Athens, November 11, 2014
On November 10/23 the Church honors the holy memory of Venerable Arsenios the Cappadocian (1840-1924).
When St. Arsenios baptized the future elder Paisios, he demanded that the parents give their infant his name, Arsenios, and not his (the infant’s) grandfather’s name, Christos, as is customary in Greek families. Then he said the words that proved to be prophetic: “Surely it is good that you want the boy to follow his grandfather’s footsteps. Do you think I do not want a monk to tread my footsteps?”
On this photograph you can see the stone font which became the place of spiritual birth of the future elder Paisios from Venerable Arsenios into the eternal life, writes Romfea.
Until recently the font was in the possession of Turks who used to grind grain in it. It was quite recently that through the efforts of the Patriarch of Constantinople it was returned to the museum of the small village where elder Paisios had been born.