Paisius the Short of Putna

Paisius, called the Short, was an archimandrite and the second abbot of Putna Monastery, from 1476 until his repose on 15 February 1502. He is named in the Romanian Paterikon and venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.

He had taken his vows at Neamț Monastery. He came to Putna in 1470 with Abbot Joasaph, and after Joasaph's death the council chose him as the monastery's spiritual father. He guided Putna wisely for twenty-⁠six years, from the summer of 1476, continuing and completing his predecessor's work. In his time the schools of calligraphers, scribes and church music developed, and Putna became one of the best-⁠known monasteries of Moldavia, alongside Neamț, Bistrița and Moldovița. Service books and patristic works were copied and adorned there, among them the Tetraevangelia of Nicodemus and Palladius, the Menaia of Cassian, the Ladder of Basil and the homilies of Chrysostom copied by Cyriacus. Under his guidance the cantor Eustathius sang and composed. In the school of scribes the Chronicle and the Annals of Putna were written at the command of Stephen the Great, and young men from the villages of northern Moldavia prepared for priesthood, learning theology, chant and spiritual formation.

Bishops, priests, dignitaries and the prince himself confessed to the confessors of Putna. The Paterikon holds that Paisius was for a long time Stephen's confessor and secret counsellor, alongside Daniel the Hermit. When the monastery burned in 1484, Paisius, helped by the prince, renewed the church roof, built new cells and made other improvements, becoming truly a founder of the place.

He passed to the Lord on 15 February 1502, leaving a numerous community with a monastic order among the most flourishing.