[3] He was born as Anastasios in 1886 to Demetrius and Sotiria Galanopoulos, in Samsun, northern Anatolia.
When he was 12 years old, he was taken by his family to the Caucasus due to the Turkish persecution of Pontic Greeks.
He later moved to Mount Athos, where he stayed for a few years at Stavronikita Monastery.
During his time at Stavronikita, he met Joseph the Hesychast on the summit of Mount Athos during the Feast of the Transfiguration.
[2] Elder Arsenios lived with Joseph the Hesychast at the Skete of St.