Nicodemus the Hagiorite

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Nicodemus the Hagiorite or Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (1748 - July 14, 1809) is a saint of the Greek Orthodox Church. He was a monk who wrote ascetic prayer literature and influenced the rediscovery of Hesychasm, a method of contemplative prayer from the Byzantine period.

Nicodemus was born in 1748 on the island of Naxos, which was at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. He studied at Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) but was forced to abandon his studies during a time of Ottoman persecution. Instead entered a monastery in Mount Athos in 1775.

In cooperation with Macarius Nataras of Corinth, Nicodemus compiled the Philokalia, which became an important work on monastic spirituality. It contains some of the teachings of many of the ancient Desert Fathers.

However, his interests led him to study the traditions of the Western Church too, and particularly the treatises of Latin theologians. He translated several works of Western spirituality into Greek. These varied studies informed his later writings on asceticism and contemplative prayer,

His other famous work, was the 'Enchiridion of Counsels' (or 'Handbook of Spiritual Counsel") (1801). This was a handbook on the religious life, aimed at clergy and lay Christians alike, which continues to be influential on Greek spirituality until today. It was written by Nicodemus at the suggestion of his cousin Ierotheos, who had recently been made Bishop of Euripos.

He died on July 14, 1809 at Mount Athos and was canonized by the Greek Orthodox church on May 31, 1955. His feast day is the 14 July.