The Diary: Life of an Orthodox Christian Nun in Her Own Words

The Diary: Life of an Orthodox Christian Nun in Her Own Words

The Diary tells Sister Kristoduli’s life story as she experienced it. It chronicles the inner thoughts and growing pains of a shy teenager, her search for a spiritual path, and her connection to Archbishop Paul, who became her spiritual father, and Igumenia Eufimia, who was her guide in daily ascetic struggle. In an authentic and honest voice, she details monastic life in Greece, makes fascinating cultural observations, and recounts the challenges of translating the Philokalia, a collection of writings by the church fathers, from Greek to Finnish. Sister Kristoduli’s diary is a deeply human book which also serves as a chapter in the recent history of the Orthodox Church in Finland. The pearls of the diary entries are Kristoduli’s thoughts and advice, born from her lifelong search for purpose and belonging. Sister Kristoduli (Anna-Leena Lampi, 1945-2020), lecturer, writer, translator, and spiritual counselor, spent her childhood in Kuopio, Eastern Finland. In her youth she studied Greek philology in Helsinki. After that, her path took her to Bytouma Monastery in Thessaly, Greece, for twenty-seven years. After returning to Finland in 2001, she settled in Lintula Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in Finnish Karelia. Dr. Eija Pehu Former Advisor on Sustainable Agriculture at the World Bank. After retirement, she pursued theological studies at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS) in Cambridge. A member of the Orthodox Church of Finland, she supports the Lintula Holy Trinity Convent by translating the sisterhood's writings into English, making their work accessible to a wider international audience.