Greek actress Myriella Kourenti has spoken about her decision to turn to God following a dark period in her physical and mental health.
The actress, who now follows a lifestyle defined by deep faith, shared her experience in a video posted on TikTok, explaining that her spiritual turn began after a difficult period in her life.
Kourenti explained that more than three years ago she was struggling both physically and mentally. As her physical condition began to improve, she unexpectedly discovered a spiritual book online.
She had entered a website to order a different book, but accidentally came across one titled Thoughts Determine Our Life. Reading it fascinated her because the author was a spiritual father who heard confessions and guided people.
Daily prayer to the Virgin Mary
The book inspired a strong desire in Kourenti to acquire a spiritual father of her own, something she had never possessed in her life. She subsequently began praying every night.
Kourenti noted that she had felt a deep closeness to the Virgin Mary for as long as she could remember. For a full month, she prayed nightly asking for a truly spiritual guide to hear her confessions and provide spiritual direction.
Independent recommendations for the same elder
After a month of prayer, Kourenti spoke to her friend Markella, a psychologist and psychotherapist, confessing for the first time her desire to find a spiritual father.
Markella immediately suggested her own spiritual father, a hieromonk from Mount Athos who lived next to Kourenti's house. Markella mentioned that his spiritual elder was Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, a holy figure whose canonization by the Church is anticipated.
When Kourenti returned home and told her mother she had found a spiritual father, her mother revealed that a friend named Giorgos had recommended the exact same elder after bumping into her at a supermarket. Kourenti had not seen Giorgos for many years.
Kourenti emphasized that Markella and Giorgos did not know each other, leading her to believe that the Virgin Mary had directly answered her prayer by sending an elder located right next to her home.
First confession and life-changing guidance
When Kourenti went to confess for the first time, she waited patiently as others went ahead of her. She entered the confession room at 11 p.m.
Tearfully, she recalled that the elder asked her name and when she celebrated her name day. She told him her grandmother celebrated on August 15 with the Virgin Mary, as there is no Saint Myriella.
The elder looked at her and remarked that it was time for them to make one, referring to Kourenti herself. Kourenti said she considered herself the most sinful person of all, but noted that his remark changed her life, showing her that sainthood is not unattainable and giving her spiritual role models for the first time.
Background on Greek monastic tradition
Mount Athos, located in northern Greece, is an autonomous monastic peninsula that serves as a principal spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity. Elder Joseph of Vatopedi was a prominent 20th-century Orthodox monastic figure associated with Vatopedi Monastery on the holy mountain.
