Venerable Gregory the Sinaite ("the Younger" epithet unconfirmed as a distinct saint)

Venerable Gregory was born around 1268 in the coastal settlement of Clazomenae near Smyrna in Asia Minor, into a wealthy family. As a young man he was taken captive by Turkish (Hagarene) raiders; after being ransomed, he took monastic vows on Cyprus. He labored at St. Catherine's Monastery on Sinai (hence his epithet "the Sinaite"), then on Crete, and finally on Mount Athos, where he visited all the monasteries and ascetics, absorbing the accumulated monastic tradition. He built a hesychasterion in a remote location on Athos and became the central figure in the 14th-century revival of the Jesus Prayer and hesychast contemplative theology, extending this revival also to the Paroria monastery in Bulgaria, which he himself founded. He trained many disciples who themselves became renowned saints (including St. Nicodemus of Tismana), and left behind an ascetic literary legacy (chapters on prayer, the commandments, etc.). He died peacefully at the Paroria monastery he had founded.

NOTE ON IDENTITY: a targeted check found NO source confirming the existence of a separate saint, distinct from the well-known Gregory the Sinaite, bearing the epithet "the Younger" — none of the major sources (ru.wikipedia.org, drevo-info.ru, azbyka.ru, patriarchia.ru, days.pravoslavie.ru) identifies such a figure. The date November 27, originally in the entry, is not confirmed by any source and likely represents contamination; the correct commemoration date of Venerable Gregory the Sinaite is August 8/21. The entry has been corrected to describe the REAL, sole Gregory the Sinaite.