A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain- Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos·

The Holy Mountain is a blessed place for the entire Church. There are monks there who practise without ceasing the Jesus prayer and who struggle to live the ascetic life, which is actually life according to the Gospel. Thus they become bearers of the Holy Tradition of the Church. It is with such a monk and ascetic that the author of this book enters into dialogue. The book has been a classic of its kind in Greece where it is now in its ninth edition. It has also been translated into French, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian. The translation into English was undertaken as a response to the requests of many English speaking friends who believe that the text has a lot to offer to all our brethren in Christ who thirst and seek for intimate communion with God; for the transformation and unification of their inner world through the energy of the grace of God; and who desire to become indwellings of the most Holy Spirit: The author of this book is himself an admirer of the neptic tradition of the Church, which he also presents in his other books. His series of four books on "Orthodox psychotherapy" is of great interest since he believes that the neptic tradition of the Church has a therapeutic value. Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos believes that Christianity is not a philosophy or an ideology, but rather it is a therapeutic science and a therapeutic treatment which cures the innermost aspect of one's personality. It is within this framework that the present book operates. Many thanks are due to Mrs Rachel Hales (Essex, England) who kindly offered to examine the translation and make several needed corrections. Her zeal and personal interest in the text made possible the publication of this translation. Special mention should also be made of her excellent