Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky

Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski (Paisie de la Neamţ in Romanian; Паисий Величковский in Russian; Паїсій Величковський in Ukrainian; 20 December 1722 – 15 November 1794) was an Eastern Orthodox monk and theologian who helped spread staretsdom or the concept of the spiritual elder to the Slavic world. He is a pivotal figure in Orthodox Church history. A Ukrainian by birth, Pyotr Velichkovsky was born on December 21, 1722, in Poltava, where his father, Ivan, was a priest in the city cathedral. He was the eleventh of twelve children. His grandfather was the poet Ivan Velichkovsky. In 1735, he was sent to study at the Kiev Theological Academy. In 1741, he became a rasophore monk, taking the name of “Platon”. However, his monastery was soon closed, because of the political stresses during the time, and he entered the Pechersky Lavra at Kiev. Here he was influenced by the monk Ignatii, who told him about the hesychastic fervor he had found in Romanian monasteries. During the lent of 1743, Platon travelled to the monastic environments of the Dălhăuţi, the Trăisteni, and the Carnul Sketes. The first two Moldavian communities were under the spiritual eldership of Basil of Poiana Mărului, who became an important formative influence on Platon's spiritual life, teaching him about the Prayer of the Heart. The third Skete was located in Wallachia. All of them followed the Athonite hesychast observances. In 1746, at age twenty-four, in order to perfect his monastic experience, he moved on Mount Athos, where he made his way to the Pantocrator monastery, and was assigned to live in its small Kiparis Skete. He spent the next four years in solitary life and prayer, living in extreme poverty. In 1750, he was visited by his former Starets, Basil of Poiana Mărului, who came on the Holy Mountain, and tonsured him as a lesser schema monk, with the name of Paisius.