Icon of St. Joseph the Hesychast - 00STJH01

Feast Day/Commemorated: August 16

The Early Life and Calling of Saint Joseph the Hesychast 

Francis Kottis, born in Paros on February 12, 1897, was the fourth of seven children to a poor but devout couple. Due to his family's extreme poverty, Francis left home at age seventeen to work as a merchant in Piraeus to provide support. He was engaged at twenty-three to a pious girl, maintaining a relationship of exemplary chastity until a profound spiritual experience changed his life's trajectory. A wondrous vision of two angels leading him to serve the "heavenly king" ignited in his heart an irresistible desire for monasticism. He subsequently broke off his engagement and began a two-year period of intense, self-imposed asceticism—fasting and praying in the Athenian countryside—to prepare himself for the spiritual rigors of the Holy Mountain.

Arrival and Initial Struggles on the Holy Mountain 

In 1921, Francis arrived at the Holy Mountain, yearning for a spiritual guide to teach him the art of noetic prayer (the ceaseless prayer of the heart). After an unsuccessful search, he joined the brotherhood of Saint Daniel of Katounakia. Francis's innate inclination toward an austere spiritual life and total dedication to unceasing prayer clashed with the brotherhood's more moderate program. Recognizing Francis's unique zeal and need for a co-struggler to avoid spiritual delusion, Saint Daniel advised him to cultivate the Jesus Prayer alone in a remote cave until a suitable companion could be found. During this solitary period, Francis endured many temptations but was eventually granted a pivotal vision of the uncreated light and received the gift of ceaseless prayer, which remained with him until his death, granting him exalted spiritual states.

Monastic Tonsure and the Formation of a Brotherhood 

Saint Daniel eventually sent Father Arsenios, a fellow spiritual warrior, to be Francis's inseparable companion and co-ascetic. Following Saint Daniel's advice, the two became disciples of two humble old monks in Katounakia: Gerondas Joseph and Ephraim. After Geronda Joseph reposed, Geronda Ephraim was convinced of Francis's spiritual maturity and set the date for his monastic tonsure for August 31, 1925, where he was given the name Joseph, honoring his recently reposed elder. Upon Geronda Ephraim’s death some years later, Father Joseph himself became a proper geronda (spiritual elder). Though his severe ascetic program drove away many aspirants, the core of his small brotherhood formed, including Father Arsenios, his brother Father Athanasios, and three future influential abbots: Father Joseph the Cypriot, Father Haralambos, and the famed Father Ephraim (later elder of 33 monasteries worldwide).

Final Years, Repose, and Enduring Legacy 

Seeking greater solitude, Saint Joseph and his community moved from Saint Basil’s Skete to a cave at Little Saint Anne’s in 1938. After fifteen years of harsh living conditions, their health declined, prompting a move in 1953 to the milder climate of New Skete, where the Saint spent his last six years. Shortly before his repose, he was visited by the Virgin Mary and promised that she would take him on her feast day. Saint Joseph fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1959, the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. His legacy is immense: his disciples reestablished the practice of noetic prayer on the Holy Mountain, brought Athonite monasticism to North America, and continue to guide the faithful. Today, his spiritual descendants lovingly call upon "Pappou Iosif" (Grandfather Joseph) to intercede for them before God's throne.

Would you like to know more about noetic prayer or the life of one of his famous disciples, Geronda Ephraim?

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