Saint Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski (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. He is a pivotal figure in Orthodox Church history. St. Paisius is venerated for his personal holiness, and his revival of monasticism and spirituality in Romania and Russia, which had suffered under the reforms of Peter I and Catherine II. He revived the ancient teaching on the Jesus Prayer, a teaching almost forgotten in Russia.