Saints of Mount Athos
Athonite holiness is not confined to one era. In the thousand-year history of the Holy Mountain, every century has produced its saints; the modern Orthodox calendar marks a special commemoration of All Saints of Mount Athos on the second Sunday after Pentecost.
In this section we offer brief lives of five Athonite saints across the centuries. Athanasius the Athonite (c. 925–1003) founded the Great Lavra and gave the Mountain its first common typikon. Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) was the chief theologian of the hesychast movement, defender of the doctrine of the uncreated divine energies. Maximus the Greek (c. 1470–1556) was a scholarly Athonite monk who spent the final decades of his life in Russia translating sacred texts. Silouan the Athonite (1866–1938) was a simple Russian monk of the Saint Panteleimon Monastery whose private writings, edited and published after his death, have shaped the spiritual reading of an entire century. Paisios the Athonite (1924–1994) is the best-known Greek elder of the twentieth century; pilgrims came from across the Orthodox world to his small cell of Panagouda near Karyes.
Saint Athanasius the Athonite
Saint Athanasius the Athonite (c. 925-1003) — founder of the Great Lavra, father of cenobitic monasticism on Mount Athos.
Saint Gregory Palamas
Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) — Archbishop of Thessalonica, defender of hesychasm, theologian of the uncreated divine energies.
Saint Maximus the Greek
Saint Maximus the Greek (c. 1470-1556) — Athonite scholar-monk sent to Russia for translation work, who spent his final decades in Russian captivity and exile.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938) — simple Russian monk of Saint Panteleimon Monastery whose Writings shaped twentieth-century Orthodox spirituality.
Saint Paisios the Athonite
Saint Paisios the Athonite (1924-1994) — the best-known Greek elder of the twentieth century, who received pilgrims from across the Orthodox world at his cell of Panagouda.