Celebrations of Saint Spyridon of Tremithus begin in Corfu

Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu leads the festive service in honor of Saint Spyridon. Photo: orthodoxia news agency

On December 11, 2025, festive events in honor of Saint Spyridon began on the island of Corfu, which annually gather many pilgrims and guests. This is reported by the Orthodoxia news agency.

The three-day celebrations traditionally began in the church where the incorrupt relics of the saint are kept. Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu offered a prayer to the saint and blessed the beginning of the festival, after which the Turin shroud of Saint Spyridon was brought out from the sanctuary and set up for veneration.

Participating in the worship services, as guests of Mr. Nektarios, are the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Most Reverend Metropolitans of the Principe Islands, Mr. Demetrios, and of Philadelphia, Mr. Meliton. For the island, this day is one of the most significant church events of the year.

A special tradition of the festival is the annual "re-shoeing" of the saint's relics: the slippers, with which, according to legend, the saint "walks" around the island, are changed once a year. The worn slippers are given to monasteries and churches as a blessing and a great relic.

Historically, the veneration of Saint Spyridon on Corfu is associated with his miraculous help to the island's inhabitants. According to legend, he repeatedly saved Corfu from epidemics, famine, and Ottoman attacks, which led to the establishment of several processions with the relics in memory of his intercession.

Saint Spyridon is one of the most revered saints in Greece and throughout the Orthodox East. His relics have been on Corfu since the 15th century, and during the festival days, they are brought out for veneration and solemn litanies according to ancient tradition.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that celebrations in honor of Saint Alexander Nevsky were held in Bulgaria.

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