Hundreds of worshipers traveled to Thessaloniki, Greece, in order to pay their respects to the recently canonized St. Paisios, whose tomb is located at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. It is estimated that a total of 1,500 people visit the Greek monastery each week, a figure that will surely increase significantly, now that Elder Paisios was canonized. Archbishop of Mount Sinai and Raithu Damianos was among the tomb’s visitors. The regular monastery visitors noted that the worshipers who have recently started arriving are people of every age and nationality. In fact, many Russians are travelling to Thessaloniki in order to visit the monastery individually or by organized travel coaches. Elder Paisios was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on January 13, 21 years after his death in 1994, despite the fact that, according to Orthodox Church rules, a person can be canonized 70 years after his death. Paisios inspired thousands of people with his work and way of life. His canonization is likely to economically benefit the surrounding regions, as it is expected to significantly increase tourist flow from the Balkans and Russia.
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