who embark on a spiritual journey in solitude, compared, for example, to the well documented perversion that runs rampant in the Roman Catholic West.

Could these monks of Athos better serve Christianity by helping those in need instead of withdrawing from the "world"? Perhaps. Then again, God or no God, we are all guilty of not doing enough.

[madmonkee]

Cultists always think they are happier than the great unwashed.
Somewhere, some of the cultists may be right.

[zalman]

Amazing what things men can contrive and then convince themselves that they exist, and that they matter! Pitiful. They may not feel sorry for outsiders, but outsiders can certainly feel pity for these lost, wasted, discarded lives.