Father Arsenios Character Analysis in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Father Arsenios is the Orthodox priest of Pelagia's village. He's rotund, greedy, and there are rumors that he skirted rules in order to marry his very young wife. Because he's so greedy and not particularly godly, none of the villagers truly respects Arsenios at the beginning of the novel. Kokolios refers to him as a parasite and he often gets embarrassingly drunk. However, when the war starts, Arsenios suffers a crisis of faith. Believing that God has abandoned Greece, Father Arsenios takes it upon himself to preach and do what he can to religiously help the Greeks. He adopts a dog and begins walking all over the island, preaching. Though the German soldiers turn him away from their camp, the Italians listen to him and offer him food. This earns them his respect. After two years, Arsenios has become skeletally thin and though he neglects his village, the narrator notes that he had the potential of becoming a saint because of the preaching he does during the occupation. Once he learns that the Germans massacred the Italians, Arsenios goes to one of the pyres, preaches at the Germans, and then begins to beat them. They shoot him and throw him on the pyre.

Father Arsenios Character Timeline in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

The timeline below shows where the character Father Arsenios appears in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Power, Reality, and Absurdity Theme Icon

...and drops his helpers with a flourish. Then, someone asks Velisarios to lift the passing Father Arsenios --the priest is globular, greedy, and has no respect from the villagers. Velisarios swoops Father... (full context)

Father Arsenios sits behind the iconostasis, thinking that the villagers don't respect him. He considers leaving to... (full context)

Father Arsenios realizes he needs to urinate. He's afraid to leave his safe spot, as it may... (full context)

Velisarios arrives at the church to apologize to Father Arsenios , but Arsenios refuses to come out from behind the iconostasis. He insists he doesn't... (full context)

...doesn't feel comfortable going behind the iconostasis despite his atheism, but he slips behind when Father Arsenios asks for help. Dr. Iannis attempts to help the priest up, but Father Arsenios is... (full context)

War: Horror, Beauty, and Humanity Theme Icon

...they must care about people more than they care about the ideas. He even defends Father Arsenios when Kokolios deems him a parasite. He briefly pokes fun at Kokolios's communism before Kokolios... (full context)

...something is wrong as soon as he enters; both Stamatis and Kokolios are crying and Father Arsenios is preaching outside. Kokolios explains that the Italians just sank the Elli and torpedoed a... (full context)

Mandras mends his nets and thinks of the war. Father Arsenios helped Mandras get the paperwork together to join the army. He vows to ask Pelagia... (full context)

...that despite the scenes of merriment, everyone is extremely anxious about the coming war. When Father Arsenios finishes his sermon, bearers carry the sarcophagus of the saint outside to a tree, around... (full context)

...he comes to think of himself as a priest of the body. Both he and Father Arsenios have become increasingly important figures. Dr. Iannis hears Pelagia singing and writes that Greece is... (full context)

...their ideological differences. Men expect to be beaten and young women expect to be raped. Father Arsenios finds his usual prayers aren't comforting. He asks God what he thinks he's doing and... (full context)

...then returned to bed, limp and yet able to resist being fed. Mandras asked for Father Arsenios and confessed that he had sex with the queen and that his legs were made... (full context)

Corelli nearly dies of shock when Father Arsenios interrupts his reading of the pamphlet. Arsenios merely glares in response to Corelli's polite greeting,... (full context)

The narrator says that Father Arsenios is saved by the war. He gradually realizes that God failed Greece and takes it... (full context)

...him about the rebels, and sends him off. Bunnios lives with Italians, sometimes walks with Father Arsenios , and reports weekly to the British forces. (full context)

...get married, and General Gandin won't let the Italians disarm the Germans now. Pelagia sees Father Arsenios and Bunnios and runs to talk to them. She asks Bunnios when the British are... (full context)

When Father Arsenios learns of the massacre, he feels responsible. He approaches one of the fires and preaches... (full context)