Venerable Paisios of Mount Athos

Venerable Paisios of Mount Athos (born Arsenios Eznepidis) was born July 25, 1924, in Farasa, Cappadocia, shortly before the mass population exchange between Greece and Turkey. He served in the army during the Greek Civil War before entering monastic life on Mount Athos. He labored at various sketes and cells of the Holy Mountain, including a cell of Iveron Monastery at Stavronikita and at Panagouda near Koutloumousiou. He became one of the most renowned and beloved confessors of the 20th century, drawing thousands of pilgrims from around the world for spiritual counsel. He left a rich literary legacy — a multi-volume collection of "Words," translated into dozens of languages and among the most widely read books in modern Orthodoxy. He reposed on July 12, 1994, at the Convent of St. John the Theologian in Souroti near Thessaloniki. He was glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on January 13, 2015, and added to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church in May 2015.