Seraphim of St Paul's

Saint Seraphim of St Paul's Monastery, a venerable monk, was one of the shining Athonite abbots of the twentieth century. He was born in 1886 in the beautiful village of Kalata in Cephalonia, with the name Nicholas Pantazatos. He came to the Monastery of Saint Paul, where many of his countrymen were monks, in 1909. The next year he was tonsured a monk and ordained deacon. In 1916 he was ordained priest, and in 1920 he took on the abbacy. In his enthronement address he told the Holy Community that he was afraid, measuring his weak strength against the struggles of the fathers who had laboured there.

He was abbot for nearly forty years. He worked hard for his monastery, tonsured many good monks and for ten years directed the periodical "Agios Pavlos o Xiropotamitis". He was one of the famous trio of active and worthy abbots, with Gabriel of Dionysiou and Bessarion of Grigoriou. After three years of illness borne without complaint, following a hemiplegia, he fell asleep in the Lord on 2 April 1960, on Great Friday. A short time before, Father Gabriel of Dionysiou had read him the prayer of absolution, after the Taking Down from the Cross. He was buried the same day. He is honoured by the faithful, without synodal canonization.