Obituary of Sister Patapia
The historian Thucydides, in his "Epitaph" (funeral
oration) of Pericles
(chapter 45), writes: "one who does not exist, no one will praise
him." For the demise, we are used to praising their deeds. However, on this occasion, the praise to you, sister Patapia is not rhetorical, as you
spent your whole transient life with Jesus Christ.
Indeed, your whole tangible life was a burning candle
before the icon of Saint Patapios. When you were young, as Evgenia
(her lay name), you sang: "Everything may it be for the glory of Christ;
this saying should become our great maxim"!
The flame of your heart was inextinguishable. It was a
living spark lit by the torchbearer, then priest of the settlement of Corinth
and later founder and Elder of the nunnery of Saint Patapios (in Loutraki, a
city near Corinth, in Greece), Father Nectarios Marmarinos. He was the preacher
and spiritual director of the Diocese of Corinth.
The homeland maintains its integrity throughout life to heal the difficulties, adversities, threats, and failures. This flame was
delivered to you as alive, from your youth until the end of your life, in the
hand of the Lord's underlying savior.
With this flame, you were enlightened, and you healed.
You enlightened yourself with your words and deeds and heated the cooled hearts
of those who left the nest of Christ. Sister Patapia, you were consistent
with your words and deeds. Precision and moral strictness characterized your
life, which may have been misunderstood by some who did not know your heart.
I wanted to write in a few words that patience,
obedience, and generosity to others were the virtues that characterized
you. Father Nectarios taught (when she met him as a child at Sunday school)
that you always carry Christ in your heart. His preaching was flawless. So,
sister Patapia, you had always obeyed him, with careful and wise
footsteps, to keep your sanity.
You always showed love and respect to Saints,
particularly Saint Patapios and Saint Hypomone (her name means patience), and
all people, especially the poor. You became aware of poverty, as you always
empathized with (and helped) the poor. You never felt tired since offering help to others filled your heart.
You even gathered medicine to send to Albania's
missionary while in the nunnery's apartment in Athens. You
visited hospitals, and your home in Athens became a center of care for the rich
and the poor, a center of prayer. When you encountered temptation, you ignored
it, following the prompt of Saint Niphon: "If you are tempted, do not give
in; just leave this place and go to other places where you will spend your life
in peace."
It was in the Metohi (the nunnery's residence) of
Antheon road (meaning Flower Street) in the district of Patisia in Athens where I met sister Patapia. I was impressed by her zeal and accepted her
admonitions. With sister Patapia we published many books with biographies and
sequences of Saints. We praised the Saints whom sister Patapia considered familiar
and, according to Prophet Elias, is deemed to be blissful; as he says, ' Blissful is the one who has the sperm of Zion and family in Jerusalem' (Elias,
9).
Blessed sister Patapia, you were one (in the early
1950s) of the first nuns who inhabited the area beside the cage of Saint
Patapios' relic (when a nunnery did not exist) to live there (with another two
sisters). There you found nothing but three chambers. You saw no water, no
heating, almost nothing (even no food). But you did not worry about it. You
never complained or showed that you felt tired. You always smiled since Christ
gave you the charisma of patience, as He was a permanent tenant of your heart.
You lived in your Monastery for twenty years, but your
health problems (her asthma) did not allow you to stay there for long. (But
some decades later, she returned from Athens, where she remained for a long time because
of her health problems). So, as a simple nun, as the humblest of all, you
continued your life in the nunnery until your demise.
Until your last moment, you were in the bed of pain,
where you received the love of the Mother Superior and the sisters of the
nunnery. Today, all of us in sorrow are praying for your soul, but we keep
happiness that you will enter the ultimate blessedness of heaven.
We shall pray to "the living persons who are
left" (1 Thessalonians D,7) to the place where "there is no sadness,
sorrow, nor sigh." We will pray for you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
where you will find eternal peace.
The one-way ticket to the intangible homeland of
heaven, you had secured it from your genuine Christian wisdom, your monastic
life, your virtuous deeds, your obedience, your humiliation, your sacrifices,
and your patience with the pain of your infirmities. You shone "As gold in a
crucible" like an eternal star in heaven.
Give us your blessing, our everlasting Sister Patapia, so we may at least be able to imitate your virtuous life's glorious
achievements.
Let your soul meet your body in Resurrection!
Reference: (23 October 2017) translation of the obituary written by Dr. Haralambos Bοussias. Reference: https://www.romfea.gr/diafora/17777-ekoimithi-i-gerontissa-patapia-proigoumeni-tis-im-osiou-patapiou
Note: In brackets, explanatory
information is given.
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