Elder Eugenios of Piraeus

Archimandrite Eugenios Limonis (1875–1961)

The blessed Archimandrite Eugenios Limonis [1] of Panteleimonas, known in the world as Evangelos, was born in 1875 in Chotsista [2], Korça, in Northern Epirus. He was a graduate of the School of Letters and served as a public teacher in his village, while also being an excellent connoisseur of Byzantine music.

He had great reverence for the Theotokos, and, as we shall see, almost all the events of his life were connected with Her. The blessed Elder Chrysanthos Vrettaros, who knew and especially honored Papa-Eugenios, recounts the following:

"At a school in Northern Epirus, where he was a teacher, the Turkish occupier, following the instigation of the Turco-Albanians, intended to set it on fire and burn it down. The Orthodox Albanians revealed this plan to Evangelos, who responded: 'We have faith in the Theotokos, and the Theotokos will protect us.' When the Turks decided to go to the school to burn it, they saw before them a mountain, which they passed through without realizing the existence of the school, and thus they departed without accomplishing anything. When Evangelos was asked how he and the school remained unharmed, he told everyone that he had been reading the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, and that the Most Holy Theotokos became a wall and a shelter, preventing the school from being burned by the occupiers." [3]

Father Eugenios visited Mount Athos for the first time in 1902 with the intention of becoming a monk. However, he ultimately returned to care for his parents, who were in need, until 1909, when he joined the brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou. He was tonsured a monk and distinguished himself for his obedience and monastic exactitude. He received the great Mystery of the Priesthood from Bishop Paisios Papapaisios of Nyssa (†1924) on June 28, 1917, [4] at the mature age of 42.

At the end of 1927, Papa-Eugenios, together with other Athonite Fathers, went out into the world to support the holy struggle for the Patristic Calendar. He placed himself at the service of the Greek Religious Community of the Genuine Orthodox, which sent him wherever there was a pastoral need.

During one of these missions, he was arrested for the first time by the police following actions taken by the Innovator Archbishop of Athens, Chrysostomos Papadopoulos. Specifically, on March 10/23, 1929, a Saturday of the First Week of Lent (the Commemoration of the Miracle of Saint Theodore with the Kollyva), Father Eugenios was sent by the Community to Magoula, Eleusis, at the request of the Genuine Orthodox there. The police arrested him by order of the Archbishop, but the people of Magoula marched to Athens, and together with faithful from Athens and Piraeus—who had been mobilized by the Athonite Hieromonks Parthenios Skourlis and Gideon Pasios [5]—succeeded in securing the release of Father Eugenios.

Nevertheless, on another occasion, he did not escape imprisonment. The historical Patria records the following:

"'How are you, Father Gerasimos? Don’t you recognize me? I am Father Eugenios.'

"He was wearing a priest’s kalymavchion instead of the monastic Athonite skouphos he usually wore, which is why Father Gerasimos did not immediately recognize him. Spontaneously, they embraced and exchanged the kiss of their common struggle. They were both in the same prison for the same cause." [6]

In May 1929, the healing of the three-year-old Ioannis Spyridonakos took place, an event that was even recorded by newspapers. [7] The boy, who was on the brink of death with a destroyed lung, was brought by his parents to the small Church of the Life-Giving Spring in Piraeus, where Father Eugenios had just been appointed as a priest. They came to beseech the Theotokos for his healing. Father Eugenios made the sign of the cross over the child with the Holy Spoon, and by the grace of the Theotokos, the child was healed. [8]

When Father Eugenios first saw the small Church of the Life-Giving Spring, he said the following:

"Saint Gregory the Theologian found a small chapel (a humble hut) in Constantinople, and from there he preached Holy Orthodoxy, and thus today we are Orthodox. And from this cave, where the church of the Theotokos, the Life-Giving Spring, stands… Holy Orthodoxy will be preached to the whole world." [9]

Around 1930, Father Joachim Makrygenis came to Athens from America [10] and joined the Holy Struggle. Elder Chrysanthos recalls:

"Father Joachim connected with the priests of the Old Calendarists and told them to leave the houses where they were staying and rent a large two- or three-story building, where middle-aged men desiring the monastic life could reside. They should have a vehicle and a telephone for their needs and a resident spiritual father for the spiritual needs of the faithful. Unfortunately, the Athonite priests did not accept this advice, except for one—the propertyless and penniless Father Eugenios of Dionysiou." [11]

Unfortunately, in addition to being fought by the Innovators, Papa-Eugenios was also opposed by some of his own fellow strugglers, particularly certain Athonites from 1933—whose names later appeared in the unacceptable document of denunciation ("anathema"!) against the holy Bishop Chrysostomos of Florina in 1937, when they followed [Bishop] Matthew of Bresthena in his fall into schism. Specifically, these Athonites accused Papa-Eugenios of being a "traitor to the Holy Struggle" because he commemorated "for all Orthodox bishops." [12] Moreover, even the owner of the house where he was staying caused him distress, forcing him to leave, as she wanted to establish a women's monastery and have him as her elder. In response, Papa-Eugenios, to his credit, told her: "I did not leave Mount Athos to establish women's monasteries."

Father Eugenios also distinguished himself as a publisher, primarily of Oikoi and Akathist hymns, for which he had a particular preference. He was meticulous in his use of the Greek language and left behind related articles, though only a few have survived. It is known, however, that he held some unique views on the rendering of hymnographic texts, which at times even led to certain misunderstandings.

Completely without attachment to money and exceedingly destitute, he always lived as a guest. His asceticism resembled that of the ancient Fathers. He slept very little and never in a bed, but in a chair, which caused his back to become hunched. He spent his life in voluntary hardship, enduring cold without heating and practicing severe asceticism. Beneath his tattered and worn cassock, he wore heavy iron chains that had "eaten into" his flesh. Due to his constant walking and long hours of standing, his legs had rotted, yet they did not emit a foul odor! Elder Chrysanthos, in awe, recounts of the most pious Papa-Eugenios: "His feet had rotted, and as the worms fell from his wounds, he would pick them up and place them back onto his sores, so that his body would not be deprived of the martyrdom of the most intense pains" [13] ...

He ate very little. As observed by Elder Gabriel (†1983), the Abbot of the Monastery of Dionysiou, the blessed Papa-Eugenios was "a strict faster, or rather one nourished by the Divine Eucharist, through his daily Liturgies." [14] Nevertheless, when invited to homes and offered food, he ate very little in order to combat thoughts of pride. Whatever money was given to him, he immediately distributed. Moreover, to carefully conceal his virtue of almsgiving, people would sometimes hear him scolding children—but this was merely a pretense, so that he could secretly give them money for their impoverished families.

Whenever he was called to read exorcisms, he would leave quickly to avoid being praised, for the demons would depart, saying: "Your humility, Papa-Eugenios, has driven us out!" Elder Chrysanthos also recounts the following incident:

"One day, while he was serving the Divine Liturgy, there was a possessed man who screamed so loudly that the chanters fled. Then, Papa-Eugenios asked me to chant. I sang from the left choir while the demon shrieked. I continued chanting calmly, while Papa-Eugenios was immersed in the contemplation of the divine Mystery, and soon the demon left the man." [15]

Many times, while serving the Divine Liturgy, he was seen not touching the ground. He also celebrated the Liturgy in a small chapel dedicated to the Theotokos on the rooftop of a large house in Piraeus, where families would gather in faith, even during the difficult years of the Occupation. On one such occasion, a child peeked through the side door of the Holy Altar and, astonished, saw Father Eugenios elevated above the ground, entirely enraptured in liturgical prayer!...

During the Occupation, and later, during the severe persecution under Spyridon Vlachos in the early 1950s, there are testimonies of "raids" on the rooftop chapel, either by the Germans or by the police, aiming to disrupt the liturgical gathering of the faithful of Genuine Orthodoxy and to arrest and mistreat the holy Elder, Father Eugenios the Athonite—this pillar of piety and virtue. However, the Lord and the Theotokos preserved him and those with him. In one such raid, it is testified that the intruders ascended to the top floor of the mansion, where there was an internal metal staircase leading to the rooftop with the chapel. In a miraculous manner, although the armed raiders could hear the chanting and the readings from the Divine Liturgy inside the church, they could not see the metal staircase and were unable to find a way to reach the chapel—forcing them to retreat in shame and without success!...

Despite the persecutions against our Church and against Father Eugenios himself, he remained peaceful and without fanaticism—steadfast in the Confession of Faith and a true struggler, yet also opposed to any form of deviation against his persecutors. For example, there is a reliable testimony that, as a spiritual father, he once imposed a severe "penance" on a Christian of the Patristic Calendar who, out of indignation—likely due to an excessive ("bitter") zeal—referred to the fierce persecutor of the Genuine Orthodox, Archbishop Spyridon Vlachos, as a "goat," failing to show respect for his clerical dignity, which he bore even if unworthily!...

Father Eugenios was an excellent spiritual father, endowed with discernment and the gift of insight. He was particularly insistent on the decisive rejection of evil thoughts sown by the enemy devil, especially those of the flesh, which contaminate the souls of men. Through his demeanor and counsel, he inspired those who confessed to him with a spirit of optimistic struggle, as confirmed by many reliable individuals who knew him, including the late theologian Stavros Karamitsos [16] and the blessed Metropolitan Kyprianos of Oropos and Phyle, [17] among others.

The blessed Papa-Eugenios had an immense love for the Theotokos and for Her holy mother, Saint Anna, the Theopromitor ["giver of the Godhead"] and "grandmother" of all Athonites, whose Akathist Hymn he would recite many times a day. It is no coincidence that his repose occurred on her feast day. On the morning of December 9, 1961 (according to the Orthodox Calendar), he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in honor of Saint Anna and exited the Holy Altar with tears of joy. That evening, seated on his stool and holding his prayer rope, he peacefully ended his earthly life in a saintly manner at the age of 86, continually uttering the word "Rejoice."

It was the time when, after a year of being orphaned following the repose of the holy former Metropolitan of Florina, Chrysostomos, our Church had already gained a head in the person of the blessed Bishop Akakios of Talantion (†1963). Moreover, when certain renegade clergy of that time maliciously commented in a pamphlet that some venerable clergy of our Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece had supposedly not accepted the newly consecrated Bishop Akakios of Talantion—who had been ordained in America amid countless difficulties—an official written confirmation was made stating that those clergy, including the venerable Archimandrite Father Eugenios Limonis, fully accepted and commemorated their hierarch, His Eminence Akakios, as obedient children of the Church.

Around 2,500 faithful attended the funeral of the blessed Father Eugenios. The Funeral Service of the "hero of the Struggle," as he was justly called among others, was officiated by the Archimandrites of our Church: Paisios, Chrysostomos, Niphon, Germanos, Merkourios, Longinos, and Antonios, along with Hieromonk Hesychios and the Reverend Father Nikolaos Kaloskamis. His burial took place at the Holy Monastery Axion Estin in Varympompi, Attica. [19]

The guards of the Royal Estate, which was located near the Monastery, reported that they saw light emerging from his grave at night!

His forty-day Memorial Service was held at the Church of the Life-Giving Spring in Piraeus, with His Eminence Bishop Akakios of Talantion presiding, on January 18/31, 1962. In a brief biographical note presented on that occasion, it was characteristically written:

"Hearing the turmoil in the world caused by the Innovation of the New Calendar, the Athonite Hieromonk Father Eugenios, following the example of the ancient God-bearing Fathers, left his solitude and went out into the world, strengthening and comforting the faithful through both his character and his words, becoming for all a model, an exemplar, and a most exact rule of virtue. Modest, simple, meek, and quiet, he attracted everyone to himself like a magnet. He departed to the Lord, full of days, having received a double crown—the crown of asceticism and the crown of confession." [20]

A photograph has been preserved, which we publish, from a Trisagion Service at the grave of Father Eugenios, with the reading of Absolution Prayers by the blessed Archbishop Auxentios in December 1964. [21]

The honorable Skull of the blessed Father Eugenios is preserved in a reliquary and placed for veneration, along with his other sacred relics, at the Church of the Life-Giving Spring in Piraeus. However, this church, being private, is unfortunately held by uncanonical clergy who do not belong to our Church. Two Theotokos icons and several other sacred objects, as well as structural elements from the rooftop chapel where Father Eugenios celebrated the Divine Liturgy, were collected and later safeguarded at the Holy Monastery of Saint Onuphrius in Dardiza, Keratea, Attica by His Eminence, Bishop Justinos of Evripos and Euboea. Bishop Justinos had known Father Eugenios during the time when he, as a Hieromonk, was serving in Piraeus and even celebrated the Divine Liturgy in that chapel after Father Eugenios' blessed repose.

Papa-Eugenios, boast of our Holy Struggle, intercede for us, your unworthy successors!

 

Notes

1. He is more commonly known as Lemonis [Λεμονῆς], although his surname, as he himself signed it, is Limonis [Λημόνης].

2. A town near the present-day Greek-Albanian border. At that time, its population numbered around 2,000 inhabitants, of whom approximately 1,600 were Romioi (Greeks and Albanian Orthodox), while the rest were Muslims.

3. Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, Elderly Memories and Narratives, published by Holy Monastery of Panagia Odigitria, Molos Lokridos, 2011, p. 282.

4. See the manuscript "Clergy Register of the G.O.C." (No. 65), preserved in the Archives of the Offices of our Holy Synod.

5. See the periodical "Ta Patria" (Jan.–Mar. 1978), p. 15.

6. See the periodical "Ta Patria" (Jan.–Mar. 1977), p. 24.

7. See the newspaper "Skrip" (22-5-1929).

8. Details of the miracle can be found in "Archive of the Holy Struggle", vol. 4 / Year 2016, pp. 29–31.

9. Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, op. cit., p. 35.

10. Regarding his figure, see Archimandrite Cherubim, Contemporary Athonite Figures, vol. 1, Joachim of St. Anne's Skete, published by Holy Monastery of Parakletos, Oropos, Attica, 1983.

11. Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, op. cit., p. 236.

12. See Agathangelos Koletsas, So That the Truth May Be Known, Athens, 1933, p. 12.

13. Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, op. cit., pp. 236–237.

14. Athonite Library, Year XXVII [1962], p. 58.

15. Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, op. cit., p. 285.

16. See The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Athens, 1961, p. 327, where Father Eugenios is described as the most enviable ornament and the most precious treasure of our Holy Struggle.

17. Regarding Father Eugenios Lemonis, excerpt from a sermon by His Eminence Metropolitan Kyprianos I (†) in Australia (http://agioskyprianos.org/dihgiseis_1.shtml).

18. See "The Voice of Orthodoxy", issue 358 / 6-2-1961, p. 8. Additionally, Father Eugenios co-signed, along with other clergy of our Church, a declaration concerning the unity of the Church of the G.O.C. of Greece and the acceptance and loyalty to the rightful and canonical Shepherd, Bishop Akakios of Talantion, in response to a slanderous campaign against him by malicious individuals (see "The Voice of Orthodoxy", issue 371 / 31-7-1961, pp. 1–2).

19. See "The Voice of Orthodoxy", issue 381 / 18-12-1961, p. 6.

20. See "The Voice of Orthodoxy", issue 383-384 / 15-1-1962, p. 11.

21. See "The Voice of Orthodoxy", issue 462 / 15-2-1965, p. 5.

 

Primary Sources:

– Hieromonk Chrysanthos of Mount Athos, Elderly Memories and Narratives, published by the Holy Monastery of Panagia Odigitria, Molos Lokris, 2011 (primarily pages 281–286).

– Archimandrite Gabriel of Dionysiou, Eugenios, the Hieromonk of Dionysiou, in Athonite Library, Year XXVII [1962], pp. 58–59.

– Monk Moses of Mount Athos, Great Gerontikon of Virtuous Athonite Elders of the 20th Century.

– Periodical "Ta Patria".

– Recollections of His Eminence, Metropolitan Justinos of Evripos and Euboea, recorded by Brother Zisis Tsiotras, theologian and educator.

 

Source: Αρχειον του ιερου Αγωνοσ [Archive of the Holy Struggle], Issue 7, First Semester 2018, pp. 37-49. Online: https://www.ecclesiagoc.gr/images/stories/pdfs/Arxeion7-S.pdf.