Ηegumen / Abbot
Saint Eustathius was a native of the city of Tarsus. At the age of twenty, he secretly left his parents’ home and settled in the Monastery of Agauroi on Mount Olympus of Bithynia in Asia Minor. There, he embraced a strict ascetic life. He was nourished only by bread and water, while spending his nights in prayer. After some time, he was elected abbot.
During the reign of the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Armenian (813–820), the saint wandered through mountains and deserts, returning to the monastery only after the emperor’s death and the cessation of persecutions. He never stopped to pray and glorify the Lord.
Before his death, he blessed the brotherhood and urged the monks not to become attached to earthly possessions. Instead, he advised them to keep their minds constantly focused on the life to come. As he closed his eyes, he said: “Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”
He reposed peacefully at the age of ninety-five.
