By Nicolas Bard

In the picturesque Konitsa Ioannina, in the shadow of the imposing mountain of Trebizitsa, is the home of St. Paisios. In this simple but beautiful stone -built house, the Elder spent 30 years of his life, and today is a pilgrimage to the faithful, who arrive there from all over Greece and not only. Inside the house there are still many personal belongings of the saint today, as well as black and white photos of various phases of his life. Among them, the first photo sent to his own with Rasa, who wore them as soon as he went to Mount Athos. Next to it is a handwritten letter.
According to the locals, the years he lived there, the saint tried to help his fellow humans in every way. But he always did it silently, with a courtesy and discretion that everyone recognized. As he typically points out in his camera where there is a Greece resident who was fortunate enough to meet him when he was 12, their saint went every ten days a food bag that left them at the door of their home. And always go to dawn, so that no one would see it, as they didn’t want to be praised, it helps the poor.

There, then, he grew up with his parents and brothers, there he went to school and learned the art of the carpenter. His family was ten -member (he had 8 other brothers) and quite poor. There was not enough bed room at home, so in the early years he was sleeping. But he never complained and went on with excess love and hope in his daily life. There is also a black and white photo on the walls of the house, which is an infant and his mother holds him in his arms. Those who met him closely speak of a saint, bright and insightful man who always prayed and fought for the good of the rest.
Arsenios Eznepidis first entered Mount Athos to unite in 1949, shortly after his dismissal from the army. But he returned to the secular for another year to restore his sisters, and in 1950 returned to the Virgin Mary. Of course, in Mount Athos, he stood out for his hard work, his great love and understanding he showed for his brothers, faithful obedience to his Elder, and his humility, since he considered himself inferior to all the monks in practice. He prayed strongly, and among his favorite readings were the desert fathers and Abbas Isaac the Syrian.

His classification as the Saint of the Orthodox Church was held by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on January 13, 2015 and his memory is celebrated every year on July 12, his sleep date.