Paisios of Mount Athos

Description

Handmade and Hand Painted Icon
This icon is a work of Christian art and is a Holy religious item blessed from Christian Church.
Is entirely hand painted on a piece of wood the dimensions are 30cm x 24cm x 1.7 – 11.811 ” x 9.45″ x 0.7″ inches and the materials used for painting are eggtempera and gold leaf 24k.
The Icons have a 24k gold leaf in the halos and the ocher background colour is with egg tempera.
Every Holy Icon takes to complete 10 to 15 days depending on the size and type of the background.
The HolySpiritArt retains sole rights to reproduce these images, all of which are copyrighted.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos – Saint Paisios – Païssios du Mont Athos – San Paisios – Padre Paisios -Handmade and Hand Painted Original Icon

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos (Greek: Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ὁ Ἁγιορείτης, pronounced [ˈo:sios pai̯:sios o aɣiori̯◌ːtis]; secular name: Arsenios Eznepidis (Greek: Αρσένιος Εζνεπίδης); 1924–1994), was a well-known Greek Eastern Orthodox ascetic from Mount Athos, originally from Pharasa, Cappadocia. He was respected for his spiritual guidance and ascetic life and many people worldwide highly venerate Elder Paisios, especially in Greece and in Russia.

Venerable Elder Paisios was canonized on 13 January 2015 by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the church commemorates his feast day on June 29 [OS] / July 12 [NS].

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided at its meeting of 5 May 2015 also to add the name of the Venerable Paisios of Mount Athos to the Menology of the Russian Orthodox Church, establishing his feast day on June 29/July 12, aligning with the Menology of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople during the present century.

On 25 July [O.S. 12 July] 1924, Arsenios Eznepidis was born in Pharasa (Çamlıca), Cappadocia, during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Arsenios’ name was given to him by St. Arsenios the Cappadocian, who baptised him, naming the child for himself and foretelling Arsenios’ monastic future. After the exchange, the Eznepidis family settled in Konitsa, Epirus. Arsenios grew up there, and after intermediate public school, he learned carpentry.

Monastic life
In 1950, having completed his service, he went to Mount Athos: first to Father Kyril, the future abbot of Koutloumousiou monastery, and then to Esphigmenou Monastery (although he was not supportive of their later opposition to the Ecumenical Patriarchate).[citation needed]

Arsenios, having been a novice for four years, was tonsured a Rassophore monk on 27 March 1954, and was given the name Averkios.

Soon after, Father Averkios went to the (then) idiorrhythmic brotherhood of Philotheou monastery, where his uncle was a monk. While there, he was in obedience to Elder Symeon. On 12 March 1957, Elder Symeon tonsured Father Averkios to the Small Schema, giving him the name Paisios, in honour of the indefatigable Metropolitan of Caesarea, Paisios II, whose native village was Pharasa.

In 1958 Elder Paisios was asked to spend some time in and around his home village 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 Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Sinai where he stayed for two years. During this time he became beloved of the Bedouins who benefited from his presence both spiritually as well as materially as the Elder used the money he received from the sale of his carved wooden handicraft to buy the Bedouins’ food.[citation needed]

On his return to Mt. Athos in 1964 Elder Paisios took up residence at the Skete of Iviron before moving to Katounakia at the southernmost tip of Mt. Athos for a short stay in the wilderness there. The Elder’s failing health may have been part of the reason for his departure from there. In 1966 he had an operation to remove part of his lungs. 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 Thessaloniki, began. During his operation, he needed a large amount of blood and a group of novices from the monastery donated blood to save him.[citation needed]

St. Paisios (left) stands beside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
In 1968 he spent time at the Monastery of Stavronikita.