On one of my many visits to a fifteenth century women’s monastery in Greece Sr. Theologia asked me: “What theology do you learn here? All we do is put you to work.”
Come along with me and see what I saw, hear what I heard, drink from the spiritual fountain of life-giving water that was given to me. For four years I studied at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki but during that time I learned more from my encounters with nuns than I could have from countless degrees. I met holy people, heard incredible stories, helped with interesting work, and made a few quirky mistakes as a foreigner along the way. But I gained invaluable experience as an Orthodox Christian. Longing to learn true theology I went and sat at the feet of the greatest scholars, a monastery full of nuns.
Biographies of contemporary Elders abound. Books about experiences to the Holy Mountain and other male monasteries are in plenty. How often do we get to glimpse the spiritual life of women? This book is a treasury of spiritual advice, examples of true friendship, loving reprimands, and countless lessons from spiritual women. To Sr. Theologia’s question I answer: Let me tell you what I’ve learned…
The Scent of Holiness: Lessons from a Women’s Monastery is a collection of stories of my frequent trips to women’s monasteries in Northern Greece, and is meant to be a modern-day Materikon written by a layperson for laypeople. Although the stories take place at a handful of monasteries, I set them all in the one monastery to which I traveled most often.
