George (Karslidis) of Drama

St. George (Karslidis) the New Confessor of Drama

Saint George (Karslidis) the New Confessor of Drama (π. Γεώργιος Καρσλίδης ) was born in Argyroupolis, Pontos in 1901 of pious parents, Savva Karslides and Sophia. At baptism he received the name Athanasius. He is known to have been in Georgia, Armenia and Russia before spending most of his life in the village of Sipsa (now identified as Taxiarches) in Drama of Northern Greece. He established a small monastery there and slept in the Lord November 4, 1959. He was glorified by the Church of Constantinople on November 2, 2008. The elder was well known for his miracles and prophecies. He is one of five saints to bear the sign of the cross on his skull. The church commemorates his memory November 4.

Life

While still being an infant, he was left orphaned and his grandparents looked after him and his two siblings; a brother and a sister. His brother did not treat him very well and noticing that this was a problem his grandparents gave him to a Turkish family to look after him at an early age. When he was seven years old, his grandmother, being a devout Christian, took him on a pilgrimage to an ancient and famous monastery in the Pontos area; the Panagia Soumela.

In 1930 he permanently settled in the village of Sipsa in Drama, where he had quite a few acquaintances such as his first cousin, Elder Gregory Kiourtsides. He did not have much of an estate bringing only a few previous items; a few ecclesiastical books, priestly vestments, icons and a portion of the relics of his sister Anna.

In 1936 the Elder went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He visited many monasteries and also visited the Jordan river. At one of the hermitages near the Monastery of St. Savva he met in a wondrous way an ascetic who was his uncle. God enlightened the ascetic and revealed to him that the young clergyman passing by was his nephew.

In 1938 the Ministry of Agriculture granted four stremmata of land to the Elder. With the assistance of the villagers he built a little church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos. With the ever present help of the inhabitants, the construction of the monastery took place in the following year until eventually the consecration of the monastery church took place September 14, 1939.

In 1941 the Bulgarians captured the elder and led him to be butchered. He followed without protest and when they arrived at the place, he prayed and with calmness asked them to proceed with their work. They abandoned him out of fear and ran away.

Miracles

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Quotes

• "If you pray without giving alms, your prayer is dead. Your hands should always be open. Give alms to orphans and widows. Alms and prayers go together."
• "Strive to intensify your faith, and during the Divine Liturgy be undistracted and attached to the celebration of the service so that you might be granted to behold the majesties of God."
• "Neither should wealth impress you, nor honor, but always walk justly. Eat your bread with your honorable sweat and not through unjust means. The things you gain honorably, do not squander aimlessly. Live honorably and humbly, and as much as possible extend your hands in charity.... Knock on the doors of the poor, the sick, the orphans. You should prefer the homes of the afflicted to the homes of the joyous. If you do good works, you will have a great reward from God."
• "Love all your fellow men, even your enemies. This is the most basic thing. Always love not only those who love us, but also those who hate us. Let us forgive them and love them all even if they have done us the greatest evil; then we are truly children of God. Then our own sins are also forgiven...Always preach love. This is the most basic law of God: love and love alone."

Further Reading

In Greek

• Μονάχος Μωϋσής Αγιορείτης «ο μακάριος Γέροντας Γεώργιος Καρσλίδης, 1901 - 1959» (Official and original biography)
• Γ.Κ. Χατζοπούλου «Ο ΠΡΟΦΗΤΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΘΑΥΜΑΤΟΥΡΓΟΣ ΟΣΙΟΣ ΠΑΤΗΡ ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ ΚΑΡΣΛΙΔΗΣ» των εκδόσεων «ΝΑΜΑ».

External links

In Greek

• Holy Metropolis of Drama Official Article on Elder George and the Monastery in Sipses (in Greek)
• November 3, 2008 - Official Announcement by Church of Greece
• November 1, 2008 - Official homily of His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew at the Vespers of St. George the New in Drama (in Greek)
• November 2, 2008 - BlogSpot dedication to the Saint