It was not difficult for Selim to immerse himself into the requirements of monastic life and the novitiate. Life at the time was very close to monasticism in its nature. Most people lived very humbly, in a simple harmony with nature, living off of the land, immersed in the cycles of both the seasons and the Church. Social mores expected men and women alike to be modest, pure, hard-working and shunning all forms of temptation and impurity. The Christians of the region, even to this day, are deeply attached to their roots and the nature of their homeland. Additionally, the Church and her liturgical calendar still shapes their lives and their mores. As such, Selim, already surpassing fellow young laymen in holiness, internal peace, love of solitude and prayer, found himself at home in the novitiate of the Holy Saviour Monastery.
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