The completion of this written testimony was marked by something very sad for us, the death of our Elder, father Damascene. The writing of the poem "Bessarion the Agathonite, the Merciful Monk" was a constant and painful concern of the respected father Damascene.

For three years we became witnesses and partakers of the struggle and its holy consecration. He made it his mission to leave a written legacy for everyone "of the days and works of father Bessarion". With honesty and fidelity, with clarity and a high sense of responsibility towards his spiritual father and towards the readers, who knew him or want to know him, he wrote the biography and the "history" of the Elder Bessarion. He used in a systematic way his long-term notes, the incidents he recorded as an eyewitness, his memories and, above all, his experiences from his communication with Father Vissarion and filed the text ready for "printing".

On June 23, God the giver called Father Damascenes, our highly respected Elder, to him. Thus, he left us the responsibility of publishing the book. Father Damascene bequeathed to his spiritual children and to every faithful and watchful person a written monument intended to reveal the "world" of father Bessarion, which God made him a "sign of Heaven". This text, full of pain and messages, we undertook as a double duty to publish with much love.

Contents

Dedication
Instead of a preface
Prologue
Introduction: My acquaintance with Elder Bessarion
The Curator's testimony
LIFE AND MONASTIC PATH
ONLY GIVEN TO THE RACE OF OFFER
THE WARM AND ILLUMINATED PNEUMATIC
SIGNS - ACTIONS PHENOMENA OF HOLINESS
THE EXCAVATION AND THE "SIGN OF THE HEAVEN"
THE APPEARANCE OF PARISH VISSARIOS AFTER THE BURIAL
LATER TESTIMONY
THE OFFICIAL CHURCH RECEIVED THE SUBJECT
APPENDICES
TEXTUAL APPENDIX
PHOTO APPENDIX