Zacharias of Dionysiou

Zacharias of Dionysiou was a brother of the monastery who first lived married life and then received the angelic schema. The monk Joseph of Dionysiou, who has lived on Athos since 1964, recalls him among the many holy people he knew, some of them former married men. He says that what matters is not what life they led before, but what life they led after they heard and obeyed the heavenly call; many practised virtue and kept the commandments of the Gospel faithfully already in the world. When people saw an old man, they approached him for counsel; he did not think of pretending to be an old ascetic, but said simply: "I have only a few years here as a monk; but I have a son who has been here thirty-⁠five years. He is also a confessor. Go to him." Nevertheless, with simple words he benefited very many pilgrims, because his words were lived.

As the martyrs did not find themselves in persecutions by chance and die as martyrs, but first lived an exemplary life and as a seal received the crown of martyrdom, so too the late brother Zacharias, after living an exemplary married life, was crowned as a seal with the angelic schema and placed in the ranks of the monks. He lived until the year 2000, when the Lord called him to the heavenly tents, "the dwelling of those who rejoice." He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.