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St. Gervasios of Patras
Saint Gervasios of Patras (1877 Granitsa, Arcadia-1964 Patras, Achaia) was a Greek priest and monk, a commonly accepted prominent figure in the modern ecclesiastical history of Patras who was highly respected and honoured by all, especially by the common people.[1]
His work
He was distinguished for his multifaceted pastoral, social, priestly, authorial, catechetical and theological work. He was characterized by love, simplicity, humility, hard work and boldness.His boldness was not based on ignorance of the dangers, nor on deception, nor on ostentation and self-promotion, nor on frustration, nor on irrationality. St. Gervasius' boldness was based on truth, on evangelical virtue, on Christ.[2] He was Abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Patras Gerokomeion, Protosygellos of the Holy Metropolis of Patras, Grand Protosygellos of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens and Chaplain of the Holy Churches of St. Paraskevi and St. Demetrios of Patras, while he took part as a military priest in the Balkan wars.
His pastoral care
He loved all people to the point of self-sacrifice, helping and supporting in every way, among them especially children, mothers, the poor and refugees from Asia Minor. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy with absolute devotion and in a sacramental way, living ascetically in obedience to God and the Church, and preaching the word of the Gospel , approaching the doctrinal teaching of the Church as a living out of moral teaching.[3] He founded the first catechetical schools in Greece. He organized children's camps next to the monastery of Prophet Elias Patras, near Gerokomeion, and in Sychaina Patras.
A miraculous event
Among the many miraculous events of his life and afterwards, the following incident is worth mentioning: An unhandmade cross on a piece of pine tree trunk planted by Fr. Gervasios in 1929. In 1934, he founded a church camp near the Monastery of Prophet Elias, near Gerokomeion, in the area of which, on July 20, 1960, a unhandmade cross inscribed on a pine tree trunk that he himself planted on December 17, 1929, as part of a pine tree planting by the young campers who planted a pine tree each. Commenting humbly on the miraculous event, Fr. Gervasius simply said: “ that this was done for the sake of the good and unsaved children” .Pieces with the inscribed handmade cross from the trunk of that pine tree exist today in the Holy Metropolis of Patras, in the Monastery of Gerokomeion, in the Monastery of Pr. Elias and in Holy Church of St. Paraskevi in Sychaina Patras.[4]
His canonisation
On August 26, 2019, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, following a reasoned recommendation of the Metropolitan of Patras, Mr. Chrysostomos, submitted a request[5] to the Ecumenical Patriarchate [6]to declare him a saint.[7] On 16 November 2023[8], the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, under the presidency of His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, proclaimed Archimandrite Yervasios Paraskevopoulos of Patras a Saint of the Orthodox Church[9]. On the same day, the Metropolitan of Patras, Mr. Chrysostomos, held the first Vespers in his memory as a Saint, at the campsite in Sychaina, Patras at the Anaplastiki School, at the existing Holy Church of Agia Paraskevi, behind which his tomb is located.[10]
- ^ "The Influence of Elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos on the City of Patras: A Personal Testimony".
- ^ Cyril Kostopoulos Hierodeakon, Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras: His Life and Pastoral Work Thessaloniki: "Orthodoxos Kypseli" Publications. Trans. By Fr. Nicholas Palis. Ed. by Patrick Barker. 2006.
- ^ "Excerpts from the Life of Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras (+1964)". orthodoxinfo.com.
- ^ "Elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos and the Miracle of the Cross".
- ^ "Greek Synod Proposes Elder Gervasios of Patras for Canonization | A Russian Orthodox Church Website". www.pravmir.com.
- ^ "Elder Gervasios Paraskevopolous in the Final Process Before Official Canonization".
- ^ "Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras proposed for canonization (+ VIDEO)".
- ^ "Elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos in the Church's Holy Book – Patra celebrates the new Saint".
- ^ "Canonization of Fr. Gervasios Paraskevopoulos by Ecumenical Patriarchate | Orthodox Times (en)".
- ^ "The First Vespers for Saint Gervasios in Patras".