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Mount Athos, part 1

December 25, 2011 4:02 PM

Bob Simon steps back in time when he gets rare access to monks in ancient monasteries on a remote Greek peninsula who have lived a Spartan life of prayer in a tradition virtually unchanged for a thousand years.

Mount Athos: A visit to the Holy Mountain

60 Minutes OverTimeBehind-the-scenes travelogue to holy Mt. Athos

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by bluemonk12 February 16, 2013 12:11 PM EST
Objections to this way of life are understandable. This way of life goes directly against everything modern culture is about. What is modern culture about? Is it not about owning a house, starting a family, making money, watching tv, and everything else?
Many complain about the corruption and hypocrisy of the government, many are suffering due to debt, it's impossible when upon watching or listening to the news that we learn of some tragedy. But is it all that bad? Mount Athos or any monastic calling is not for everyone. If you have a calling for a legal profession would it be a good idea to neglect it? We who are not lawyers have a vague idea of their ways but unless we take up a study of it, who are we to claim we have an adequate knowledge of legal matters? The same can be applied to say, a doctor. I would say that those doctors are pretty selfish too if all they do is help others for themselves. That's an absurd statement. They help people, no, they heal people in a very obvious and visible way. But the same silly line of logic is being applied to the calling of monastic life. But how they help people is quite a different from how doctors help people. Where doctors help people with bodily issues which are visible, the monks help people with spiritual issues which are invisible. And likewise, we don't usually question a doctors advice but follow what they say so we can get better. Same with monastics, who are we to question them, we who have no knowledge of things that are spiritual. Just as we don't usually know how a medicine works in healing us, the same can be applied to how prayer works. So try to keep an open mind when watching this.
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by dallalmusic January 14, 2013 4:05 PM EST
WHY are there VIAGRA commercials during a holy discussion of Mount Athos. Please change your awful commercial.
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by pkubica August 9, 2012 9:30 AM EDT
Very much enjoyed the Mt Athos production - I've watched it dozens of times. Does anyone know if this is available for purchase/download and how to do so?
Thanks
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by DougLyttle January 29, 2012 4:19 PM EST
Fabulous program. The book, Miracle on the Monastery Mountain, is the perfect compliment/extension. The author, profesional photographer Douglas Lyttle, visited the monks of Athos over 26 years to record the place, the people, the monastic lifestyle, and the amazing renewal of the historic spiritual order (typicon)in 405 pages and 650 photographs.
WWW.ATHOSMONASTERIES.COM
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miracle-on-the-Monastery-Mountain/217297881698191
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by blitznstitch January 12, 2012 2:37 AM EST
Faith without works is dead - they pray all day but only help themselves. Also, what is up with all the gilded and crystal decorum? Store your treasures in Heaven, not on Earth. If you want to live like Christ, go eat with the tax collectors of our day. Don't have a home to return to a bed to rest in, be on the go, transient - doing good works. Since when is prayer a robotic repeating of phrases? An honest sentiment is the most powerful prayer - no specific phrase or even words necessary. I guess criticism like mine is the reason they dont like to be filmed.
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by khadijahmateen January 5, 2012 1:44 PM EST
Thank you so very much 60 minutes, as a student of religion and seeker of the truth I am constantly looking to improve upon myself. There are may parts of this piece that I shall take away..


Khadijah Mateen
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by Netsy1 December 27, 2011 3:43 PM EST
Correction
Mt Athos is not the only place in the world that keeps Byzantine time Ethiopia does too.
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by Hors2011 December 27, 2011 3:43 PM EST
This tradition of prayer is little known outside the Orthodox Church. Those interested can find information about it searching the word "hesychia" or "hesychasm". It has nothing to do with selfish escape from the difficulties of the world ;) It is reakl strugle/ Sorry.
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by SailorBlue December 26, 2011 9:29 PM EST
Selfish? Getting 3 hours sleep a night, two 10min meals a day, and a life entirely devoted to prayer and seeking a deeper connection with God is selfish?

Okay, whatever you say.

You try giving up EVERYTHING (family, friends, possessions) for God in the quest for spiritual Truth and get back with me on how selfish it is.
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by davewrite1 December 26, 2011 5:26 PM EST
What an object lesson on the extremes of human delusion. It's a travesty that so much beauty and creative workmanship gets wasted on insanity. Imagine the state of human progress if such nonsense were more widespread.

Only an evil monster of unimaginable, supernatural proportion would expect such slavish behavior from his primate creation. One must remember, too, that our entire short-lived solar system is but a speck of dust in the universe.
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