Eustratios of Trebizond

Eustratios of Trebizond was a hieromonk and hesychast of Soumela Monastery in Pontus who lived in a cave in the skete of Kavsokalyvia, a dependency of the Great Lavra. The date of his repose is not known.

He had become a monk at the age of eight at Soumela, and after twenty years there he was ordained a priest. He then went to Jerusalem and came to the Holy Mountain, to Kavsokalyvia. His rule was three thousand prostrations every night and the unceasing prayer, which he kept throughout his life. The cave in which he lived looked like a tomb, dark and closed, to lengthen the night, which fosters prayer. He slept about one hour a day, almost standing, celebrated the Liturgy daily and fasted continually.

To one of his disciples, who lived nearby, he said before his death that God had given him such prayer that even in sleep his heart prayed. He prayed sitting or standing, with his head bowed slightly toward his chest, uttering the prayer softly, with contrition and attention, fixing his mind on its words and holding his breath so as to match it to the movement of the mind. He was adorned with the gift of insight, and while praying he held a large handkerchief for his many tears. He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.