Saint Spiridon Island

At the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century after the Nativity of Christ, St. Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Trimiphunt, lived on the island of Cyprus. St. Spyridon was born into an ordinary poor family. He himself was a simple and illiterate shepherd of sheep, standing out for his faith in God, humility and charity. He was married, and in marriage his wife gave him a daughter, named Mira. When he was widowed, he turned completely to God and became His preacher. The reputation he acquired during his lifetime was so great that when the previous bishop of Trimiphunt died, the faithful people themselves unanimously proclaimed him as the new bishop. Even then St. Spyridon did not stand out from the other poor people who made up his flock. He was as plainly dressed in shabby clothes as before, and he still wore a hat made of willow twigs on his head. He lived poorly, but always shared everything he had with poor and needy people. He walked everywhere and always on foot, did farm work and continued to guard his flock like a good shepherd. His reputation grew even more when miracles began to happen to people who asked him for help.

The Miracle at Nicea

     St. Spyridon, as Bishop of Trimiphunt, took part in the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D., which was convened by Emperor Constantine.An educated man from Alexandria, named Arius, considered Jesus Christ to be a creation of the Father and denied his divine origin. The wisest philosophers echoed him with their eloquent speeches, cunning answers, defending the defense of the heresy. St. Spyridon, already very famous for his sermons for Christ, though essentially uneducated, came to the Council to contradict the word of Arius and to prove the true nature of God, and he did it by showing the famous visual miracle with an ordinary clay brick (plinfa), squeezing it in the palm of his hand - at once a flame burst upward from the plinfa, simultaneously water rushed downward, and clay sprinkled between his fingers. Thus, St. Spyridon proved the consubstantiality of the Lord Jesus Christ with His beginningless Father and the Blessed Spirit. Because the three elements are one, the Holy Trinity is also one and indivisible. The heresy was defeated unconditionally.

St. Spyridon of Trimiphunt departed to the Lord at the age of 88 in the year 358, but to this day St. Spyridon does not abandon all people who ask for help and intercession (this is the reason why most local Greeks and Greek women in Corfu are named Spyridon and Spyridulla). December 12 (according to the local calendar) is the annual, very solemn commemoration of St. Spyridon, Bishop of Trimiphunt.

Today, Corfu is home to a remarkable temple whose walls are carefully guarded by the miraculous incorruptible relics of the Great St. Spyridon of Trimiphunt. The temple, with its bell tower visible from afar, was built in 1589. Its current iconostasis is made of a rare type of marble and is the work of a famous Austrian architect. Inside the church, to the right of the Royal Gates, there is an amazingly beautiful, lovingly cast by the locals, like a royal bier, a luxurious silver casket of the Saint, carefully caring for him in the hours when St. Spyridon, having worn out his slippers helping people all over the world, returns to his casket to rest.

Four times a year, the magnificent church of St. Spyridon, headed by the Saint himself, celebrates days that are particularly memorable for the island of Corfu and very important for the locals. The Greeks tremblingly keep the memories of their ancestors about how the Wonderworker in 1629 protected the population of the island from a plague epidemic (this day coincides with Palm Sunday), in 1533 saved the islanders from a terrible famine (celebrated on Holy Saturday). In 1716 he repelled and liberated the island from the treacherous raid of the Turks, from mouth to mouth for centuries passed on to each other that after the appearance of the Holy One to the enemies, thousands of dead breathless bodies lined the shores of Corfu (August 11). And in 1673 he protected the island from the second plague epidemic (celebrated on the first Sunday of November). All these events, so close to every Corfiot, are celebrated very colorfully and with great scope. Four times a year the streets of the old town are decorated with special love and reverence for the Saint. In the morning the Divine Liturgy begins, after which St. Spyridon of Trimiphunte himself personally leads a solemn procession along the small picturesque streets of the old Venetian city, along the brightly decorated promenade, past the children merrily eating intricately decorated doughnut balls. Huge numbers of people from all over the world come to take part in this magnificent procession, accompanied by the local Philharmonic orchestras, dressed in festive red costumes, to pay their respects to St. Spyridon and say thank you.... To say thank you to the One who so greatly helps, protects and hears everyone's prayers to Him.

If you love the magical island of Corfu, come on these wonderful days, worship the relics of the Saint, and after taking the blessing of the Master of the island, embark on a journey. Rent a car in Corfu, personally get to know the culture of the locals, visit all the secret corners of this amazing place of Greece, hiding many Orthodox churches and kind open hearts of the islanders. Taste rare traditional fish and meat dishes, find the monastery where the hummingbird lives. Take pictures of the lake, whose waters are almost invisible due to the colorful plumage of numerous and incredibly noisy flocks of flamingos. Enjoy an unforgettable vacation, travel by car to the most remote corners of Corfu island, in which, of course, will help you rent a car in the company Auto Corfu, feel how diverse and unusual this world is.

How to get to the Church of St. Spyridon:

1. If you live in the old city, if you ask any Greek "Pu Ine o naos tou agiu Spiridon" (where is the temple of St. Spiridon?), you will surely get a clue from them. And on your way to it, you can take an interesting walk past the famous Liston Street (just 70 meters from the temple itself), make a small stop along the way, and, enjoying the beautiful weather, taste the famous rich Greek coffee, richly decorated with an inviting soft chocolate foam: so fragrant and thick. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
2. If for your vacation you have chosen a hotel located far away from the noisy city, for example in Benitses, Barbati or Paleokastritsa, then, having rented a car in Corfu, easily covering the distance of your small journey in a rented car, you will be delighted with a comfortable ride, accompanied by magnificent views of mysterious and hazy, as if shrouded in creamy foam, enchanting peaks of unexplored mountain spires of the distant mainland. If you are captivated by the quiet and gentle dawns, beckoned by the serene beauty of fantastic purple-purple sunsets, if you live on the coast of the azure sea, but hope to worship the relics of the Great Saint, then no matter how far you are from the famous temple, renting a car on the island of Corfu, comfortably, literally in the blink of an eye, you can be in the central square of the city, realizing your dream.

3. Even if you have not rented a car in Corfu for the whole vacation, you can take a city bus from anywhere on the island (the Blue bus runs inside the city, and from the remote parts of the island you can get to Kerkyra by taking the Green bus) and, having reached the central square Saroko, then continue on foot (about 10 minutes).

In our company Auto Corfu you can rent a navigator in Russian, which already contains the address of St. Spyridon's Church and the waypoints of the 20 monasteries of the island. In addition, in addition to the navigator, there is an illustrated, detailed book about 20 monasteries of Corfu! Corfu!

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