Is Saint Paisios of Mount Athos venerated in the Coptic Orthodox Church?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

No, Saint Paisios of Mount Athos is not liturgically venerated or recognized as a saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The reasons for this distinction are rooted in ecclesiology and Church history:

1. The Ecclesial and Historical Division

Saint Paisios belonged to the Eastern Orthodox (Byzantine) Church, an ecclesiastical body that accepts the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451).

Following the Council of Chalcedon, the Church fractured over the definition of the nature of Christ. The Church of Alexandria retained the apostolic, Cyrillian Miaphysite formula—confessing one incarnate nature of God the Word—rejecting the Dyophysite ("two natures") formulation adopted at Chalcedon. Because full communion was severed between the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox families of churches:

• The Coptic Orthodox Church only shares official liturgical commemoration of saints who reposed prior to the schism of AD 451, or those specifically recognized and canonized by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
• Saints canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church after AD 451—including Saint Paisios, who was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2015—are not entered into the Coptic Synaxarium (the book of saints) or the liturgical life of the Church.

2. Liturgical Practice

In the Divine Liturgy and church life:

• The Commemoration of the Saints (The Majma'): Saint Paisios is not mentioned during the intercessory prayers of the saints in the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, or Saint Cyril.
• No Feasts or Altars: There are no feast days assigned to him in the Coptic calendar, nor are there Coptic altars, churches, or icons consecrated in his name.
• Canonization Authority: The Coptic Church recognizes only those saints officially proclaimed by its own Holy Synod, headed by the Pope of Alexandria.

3. Personal Reading vs. Liturgical Veneration

While Saint Paisios is not liturgically venerated:

• Many Coptic Christians, monastics, and clergy appreciate and read his spiritual writings, counsels, and ascetic advice on prayer and spiritual warfare as edifying monastic literature.
• However, reading an author's ascetic counsels for personal benefit is distinctly different from ecclesial and liturgical veneration, which is reserved strictly for those recognized within the communion of the true Orthodox Church.