Mount Athos weathered lithography (icon) of Saint John Cassian the Roman in pine wood with carved decoration.

Saint Cassian was born around 360 to 365 AD from pious and eminent parents. He studied philosophy and astronomy and showed great zeal in the study of the Bible. He practiced asceticism in the monastic centers of Egypt and he was student of Saint John Chrysostom. He later went to Marseilles, France, where he built a monastery and became an abbot. He slept in peace in 435 AD.

Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos writes: "The Saint went to many places, socialized with holy people and gathered in himself so many virtues that he became an example of virtue." The only Greek church dedicated to Saint Cassian is located in the old town of Nicosia. According to the synaxaries, the Saint raised the issue of leadership of the Universe, proposing the replacement of the Almighty by Saint Nicholas, with the consequence that his memory is celebrated every four years, on February 29.