Feast Day: January 13th
The Life of Saint Maximos: One day, when still very young, he was Praying with tears before the Icon of the Mother of God, and as he bent to Venerate it a gentle dew-like warmth suddenly filled his chest and heart, producing abundant compunction; and that since then his nous, stationed unshakeably in his heart, had not ceased to invoke the Name of Jesus and that of the Mother of God with unutterable sweetness…
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Prayers
Apolytikion – First Tone: From your mother’s womb, O Venerable Maximos, you were chosen as a treasury by God, were made worthy of the Divine darkness as Moses, and to see things far off as Samuel; you are the Divine wonder of Athos, the initiate of the Theotokos, O Father, who intercedes for us.
Kontakion – Fourth Tone: As one who loves to behold exalted theorias, and a disciple working noetic Prayer, your servants praise you, O Godly-wise one. But as a mystic of Godly ascent, lead us towards the coming life, those who cry out to you: Hail O Righteous Maximos.
Megalynarion: You were surrounded by Unapproachable Light through the revealing of the Virgin and Pure Theotokos, for surpassing the flesh, mind and word, you were shown a citizen of the Heavens, O Righteous Maximos.
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“Receive the gift against demons… and settle at the foot of Athos, for this is the Will of my Son.”
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Saint Gregory of Sinai spoke with Saint Maximos for many hours…
They went on with the following conversation concerning Noetic Prayer:
“In saying the Prayer, are you sometimes rapt in ecstasy?” Gregory asked.
Maximos answered: “I made haste to the desert and have sought solitude for this very thing – in order to find the fruits of Prayer in abundance – I mean the pure love of God and the ravishment of the nous by the Lord.”
“What does the nous do when that happens? Does it continue to utter the Prayer in the heart?”
“By no means”, replied Maximos. “When the Holy Spirit visits the man of Prayer, Prayer ceases; for the nous, absorbed completely in the Spirit of God, ceases to act from its own energy. It lets itself be led ‘where the Spirit wills’ (Jn. 3:8), into the immaterial Heaven of the Divine Light, or into other contemplations, or even into an inexpressible conversation with God. For just as wax, which is by nature hard, burns and becomes all fire and all light when brought into contact with fire, although remaining a material quite distinct from it, in the same way, the nous, in so far as it remains in its separate nature, conceives only what is connected to its nature and under its power; but when the Divine Fire, the Holy Spirit, draws near, it burns with the fire of the Godhead, carried away by the power of the Spirit; every thought and every concept vanishes, and the whole nous, swallowed up by the Light of God, becomes Divine and radiant light.”
“What are the signs of illusion and the signs of Grace?” Gregory asked.
“The signs of diabolical illusion are disturbance of spirit, hardness of heart, fear, agitation of the thoughts, vanity, anger, vain imaginations and terrifying visions of light and fire. But when the Holy Spirit draws near to our spirit, He integrates it, makes it wise, humble and restrained. He instills in man the thought of death and of the Judgement, and leads him to weep tears of compunction at the thought of the Saviour’s loving kindness. He raises the nous to contemplation of things on High, and illumines it by bathing it in Divine Light. He gives peace to the heart, and conveys unutterable joy and exultation to all its powers. As the Apostle teaches, ‘The fruits of the Spirit are joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control, compassion and humility'” (Gal. 5:22).
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by Igumen Theophanes of Vatopedi: “I invoke God as my witness, that I myself saw several of his Miracles. Once, for instance, I saw him travel through the air from one place to another. I listened as he made a prediction concerning me, that first I would be an Igumen, and then Metropolitan of Ochrid. He even revealed to me how I would suffer for the Church.”
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Icons
Saint Akakios of Kavsokalyvia had a Divine Vision of Saint Maximos Kavsokalyvia during the time of the Holy Service in the Kyriakon, holding a Priestly Stole and Censing around the Church and the Fathers, and following him were another forty Venerable-looking and Righteous ones with their Monastic head covering. When Saint Akakios saw this, he asked Saint Maximos: “Who are these, who are following you Censing?” And he came and responded that they are those saved through Saint Maximos the Righteous from the area of Kavsokalyvia.
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