On the evening of July 20th 2024, as the feast of the Prophet Elijah was drawing to a close, Metropolitan Makarios of Sidirokastro officiated at the Post-Festal Vespers at the Monastery of the Prophet Elijah in Kato Poroia, a village in Serres of Greece. There, in an atmosphere of reverence and solemnity, the Metropolitan tonsured two women as nuns. One of these women was named Katherine and she received the Great Schema along with the new name Makrina, while the other was a 23-year-old young woman named Helen Mazlou and she received the Small Schema along with the new name Ypomoni.
The feast drew a large crowd to the monastery that day, most of which were outdoors in the excessive summer heat, and this also is where the tonsurings took place, underneath the pine trees. After the tonsuring, the Metropolitan spoke words of advice and encouragement to the new nuns, and also addressed their Elders, Fathers Ioanikkios Kotsonis and Dositheos. This was followed with a rich feast.
News of this event didn't go public until early September the same year. The reason for this was because Helen Mazlou had acquired about half a million followers on TikTok and YouTube (one of the biggest Greek accounts on the platform) prior to entering a monastery, and suddenly one day disappeared without any announcement. People began making videos trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her. This was until Nun Ypomoni (former Helen Mazlou) herself finally uploaded photos of herself being tonsured a nun on her old Instagram account with 20,000 followers (now nearly 35,000), announcing to them that she goes by the name "Nun Ypomoni now". In the descriptions of her social media accounts, she writes that she loves God and has only left posts related to Christianity.
The 23-year-old musician became famous for the content of her TikTok channel eight years ago in the summer of 2016. Her dance challenges, food experiments, and lip syncs to songs helped her gain massive popularity. She was also a musician and has starred in her own music videos. The total likes of the videos she published exceeded 14 million and many of her followers are wondering why she made this decision. On the other hand, there are not a few who commented on social media that everyone decides for themselves the path in life they wish to follow.
On September 17th, the former Helen Mazlou finally spoke to the media on a Greek morning talk show called Proino SouSou, revealing why she left behind her secular life to become an Orthodox nun.
"I did not know Christ, as I thought. I was catechized through YouTube. I learned from my spiritual father, the Elder Dositheos, things about the Lord. My conscience drew me over time, with Confession and Holy Communion," the 23-year-old nun initially stated.
"Communication with Christ and a life of service are beautiful and I would not change this life for anything. I would tell the young kids to never be ashamed to confess their love and faith in God, to be close to the Church. There is ignorance," added the former TikToker.
"The purpose of mankind is sainthood, that is the purpose of life."
"It was moving, special, the new person came in and the old one left. I am happy with the path I followed. My folks are close to me on this one. I came to know Christ and loved Him, I did not leave the world," she said in conclusion.
Speaking on Eleni Tsolaki's show, the 23-year-old's spiritual father, Elder Dositheos, revealed: "Sister Ypomoni found something much higher, Christ. Wherever Christ is the atmosphere is happy and blessed, it cannot be expressed in words," said the Elder.
"Ypomoni would not change anything in this life, and what awaits her, which is to reach the kingdom of heaven. What she once considered important, now she doesn't want."
Now only three posts can be seen posted on her profile, all three of them being "spiritual uplifting" stories with religious content. Now, as she mentions in a post on Instagram, she is called "Nun Ypomoni", with photos showing her wearing her black robes and being tonsured. There are also quotes from Saint Basil the Great and Saint Seraphim of Sarov.
The feast drew a large crowd to the monastery that day, most of which were outdoors in the excessive summer heat, and this also is where the tonsurings took place, underneath the pine trees. After the tonsuring, the Metropolitan spoke words of advice and encouragement to the new nuns, and also addressed their Elders, Fathers Ioanikkios Kotsonis and Dositheos. This was followed with a rich feast.
News of this event didn't go public until early September the same year. The reason for this was because Helen Mazlou had acquired about half a million followers on TikTok and YouTube (one of the biggest Greek accounts on the platform) prior to entering a monastery, and suddenly one day disappeared without any announcement. People began making videos trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her. This was until Nun Ypomoni (former Helen Mazlou) herself finally uploaded photos of herself being tonsured a nun on her old Instagram account with 20,000 followers (now nearly 35,000), announcing to them that she goes by the name "Nun Ypomoni now". In the descriptions of her social media accounts, she writes that she loves God and has only left posts related to Christianity.
The 23-year-old musician became famous for the content of her TikTok channel eight years ago in the summer of 2016. Her dance challenges, food experiments, and lip syncs to songs helped her gain massive popularity. She was also a musician and has starred in her own music videos. The total likes of the videos she published exceeded 14 million and many of her followers are wondering why she made this decision. On the other hand, there are not a few who commented on social media that everyone decides for themselves the path in life they wish to follow.
On September 17th, the former Helen Mazlou finally spoke to the media on a Greek morning talk show called Proino SouSou, revealing why she left behind her secular life to become an Orthodox nun.
"I did not know Christ, as I thought. I was catechized through YouTube. I learned from my spiritual father, the Elder Dositheos, things about the Lord. My conscience drew me over time, with Confession and Holy Communion," the 23-year-old nun initially stated.
"Communication with Christ and a life of service are beautiful and I would not change this life for anything. I would tell the young kids to never be ashamed to confess their love and faith in God, to be close to the Church. There is ignorance," added the former TikToker.
"The purpose of mankind is sainthood, that is the purpose of life."
"It was moving, special, the new person came in and the old one left. I am happy with the path I followed. My folks are close to me on this one. I came to know Christ and loved Him, I did not leave the world," she said in conclusion.
Speaking on Eleni Tsolaki's show, the 23-year-old's spiritual father, Elder Dositheos, revealed: "Sister Ypomoni found something much higher, Christ. Wherever Christ is the atmosphere is happy and blessed, it cannot be expressed in words," said the Elder.
"Ypomoni would not change anything in this life, and what awaits her, which is to reach the kingdom of heaven. What she once considered important, now she doesn't want."
Now only three posts can be seen posted on her profile, all three of them being "spiritual uplifting" stories with religious content. Now, as she mentions in a post on Instagram, she is called "Nun Ypomoni", with photos showing her wearing her black robes and being tonsured. There are also quotes from Saint Basil the Great and Saint Seraphim of Sarov.
