Born in 1950 and raised in a small town in northern Greece,
it was clear from early on that Father Dionysios would not find
his home in the world. Coming from a religious family with
forefathers in the priesthood, at the age of seventeen he left
home to pursue his passion for the spirit at the historic
cliff-top monastery of Great Meteoron in central Greece. It was
here that he met his spiritual father, the widely revered elder,
Archimandrite Aemilianos, and became tonsured into the life of
renunciation. When several years later the Greek tourist
industry had all but taken over the entire ancient Meteora
complex, Elder Aemilianos and his band of young monks relocated
to a remote monastery on Mt. Athos and began, along with a
handful of other new brotherhoods, to reinvigorate the waning
ancient monastic haven with their zeal for the holy life.
Father Dionysios was a bright light from the beginning, known
for his unwavering devotion to his elder and for his spirit of
selfless giving, shared with all who came to visit their
monastery perched high above the Aegean Sea. It was this spirit
of generosity and passion for the monastic life that would
before long bring invitations from Europe and America and
eventually lead him away from the "mountain of silence" he
called his home to help guide others along their way. Since
leaving Mt. Athos, Archimandrite Dionysios has served at a
number of different posts in Greece, Europe and America,
eventually spending several years as Abbot of Holy Cross
Monastery in Jerusalem. Having recently returned to Greece,
where he was given an island on which he will soon build a
monastery to house his core group of monks, he is also
overseeing a newly founded convent outside Athens, where about forty young nuns have gathered from many different parts of the world.
