Saint

Akakios the Younger
BornAnastasios
1630s
Agios Akakios, Karditsa
ResidenceMount Athos
Died12 April 1730
Mount Athos
Venerated inGreek Orthodox Church
Major shrineCave of Saint Akakios, Kafsokalyvia, Mount Athos
FeastApril 12
Tradition or genre
Athonite Monasticism, Hesychasm

Saint Acacius or Akakios the Younger, also known as Akakios the New of Kafsokalyvia (Greek: Ακάκιος ο Νέος, ο Καυσοκαλυβίτης;[1] 1630s – 12 April 1730) was a Greek Orthodox Christian monk and ascetic who lived on Mount Athos.[2] His feast day is celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on April 12.

Biography

He was born Anastasios sometime in the 1630s in Golitsa (now Agios Akakios (Άγιος Ακάκιος)), Karditsa. At the age of 23, he moved to Zagora, Volos and joined the Monastery of Sourvia. There, he received his tonsure and took on the monastic name of Akakios (Ακάκιος).[3]

In the 1660s, Akakios moved to the southern tip of Mount Athos and lived as a hermit in the Cave of Maximos of Kafsokalyvia near the Skete of Kafsokalyvia. There, Akakios had many divine visions in which he was visited by Maximos of Kafsokalyvia.[4] He also spent time at the Monastery of Dionysiou and the Skete of Pantokratoros.[3]

He was also a spiritual mentor to the Neomartyr saints Romanos (feast day: January 5), Pachomios (May 6), and Nikodimos (July 11).[3]

Akakios practiced intense asceticism and was said to have eaten dry grass crushed with a piece of marble, rather than bread.[5] In his later years, he moved down from the higher cliffs to a cave near the Skete of Kafsokalyvia. Today, this cave is named after him.[3]

In 1725, Vasil Grigorovich-Barsky visited Akakios and wrote an account of him.[6]

He died on April 12, 1730, and was said to have foretold his own death shortly before then.[3]

Relics and sites

His relics are kept in the Monastery of Dionysiou and in Kafsokalyvia.[3]

A spring in Kafsokalyvia is also known as the Holy Water of Saint Akakios. Fresh spring water was found there when Saint Akakios prayed while a man was digging for it.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Ακάκιος ο Νέος, ο Καυσοκαλυβίτης, Όσιος". Mount Athos (in Greek). Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  2. ↑ Conomos, Dimitri E.; Speake, Graham (2005). Mount Athos, the sacred bridge : the spirituality of the Holy Mountain. Oxford: Peter Lang. ISBN 3-03910-064-5. OCLC 67924540.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sanidopoulos, John. "Saint Akakios the New of Kavsokalyva (+ 1730)".
  4. ↑ "Venerable Acacius the Younger of Mount Athos". www.oca.org.
  5. ↑ "Venerable Acacius the Younger of Mt Athos". Православие.RU.
  6. ↑ Speake, Graham (2014). Mount Athos: renewal in paradise. Limni, Evia, Greece. p. 111. ISBN 978-960-7120-34-2. OCLC 903320491.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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