But the beautiful instructions, teachings and examples from the Elder's personal experience, which give us the right guidelines in life, were scattered in many books, and it seemed to me that it would be better to collect them together, arrange them by topic and publish them in one collection, which, in this way, would include all the books about Father Porphyrios. Naturally, I could begin this work only after receiving the blessing of the hesychastirion founded by the Elder. The blessing was received, and now I can present to your attention this book, which is a thematic collection of Father Porphyrius' instructions.

When reading the books about the Elder, I was especially struck by the following in him, and this is reflected in my collection:

— Father Porphyrios' boundless love for people. He received and comforted everyone: Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, non-believers, Hindus, workers and scientists, people who were often exhausted and confused in this life. He did not see, did not want to see their shortcomings and talk about them. "Love Christ," he said, "and all that oppresses and destroys you, sinful thoughts, everything that leads you astray, all this will go away. The grace of Christ gives you healing. It's like light. When the light comes, then the darkness recedes."

— One of the main virtues of the Elder was humility. Humility permeated everything—his face, always shining with joy, all his movements, the cell in which he lived, his food. One man asked Father Porphyrios: "Geronda, do you not have the temptation of arrogance, because so many people come here, and everyone wants to meet you?" Is this my money to be proud of?"

"Father Porphyrius possessed the gift of unceasing prayer. He was able to visit his spiritual children both in Greece and abroad, thanks to his gift of clairvoyance, to see what they were doing, what worried about them, what difficulties they had, and how his father could instruct them either in their dreams or when he suddenly called them on the phone.

"I was also always amazed by the fact that the Elder had boundless respect for human freedom. He did not force anyone to do anything, did not gather fans who would constantly surround him. Father Porphyrius treated everyone as a person, no matter how low a person fell. He felt that he too was one of the sinners, and he did not separate himself from them. Therefore, he surrounded everyone who came to him with sincere love, did not scold anyone, did not make remarks, and never behaved with arrogance. Even those who often liked to argue with him, he received with boundless love and tried to help them in a friendly way.

"I paid special attention to the medical knowledge of Father Porphyrius. When he was the rector of the temple at the central polyclinic of Athens, some doctors, when faced with serious cases, invited him to the office, and he made an accurate medical diagnosis, while speaking the correct medical language, which amazed all the hospital staff.

But let us not be surprised, because the holy Elder lived in another world and by the grace given to him was in uninterrupted communion with God. Already here, by the grace of God, he conquered corruption, and God Himself was his guide.

I would like to preface my book with the following comments:

"In it, we will not find answers to absolutely all our questions and solutions to all our problems. But by reading it, we can be imbued with the Orthodox spiritual worldview, in which we can discover God and man.

Many of the Elder's advice is very personal and therefore may not be acceptable to us. His instructions always took into account the physical condition, social and family status, and the spiritual level of the person to whom his love was addressed.

— When we do not understand, perhaps due to our spiritual imperfection, some of Father Porphyrius's advice, we should not be embarrassed by this. Perhaps we will understand them in time, or we can ask a more spiritually experienced person for clarification. The most important thing is to have a good disposition, to be open to receiving the spirit of the Elder's instructions.

Father Porphyrius often taught us simply by his own example. Inspired by the prayer, love and example of the Elder, we will be able to solve the problems that have tormented us for many years.

— If we are interested in something specifically, then we can, without reading the entire book, find the place we need in the table of contents.