Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski (Paisie de la Neamţ in Romanian; Паисий Величковский in Russian; Паїсій Величковський in Ukrainian; 20 December 1722 – 15 November 1794) was an Eastern Orthodox monk and theologian who helped spread staretsdom or the concept of the spiritual elder to the Slavic world.

[6] In 1746, at age twenty-four, in order to perfect his monastic experience, he moved on Mount Athos, where he made his way to the Pantocrator monastery, and was assigned to live in its small Kiparis Skete.

In 1750, he was visited by his former Starets, Basil of Poiana Mărului, who came on the Holy Mountain, and tonsured him as a lesser schema monk, with the name of Paisius.

Following Basil's advice, he decided to move away from the strict solitary life, and became a renowned leader of a Hesychastic skete, formed of Romanian and Slavonic disciples.

In 1758 Paisius was ordained into priesthood by Bishop Gregory Rasca, and the community's rapid growth required them to move into the larger Skete of St.

[3] Paisius remained on Mt Athos for a total of seventeen years, copying Greek patristic books and translating them into Slavonic.

[8] In 1764, when Paisius was forty-two, Prince Grigore III Ghica of Moldavia asked him to come in his country, to preside over the revival of monastic life.

However, after Bucovina was annexed by the Austrian Empire, Paisius and his community eventually relocated at the Neamț Monastery, in 1779, during the vigil of the Dormition Feast.

[10] Paisius is venerated for his personal holiness, and his revival of monasticism and spirituality in Romania, Ukraine and Russia, which had suffered under the reforms of Peter I and Catherine II.

[4] At the opening of the Center on November 27, 2008, Filaret Denysenko gave a speech as following, "The importance of Velichkovsky’s life is not only in that he prayed for us sinners, but also in that he showed us the way every Christian should be going."