“The elder underwent the most difficult trials in obedience and blindly obeying Elder John who as was previously mentioned assigned him difficult jobs and strictly censured him without the Abbot’s knowledge. Father Paisios as a good, obedient monk endured all of this silently and with self-reproach. He never criticized Elder John not even in his thoughts and he believed that everything that happened…on account of his own sins. Finally he started hemorrhaging and ended up in the monastery infirmary. From there he gave thanks and prayed for Elder John because he had benefited him. “He beat me like an octopus but he got the ink out of me.””
Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos