Fr. Paisius Altschul Conversion Story - Part 2

For the first part of this lengthy quote from the introduction of The Northern Thebaid, either scroll down one entry or click here.

I kept looking at the title page of the book and was wondering to myself, "Who published this book?" I saw "St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, California." So I decided to call directory assistance. The operator simply said, "There's no such listing!" Again I asked, "Do you have any numbers in Platina, California?" She gave me the number for the general store and post office. When I told them what I was trying to find, the clerk said, "All that's up there is a few monks with no running water, no electricity, no phone or utilities, That's it!" What was intended to squash my interest only served to increase my wonder! As I hung up, I couldn't help but think, "They're actually trying to live like the Desert Fathers!" When I tried to find Platina on the map, again I was unsuccessful. So I dismissed trying to contact them for a period of time.

My wife Thelma (now Michaila), and two ladies from our ministry, Mari (now Nun Pachomia), and Tammy Hansen were with me attending a friend's wedding in central California. As we were en route to Canada, we stopped in San Francisco. A distinct impression, perhaps leading, came to me to call an Orthodox church and inquire about monasteries north of there. So on my first attempt to call a church, I spoke about my interest in the Desert Fathers and about how I was trying to find a monastery north of San Francisco. They directed me to the Raphael House, an Orthodox homeless center in downtown San Francisco. When I told them what I was interested in, they mentioned the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood in Platina, California! I couldn't believe it. I told the person that that was the place I was trying to find! So for the next eight hours we drove (the long way, via Eureka) to Platina, The ladies with me didn't know what this place was or what all this Orthodox interest was exactly all about.

Yet when we arrived there we were immediately greeted by a very joyful monk with a long red beard saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!" We had been praying this same prayer, the Jesus Prayer, in the car on the way. So when we heard the prayer and saw his appearance, we could only knowingly smile at one another. He looked like he had stepped out of one of the pictures in The Northern Thebaid. He later became the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Gerasim.



A very recent picture of Abbot Gerasim

-- to be contintued