St Spyridon the Wonderworker
The shepherd of Cyprus who confessed the Trinity at Nicaea and still works wonders at Corfu.
Saint Spyridon of Trimythous (c. 270–348) is one of the most widely loved saints of the Orthodox Church: a married shepherd who became a bishop, a father of the First Ecumenical Council, and a wonderworker whose relics rest incorrupt on the island of Corfu. He is commemorated on December 12 — December 25 on the civil calendar for churches keeping the Julian reckoning.
Who was St Spyridon?
Spyridon was born in Cyprus around the year 270 and lived as a simple shepherd. He married and had a daughter, Irene; after his wife's repose he was chosen bishop of Trimythous, and he continued to tend his flocks and work his fields while serving as a bishop. He is almost always depicted in icons wearing a shepherd's woven cap of straw rather than a mitre.
He suffered in the persecution under Maximian — sources record that he was maimed and sent to the mines — and was released when Constantine granted peace to the Church.
Nicaea and the potsherd
Saint Spyridon took part in the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325, which condemned the teaching of Arius and confessed the Son to be of one essence with the Father. He was an unlettered man among trained philosophers, and the tradition of the Church remembers that he answered the Arian arguments not with rhetoric but with a simple confession of faith that converted a philosopher on the spot.
The best-known account, told for centuries in the Orthodox world, is that he took a clay tile in his hand and, calling on the Holy Trinity, saw fire rise from it, water flow down, and the clay remain — one thing in three. Historians debate when this story entered the record; the Church keeps it as an icon in words of what the Council confessed.
The relics at Corfu
After the fall of Constantinople his relics were brought west and, since 1456, have rested in the church of Saint Spyridon in Corfu Town, where they remain incorrupt and are carried in procession through the streets four times a year. Corfiots credit the saint with delivering the island from plague, famine and siege, and the processions commemorate those deliverances.
A persistent local tradition holds that his slippers wear out and are replaced, taken as a sign that he continues to walk the world helping those who call on him. Pieces of the worn slippers are given away as blessings.
Feast day and how he is honoured
- December 12 on the Church calendar; parishes on the Julian reckoning keep it on December 25 civil.
- Corfu keeps additional feasts of the saint on Palm Sunday, Holy Saturday, August 11 and the first Sunday of November.
- An Akathist to Saint Spyridon is widely used, especially in need of housing, work or money.
- He is a patron of shepherds, potters, the poor and of those in financial difficulty.
- Many parishes in Greece, Cyprus, the United States and the Slavic churches bear his name.
Troparion (Tone 1)
"At the Council of Nicaea you were shown forth as a champion and wonderworker, O Spyridon our God-bearing father. You spoke to the girl in the grave and turned the serpent to gold; and while chanting your holy prayers, angels served with you, O most holy one. Glory to Him who has glorified you; glory to Him who has crowned you; glory to Him who through you works healings for all."
Frequently asked
- When is the feast day of St Spyridon?
- December 12. Churches following the Julian calendar keep it on December 25 by the civil (Gregorian) reckoning.
- Where are the relics of St Spyridon?
- In the church of Saint Spyridon in Corfu Town, Greece, where they have rested incorrupt since 1456 and are carried in procession several times a year.
- What is St Spyridon the patron saint of?
- Corfu and Cyprus, shepherds and potters, and those in financial or housing need.
- Was St Spyridon at the Council of Nicaea?
- Yes. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council of 325 and is remembered for confessing the Trinity against Arianism in plain, unlearned words.