Isidoros the Blind

Isidoros the Blind was a blind confessor of Philotheou Monastery who reposed on 27 November 2022 at the age of eighty-⁠seven. Thousands of people found comfort in his words and prayers, in the years when he went out of the Holy Mountain twice a year.

He was born in Patras with poor sight; at fifteen, after an eye operation, he became completely blind. At forty he was tonsured at Philotheou by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona, to whom he had confessed as a layman in Patras. Before the tonsure his sight suddenly returned, and he asked the Mother of God to take it back, since he would not become a monk, and at the hour of judgment not to ask him for an account; and he went blind again at once. He wanted this, because he believed his disability helped him spiritually. Before becoming a monk he had sold lottery tickets in Patras.

In 1980, when Xeropotamou Monastery was repopulated by Elder Ephraim of Xeropotamou and monks from Philotheou, he was among those who settled there. He never complained of his blindness but thanked God for it. He used to say, "I have nothing and I lack nothing." He was wholly obedient to Elder Ephraim and visited him several times in Arizona for his blessing and to confess. He had a special love for the Mother of God, whom he called "Mommy." Hundreds of testimonies tell of miracles experienced near him. He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.