Paisios of Mount Athos


Saint Paisios of Mount Athos was a Greek Eastern Orthodox ascetic from Mount Athos, originally from Pharasa, Cappadocia. Today, he is widely venerated by Eastern Orthodox Christians, particularly in Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro and Syria.
Paisios was canonized on 13 January 2015 by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the church commemorates his feast day on July 12 |June 29 / July 12 .

Biography

Early life

Arsenios Eznepides was born on 7 August 1924 in Pharasa, Cappadocia, during the Greece and Turkey">Church of Greece">Greece and Turkey. Arsenios' name was given to him by Arsenios the Cappadocian, who baptised him, naming the child for himself and foretelling Arsenios' monastic future. After the exchange, the Eznepides family settled in Konitsa, Epirus. Arsenios grew up there, and after intermediate public school, he learned carpentry.

Military service

During the civil war in Greece, Arsenios served as a radio operator. In 1945, Arsenios enlisted in the Hellenic Army. With bravery and self-sacrifice, he requested to fight on the front line instead of family men, so that their families would not suffer the pain of losing a loved one. Later, extolling the value of monasticism to some who doubted it, he said that "there are monks who have spiritual television and are God's radio operators." He is characterized in his biography as one of them. His fundamental teaching was: "If you want to 'catch' God so He can hear you when you pray, turn the dial to humility, for this is the frequency on which God operates." In 2017, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, he was proclaimed the patron saint of the military communications corps, in which he had served.

Monastic life

In 1950, having completed his service, he went to Mount Athos: first to Fr. Kyril, the future abbot of Koutloumousiou Monastery, and then to Esphigmenou Monastery.
Arsenios, having been a novice for four years, was tonsured a Rassophore monk on 27 March 1954, and was given the name Averkios.
Soon after, Averkios went to the idiorrhythmic brotherhood of Philotheou monastery, where his uncle was a monk. While there, he was in obedience to Symeon. On 12 March 1957, Symeon tonsured Averkios to the Small Schema, giving him the name Paisios, in honour of the indefatigable Metropolitan of Caesarea, Paisios II, whose native village was Pharasa.
In 1958, Paisios was asked to spend some time in and around his home village so as to support the faithful against the proselytism of Protestant groups. He greatly encouraged the faithful there, helping many people. Afterwards, in 1962, he left to visit Saint Catherine's Monastery on Sinai where he stayed for two years. During this time he became beloved of the Bedouins who benefited from his presence both spiritually as well as materially as Paisios used the money he received from the sale of his carved wooden handicraft to buy the Bedouins' food.
On his return to Mt. Athos in 1964, Paisios took up residence at the Skete of Iviron before moving to Katounakia at the southernmost tip of Mt. Athos for a short stay in the wilderness there. Paisios' failing health may have been part of the reason for his departure from there. In 1966 he had a lung surgery. It was during this time of hospitalization that his long friendship with the then young sisterhood of St. John the Theologian in Souroti, just outside Thessaloniki, began. Paisios would place the relics of Arsenios the Cappadocian in this monastery. During his operation, he needed a large amount of blood and a group of novices from the monastery donated blood to save him.
1966: On 11 January 1966, Paisios received the Great and Angelic Schema from Tikhon, at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross, of the monastery of Stavronikita. After Tikhon's death on 10 September 1968, Fr. Paisios resided in that hermitage.
In 1968 he spent time at the Monastery of Stavronikita.
Gabriel of the Cell of St. Christodoulos of Koutloumousiou Monastery or Philothei of Souroti are disciples of Paisios the Athonite.
In 1979 Paisios moved to Panagouda, a hermitage belonging to Koutloumousiou Monastery. It was here that his renown grew. Between prayer and assisting his visitors, he only rested for two or three hours each night.

Death and burial

On October 5, 1993, Paisios left Mount Athos for medical attention. Despite his wish to be gone for only a few days, he was diagnosed with cancer requiring immediate surgery, and after recovery, he was transferred to the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Souroti. Despite wishing to return to Mount Athos, his health did not allow it and he had to ask for Philothei of Souroti to transmit his wishes of being buried in Souroti to the local metropolitan. The metropolitan agreed.
Paisios died on July 12, 1994, having received Holy Communion the previous day. He was buried on buried in the Monastery of [Saint John the Theologian (Souroti)|Monastery of Saint John the Theologian] in Souroti, Thessaloniki, next to Arsenios of Cappadocia, a saint who Paisios had written a biography on.

Attributed prophecies

A number of geopolitical prophecies have been attributed to Paisios by Hieromonk Makarios of Mount Athos. These include a Turkish invasion of Greece that will lead to the formation of a Greater Greece, and the liberation of other lands including Northern Epirus, the rest of Macedonia, Bithynia, Pontus, Ionia and Constantinople, the return of the descendants of Greek refugees to their places of ancestry and the conversion of a part of the Turks from Islam to Orthodox Christianity. He is regarded to have said "The Turks shall be destroyed. They will be eradicated."
Hieromonk Makarios of Mount Athos claims to have recorded many of Paisios' prophecies and published them in 1990 when Paisios was still alive under the title "Words of Wisdom and Grace of the Elder Paisios the Hagiorite".
Some see many of the Saint's prophecies as having already been fulfilled, including changes to Greek political landscape, Brexit and more.
Rod Dreher compared Paisios's status as a modern mystic in the Eastern Orthodox world to that of Padre Pio in the Catholic world.

Authenticity

Claims of specific geopolitical prophecies attributed to Paisios have been widely criticized for being derived from word of mouth and not being substantiated by credible sources, especially those promoting various forms of alarmism. Some of Paisios' associates have claimed that specific political prophecies attributed to him were never actually said by him, as Paisios was known to have been largely apolitical.
In an official statement by the Esphigmenou Monastery of Mount Athos, the issue was addressed via the following statement: "...Some are reporting catastrophes, let us not do them a favor. The Elder would say that it would be shocking for God to love Greece. The Holy Administration had no monk come forward to tell of such events. Neither the Holy Administration nor the Holy Community of Mount Athos knows of these events."

Legacy and veneration

Canonization

The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate canonized Elder Paisios on 13 January 2015. Paisios' process toward acknowledged sainthood happened quickly according to church standards and was the second-fastest process in recent church history. On Sunday 17 January 2015 many faithful from across the Balkans went on pilgrimage to the monastery in Souroti, which Paisios helped found in 1967; this culminated in five nights of continuous prayers. Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, abbot of St. Catherine's Orthodox Monastery in Egypt's Sinai peninsula since 1973, was also present at the ceremonies.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided at its meeting of 5 May 2015 also to add the name of the Venerable Paisios of Mount Athos to the Menology of the Russian Orthodox Church, establishing his feast day on June 29/July 12, aligning with the Menology of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople during the present century.

Patronages

On Sunday 25 January 2015 the first church in the world to be dedicated to Saint Paisios the Athonite was consecrated in central Limassol, Cyprus, in the neighbourhood of Ekali, across from Tsirion Stadium. The sacred service began at 6 pm with the reception of the holy relics of Hieromartyr Heraclides, Bishop of Tamassos, of Saint Cosmas of Mount Athos, and of the New Martyr George of Cyprus. These were placed respectively in the three altars of the new church, which was thus dedicated to Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia, to Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, and to the holy Martyrs Barachisius and Jonah, given that the church in Pharasa, Cappadocia, which was Arsenios' and Paisios' village and place of birth, was dedicated in honour of the Martyrs Barachisius and Jonah.
On Saturday 11 July 2015, the first church in Greece to be dedicated to Saint Paisios was consecrated in Nea Efesos, Pieria. Metropolitan George of Kitros, Katerini and Platamonas officiated at the thyranoixia or consecration. In 2017 on the feast day of Saint Paisios, Metropolitan Nikolaos of Phthiotis remarked that "Saint Paisios was the saint of the dispirited and of sinners". While Metropolitan Seraphim of Kastoria stated that "Saint Paisios is the response to those who question the presence of God". On Sunday 24 February 2019, the first Athonite church dedicated to St. Paisios the Athonite was consecrated by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Xanthi. The church is located in Kapsala, in the area between Karyes and the monasteries of Pantocrator and Stavronikita, where there used to be a skete.
On October 2, 2023, Saint Paisios was formally declared as the Protector of Australia, and Patron Saint of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia by Archbishop Makarios.

Published works

English (translated)

  • Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian, translated into English and published in 1989 and 2001 by Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Elder Hadji-Georgis the Athonite, translated into English and published in 1996 by Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Athonite Fathers and Athonite Matters, translated into English and published in 1999 by Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Epistles, by Elder Paisios of Mount Athos, translated into English and published in Feb 2002 by Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian", Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece; distributed in the US by Saint [Herman of Alaska Monastery|St. Herman of Alaska Monastery].
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 1: With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 2: Spiritual Awakening, 1999 & 2000.
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 3: Spiritual Struggle, 2001.
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 4: Family Life, 2012.
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 5: Passions and Virtues, 2016.
  • Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 6: On Prayer, 2022.

Greek

  • Λόγοι Ϛʹ· Περί Προσευχής, Ἱερὸν Ἡσυχαστήριον Μοναζουσῶν "Εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης ὁ Θεολόγος". 2012
  • Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ο Αγιορείτης, "Ωφέλιμες Διηγήσεις", Ιερά Μονή Αγίου Ιλαρίωνος Πρόμαχοι Αριδαίας. 2016
  • Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ο Αγιορείτης,
  • "Το Τετράδιο του Γέρωντος Παϊσίου", ed. Protopresbyter Georgios Manos, Ορθόδοξος Κυψέλη, 2009.
  • Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ὁ Ἁγιορείτης, "Ὁ μικρὸς Ἀνθόκηπος - Ἁγιογραφικὰ καὶ πατερικὰ χωρία ἐπιλεγμένα ἀπὸ τὸν Ἃγιο Παΐσιο τὸν Ἁγιορείτη", ed. by Ἱερὸν Ἡσυχαστήριον "Εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης ὁ Θεολόγος". Βασιλικά Θεσσαλονίκης, 2018.
  • "Γέρωντος Παϊσίου Αγιορείτου, Διδαχές και Αλληλογραφία", Εκδόσεις Η Μεταμόρφωσις του Σωτήρος, Μήλεσι. 2007

Orthodox hymns

Apolytikia
Tone 1, To the melody “O citizen of the desert...”
As the Patron, Guardian and Protector of Australia
Tone 5, to the melody: “The Co-eternal Word"