David the Athonite

David the Athonite was a hieromonk and confessor, born at Xirokampos in Laconia. He was tonsured a monk in 1898 at the Gola monastery in his native land and then struggled on Athos. He left there ready for the stormy sea of Athens, hoping to bring someone to salvation by his example, his word and the mystery of Confession. He was ordained priest in 1905.

The Penteli Monastery, and then the Monastery of the Holy Bodiless Powers at Petraki, were his base, where he became a harbour of salvation for many souls. In his last years, nearly a hundred, he rarely left his cell. No one ever saw him laugh, weep or speak much; from Athos he kept silence as his teaching. He seemed to sleep, yet was ever wakeful, with the face of an ancient ascetic father. His spiritual children counted it a great blessing if he visited their homes. He ate very little. Archimandrite Chrysostom Moustakas wrote in 1953 that the Elder was ninety-⁠two, from Sparta, had fought in the wars of liberation and had been a servant of Metropolitan Theoklitos of Athens; serving with him, he was allowed to go first and heard him say a wish that they might serve together in the heavens too.

He reposed in the Lord on 4 January 1957, of heart failure and old-⁠age exhaustion. His funeral was held in the church of Petraki Monastery, and his body was laid at the monastery's dependency, the Life-⁠Giving Spring at Vyronas. He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.