PAISIOS OF MOUNT ATHOS

There is a difference in the calendar between the Greek-speaking Orthodox Churches, on the one hand, and the Russian Church, Jerusalem, and Mount Athos, on the other, since the former adhere to the new style, while the latter adhere to the old, i.e., the traditional Julian calendar, the difference between which in the present century is thirteen days. As in life, so in the days of his memory, Saint Paisios became a unifier of contradictions. He lived in our time but was like the ancient ascetics. He died and was glorified according to the days of the modern calendar but is celebrated by the Local Churches on these corresponding days, without any changes.

1 The years of the life of Elder Paisius of Mount Athos: 1924–1994. Just twenty years after his death, on January 13, 2015, he was glorified as a saint. On May 5 of the same year, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church added the name of the new saint to the liturgical calendar. The memory of St. Paisius is celebrated on July 12, the day of his righteous death, and, of course, in January, on the day of his canonization

2 Saint Paisios lived in the world, attended church, and worked. He was then a monk in mainland Greece, on Mount Athos, on Mount Sinai, and again on the Holy Mountain, and finally in the vicinity of Thessaloniki. He knew very well how modern people live, what their spiritual and everyday problems and sorrows are. Even during his lifetime, Saint Paisios received the gift of prophecy, signs, and healing through the grace of God. His entire biography is very well documented, from his military service in his youth to his death from a painful cancer. Many photographs of him have been preserved. In this modern age, we all find special strength in the elder’s teachings.

3 His teachings are simple. They are not theological treatises, but sayings based on his rich personal experience, reminiscent of the biblical books of the Wisdom of Solomon and the Son of Sirach, and, of course, Proverbs. His words are rooted in the thinking of the Church Fathers and embody the ascetic wisdom of the ancient Desert Fathers. It turns out that until recently, Paisius was an ordinary man who lived an exceptionally righteous life, but who lived among us, the people of the twentieth century, and was, in fact, the same age as many of our grandparents. Now he is a saint, dwelling in the Communion of Saints and interceding for the Church and the world before God in Heaven and on Earth.