Bright Week  – Our saintly trio

Vespers Service for Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene held  on 21 April 2025 with His Eminence Archbishop Sergios, Archimandrite Doukas and Pater Nikolaos.

What a special Easter Monday this year as we commemorated Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene who are the patron Saints of the exquisite little Greek Orthodox Church designed by Archbishop Sergios which now stands in the grounds of the Archbishopric in Rondebosch.

And because our Orthodox Easter took place at the same time as the Western Christian churches this year we were able to enjoy the public holiday with some fun and games for the kiddies!

The three Saints to whom this pretty and perfect little church is dedicated suffered martyrdom by the Turks on the island of Lesvos, Greece. They are remembered by the Church on Bright Tuesday (always the first Tuesday after Easter Sunday).

Their story teaches way back to 1463 but they were only “ discovered” in 1959 when local
villagers reported seeing them in their dreams during which the Saints revealed their stories to them.

The site where they were murdered was subsequently excavated and human remains believed to be those of the three martyrs were found.
These relics are kept now in a monastery that was re-built on the site on Lesvos on a hill called Karyes and has become a prominent center of pilgrimage.

It took 500 years for them to be recognized and to be revered as saints and they were finally canonized in 1970.

* How it all happened

According to legend, they were killed by Turkish raiders in 1463. Raphael ,who was born on the island of Ithaca, is said to have been an abbot of a monastery called Karyes, near the village of Thermi.
Nicholas was a deacon in the same monastery at that time and helped hide 12 year-old Irene, the daughter of the local mayor . The child and her parents were among other Christians who were seeking refuge at the monastery.

However the Turks had no mercy in dealing with the monks and their secret guests.
They ravaged the monastery and finding the child, and Raphael and Nicholas , they grabbed them and tortured them to find out where the rest of the Christians were hiding.

The Saints were cruelly tormented and tortured by the Turks before they were finally put to death. Saint Raphael was hung upside down and his head was sawn off.
Saint Nicholas died of heart failure while he was being similarly tortured and one of Irene’s hands was cut off and she was burnt alive in a clay cask in front of her parents.

All three refused to deny their faith or reveal the whereabouts of other Christians on the island, so they were martyred for the sake of their Christian faith.

* How was their martyrdom finally acknowledged?

The villagers on the island had a custom of climbing up a hill to the ruins of an ancient chapel to celebrate the Divine Liturgy.
Then in 1959 things started happening ….

Some of the villagers began dreaming about people who spoke to them and told them the whole story of how they and the islanders had been persecuted, tortured and killed by the Muslim Turks ten years after the fall of Constantinople.

They asked for an icon to be painted of them and a church service to be held and they indicated the place where their remains could be found.

On 12 May 1961 Saint Irene’s earthen cask was found and sure enough her blistered and blackened bones were found in it.
It was a day to remember and also the day the Church gained three new Saints.

Many miracles have taken place on Lesvos accredited to this holy trio and they help and heal the sick and bring many unbelievers back to the Church.

They live forever

Although their Feast Day is celebrated tomorrow to mark the day of their martyrdom, it is also a testimony to the Resurrection, of Christ, coming so soon after Easter Sunday.

They had lain silent and unseen for 500 years and yet they still managed to come alive again and be acknowledged and accepted.

After our service we had a little celebratory family get-together with an egg hunt and chocolate bunnies galore, egg and spoon and sack races and as you can see it was rather on the yummy fun side!

Big thanks to the ladies of the Metropolis Welfare Committee for arranging the excellent treats we tucked into and Artemis and Bojana our Sunday School teachers for gathering the troops!

We salute the Saints and ask for their guidance and protection during these uncertain times we live in.  (Text and photos: Pepe Sofianos)