Orthodox Church marks Saint Paisios feast day on 12 July, alongside Veronica and martyrs Proclus and Hilarius

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

The Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Paisios of Mount Athos on 12 July, the anniversary of his death in 1994 at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, Thessaloniki. Born Arsenios Eznepidis on 25 July 1924 in Farasa, Cappadocia, he was baptised by Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia, who prophesied the child would follow a path of holiness. His family settled in Konitsa, Epirus, after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, where he grew up in poverty and deep faith.

to leave him a monk at my foot

He served in the Greek Army as a radio operator during the Civil War and later embraced monastic life on Mount Athos. Thousands of faithful from Greece and abroad visited his cell seeking counsel, comfort, and prayer. His teaching, marked by simplicity and discernment, continues to inspire believers worldwide. The Ecumenical Patriarchate canonised him on 13 January 2015.

Saint Veronica the bleeding woman

Ecclesiastical tradition identifies Saint Veronica as the woman who suffered from haemorrhaging and was healed by Christ, as recounted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. According to the Synaxarion of Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos, she came from the city of Paneas. In gratitude for her healing, she commissioned a statue of Christ and placed it before her house for veneration. A herb that grew at the statue's base was said to cure various illnesses. She later joined the early Church and lived a holy life, dying peacefully.

Martyrs Proclus and Hilarius

Saints Proclus and Hilarius lived during the persecutions of Emperor Trajan, who ruled from 98 to 117 AD. Proclus was arrested for publicly confessing Christ and suffered severe tortures: his abdomen was burned with torches, his body torn with iron claws, and he was hung before being sentenced to death by arrows. On the way to his execution, he encountered his nephew Hilarius, who greeted him and was subsequently arrested. After Proclus was killed, Hilarius was asked whether he too was a Christian, and upon confessing, he was also put to death.

Names celebrated on 12 July

Those bearing the names Paisios, Paisis, Paisia, Veronica, Veroniki, Vera, Vereniki, and Ilarios celebrate their name day on 12 July. The feast day of Saint Paisios draws pilgrims to his tomb in Souroti, one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in modern Orthodoxy.