The story begins with the birth of Saint Paisios, born Arsenios Eznepidis, in Farasa, Cappadocia. A few days before the people of Farasa abandoned their village, he was baptized by Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian, where he took his name "to leave a monk at his feet". After the Treaty of Lausanne, the family of little Arsenios was uprooted and took the path of refuge to Greece. Together with his family, they temporarily settled in Corfu, but soon they would depart for Konitsa, Epirus.
His grandmother and mother transmitted their faith and love for the Lord. He grew up with stories about Saint Arsenios and the desire to follow the monastic life flared up in him from an early age. In 1945 he joined the army where he served as a radio operator. Upon his discharge, he visited Mount Athos. However, he soon returned to Konitsa for family reasons and remained there for three years. He left for Mount Athos permanently in March 1953 and ended up at the Esphigmenou Monastery. After three years, he found himself at the Philotheou Monastery, where he became a monk and took the name "Paisios". He sent a photograph of himself to his mother with which he bid her farewell and told her that he would now have the Virgin Mary as his mother.
