Moving Story of the Saints of Lesbos Remembered on 564th Anniversary

Today is the 564th anniversary of the Martyrs of Lesbos, Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene, who were killed by the Turks on Bright Tuesday on April 9, 1463. This was ten years after the fall of Constantinople.

According to a 20th century legend, Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lesbos, venerated as saints and martyrs in the Eastern Orthodox Church, lived on the island of Lesbos in the 15th century and were murdered by Turkish raiders in April 1463. Raphael is said to be the abbot of a monastery of Karyes, close to the village of Thermi. Nicholas was a deacon in the same monastery, and Irene was the 12-year-old daughter of the local mayor.

For hundreds of years, the people of Lesbos would make the pilgrimage on Bright Tuesday to the ruins of the monastery near Thermi. However, as the years went on, few could recall why the annual trip took place.

In 1959, a religious man named Angelos Rallis endeavored to build a chapel near the ruins of the monastery, and in the summer of that year, people at work on the site came across the relics of Saint Raphael while clearing up.

Not long after this, as legend has it, the saints began to appear before various inhabitants of Lesbos and shared the details of their lives and martyrdom. These accounts form the basis of Photios Kontoglou’s 1962 book A Great Sign, written in Greek.

Saint Raphael was born on the island of Ithaka around 1410 and raised by pious parents. His given name was George, but he took on the name Raphael when he became a monk. He was ordained to the holy priesthood and later rose to the offices of Archimandrite and Chancellor.

In 1453, Saint Raphael resided in Macedonia with his fellow monastic, the deacon Nicholas, who was born in Thessaloniki. In 1454, the Turks invaded Thrace, at which point the two monks fled to the island of Lesbos. They settled in the Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos near Thermi, where Saint Raphael became the igumen.

What happened to the saints of Lesbos?

The Turks raided the monastery in 1463, capturing the monks. The future saints were tortured from Holy Thursday through to Bright Tuesday. Saint Raphael was supposedly tied to a tree, while the Turks sawed through his jaw, killing him.

Saint Nicholas was also tortured but was made to watch his elder’s martyrdom before being killed. The story goes that Nicholas appeared to people and showed them the spot where his relics were consequently uncovered in June 1960.

Saint Irene, the 12-year-old daughter of the village mayor in Lesbos, Basil, had come with her family to the monastery to warn the monks about incoming raiders. The cruel perpetrators chopped off one of her arms and threw it down before her parents. Then the young girl was encased in a large earthen cask and a fire was lit underneath, slowly suffocating her.

Her parents were put to death but not before being forced to watch their daughter suffer these atrocities. Her grave and the earthen cask were discovered on May 12, 1961 after Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene had supposedly appeared to residents and told them where to search.

Others who were also sanctified that day were Irene’s parents Basil and Maria, Theodore, the village teacher, and Eleni, the 15-year-old cousin of Irene.

It has been said that the saints appeared both separately and together, telling people that they wanted to be remembered. They requested that their icon be painted and that a church service be composed for them. It is said they helped people find their holy relics.

According to accounts of those who supposedly saw the saints, the master iconographer was Photios Kontoglou, and the church service was carried out by Father Gerasimos of Little Saint Anne Skete on Mount Athos.

Those who have allegedly seen the saints described what they looked like. Raphael is tall, middle-aged, with a beard of moderate length. His hair is black with speckles of grey, and his face is expressive. Nicholas is short and thin with a small blonde beard. Irene typically appears with a long, yellow dress down to the floor, and her blonde hair is in two braids that rest on either side of her chest.

Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene (and those with them) are also commemorated on Bright Tuesday.