Memories of Greece: St. John the Theologian Monastery, Souroti, Thessaloniki

by Catherine Tsounis

Local Greek travel tours visit beautiful monasteries. On a recent to work, I visited the St. John the Theologian monastery at Souroti, a neighborhood of Thessaloniki , in Macedonia. Buses lined the parking lot. Pilgrims went to venerate the tomb of St.Paisios, a humble ascetic monk of Mount Athos, the Eastern Orthodox Holy Mountain in northern Greece. St. Paisios was known for his charisma and for performing miracles.

The grounds of the monastery were beautifully landscaped with flowers. The architecture followed the Eastern Mediterranean style, featuring columns. A very pleasant nun guided us and helped us visit St. Paisios’ grave. Her warmth and hospitality, with a smile, impressed me. No one asked us for money.

St. Paisios has an incredible story. He was born in 1924 in Pharasa, Cappadocia, Türkiye. His birth name was Arsenios Eznepides. He was the son of a prominent family. Five weeks after his baptism, the Eznepides family was forced to move to Greece due to the population exchange between Greece and Türkiye. They settled in Konitsa, Epirus. He was trained as a carpenter. He fought in 1945 and the Greek Civil War, serving as a radio operator. He entered Mount Athos and became an ascetic monk. He passed away in 1994. Pilgrims from Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Syria visit his tomb at the St. John the Theologian Monastery in Souroti.

Why is this ascetic monk beloved and recognized as a saint? He was a man of the people, helping individuals from all walks of life, regardless of class or faith. The Bedouins loved the saint when he was at Mount Sinai, Egypt. He supported them financially by selling food and wooden carved crosses that he made. He saved many marriages from divorce, providing spiritual guidance to the mentally ill. On January 21, 2015, he was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 2017, the Orthodox Church of Greece canonized St.Paisios the patron saint of the Military Division of Communications.1 Visiting this popular site of Eastern Orthodoxy gave me valuable insight into the life of a truly devout person.