Elder Arsenios the Cave Dweller ( el, Γέρων Αρσένιος ο Σπηλαιώτης;

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...

, 1886 –

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

, 1983) was a Greek Orthodox monk and elder.Monk Joseph Dionysaitis. ''Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller (1886–1983): Fellow Ascetic of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.'' Transl. Angela Georgiou. 2005. He was the primary companion of St.

Joseph the Hesychast Saint Joseph the Hesychast ( el, Άγιος Ιωσήφ ο Ησυχαστής; born Francis Kottis, el, Φραγκίσκος Κόττης; Lefkes, Paros, February 12, 1897 – Mount Athos, August 15, 1959) was a Greek Orthodox monk and elder who ...

for about 40 years. The two of them lead a small entourage of disciples.

Biography

He was born as Anastasios in 1886 to Demetrius and Sotiria Galanopoulos, in

, northern Anatolia. When he was 12 years old, he was taken by his family to the Caucasus due to the Turkish persecution of

Pontic Greeks The Pontic Greeks ( pnt, Ρωμαίοι, Ρωμίοι, tr, Pontus Rumları or , el, Πόντιοι, or , , ka, პონტოელი ბერძნები, ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group in ...

. As a result of his Pontic Greek background, he spoke

Pontic Greek Pontic Greek ( pnt, Ποντιακόν λαλίαν, or ; el, Ποντιακή διάλεκτος, ; tr, Rumca) is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, ...

rather than standard Greek, as well as Turkish and Russian. In his early days, Elder Arsenios served at the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

and other holy shrines in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He later moved to

, where he stayed for a few years at Stavronikita Monastery. During his time at Stavronikita, he met

on the summit of Mount Athos during the Feast of the Transfiguration. From then on, Joseph the Hesychast became his lifelong companion. The two of them practiced

hesychast Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took it ...

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

on the slopes of Mount Athos. Since they often dwelled in caves, they were both known by the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

cave dweller A cave dweller, or troglodyte, is a human being who inhabits a cave or the area beneath the overhanging rocks of a cliff. Prehistory Some prehistoric humans were cave dwellers, but most were not (''see'' ''Homo'' and Human evolution). Such ...

" ( el, Σπηλαιώτης); his companion

is also known as "Joseph the Hesychast and Cave-Dweller". Elder Arsenios lived with Joseph the Hesychast at the Skete of St. Basil for nearly 20 years, then moved down to live at Little St. Anne's Skete from 1938 to 1953. After 1953, they moved further down to the

New Skete New Skete may refer to: * New Skete (Mount Athos), Greece *New Skete (New York) New Skete is the collective term for two Orthodox Christian monastic communities in Cambridge, New York (geographically in the Town of White Creek): *The Monks of ...

. Several years after the death of

in 1959, Elder Arsenios moved from the New Skete to a cell at

Hilandar Monastery The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...

known as Burazeri, where he lived for 12 years. In 1980, he moved to Dionysiou Monastery. Arsenios the Cave-Dweller''. OrthodoxWiki''. He died on 15 September 1983 (or 2 September 1983 according to the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

References

External links

* Arsenios the Cave-Dweller at OrthodoxWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenios The Cave Dweller 1886 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Christian mystics Christian ascetics Athonite Fathers Eastern Orthodox mystics Eastern Orthodox monks Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Hesychasts Saints of modern Greece Pontic Greeks People from Samsun People associated with Hilandar Monastery Disciples of Joseph the Hesychast People associated with Dionysiou Monastery People associated with Stavronikita Monastery

Biography

See also

References

External links