“God especially loves and provides for large families. A large family provides children with many opportunities to grow up normally, as long as the parents give them the proper nurturing. One child helps the other. The oldest girl helps the mother; the second child takes care of the younger one, and so forth. There is a sense of giving, and they live in an atmosphere of sacrifice and love. The younger ones love and respect the older ones; and this is something that comes naturally in a large family.”
Below are some photos of Saint Paisios with his family.
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Saint Paisios and his mother, during the exchange from Cappadocia to Greece.
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Saint Paisios with his family. He is the young boy on the right side of the photo, 15 years old at the time.
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Saint Paisios’ parents in their later years.
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Below is a photo of Saint Paisios with his sister Christina. Also are two photos of his siblings Christina and Raphael at an older age.
“Prayer has great power within the family. I know two siblings who not only kept their parents – who had a big problem between them – from separating, but even caused them to be more in love.”
Below are some photos of the family home where Saint Paisios grew up. Kept there are some of his personal belongings including some of his clothes, handwritten notes and books, some craftwork from his carpentry education, his family’s cuttlery, some books he read and his moneybox in which he would collect money for the poor. There is also a photo below which is the first photo Saint Paisios sent to his family once he became a Monk.
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