From the new book, Precious Vessels of the Holy
Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece, by H.
Middleton.
On July 25, 1924, the future
Elder Paisios (Eznepidis) was born to pious parents in the town of Farasa,
Cappadocia of Asia Minor. The family’s spiritual father, the priest-monk
Arsenios (the now canonized St. Arsenios of Cappadocia), baptized the babe with
his own name, prophesying his future profession as a monk. A week after the
baptism (and barely a month after his birth) Arsenios was driven, along with
his family, out of Asia Minor by the Turks. St. Arsenios guided his flock along
their four-hundred-mile trek to Greece. After a number of stops along the way,
Arsenios’ family finally ended up in the town of Konitsa in Epiros
(northwestern Greece). St. Arsenios had reposed, as he had prophesied, forty
days after their establishment in Greece, and he left as his spiritual heir the
infant Arsenios.
The young Arsenios was wholly given over to God and spent his free time in
the silence of nature, where he would pray for hours on end. Having completed
his elementary education, he learned the trade of carpentry. He worked as a
carpenter until his mandatory military service. He served in the army during
the dangerous days of the end of World War II. Arsenios was brave and
self-sacrificing, always desiring to put his own life at risk so as to spare
his brother. He was particularly concerned about his fellow soldiers who had
left wives and children to serve.
Having completed his obligation to his country, Arsenios received his
discharge in 1949 and greatly desired to begin his monastic life on the Holy
Mountain. Before being able to settle there, however, he had to fulfill his
responsibility to his family, to look after his sisters, who were as yet
unmarried. Having provided for his sisters’ future, he was free to begin his
monastic vocation with a clean conscience. In 1950 he arrived on Mount Athos,
where he learned his first lessons in the monastic way from the virtuous
ascetic Fr. Kyril (the future abbot of Koutloumousiou Monastery); but he was
unable to stay at his side as he had hoped, and so was sent to the Monastery of
Esphigmenou. He was a novice there for four years, after which he was tonsured
a monk in 1954 with the name Averkios. He was a conscientious monk, finding
ways to both complete his obedience's (which required contact with others) and
to preserve his silence, so as to progress in the art of prayer. He was always
selfless in helping his brethren, unwilling to rest while others worked (though
he may have already completed his own obedience's), as he loved his brothers
greatly and without distinction. In addition to his ascetic struggles and the
common life in the monastery, he was spiritually enriched through the reading
of soul-profiting books. In particular, he read the Lives of the Saints, the
Gerontikon, and especially the Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the
Syrian.
Soon after his tonsure, Monk Averkios left Esphigmenou and joined the (then)
idiorrhythmic brotherhood of Philotheou Monastery, where his uncle was a monk.
He put himself under obedience to the virtuous Elder Symeon, who gave him the
Small Schema in 1956, with the new name Paisios. Fr. Paisios dwelt deeply on
the thought that his own spiritual failures and lack of love were the cause of
his neighbor’s shortcomings, as well as of the world s ills. He harshly accused
himself, pushing himself to greater self-denial and more fervent prayer for his
soul and for the whole world. Furthermore, he cultivated the habit of always
seeking the "good reason" for a potentially scandalous event and for
people’s actions, and in this way he preserved himself from judging others. For
example, pilgrims to Mount Athos had been scandalized by the strange behavior
and stories told by a certain monk, and, when they met Elder Paisios, they
asked him what was wrong with the monk. He warned them not to judge others, and
that this monk was actually virtuous and was simply pretending to be a fool
when visitors would come, so as to preserve his silence.
In 1958 Elder Paisios was asked to spend some time in and around his home
village of Konitsa 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 Sinai where he stayed for two
years. During this time he became beloved of the Bedouins, who benefitted both
spiritually as well as materially from his presence. The Elder used the money
he received from the sale of his carved wooden handicrafts to buy them food.
On his return to Mount Athos in 1964, Elder Paisios took up residence at the
Skete of Iviron before moving to Katounakia at the southernmost tip of Mount
Athos for a short stay in the desert there. The Elder’s failing health may have
been part of the reason for his departure from the desert. In 1966, he was
operated on and had part of his lungs removed. 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 of Thessalonica, began. During his
operation he greatly needed blood and it was then that a group of novices from
the monastery donated blood to save him. Elder Paisios was most grateful, and
after his recovery did whatever he could, materially and spiritually, to help
them build their monastery.
In 1968 he spent time at the Monastery of Stavronikita helping with its
spiritual as well as material renovation. While there he had the blessing of
being in contact with the ascetic Elder Tychon who lived in the hermitage of
the Holy Cross, near Stavronikita. Elder Paisios stayed by his side until his
repose, serving him selflessly as his disciple. It was during this time that
Elder Tychon clothed Fr. Paisios in the Great Schema. According to the wishes
of the Elder, Fr. Paisios remained in his hermitage after his repose. He stayed
there until 1979, when he moved on to his final home on the Holy Mountain, the
hermitage Panagouda, which belongs to the Monastery of Koutloumousiou.
It was here at Panagouda that Elder Paisios’ fame as a God-bearing elder
grew, drawing to him the sick and suffering people of God. He received them all
day long, dedicating the night to God in prayer, vigil and spiritual struggle.
His regime of prayer and asceticism left him with only two or three hours each
night for rest. The self-abandon with which he served God and his fellow man,
his strictness with himself, the austerity of his regime, and his sensitive
nature made him increasingly prone to sickness. In addition to respiratory
problems, in his later days he suffered from a serious hernia that made life
very painful. When he was forced to leave the Holy Mountain for various reasons
(often due to his illnesses), he would receive pilgrims for hours on end at the
women’s monastery at Souroti, and the physical effort which this entailed in
his weakened state caused him such pain that he would turn pale. He bore his
suffering with much grace, however, confident that, as God knows what is best
for us, it could not be otherwise. He would say that God is greatly touched
when someone who is in great suffering does not complain, but rather uses his
energy to pray for others.
In addition to his other illnesses he suffered from hemorrhaging which left
him very weak. In his final weeks before leaving the Holy Mountain, he would
often fall unconscious. On October 5, 1993 the Elder left his beloved Holy
Mountain for the last time. Though he had planned on being off the mountain for
just a few days, while in Thessalonica he was diagnosed with cancer that needed
immediate treatment. After the operation he spent some time recovering in the hospital
and was then transferred to the monastery at Souroti. Despite his critical
state he received people, listening to their sorrow and counseling them.
After his operation, Elder Paisios had his heart set on returning to Mount
Athos. His attempts to do so, however, were hindered by his failing health. His
last days were full of suffering, but also of the joy of the martyrs. On July
11, 1994, he received Holy Communion for the last time. The next day, Elder
Paisios gave his soul into God’s keeping. He was buried, according to his
wishes, at the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Souroti. Elder Paisios,
perhaps more than any other contemporary elder, has captured the minds and
hearts of Greek people. Many books of his counsels have been published, and the
monastery at Souroti has undertaken a great work, organizing the Elder’s
writings and counsels into impressive volumes befitting his memory. Thousands
of pilgrims visit his grave each year, so as to receive his blessing.
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