On February 11, 2026, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, together with the Holy Synod of Bishops of Constantinople, decreed the canonization of Elder Hadji-George, a monk of the holy mountain – Mount Athos in Greece. He is know by the honorary nickname “Hadji” after his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the Orthodox tradition, this title is awarded to pilgrims who visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the site of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. St. Hadji- George the Athonite is revered as one of the most prominent monks of Mount Athos in the 19th century and especially known for the strictness of his ascetic life. But the details of his life: his family, birth, education are of little interest and of little spiritual benefit for us.