The Holy Mountain from Greece worthily called the Garden of Thetokos is the symbol of Orthodoxy from all over the world there living since centuries monks from all the Orthodox countries as a sign of unity and universality of the Orthodox faith.
This Holy Mountain has been for thousands of years in the darkness of worshipping the idols darkness from which it came out by being Christianized by the Holy Mother of God during her earthly life and remained as the capital of world Orthodoxy. There are 20 big monasteries surrounded by hermitages and cloisters dwelled by monks who live humbly their daily monachal life working, fasting and praying.
Lacu Hermitage which has in the center the Big Church consecrated to the great saint and martyr Dimitrios, the myrrh yielder is on the territory of the monastery Saint Paul and dates from the beginning of the 18th century. It has been dwelled by Romanian monks having today 50 monks and a number of 13 cells and 3 under construction. The cell is a house with a few bedrooms where is found a chapel for the daily prayer.
The community of the Romanian monks from Lacu hermitage who have no financial income is settled in a hardly accessible area for tourists. There are many things to say but it would be better to discover them alone coming to the Holy Moungtain where to get the grace from the Holy Mother of God springing from the wonder making icons. No line, no matter how nicely it would be written, could describe the spiritual joy and the peace felt in the presence of the grace of Theotokos.
Excerpt from the book Down to earth, integral edition, author Ionuț Riteș.
