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Venerable (Monastic)14th century

Venerable Niphon of Mount Athos

1315–1411

Also known as Niphon the Athonite

The son of a priest who gave himself to stillness on the Holy Mountain, struggling many years as a hermit and priest in unceasing prayer.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Niphon of Kavsokalyvia, the Athonite

Life

Niphon of Mount Athos, surnamed Kavsokalyvites, was a fourteenth-century hieromonk and hesychast of the Holy Mountain. The son of a priest, he was raised in a devout household, received monastic tonsure, and was ordained to the priesthood while still young. His desire for solitude and unceasing prayer drew him to Athos, where he became a close disciple and companion of the celebrated ascetic Maximos Kavsokalyvites.

By tradition he reposed at an advanced age, having spent many years in the silence and labor of the eremitic life, and was remembered for gifts of wonderworking and clairvoyance. His memory is kept on June 14.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Niphon, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline4 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 1315BirthBorn, according to later tradition, in the village of Lukove in the Himarra region of the Despotate of Epirus, the son of a priest.
  2. c. 1335Ordained and drawn to AthosOrdained to the priesthood as a young man, then made his way to the Holy Mountain in pursuit of stillness and solitary ascetic labor.
  3. 1345Protos of Mount AthosServed, by tradition, as Protos of Mount Athos, the chief administrative office of the Athonite community.
  4. 1411ReposeReposed peacefully at the age of ninety-six, after long years of eremitic struggle.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Monastic Life and Hesychasm

On Athos, Niphon settled near the Great Lavra in the cave associated with the earlier ascetic Peter the Athonite, and placed himself under the spiritual direction of the renowned elder Maximos Kavsokalyvites, with whom he struggled for many years. He is credited by tradition with composing an early account of the life of his elder.

His career also intersected with the doctrinal controversies of the period. By tradition he faced accusations of heresy connected with the Bogomil and Euchite (Messalian) movements, and was defended by figures of the hesychast cause, including Gregory Palamas and Patriarch Callistus I; the anchor record itself preserves only his identity as a priest and hermit of the Holy Mountain.

Relics and Shrines

A liturgical service to Niphon is preserved at the hermitage of Kavsokalyvia on Mount Athos, where, by tradition, the cave of his asceticism and a small chapel dedicated to him can be found.

Member ofReadHide
Synaxis of All Saints of Mount Athos
Synaxis
Companions3 figuresShowHide
Elder and spiritual father with whom he struggled for many years on Athos
Venerable Maximus Kavsokalyvites
Defender of the hesychast cause who upheld him against accusations of heresy
Gregory Palamas
Patriarch and hesychast who likewise defended him
Saint CallistusPatriarch of Constantinople
Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

First hermit of the Holy Mountain, in whose cave near the Great Lavra he settled
Venerable Peterof Mount Athos

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints