Monk Paul the Cypriot (+1994), Hagiorite Monk

(L: St. John the Romanian, R: Fr. Paul the Cypriot)

 

The ever-memorable Monk Paul the Cypriot constitutes one of the great figures of Orthodox Monasticism (both Greek and Cypriot) during the recently passed 20th century. A multifaceted personality, he was a Zealot of the Orthodox Faith (as every monk is obliged to be), a coenobitic monk in Cyprus, a painter and iconographer, composer of Sacred Services (I have in mind those of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, and St. Nektarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis), editor of the spiritual and awakening periodical “Return – Salvation,” author, columnist (in Orthodoxos Typos and elsewhere), speaker, etc.

However, in addition to the aforementioned, Fr. Paul was also an ascetic—something that is almost never mentioned in references to his person. For the sake of asceticism, we find him in the fearsome valley of Chozeva in the Holy Lands, a fellow ascetic of Saint John the Romanian, and later in a cave in the area of the Holy Skete of St. Anna, on the Holy Mountain.

The ever-memorable Father was born in 1922 in Agios Amvrosios of Kyrenia and was the son of the priest Father Georgios. At the age of 17, he became a monk at the renowned Holy Monastery of Stavrovouni. There, at his tonsure in the rassophore he was named Petros, and at his tonsure into the great schema, Paul. It was also there that he was taught iconography. It should be noted here that one of his biological sisters likewise chose the monastic life, becoming a nun at the Holy Monastery of Saint George Alamanos under the name Nun Charitini. When, after the War, disturbances and divisions arose in the Monastery of Stavrovouni concerning the Calendar Question, Fr. Paul chose to depart. For a short time, he lived and struggled in his parental home, and later in a cell at the chapel of the Holy Unmercenaries in the village of Monagroulli. Finally, in 1949, he went to Jerusalem and took up residence in the fearsome gorge of Chozeva, as a dependent/hermit of the historic Monastery, near Saint John the Romanian, with whom he developed a profound spiritual friendship and relationship. The humble Abba John celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cave of Fr. Paul, where the ever-memorable had set up a chapel. Fr. Paul, together with the disciple of the Saint, Monk Ioannikios, served at the burial of the relic of Saint John (+1960), which was later exhumed by them and the abbot of Chozeva, Archimandrite Amphilochios—incorrupt! (1980).

The conditions of asceticism in the desert of Chozeva were extremely harsh, due to the extreme climatic conditions prevailing in the area. “We endured with patience,” the Elder used to say, “until the Pope came and opened our eyes” (referring to the meeting of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I and Pope Paul VI that took place in Jerusalem in January 1964). Subsequently, the Arab-Israeli War broke out (1967), and the Elder was compelled to leave the Holy Land and take refuge on the Holy Mountain, where he dwelt in a cave in the region of the Skete of St. Anna. From there he emerged only once, in 1974, during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, in order to go “for strengthening” to his native homeland. At that time, he became associated with the Holy Monastery of the Theotokos Galaktotrophousa in Kakoratzia, Nicosia, and its Abbot, Archimandrite Chrysostomos; however, he gradually came to understand that the center of the struggle for the genuineness of the Faith was in Greece, and so he settled at the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation in Athikia, as previously mentioned.

The writer had the particular honor and blessing to meet him personally toward the end of his life, when he was residing in a hut outside the men’s Monastery of the Annunciation in Athikia, Corinthia. That acquaintance left a vivid mark on my childhood. His little hut was situated among the pine trees, outside the monastery, and was extremely simple—almost empty. It consisted of two spaces: one was his “office,” and the other his cell. In the “office,” a large icon of St. Anna, which he himself had painted, held a central place (of “our granny,” as he endearingly called the holy Ancestress of God). Next to the icon was a small bottle of syrup, which always held a sprig of basil or a wildflower. One wall of his “office” was taken up by his large library. The shelves were simple planks nailed to the wall, and all the books were covered with the familiar blue paper with which students used to cover their schoolbooks in the postwar period. His desk was made of two wooden crates, one stacked on top of the other, and atop them sat a very old typewriter. A third crate served as his… seat!

Proceeding into the little cell where he rested, one would not see a bed or a comfortable mattress, but a… chaise longue (who knows where he had managed to procure it from!). At the headrest were two icons—of Christ and the Theotokos. He also had a lectern to read his services, and a vigil lamp in the corner to illumine his darkness. Everything in his cell was neat and clean; there was nothing superfluous—not even electricity (which he considered a luxury).

Even though so many years have passed, it is as if I see him before me now, welcoming us with cold water and “afroza” (a kind of Cypriot soft drink). As we departed, he would “treat” everyone with vegetables from his garden (the ever-memorable maintained a small garden around his hut).

Extremely devoted to the saints, the ever-memorable one had great love for our common Mother, our Panagia, Who also took him to Herself on the feast of Her Dormition in 1994, thus rewarding his labors and his love for Her revered person. While praying, the Elder would say “Most Holy Theotokos, save us” and not “intercede for us” (“The Panagia,” he would say, “saves, She does not intercede”). He also had great reverence for St. Anna (“our grandmother,” as he called her) and St. Nektarios of Pentapolis, who had healed him from a severe pain in the ear (out of asceticism, the ever-memorable one did not wish to leave his cell to go to a doctor).

Returning to my memories, I note that although I was young and did not understand much, the sight of him was enough (“Father, it sufficeth me to see thee”). Every Sunday he would come to the small chapel of the Monastery for the communal Service. We would see him arriving as if from the deepest desert! Fully focused on the Service, he would not move from his place. After the Dismissal, he would discreetly correct any possible mistakes, say two or three spiritual words, and return to his little cell—nothing superfluous.

Toward the end of his life, the ever-memorable Fr. Paul was afflicted by the grievous illness, which he endured without complaint, praying and preparing himself for his departure from this vain world. He fell asleep on the 15th of August 1994 (on the very day of the feast of the Dormition of our Panagia, according to the Old Calendar) and was buried in the monastery’s cemetery. His exhumation was carried out by the present writer in 2004. His relics were found clean and saffron-colored, and they are preserved in the monastery’s ossuary, awaiting the common resurrection.

Of the ever-blessed Monk Paul—may his memory be eternal. Amen.

Source: http://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2015/05/1994.html