Sotos CHondropoulos

Sotos Chondropoulos was born in Piraeus in 1911 and hailed from Arachova—now known as Karyes—in the Laconia region. He studied Economics and worked in the private sector, making a living as an accountant in industries, from which he eventually retired. He made his literary debut at a very young age, around 1930, focusing on prose and particularly on psychological short stories. From 1932 to 1939, he collaborated with most of the magazines of the time and published three collections of short stories. His deep Christian faith became the sole source of inspiration for his work in the post-war period. He embraced the concerns of the people of his time, which are also the concerns of people in any era. Family, the prodigal father, the daughter, the son, marriage, straying, sexual humiliation, split personality, the Christ-seller, the Pharisee, life, death, selfless love, and redemption are the everyday life issues that preoccupied him and reappear in his novels and short stories. All are written vividly and in his personal style, while he does not forget to offer redemptive solutions to these problems. A milestone in his writing career was the book "The Saint of Our Century," which refers to the figure of Saint Nektarios of Aegina, Bishop of Pentapolis the Wonderworker. This book has been translated and is available in English and French by our publishing house, and will soon be available in Russian. Since then, twelve more narrative biographies dedicated to Saints of our church have followed, all based on authentic Orthodox sources. For his entire body of work, which consists of 50 books, he was awarded an honorary literary pension by the state. In 1983, the Metropolis of Nikaia honored him with the Gold Medal of the Holy Fathers of the First and Seventh Ecumenical Councils for his work up to that time. In 1987, the Christian Literature Society awarded him the "George and Katigo Laimos" Foundation Prize. Sotos Chondropoulos passed away on August 27, 1989, at the age of 78, entrusting his soul to the Lord of Glory and His Saints, whom he so praised throughout his life.