The Saints of Ionian Village
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person. At Ionian Village, there are several saints who are deeply connected and are special to the camp and its alumni. More on Saints in the Orthodox Church can be found at the Archdiocese Website. To learn more about the Saints we visit at Ionian Village, click on any of the links below:
Saint Andrew the Apostle
St. Andrew, known as the "First-Called Apostle," made a living as a fisherman before following Christ. St. Andrew chose this profession because of his great love for God and the beauty he found in His creation of the sea.
Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos
Saint Dionysios, widely known for the act of forgiving his brother’s murderer and as the "Walking Saint," was born in 1547 on the Greek island of Zakynthos. During his childhood years, public education in Zakynthos did not exist. However, St. Dionysios was educated at a school run by Orthodox priests on the island, where he began to learn Greek, Italian, and Latin.
Holy Apostle Iakovos
St. Iakovos, also known as "St. James, the brother of the Lord," is the patron saint of the Ionian Village chapel. Although St. Iakovos was an apostle of the Lord, he was not one of the original twelve apostles.
Saint Luke the Evangelist
St. Luke, who is credited with recording the life of Christ through his Gospel of the New Testament, was also known as the "glorious physician," and for his artistic ability. St. Luke was born in Antioch, Syria, where he began to commit his life to Christ upon meeting St. Paul.
Saint Marina
Orphaned by her mother who died in childbirth, Saint Marina’s pagan father entrusted her upbringing to a woman who happened to be a Christian. Living in Antioch in a time when many people still worshipped several gods, Saint Marina’s father was unaware that the woman he selected to be his daughter’s foster mother was a Christian.
Saint Nektarios
Saint Nektarios, known for his countless miracles of healing, and as, "A Saint for our Time," was born in 1846 in Selybria, Thrace. When he was fourteen, he left his home and traveled to Constantinople in search of work and study. There, St. Nektarios lived a very modest life constantly praying to Christ and believing that He would provide everything he needed to live.
Saint Gerasimos
He was reared in piety by them and studied the Sacred writings. He left his country and went throughout various lands, and finally came to Cephalonia, where he restored a certain old church and built a convent around it, where it stands to this day at the place called Omala. He finished the course of his life there in asceticism in the year 1570. His sacred relics, which remain incorrupt, are kept there for the sanctification of the faithful.
Saint Spyridon
Spyridon, the God-bearing Father of the Church, the great defender of Corfu and the boast of all the Orthodox, had Cyprus as his homeland. He was simple in manner and humble of heart, and was a shepherd of sheep.
Saint Mamas
He was born in prison, where his parents were suffering for Christ's sake and ended their lives. He was named Mammas because, after he had long remained without speaking, he addressed his foster mother Ammia as "mamma." He contested for Christ about the year 275.
Saint Alexios Man of God
Saint Alexios was born in old Rome of illustrious parents named
Euphemianus and Aglais. He returned to Rome
in the disguise of a beggar and sat at the gates of his father's house,
unknown to all and mocked by his own servants. His identity was revealed
only after his death by a paper that he had on his person, which he
himself had written a little before his repose.
Saint Paul the Apostle
Paul, the chosen vessel of Christ, the glory of the Church, the Apostle of the Nations and teacher of the whole world. Having completed the work of his ministry, he likewise ended his life in martyrdom when he was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero.
Saint Jason & Saint Sosipater
Both of these Saints were disciples of the Apostle Paul. When they had shepherded their churches well for a long time, they departed west that they might profit others also, and arrived finally at the island of Corfu, where they were the first to preach the Gospel to its people.
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