Life
Arsenios Eznepidis was born on July 25, 1924, to pious parents in the town of Farasa, Cappadocia of Asia Minor, shortly before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey following the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922. Arsenios' name was given to him by St.
Arsenios the Cappadocian, who baptized him, named the child for himself and foretold Arsenios'
monastic future. Very shortly after his
baptism the young Arsenios and his family were forced to leave Asia Minor in accordance the peace Treaty of Lausanne. St. Arsenios guided his flock along a 400-mile trek to Greece. The Eznepidis family finally settled in the town of Konitsa in Epirus in northwestern Greece. As he had prophesied, St. Arsenios reposed forty days after the group settled in Greece, leaving, as his spiritual heir, the infant Arsenios. Arsenios grew up in Konitsa and learned carpentry after completing intermediate public school.
During the civil war in Greece following World War II, Arsenios served as a radio operator. While concerned about his compatriots who had family, he didn't worry for himself because he was single and had no children. He was noted for his bravery, self-sacrifice and moral righteousness. After the civil war ended, he wanted to enter a monastic life, but had to consider his sisters, who were as yet unmarried. By 1950, he had provided for his sisters' future and was free to begin his monastic vocation.
He arrived on
Mount Athos in 1950, first to Fr. Kyril, the future
abbot of
Koutloumousiou Monastery, and then to
Esphigmenou Monastery. In 1954, Arsenios, having been a
novice for four years, was
tonsured a
monk and was given the name Averkios. He was a conscientious
monk, finding ways to both complete his obediences (which required contact with others) and to preserve his silence, so as to progress in the art of prayer. He was always selfless in helping his brethren. He was unwilling to rest while others worked (though he may have already completed his own obediences) as he loved his brothers greatly and without distinction. In addition to his ascetic struggles and the common life in the
monastery, he was spiritually enriched through the reading of soul-profiting books. In particular, he read the lives of the Saints, the
Gerontikon, and especially the
Ascetical Homilies of St.
Isaac the Syrian.
[2]s.