Ηegumen / Abbot
Saint Eustratius was from the city of Tarsus. At the age of 20, he secretly left his parents' home and settled in the Abgar Monastery on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor. There he led a strict ascetic life, feeding only on bread and water, and spending his nights in prayer. After some time, he was elected as the abbot of the monastery. During the reign of the iconoclast Leo the Armenian (813–820), Saint Eustratius, hiding from persecution, wandered in the mountains and deserts, and after the death of the king, he returned to the monastery. Prayer never left his lips, and he constantly repeated the words: 'Lord, have mercy!'
Before his death, he instructed the monks to not cling to earthly goods, but to constantly think about the future life. Having signaled himself with the holy cross, he said: 'Into Your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit' and peacefully passed away at the age of 95.
