Rivers of Living Water: On the Holy Elders of Kolitsou, Mount Athos
“Hidden up above the quiet bays of Mount Athos, the St. George Kellion of Kolitsou was home to some of the most remarkable Athonite elders of the 20th century. This book gathers their lives, struggles, and spiritual counsel—above all the witness of the recently glorified Elder and Saint Dionysius Ignat (†2004; in Romania, he is known as “Dionisie Ignat de la Colciu”), but also his fellow strugglers such as Hieroschemamonk George (Gamaliel) Boboc, Elder John Shova, and other fathers who lived and prayed in this small corner of the Holy Mountain.
Through eyewitness accounts, pilgrims’ journals, and rare testimonies, Rivers of Living Water opens a window into the Athonite life at Kolitsou: to their nights of stillness and prayer, to their bonds of spiritual brotherhood in Christ, to the hardships of poverty and exile they endured, and to the spiritual wisdom distilled within them through decades of ascetic struggle.
This is not simply a biography of one man but a living memory of a spiritual family, bound together in Christ and dedicated to the Mother of God, the Protectress of the Holy Mountain. Readers will find here not only the history of a Kellion and its fathers, but also guidance, encouragement, and a glimpse of the grace that sustained them.
This is a book for pilgrims, for seekers, and for all who desire to taste the freshness of the Gospel flowing through the monastic heart of Mount Athos.
NOTE: In a historic decision, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced on August 31, 2025, the canonization of Elder Dionysius Ignat, Abbot of the Kellion of Saint George at Kolitsou, together with Hieromonk Petronius Tanase of Prodromou Skete. Elder Dionysius, whose life and counsel form the heart of Rivers of Living Water, is now officially numbered among the saints of the Church.”
