Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus

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Saint Spyridon was born in 270 AD. in the now occupied village of Assia (Askia) in Cyprus (and not in Trimithounta - today's Tremetousia - as many write) by a family of shepherds, who were somewhat wealthy. Although he was educated enough, he did not change profession. He continued to be a shepherd.

As a character, the Saint was simple, kind, full of love for his neighbor. On Sundays and feasts, he often took the shepherds and led them to the holy temples, and then explained the evangelical or apostolic passage to them. God blessed him to become a frequent protector of widows and orphans.

He married a pious wife and had a daughter, Irene. Soon, however, his wife died. In order to heal his wound, Spyridon devoted himself even more to the teaching of the divine word.

After much pressure, he was ordained a priest. Indeed, he was a true priest of the Gospel, as Uncle Paul wants him to be: That is, unobtrusive, attentive, restrained, modest, hospitable, didactic, and have children who submit with every modesty. Thus Spyridon was so righteous as a priest that when the diocese of Trimythontos in Cyprus became vacant, the people and the clergy elected him bishop.

From this position Spyridon went so far as to virtue, that God required him to perform many miracles.

It should be noted here that Saint Spyridon with the prestige of his holy and moral life in the First Ecumenical Council, which took place in Nicaea, Bithynia (Asia Minor) and in which he participated, defeated the Martians and emerged as one of the brilliant defenders of the Orthodox faith. In fact, according to tradition, after speaking for a while, then he made the sign of the Cross and with his left hand, holding a tile, in the form of the Holy Trinity said: "In the name of the Father" and made it appear upwards from the fire tile, through which it had been baked. When he did not say: "Καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ", water flowed down, through which the soil of the tile was kneaded. And when he added: "And of the Holy Spirit" he showed in his handful only the soil that remained.

Saint Spyridon slept on December 12, 350 AD.

The 648 AD Cyprus faced major raids by the Saracens and the relic was transported to Constantinople by Emperor Justinian. It was placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles together with the relic of Augusta Theodora (see February 11). He remained in the queen of the cities until the priest Gregory Polyeuctus a few days before the fall took the two relics and transported them through Serbia, Thrace and Macedonia to Paramythia of Epirus. For three years he wandered from place to place until he reached Corfu. All this time he had placed the remains in bags of straw and whoever asked him told them that it was food for his pack. In 1456 AD arrived in Corfu because he believed that the remains would be insured. The Ionian Islands at that time were under the rule of the Venetians. The priest Grigorios Polyefktos found a fellow citizen of the refugee the priest Georgios Kalochairetis and bequeathed the relic of the Saint to him.

After his death, George Kalohairetis bequeathed the relic of Saint Spyridon to his sons in Luke and Philip. The two brothers wanted to transport the relic to Venice. The case was even heard by the Venetian Senate. The state's supreme court ruled that the relic was the property of the brothers, so they retained the inalienable right to carry it wherever they wished. In the end, however, the transfer did not take place because there were strong reactions from the people of Corfu and the supreme judiciary did not insist and the prevailing thought was that there should be no resentment among the people who are under the Venetian flag. In 1512 AD a donation contract was drawn up in Arta in the name of Asimina Kalohaireti, daughter of Philip, who married Stamatios Voulgaris and who in turn left a will dating from November 25, 1571 AD. and stipulates that the Holy Relic of the Saint remains as an inheritance to her sons and their descendants.

The church which today houses the relic of the saint, was built in 1589 AD. and belongs to the style of the single-aisled basilica. The tall and towering bell tower, as a complement to the temple, was built in 1620 AD. The current iconostasis of the church, made of marble of Paros, was built in 1864 AD. and is the work of the Austrian architect Mauers. The sky is painted by the Corfiot painter Nikolaos Aspiotis in 1852 AD, while the icons of the iconostasis are made by the also Corfiot painter, Spyros Prosalandis. Today's shrine was built in Vienna in 1867 AD. It is made of hard, luxurious wood with silver exterior cladding. It is located inside the crypt, which was created especially to receive the relic of Saint Spyridon, which is visited by thousands of foreign and local visitors.

In Corfu, the relics of Agios Spyridon are liturgized four times a year. On Palm Sunday for the relief of the island from a plague epidemic in 1629 AD. Holy Saturday because the year 1533 AD the island was hit by a major destruction of the grain crop. On the 11th of August for the rescue of the island from a fierce invasion of the Turks in 1716 AD. and the first Sunday of November for a second plague epidemic in 1673 AD.

It celebrates on December 12 of each year.