He
was born about 270 A.D. in Askia, a village in Cyprus. He was of poor and
humble origin and earned his living as a shepherd. He was married and had one
daughter named Irene whom he dedicated to the Church at the death of his wife,
while for himself he chose the monastic life. He was loved and revered by the
people for his deep faith, so that when the bishop of Tremithous died he
became his successor. During last years of his life he performed a great
number of miracles, which was the reason why the faithful considered him a
saint even before his death, which occurred about 348. Sweet-scented
exhalations were repeatedly perceived emanating from his tomb, until the local
churchmen dug it up and found the saint’s body intact. The holy remains were
kept in Cyprus for over three hundred years. Following an Arab raid in the
second half of the seventh century; the saint’s body was carried to
Constantinople, where it was kept until the fall of Constantinople to the
Turks in 1453. Shortly after the Turkish conquest the priest George
Kalochairetis carried off the body of the Saint, concealed in hay, together
with that of Saint Theodora. He disguised himself as a peasant and succeeded
in crossing the Turkish lines; after long wanderings he reached Paramythia in
Epiros, where he stayed until 1456 and then crossed over to Corfu with his
precious burden. Three times a year, on St. Spyridon’s Day (12th of
December), on Easter Saturday and on the 11th of August, the silver
gilt case containing his body is exposed for public worship for three days and
two nights (at Easter for three nights) in front of his chapel. Thousands of
pilgrims pay homage by day and night and kiss his slippered feet. Many are the
miracles attributed to the Saint and many people suffering from incurable
diseases are relieved of their ailment.
The Religious Processions of
Saint Spyridon
On Palm Sunday, Easter Saturday,
August 11th and the first Sunday in November the body
of St. Spyridon, is carried in solemn procession along the streets of Corfu on
routes prescribed by tradition.
The
great
Palm Sunday
procession commemorates the miraculous deliverance of the island from a deadly
plague. The windows of most houses along the route of the procession are
decorated with purple, gold-fringed draperies in honor of the Saint; the
custom dates back to Venetian times and has its origin in Byzantium. The
procession is attended by the clergy, headed by the Metropolitan, by
representatives of the secondary schools and Boy Scouts, the three brass bands
of Corfu town, and others from the villages. All the civic and state
authorities, as well as detachments of the armed forces, take part in the
procession. We must return to the seventeenth century to learn the origin of
the procession. Large crowds gathered in despair in St. Spyridon’s Church and
prayed to the Saint for salvation from the plague, which had already taken the
lives of sixty citizens. From that day the number of death was gradually
reduced and at the same time a light like that of a small lamp was seen at
night on the top of the Saint’s belfry and was observed by the night sentinels
of the Old Fortress. By Palm Sunday the epidemic was over and this was
ascribed to the miraculous intervention of the Saint. The whole of the
rejoicing population, in a show of gratitude, carried their Patron Saint in
procession. The Venetian Governor, at the request of the people of Corfu,
decreed on the 21st of June 1630 that henceforth a procession would
be held on Palm Sunday every year.
The
Easter Saturday
procession commemorates the relief of the island from famine, and is the
oldest of the four processions and the most solemn, since it is combined with
the Orthodox ritual carrying the ‘Epitaph’, a gilt bier representing the body
of Jesus Christ being borne to the grave. On this occasion the canopy is not
held over the Saint but over the Epitaph. This custom dates back to 1574, when
the Venetian Senate prohibited the Greek Orthodox processions of the Epitaph
taking place on Good Friday. Local custom and tradition has for this reason
moved the Epitaph procession from Good Friday to Easter Saturday exclusively
for the Church of St. Spyridon. The Saint’s body is not replaced in its
permanent silver casket when the procession is over, but is exposed day and
night for general worship by the faithful until the afternoon of Easter
Tuesday. The story of this procession reaches back to the middle of the
sixteenth century. According to the legend of the Saint, the inhabitants of
Corfu were suffering from famine since no grain ships could sail owing
contrary winds. Unexpectedly, on Easter Saturday, ships loaded with flour
sailed into Corfu harbor. They were sailing past the island and had been
diverted thither by St. Spyridon who appeared in a dream to the captains and
induced them to change their course and sail at once to Corfu because the
population was starving. The flour was unloaded and distributed to the
inhabitants who thus satisfied their hunger and celebrated Easter joyfully.
According to historical evidence Easter Saturday procession was probably first
held in the second half of the sixteenth century.
The third
procession of St. Spyridon is held on
11th
of August,
in remembrance of the Saint’s deliverance of the island from the Turkish siege
of 1716. The legend of the Saint mentions that there appeared to the enemy
Saint Spyridon surrounded by a glorious heavenly host, holding in his right
hand flashing sword, and furiously pursuing them. On its return to the church
the Saint’s body is exposed for general worship for three days and two nights.
The last in
the calendar of the processions of St. Spyridon is that on the
first
Sunday in November in
commemoration of the miraculous intercession of the Saint in saving Corfu from
deadly plague, which twice visited the island in the seventeenth century. The
history of the procession goes back to 1673. The pestilence was first
identified in one of the suburbs and soon spread all over the town; the entire
population was gripped by terror of death. For three nights a light was seen
by the local inhabitants on the bell-tower of his Church and the figure of
Saint Spyridon, carrying cross in one hand, appeared driving the pestilence
away. The Venetian Governor, at request of the people of Corfu, sanctioned by
decree on the 29th of October 1673 that the procession be held
every year on the first Sunday in November.
Bibliography:
STAMATOPOULOS, N.: Old
Corfu, History
and Culture,
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