St. Cuv. Paisie Aghiorit, 32 years since passing to the Lord: A beacon of contemporary Orthodoxytranslated

Sunday marks the 32nd anniversary of the passing to the Lord of Saint Paisius the Aghiorite, one of the most beloved saints of contemporary Orthodoxy, known for his ascetic life, spiritual discernment and sacrificial love towards people.

Saint Paisius was born on July 25, 1924, in Farasa Cappadocia, receiving the name Arsenie at Baptism, after Saint Arsenius the Cappadocian, who prophesied to his parents that the baby would become a monk. After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, his family settled in Greece, where the future saint spent his childhood and youth.

During the civil war in Greece he served in the military as a transmissionist (reasons for which he later became the protector of the Greek military transmissionists), and in 1953 he entered the community of the Sphigmenu Monastery in the Holy Mount Athos.

Hermit in Athos and Sinai After his monasticism at the Philoteu Monastery, he received the name Paisie and led a life of hardship in Athos, Sinai and other hermitage places, being sought by thousands of believers for advice and spiritual strengthening.

Although he constantly sought silence and anonymity, God gave him the grace of foresight,…