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Elder '''Joseph the [[Hesychast]], or Cave-dweller (Spilaiotis)''' (Spilaiotis) was a [[monk]] and [[elder]] on Mount Athos. He reposed in 1959, and he has wide acclaim for being the spiritual father or grandfather of Elders [[Ephrem of Philotheou]] , Joseph of Vatopedi, Haralambos of Dionysiou and others<!--names?-->, who are directly credited for revitalising six of the twenty monasteries on [[Mount Athos]].

Francis was born in Paros to George and Maria Spilaiotis in 1898. In his teens, he went to work in Piraeus. At twenty-three he began to read the lives of the Fathers, a spiritual turning point for him. These lives, particularly those of the strict ascetics, and a dream he had, gave him the desire to enter into monasticism. He responded to this desire by fasting and praying in the nearby countryside, which was uninhabited, and then go to Mount Athos.