From Farasa in Cappadocia to the Panagouda on Mount Athos — the most beloved modern saint and the testimonies of his gift.
Saint of Athos · Mount Athos · Panagouda
Saint Paisios the Athonite (born Arsenios Eznepidis) was born in 1924 in Farasa, Cappadocia, and reposed in 1994. He lived as a monk on Mount Athos — at Esphigmenou, Philotheou Monastery, on Sinai, and finally at the Panagouda, a cell of Koutloumousiou Monastery near Karyes, where he stayed from 1979 to 1993.
He became known worldwide for his discernment, his love, and his gift of clairvoyance and foresight. Thousands of pilgrims climbed to the Panagouda for a word with him; many have given testimony to his spiritual guidance and to events that defy rational explanation.
He was canonised in 2015 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate; his feast is celebrated on 12 July. His grave, at the Hesychasterion of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti near Thessaloniki, remains a place of pilgrimage.
In the series On the Paths of Mount Athos, Vasilis Bitsiss camera passes through the Panagouda and records testimonies from elders who knew Saint Paisios personally.
A monk of Mount Athos (1924–1994), from Farasa in Cappadocia, known for his discernment and gift of foresight. He was canonised in 2015.
In 2015 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His feast is on 12 July.
At the Hesychasterion of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, near Thessaloniki.
At Esphigmenou, Philotheou and Sinai, and from 1979 to 1993 at the Panagouda near Karyes.
Saint Paisios spoke in the idiom of a monk, not a geopolitical analyst; sayings attributed to him about nations circulate widely online, often embellished. For what he actually said, the reliable sources are his recorded discourses and the testimonies of those who knew him, rather than viral quotations.
No. Saint Paisios the Athonite was glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2015 and is venerated in the Orthodox Church. He is not a canonised saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
Like the ascetics before him he spoke openly of the inner warfare of the monk — against pride, despair and the passions — and he carried serious illness in his later years, which he bore as part of that struggle.