THE PARADISE OF THE NON CHRISTIANS

 In 1928, he laid the foundations of his monastery, and in 1930, it was completed.

The monastery was inhabited by nuns on the 30th of March. However, Saint Athimos knew a Turkish man before the arrival of the Germans. He was a Turkish commander who was an exceptionally good man. He helped churches that had been partially destroyed and assisted in rebuilding them. He helped those in need and protected them. He did not allow Turkish soldiers to harm anyone. Because he showed such great kindness, the holy man Athimos wondered: “Where will such a man go after death, since he is a Turk?” One day, God revealed something to him. He saw a person who had died and found himself in a beautiful paradise. There were no thorns or weeds, but beautiful trees. It was a large garden, and in the middle stood a throne. As soon as he approached the throne, someone called out to him: “Welcome, my Athimos! Welcome! Come and see where I am!” Athimos asked him, “Have you found paradise?” “Yes, this is paradise, and God has granted me my own paradise.” “But how can this be? We Orthodox believe that there is only one paradise!” “There are different paradises here. This is a paradise for good people.” “My child, there are paradises beyond the one you know. There are many paradises. There is a paradise for good people who are not Orthodox, and there are others as well.” Some people come down and say, “Why should I complain about where I am? I helped people, and I am content.” However, the paradise of Saint Athimos is not the same as the paradise of those who are good but have not received the fullness of the Orthodox faith. God does not judge everyone in exactly the same way. There are different levels of paradise, according to each person's goodness and acts of kindness. But there is a third and highest paradise, where God Himself dwells. The Orthodox Christians—and Christians belonging to other denominations—may also attain paradise if they are good people. However, the highest paradise, where God Himself, Jesus Christ, is present, is the ultimate destination. *God Himself is the fullness of paradise. ***