From the 2nd book (P. KYRIAKIDIS PUBLISHING ORGANIZATION)

Prophetic quotations 2 in pdf 

 

Holy Monastery of Dadiou "Panagia Gavriotissa"

Elder Ambrosios Lazaris

Spiritual Father of Dadiou Monastery

Holy Metropolis of Fthiotida, Greece

Selection and commentary by Leontios Monahos[1]      

 

                                                              

01. In 1991 the Elder Ambrosios visited Mount Athos along with some of his spiritual children. Upon their return, some asked the Elder to relate his experiences there. When the Elder did so, they asked which monasteries he enjoyed visiting. He replied that he enjoyed two: the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra, where he saw St. Athanasios the Athonite himself on his feast day and spoke with him, and at Fr. Artemios’ (at the cell of St. Nicholas of Dionysiou Holy Monastery).

He said, “Fr. Artemios showed us love. Christ is love! No one else relaxed me. There, at Fr. Artemios, we were shown hospitality; we talked and enjoyed ourselves.” (p. 27)

                                                              

02. One time, the Elder went with two of his spiritual children on a pilgrimage to a monastery, after determining that the Abbot was absent, because he did not want his presence to be made known there. After much time had passed, we began to depart. It was then when we saw a monk cutting offertory bread (in Greek, artos).

"We are hungry,” he said, “Do you have something for us to eat?”

“I cannot give you anything, my dear Father,” he replied, “because my Abbot is not here and I do not have his blessing.”

“Nevertheless, we are hungry,” the Elder painfully insisted.

“I cannot give you anything,” the monk persisted.

While returning from the pilgrimage, the Elder said:

“He had a lot of bread inside, offertory and regular, and did not give any. I did not like that at all. There is no philanthropy (love towards mankind) in that. I did this on purpose, just to see his attitude.”  (p. 32)

                                                              

03. “Elder, if there is a war with the Turks, what will we do?”

“Wars today are not fought with weapons. God always helps us and the Mother of God is on our side.”

“Yes, Elder, but the Turks are more numerous than we.”

“Let it be so! Everyone fears the soul of the Greek who has Christ and the Mother of God alongside as guides.” (p. 50)

                                                              

04. “Tell me, my child, can one man stand against four hundred?”

“It is impossible, Elder.”

“When he has the Grace of God, he can stand against not only four hundred but also the whole world. This is why you shall plead, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”, and the temptation shall flee. This is how the ‘other one’ (the Devil) is: He has the strength of four hundred. But God has him tied like a dog on a leash. He loosens the leash a little, in order to test us to the extent that we can bear it; and when we cannot endure any longer, He tightens the leash and turns it into good.” (p. 54)

                                                              

05. One time, the Elder “left” his body. He returned hours later and described where he went and what he saw:

“I was away since the morning; I wasn’t here. I left this world, and had gone to the other world.”

“Elder, how far did you go?”

“Up to the gate (of Paradise).”

“What was the gate like, small, large?”

“The gate is half the size of Heaven. But it is small for the wicked to pass, while for the good it is always open. Inside there are millions of Angels chanting. You should hear the psalmody… it is indescribable. Your mind is carried away. If you hear Angels chanting, a cloud will take you and raise you up; you will look but you will only hear and your soul is totally changed and you cannot remember anything from this world.

“Did you see them, Elder?”

“I did not even enter the gate. I saw them from outside and I heard their beautiful voices. I said, My God, do not deprive me of this great joy. Because, if your mind reaches that gate, you will hear a melody that was never sung in this world. Angels, you see, are bodiless, and their voices do not have the same timbre that ours do. They are so sweet and powerful that, if you hear a thousand Angels chanting, the world is shattered by the sound of their chant. You say, ‘what is that?’ But these things cannot be expressed, do you understand? But you see that they are different; they are angelic and Angels are eternal; they are not ephemeral. They are not like nations, which last for five hundred or one thousand years, and then die out. Angels never die. They are eternal (as our soul). There are some there who shine like the sun, such as Parthenia (the reposed abbess of Dadiou Monastery). (pp. 54-55)

                                                              

06. “Elder, sometimes unpleasant things are said about a number of Monks on Mt. Athos. What do you think of this?”

“My child, Monks are human beings. There are good ones and bad ones. We shall use the good ones as a compass for our lives, like Elder Paisios, Elder Porphyrios and Elder Iakovos. We are not worthy to judge anyone, not even the bad ones. A sinner can say tomorrow, ‘I have sinned’, and then God forgives him and he goes to Heaven faster than you. For that reason, you should not judge anyone.” (p. 56)

                                                              

07. “George, pray to the Lord to show you Hell instead of Heaven, so that you may be saved.

“Elder, have you seen Hell?”
“Yes. An Angel of the Lord took me there and I saw how Hell was. You cannot imagine what goes on there. And everyone thinks that these are just stories. (pp. 64-65)

                                                              

08. God has Greece as His home. Greece is the best place on earth. We are blessed. But leaders often confuse things. Leaders must be practicing Orthodox Christians; otherwise, they cause confusion within the nation. (p. 79)

                                                              

09. Greece will never be occupied by a foreign nation! God gives so much power to Greece in times of war that it is incredible. They will not enter. No state can take the body of Greece and make it go where it pleases. This is written from above; it does not come from men. (p. 79)

                                                              

10. Do not be afraid of anything! Do you understand what powers come from above? You do not see them. Do not be afraid of anything! (p. 79)

                                                              

11. The All-Holy Mother of God (in Greek, Panagia) is the only human being who was born according to all the rules and laws of human nature, but her body was translated. There is no trace of it on earth (in the ground). And she will not be judged at the Second Coming. She is higher than the Angels and all the Saints. (p. 87)

                                                              

12. Know that many Saints invisibly descend and help us. God does not permit us to see them, but we have many Saints beside us every day. (p. 87)

                                                              

13. No one, rich or poor, lives without trials. At night I leave with my spirit and wander around the whole world, and there is no man -no one, hear me- who does not experience trials. We shall pay for it in this life, all of us, because God wants us pure in the next. He wants to lessen our sins. (p. 87)

                                                              

14. You have to speak to everyone lovingly, but seek fellowship with those who are tuned to the same frequency. (p. 94)

                                                              

15. The faithful are like fire and the faithless are like ice. Fire, which is love, melts ice, while ice can neither melt nor burn fire. We must increase this flame and not extinguish it. How? With prayer. And we shall see all people as images (icons=εικόνες in Greek) of God. (p. 94)

                                                              

16. The Catholics (Roman Catholic hierarchy) cannot change. The “other one” (the devil) has them bound “that way” (and elder made a gesture). They are in the hands of the evil one. The Catholics are in heresy!

                                                              

17. When the soul that is saved prepares to leave the body, from matter, it sees its Angel and calmly departs from the body. On the 40th day the Angel presents the soul to the Lord. But the soul that will not be saved sees the evil one and hides within matter; and there begins such a struggle, that a priest is required to read prayers so that the soul can depart through prayer. It fiercely struggles; it is a very difficult time.

                                                              

18. You are constantly distressed and that, my child, is not good. Beware of it. God wishes us to be full of joy; he does not want distress. Pray as much as you can. God hears even the little that you pray. It is not worth it to be distressed in this world. Do you know that? Rejoice dear mother, and do not worry. Do not grow faint because of things you cannot control. (p. 100)

                                                              

19. When you put the Gospel into practice with asceticism, you will first acquire “leaves”, then the “seed” and later, the “entire wheat”. Afterwards, God, instead of you, will harvest the fruits, because it is with His Grace that this happened. Nothing is ours and nothing happens with our own powers. (p. 104)

                                                              

20. When man puts into practice the will of God, as much as this is possible, he shall find, at least, some courage and comfort from God. (p. 104)

                                                              

21. When we frequently confess our thoughts (in Greek, logismoi) to our Spiritual Father, the Grace of God comes and heals us. (p. 104)

                                                              

22. We priests have to speak to people about practical virtues, not “philosophies”. We must help them find the path, but not with theoretical and festal preaching. I am illiterate, but people love me because I talk about their practical and everyday problems. When you speak in a manner that is easily understandable, then many will come to hear you. (p. 104)

                                                              

23. In this world we live among beasts. This is why we need a steady faith in Christ. The demons maniacally war against us because we want to be saved. I wanted to open a portico so you can see the damned. They weep and wail incessantly. Because Hell will not be for one hundred or five hundred years, but forever. (p. 105)

                                                              

24. Fasting and prayer was the way of the Saints. Prayer must be accompanied by physical labor. We cannot lift someone who has fallen unless we stretch out our hand. The same applies to prayer: Human effort is required for it to be effective. (p. 105)

                                                              

25. Keep fasts with moderation, with a little vigil and prayer. We cannot reach the level of the early Church Fathers, but let us make a little more effort to awaken our spirit (in Greek, pneuma). Priests and monks must have these virtues. (p. 105)

                                                              

26. Sicknesses are often the result of either spiritual or bodily sins. God is not a sadist when he chastises us but a philanthropist (lover of mankind). It is out of philanthropy that He sends ailments, so that we may repent and be saved. He gives them to cleanse us: This is how supremely good he is. The big problem among people is sickness.

                                                              

Older photo of the Dadiou Monastery

27. Do not be afraid of thoughts (in Greek, logismoi). Satan is slaughtered by the Jesus Prayer (i.e. Lord, Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner). But you need to be patient and persistent. You should strive to pray, and do not worry if subtle and obscene thoughts come. When you finish praying, all these thoughts will have gone away. (p. 107)

                                                              

28. Troubleshooting (bad) thoughts (in Greek, logismoi) requires unyielding resistance. In the Parable of the Supper told to us by Christ, someone says to him: “I have bought five yokes of oxen.” These five yokes of oxen are the five senses, which we must guard using the Jesus Prayer. Satan strikes us every hour and he finds us vulnerable. For example, one of Christ’s commands is to not desire another’s wife when we see her. Satan then sows the (evil) thought and we, when we are not careful, we immediately assent (in Greek, synkatathesis) to it. And this assent causes sadness in our soul. Our Fathers guarded against thoughts their whole lives. This requires effort and patience. Of course, we have to humble the flesh through fasting in order to weaken them. Maybe one of those thoughts leads one to sin, and if one does not repent, he will be punished. And someone can repent after falling into sin, but the scars will remain and he will feel wounded. (pp. 107-108)

                                                              

29. The Christian does not wait for the appearance of Antichrist in order to do battle; he is already at war. The Apostle Paul says that the gifts (in Greek, charismata) of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, faith and temperance (self-control). But also, Christ says that passions (in Greek -singular-, pathos) dwell within a person’s soul: anger, murder, fornication, adultery, debauchery, impudence, disorder and quarreling. Satan strikes us every hour and incites these passions; but we do not take notice because we do not see him. We assent (in Greek, have synkatathesis) and the evil spirit continues to tempt us.

Therefore, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit only when we battle against the passions that dwell within us. (p. 109)

                                                              

30. When the Antichrist comes and begins to act, people will become violent. But Christ will take care to nourish his children, as he did for the Israelites in the desert. I remember that on Mt. Athos, before the war in 1940, the Monks used to eat small radicchios along with all other foodstuffs. But during the famine, God increased the size of the radicchios so much that they reached almost one meter and they were very tender. It was these that the Monks ate and did not starve to death. God will also provide for us during the time of Antichrist. (p. 109)

                                                              

31. The faithful children will preach Him where you do not expect. And do not search among the plutocrats in order to find these children who seek after the Lord. They will be found among humble families and from there will diamonds spring forth. (p. 109)

                                                              

32. Those things which our eyes will see and our ears will hear from now on will have never been seen or heard before.

Many shocking things will occur in the next twenty years. For example, the Europeans will seek to abolish the avaton (the prohibition of women) on Holy Mountain, Athos. (p. 109)

                                                              

33. May God protect us from earthquakes. Because the palaces that you see will be demolished; not even one shall remain standing. (p. 110)

                                                              

34. There will come a time when we will press a button and begin to fly. We will not need transportation; no car, nothing. (p. 110)

                                                              

35. The divine Paul says that there will come a time, and we are now living in that time, where people will apostatize from their faith in God and will return to their ancient religion, to the gods of deceit. They shall bring back the worship of the twelve Olympian gods. And this has already begun. A certain Organization began it and its members are going to Mt. Olympus to prepare for the worship of the twelve Olympian gods. He says that they will return to the ancient religion, which was (in fact) atheism, and people will lose their humanity, the truth. They will lose their sincerity; they will lose their faith. People will no longer have faith. For every thousand people you will find only one who will speak the truth and the rest will call him insane. How much will things change! And they will grow worse over time… (p. 110)

                                                              

36. Do you know what will happen then? When you walk down the street there will be someone without money but with a debt that he will never be able to pay. If he learns that you have property or goods, he will walk beside you and stab you with a stiletto and kill you. These will occur before the last days.

You will not escape it, he will slaughter you in the street and take whatever you have on you and then he will leave. You should see what happens next! Others will pass by and not even take notice of you: “So he killed you.” They will pass by as if nothing happened and go about their business. Because they will be the same as that murderer.

This terrible situation will arrive in the last days. (p. 110)

                                                              

37. Wars will occur everywhere. Greece will not get mixed up in any of them and she will experience small losses. But there will be poverty and famine; the borders will close. You will still be alive; I will not. You will live to remember it.

At that time, two million Greeks will remain faithful to the Lord. There will be martyrs from among those faithful. The true Christian must have faith, love, sincerity, justice and philanthropy (love for mankind). (p. 111)

                                                              

38. In the last days, Christians will walk as the Lord will specifically command them at that time... But the Lord will be there and will not abandon them. He will help us in everything. He will not leave us; you can be sure of this and believe it. That is why in those days we must have FAITH! (p. 111)

                                                              

39. He said that there is a great value in going to church for Saturday Vespers, which is the first service of the following day and week. And we begin with a doxology to the Lord and with love to the Saint of the day. If we cannot go, we can turn on the radio to listen to the service. Because, after Vespers, all the Angels leave and ascend to the Lord so they can return at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday.

He stressed that the Lord is pleased when we go to church willingly. We are then raised to the throne of God. That is why we must be serious, we must be present and attend carefully to the Divine Liturgy; we must not talk and we must pray noetically (in our mind and heart). The evil one wages a fierce war to distract us from prayer, from seeking, from being good, from being as we should be before God.

When we hear “Let us attend” during the service, we should ask of the Lord. Because, at that moment, He comes out from the Royal Doors of the Altar waiting for us to ask His help. It is better to say the Creed (the Symbol of Faith) inwardly so that we do not disturb anyone.

Also, we should not chant along with the chanters, because someone beside us can be in pain and asking something from the Lord, but not able to do so because we distract him from prayer. We must be careful and respect those beside us. (pp. 115-116)

                                                              

40. He said that the memorial services for the departed of the Ninth Day after the death of the person being commemorated, the Fortieth Day, the Sixth Month, the Ninth Month and the First Year should always be performed, along with the memorial services of the Second and Third Years. Afterwards, future services are optional.

It is said that even the Trisagio (in Greek, Thrice Holy; a small memorial service for the departed) brings comfort to those souls, while sometimes souls can be placed “on stand-by” by the Divine Liturgies for the departed and the Trisagio. (pp. 116-117)

                                                              

41. He stressed that, when temptation comes to our companion, or our co-worker or someone near us, we must be ready to concede to them, because that will put a stop to the temptation and only then will things change. (p. 124)

                                                              

42. He said that the Compline service (Apodeipno in Greek; prayer after dinner) is an umbrella which opens and covers the entire family from the evil spirits that inhabit the night. It even repels thieves; and God shields you in your home. To a woman he insisted that we pray not only in the morning, when we are not tired, but also in the evening, regardless of the toil experienced during the day. He stressed to her:

 “You should try to pray the Compline every night with your children, and one should always read it loudly, while the others will accompany…” Though, this was done with consideration towards others. And so, when she asked what to do with her children since, because of their age and their homework, they could not participate, he replied:

“Then each one should pray it by themselves, rather than not at all. And if you cannot pray the entire Compline, then just say the 50^th Psalm of David (‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy …’)”. (pp. 124-125)

                                                              

43. Our homeland is not here. Here, we are just passing through. We came (were born), we saw and then passed away (departed). But we must leave a mark of our time here. All of us! And what is this mark, my children?

Let the mark be love among us, sincerity, faith, truth and justice. Because, you see, while passing through we also have an enemy of mankind, who comes and attempts with all his might to take over the Earth. The Earth belongs to Heaven and to God, but for a period of time, he (the devil) will also rule over it. He will pass through the Earth and woe unto those who are present during that time.

Yes, he will come and serve us a new law. Not that which our Lord gives us, that is, love, peace, joy, health, forbearance (tolerance), goodness, meekness, faith, temperance (self-control), the gifts (in Greek, charismata) of God, in other words, the Law of God. But he will serve us some other law.

This other law is: not love but hate, not sincerity but dishonesty, not truth but calumny, evil, injustice, covetousness, greed and murder! Who would believe it, here in Greece, that within twenty four hours you find two, three and five murders! It was never like this before. This is how the prophecy is fulfilled, that the people of that time will count others for nothing.

But all that you see has been written. We read it and sins arrive because we, the remaining people, we do not pay enough attention. “Eh, it happened to be in Athens, it happened to be in Thessaloniki, probably something will occur…” But these have been written and they will all come to pass as the fierce demon, that I told you about, comes to dominate the Earth and make his kingdom worldwide.

And that ruler will be the Antichrist, who comes to reign for a little while. He will be the destroyer of mankind, he will overturn the Universe, and he will enforce violence, in order for people to worship him.

For three years he will not leave anything standing, when the time comes. But his passing will be short, to show what is inside his heart, that is, evil. Because the Lord will come and will cleanse everything. He will make everything clean once and for all and He will bring a new order, the eternal one, which will be an unshakeable order, within the hand of the Creator who made man and fashioned Heaven and Earth. (pp. 144-145)

                                                              

44. We are in grievous times, this period in which we live. There were good times, when people lived with love. One protected the other, loved him and helped him in all things in life. Now we are going in the opposite direction. We are not careful about our lives; we do not enjoy life. Unbelief pushes us away from the state of precious truth. If we do not have even a trace of faith in God, whom we are looking for in the darkness, what will (someone like) you find? You will find nothing; you will only fall upon the rocks. Wherever there is a hazard, people fall, because they left aside the most valuable things, our faith in God and love towards our fellow man. Whoever manages to keep these two things, the truth of the Lord and love towards others, he will reach his goal and his destiny on Earth.

When the time comes, he will depart without worry, without affliction, without pain, without disturbance and he will go where it is written (for good people), into the Kingdom of Heaven. He will have as a provision a sack full of goodness and he will carry it with him, to take to the fearsome Judge… (p. 149)

                                                              

45. Jews do not believe in Christ. But the Scriptures say that, in those days, when trials  come upon people and the Beast of the Apocalypse comes, whose name is Antichrist, he will create unimaginable problems upon the Earth and will overturn the Universe. Then the Jews will at first believe in him, that he is the Messiah, he whom they were waiting for; because Antichrist will perform wonders and signs from the sky. He will bring down lightning, he will bring down the clouds and he will perform miracles. Many will believe in those.

But in this condition of the world there will be a great distress. And then, many of them will say: “We were wrong! He is not the Christ, he is Satan.” And they will return -a number of them, not all- and they will come to believe in the true Christ. Then, in those days, the world will end and the history of mankind will come to a stop. The Lord will change the Universe. Things will progress in this way and God’s decision concerning them will be final. On the day when the Lord comes (again), Antichrist will be abolished and placed back into the fire which burns eternally and he will never come out of it. (pp. 158-159)

                                                              

46. “If one does not fall into sins of the flesh, but sins in thought, what happens?”

“The sin is lighter and God forgives him. But if it enters the mind, surely it will also descend into the heart and then we will commit the act. It is very difficult for this not to occur, if it remains in the mind. That is why we must guard the lanterns of our soul (the senses), because sin enters through them”

“Elder, what is happening now?”

“Now is the time of crisis. People do not listen. They are tending evermore towards evil. It is difficult to mend our ways again, to have a window, a door open towards goodness, towards love. You see, this is a serious problem.”

“Will a great evil arrive?”

“Woes will most definitely come.”

“And to us, in Greece?”

“Yes, in Greece as well. We will have calamities: Sickness. Sickness will sweep across cities.”

“Only this; will there be anything else?”

“For now, only this. You do not want anything worse than sickness.” (p. 162)

                                                              

47. A war with another nation has an expiry date. But the war against Satan does not; it lasts until our death. Now all of Satan’s armies have been let loose in world and are leading people to destruction with all the means he has at his disposal. You are either with God or with Satan. (p. 170)

                                                              

48. “Do you know where Satan is?” He is in the lake of fire and in darkness. And he wants to draw all people there too. This is why he does these things. When he makes his appearance he will cause damage for three and a half years, where he will reign, and another twenty, where the preparation will be made. He will rule for three and a half years, as a global dictator, and will overturn the Universe. He will not leave anything standing. Later though, the Lord will sweep him away once and for all. The Lord will destroy him.”

“Doesn’t the Lord pity us, Elder, regarding Satan overturning everything?”

“Yes, He does, but I do not see you doing a little prayer.”  (p. 170)

                                                              

49. When I experience a problem and say to God, “Thy will be done,” and I mean it, how can I then tell Him what I want?” Is this correct?”

“You should only say, “Thy will be done”! (p. 174)

                                                              

50. Once, a spiritual child of Father Ambrosios asked Abbess Parthenia to reveal “something powerful” about the Elder. She granted his favor by replying as follows:

“Once, when we were at the monastery, we heard some loud knocking on door. It was about three or four o’clock in the morning. We were worried and frightened, but the Elder told us to open the door and so we did. We saw a young man, about twenty years of age, crippled and on a bed. His mother and father were with him, along with an uncle and one other person. They said, “We came to ask you to pray for us, because we believe that God will help our son.” The Elder opened the church and they went inside.

After one hour, they saw the young man getting up, carrying his bed and walking just as we read in the Bible concerning the paralytic that the Lord healed.

Afterwards, they venerated the All Holy  Mother of God (in Greek, Panagia), thanking her in front of her miracle-working icon and, thanking the Elder, they received his blessing and departed.” (p. 179) 

                                                              

51. “You my child, cover your lanterns quickly.”

“What do you mean, Elder?”

“Your eyes! I see a dragon inside!”

“Yes, Elder, you are right. I am looking where I should not,” he sincerely admitted.

“Where are you from?”

“I am from such and such city in Northern Greece.”

“That is not your home. It is elsewhere,” the Elder pointed upwards. “You will live to be eighty years old, and know that, ten years from now, a crisis will fall upon Greece which will lead to famine. And you will help people…” (p. 259)

                                                              

52. From Dr. John Papagiannopoulos (General Practioner):

I have benefited a lot from the Elder, because he came into my life during a very difficult time. I had returned from Germany in 1992 and, in addition to dealing with many personal problems, I got mixed up with a branch of Hinduism and practiced a system of meditation called Yoga.

The Elder sat and spoke with me for many hours and I did not tell him of anything negative that I had done. One day, as we were discussing, he asked me:

“When you are doing your meditation, what do you see?”

“When I am concentrated, Elder, I see a beautiful light,” I answered.

“And exactly how is this light?”

“Around it there is darkness, but in the centre there is a beautiful light.” As soon as the Elder heard this, he jumped up and said to me,

“Eh, John, this light … do you not know how “the Light” (of God) really is? There is not even a single point of darkness in “the Light". It is endless, without a trace of darkness anywhere.” I was stunned.

“So what is it that I see?” I asked, wanting to learn more.

“I do not know what it is, but it is not the light of God. God’s light is entirely light.” And he described this light to me as if I were seeing it that very moment.

For a little while longer, I continued to tell the Elder my views concerning what I learned in this branch of Hinduism. He slowly turned me around. He continued to speak to me, with words and, chiefly, by example, and within a few months - without saying to me, “turn away from it” - I left that branch entirely.

He helped me to see that I was deluded. He cared for me as if I were his own son. He always showed me love.

He never made me feel bad, though he had every reason to, the main one being that I had distanced myself from the Church in those years - until he brought me back. (p. 306)

                                                              

53. The time is coming, in our days, when one brother will eat the flesh of another brother. These things will come galloping so fast that we will not have time to react… (p. 311)

                                                              

Prophetic quotations of Elder Ambrosios (2) in pdf 

 

Translated from Greek to English in October 2012

Leontios Monahos Dionysiates

More Interesting texts in English: www.imdleo.gr/diaf/files/english/en_gen.htm

 

Prophetic quotations of Elder Ambrosios (1)

Prophetic quotations of Elder Ambrosios (1) in pdf