Georgios Tsibouktzakis was born and raised in the Greek town of Evosmos. The Tsibouktzakis family was poor, so after completing elementary school at age 12, Georgios put his studies aside and took a job in a textile factory.
Young Georgios experienced a religious awakening. After studying at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Georgios decided to go to Israel. Why not? Christianity was born in the land of Israel. The Christian Bible is full of references to Judea (no, there is no mention of “Palestine”). After three years, he became a monk and was given the name Father Germanos. He was ordained a priest and deacon. He was assigned to live at the monastery of St. George, not far from Jerusalem in the Judean desert.
