Feast of Saint Paisius: The most talked about Saint of Orthodoxy

He became widely known for his monastic life and work.

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Saint Paisios was a Greek Cappadocian monk of the 20th century who became widely known for his monastic life and work. His classification as a saint of the Orthodox Church was carried out by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on January 13, 2015 and his memory is celebrated on July 12, the date of his sleep. In 2017, he was declared the patron saint of the military weapon of the Transfers, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Church Greece's.

He was born on July 25, 1924 in Farasa, Cappadocia, and was the son of Prodromos and Eulogia-Eulambia Eznepidis. He had eight other siblings, while his father was the president of the village. On August 7, 1924, a week before the Pharasiotes left for Greece, he was baptized by the parish priest Arsenios, whom the Orthodox Church recognized as a saint in 1986. Arsenios insisted and gave him his own name "to let a monk on his leg", as he had characteristically said.

Five weeks after the baptism of the then little Arsenios, on September 14, 1924, the Eznepidis family, due to the population exchange, together with the caravans of refugees, arrived at the port of Agios Georgios Keratsinis in Piraeus. Then he went to Corfu, where he settled temporarily in the Castle, for a year and a half.

He was then transferred to Igoumenitsa and ended up in Konitsa, where he completed primary school and obtained his high school diploma "with grade eight and excellent conduct". From a young age, he always had a piece of paper with him, on which he recorded the miracles of Saint Arsenios. He showed a particular inclination towards monasticism and ardently desired to become a monk. His parents jokingly told him "grow a beard first and then we'll let you go".

Teenage years and the army

In the time between serving in the army, Arsenios worked as a carpenter. When they asked him to build a coffin, he himself, sharing the family's sadness, but also the poverty of the time, did not ask for money.

In 1948, Arsenios served in the army as a radio operator during the civil war. As long as he wasn't a radio operator, he asked to fight on the front lines. However, he served most of his term as a radio operator. That is why many publications dedicated to the Elder's life refer to him as "God's Radio Operator".

In fact, the Elder using this quality during his military service as an example, answered someone who questioned the usefulness of the solitary life that the monks are "God's radio transmitters", meaning their fervent prayer and their concern for the rest of humanity. He was discharged from the army in 1949.

Monastic Life

Arsenios first entered Mount Athos to monasticism in 1949, immediately after his discharge from the army. But he returned to secularism for another year, in order to restore his sisters, so in 1950 he went to Mount Athos.

Initially he settled in the hermitage of Agios Panteleimonos, in the cell of the Entrances of the Virgin. There he met Father Kyrillos, who was a Professor at the Monastery, and followed him faithfully.

A little later he left the monastery and went to the Monastery of Esfigmenou. There, on March 27, 1954, the ceremony of "blessing" took place and he received his first name, which was Averkios. And there, he immediately stood out for his hard work, the great love and understanding he showed for his brothers, his faithful obedience to his elder, his humility, since he considered himself inferior to all the monks in practice. He prayed fervently. Among his favorite readings were the sayings of the Desert Fathers and Abba Isaac the Syrian.

A little later, he left the Esfigmenou monastery and headed for the Filotheou Monastery, which was a peculiar monastery, where one of his uncles also lived. However, his meeting with the elder Simeon was a catalyst for the course and formation of Paisios' solitary character. On March 3, 1957, he was ordained a "Crusader" and received the "Small Figure". It was then that it was finally named "Paisios", in honor of the Metropolitan of Caesarea Paisios II, who was also his compatriot from Cappadocia.

In 1958, following "inside information", he went to Stomio Konitsis. There he carried out work which concerned the heterodox but also included helping the tortured and poor Greeks, either with charities, or by comforting and supporting them psychologically, with the word of the Gospel. For four years he stayed at the Holy Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Stomio, where he was much loved by the local people for his contribution and character.

In 1962 he went to Mount Sinai, where he stayed for two years in the cell of Saints Galaktionos and Epistemis. He became especially loved by the Bedouins, giving them food with money from the sale of wooden crosses that he made to the pilgrims.

Return to Mount Athos

In 1964 he returned to Mount Athos and stayed at the Skete of the Holy Forerunner of Ibera. At that time he was a subordinate of the Russian monk Tycho, who was an ascetic in the Stavronikitian cell of the Holy Cross until his death in 1968, after which, following Tycho's wish, he stayed in his cell for eleven years. In the same year, he advised one of his closest disciples, Vasilios Gontikakis, to become an abbot to help rebuild the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropigian Monastery of Stavronikita, which was an important step in the revival of monasticism on Athos. Elder Paisius greatly revered his Elder, Tycho, and always spoke fondly of him.

In 1966 he became seriously ill and was admitted to the "Georgios Papanikolaou" Hospital in Thessaloniki. He underwent surgery, resulting in partial removal of the lungs. During the time until he recovered and returned to Mount Athos, he was hosted at the Holy Sanctuary of Agios Ioannis the Evangelist in Souroti. He returned to Mount Athos after his recovery and in 1967 he moved to Katounakia, specifically to the Lavreotiko cell of Ypatiu. Then he was transferred to the Stavronikita Monastery where he significantly helped with manual work, contributing to the renovation of the monastery.

At the end of June his doctors announced that he had two to three weeks to live at most. On Monday July 11 (the feast of Saint Euphemia) he received his last communion kneeling in front of his bed. In the last days of his life he decided not to take drugs or painkillers, despite the horrible pains of his illness. He finally died on Tuesday, July 12, 1994 at 11:00 at the age of 69 and was buried in the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti - Vasilika, Thessaloniki.

For Turkey

Paisios appeared confident that the Greeks would recapture Constantinople. In fact, as Geron had told some students of the Athonia School in the 80s, the happy event would not be long, since "we will take the City and you will live too" and to some others that "the City will be given to us give the Russians, in their war with Turkey, not because they love us, but because this will be their interest. And the Turks will be destroyed, they will be erased from the map, because they are a nation that did not arise from God's blessing."

Regarding Turkey, he believed that "the countdown to its disintegration into 3-4 pieces has already begun. We will get our lands, the Armenians and the Kurds will get theirs again."

Source: Enikos.gr