Venerable Athanasius the Meteorite

Athanasius the Meteorite (Greek: Αθανάσιος ο Μετεωρίτης; 1302–1380) was a 14th-century Christian monk. He is canonized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feast day is celebrated on April 20. He is best known as the founder of the monastery of the Great Meteoron in Meteora, Greece. He was born in New Patras (the current village of Ypati in Phthiotida) in 1302 or 1303. During his baptism, he received the name of Andronikos. It is assumed that he came from a wealthy noble family although he never spoke of his origins. While he was still young, he was orphaned and taken in by his uncle. However, around 1319, the city was invaded by the Catalan troops of Alfonso Fadrique of Aragon and fell into the hands of the Duchy of Athens. Andronikos and his uncle then left to take refuge in Thessalonika. Although his family had few resources, local teachers were impressed by Andronikos's enthusiasm for studies. They gave him lessons in philosophy and classical literature without asking for tuition fees. A few years later, he went to Mount Athos. He asked to become a monk there but was refused since he was too young. He then went on a pilgrimage to Constantinople and met Gregory of Sinai and Isidore Buchiras (Isidore I of Constantinople), who encouraged him in his quest for monasticism. He then went to Crete, where he began to lead an ascetic life and became locally well known as an ascetic. In order to avoid falling into pride, he left Crete and returned to Mount Athos. There he settled in an isolated skete with a harsh climate, where he became a disciple of two very experienced monks. It was in this skete that he became a monk at the age of 30 years. At that time, he took on the monastic name of Athanasius. At that time, Mount Athos was regularly attacked by Turkish pirates. The monks were forced to leave their skete and had to disperse. Athanasius left Mount Athos with two other monks and went in search of an isolated place to practice asceticism.