Priest & Wonderworker
Venerable Arsenios of Cappadocia
The shepherd of Pharasa who served suffering people with prayer, teaching and care without payment.
Core account checked against Orthodox Synaxarion (Greek). Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
From Theodore to Father Arsenios
Arsenios was born Theodore around 1840 in Pharasa, Cappadocia. Orphaned while young, he was raised with his brother under the care of their aunt. After his studies, he became a monk and was sent back to Pharasa to teach.
A Shepherd for the Suffering
As a priest and spiritual father, he served the community for many years. The account preserved by the Greek Synaxarion remembers his prayers for the sick, his refusal of payment and his compassion toward both Christians and Muslims. He joined pastoral work with periods of solitude and intense prayer.
Exodus and Repose
During the population exchange in 1924, he accompanied his people to Greece. He reposed on Corfu on November 10 of that year. His relics were later transferred through the care of Saint Paisios and are kept at the monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti. His feast preserves the memory of a faithful shepherd among displaced people.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Synaxarion (Greek)