"To be a Christian means to travel. We travel on the paths of the inner world of the heart, on a route that is not measured in hours of the clock or days of the calendar, because it is a journey of entry into eternity, beyond time.
One of the earliest names for Christianity was simply "the Way". Christianity is more than a theory about the universe, more than doctrines written on paper: it is a path we walk on - the path of life. We must make the conscious decision to walk this path."
The Orthodox Road
† Kallistos Ware 1934-2022
Metropolitan of Diocles
Our dear father Callistos (WARE), having consciously walked the path of the inner world of the heart, the path of Life, completed his journey and entered eternity! Always grateful for the rich gifts he gave us, we pray that he rests in the arms of God, who loved so much!
† KALLISTOS WARE | METROPOLITAN OF DIOCLEIA
The Bishop of Diokleia Mr. Kallistos Ware, one of the most important ecclesiastical and theological personalities of our time, was born in Bath, England in 1934 with the name Timothy Ware. He studied ancient Greek, Latin, philosophy and theology at Oxford. An Anglican by birth and upbringing, he first came into contact with Orthodoxy in 1952, fascinated by the Orthodox liturgy and the tradition of mystical theology.
He was accepted into the Orthodox Church at Easter 1958, while in 1965 he was ordained a deacon; the same year he became a monk at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos. Returning to Oxford, he assumed the duties of a vicar in the Greek Orthodox parish, while at the same time he was elected a Lecturer in the Department of Orthodox Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford. In 1970 he became a member of Pebroke College in the same city.
In 1982 he was elected bishop of Diokleia by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the first Briton to be elected bishop of the Orthodox Church since the time of the schism!
Bishop Kallistos was the author of many important books: "The Orthodox Church" (Penguin, 1963, revised edition 1993), "Eustratios Argenti: A Study of the Greek Church under Turkish Rule" (1964), Argentis: A Study of the Greek Church under Turkish Rule,] "The Orthodox Way" (1979, revised edition 1995), "The Inner Kingdom" (2000). He is the co-translator of the two Orthodox Liturgical Books, "The Festal Menaion" (1969) and "The Lenten Triodion" (1978), as well as the "Philokalia" (in progress: so far four volumes, 1979-95).
Fell asleep in England in the early hours of August 24, 2022!
