Dionysios of Zakynthos
Dionysios (* 1547 in Zakynthos (city) ; † December 17, 1624 in Anafonitria , Zakynthos Island ) was ordained bishop of the Greek islands of Aegina and Poros in 1577 . He was canonized in 1703 .
Live and act
Saint Dionysius was born in 1547 to noble parents in Zakynthos (now Zakynthos City) and baptized Draganigos. Draganigos was already interested in theology as a teenager and felt strongly drawn to the Christian faith. As a young adult, he turned away from the worldly life and entered in 1568 on the nearby Strophadeninsel Stamfani in the lonely Metamorphosis Monastery one. He took the monk name Daniel. He was ordained a priest in 1570 by the Bishop of Kefalonià and Zakynthos. He then worked as a priest in many churches on Zakynthos and was soon appointed abbot of the Marian monastery in Anafonitria. On the way to a pilgrimage to Palestine, he was offered the office of bishop of the islands of Aegina and Poros in Athens by the archbishop of the time. At his episcopal ordination in 1577 he took the name Dionysius, this in honor of Dionysius Areopagita , the first bishop of Athens.
Dionysius only worked there as a bishop for a few years, as he soon withdrew, first to the seclusion of the Strofaden monastery and later to Anafonitria in the Marian monastery. In between, he worked from 1583 to 1586 as a simple priest in the Nikolaus Church in Zakynthos.
Dionysios died on December 17, 1624 (the year of death 1622 is often mentioned). His will according to his body was at the monastery on the Strophadeninsel Stamfani buried. According to tradition, a few years later Dionysius appeared to the monastery abbot in a dream, with the request to open his grave. The monks found the corpse undecomposed, giving off a wonderful scent of flowers and incense. They then moved him to the monastery church in an honorary coffin.
canonization
Dionysius was said to have had numerous miracles both during his lifetime and after his death, mainly healing of the sick. In 1703 Dionysius was canonized.
A special act of forgiveness is told as a myth. In December 1580 his brother Konstantinos was murdered by a man who was subsequently able to flee from the authorities to the Marian monastery, in which Dionysius served. There the murderer confessed the sinful act of Dionysius, who not only forgave him for the murder of his brother, but also hid him from the soldiers and subsequently helped him to escape.
Agios Dionysios Church
As a result of constant pirate raids on the monastery on Strophaden Island, the saint's body was transferred to Zakynthos in 1716.
Dionysios still undecayed corpse is today in a silver sarcophagus in the Agios Dionysios church named after him in Zakynthos town. On December 17th, the day of his death, and on August 24th (the day his body was transferred to Zakynthos), a magnificent procession in Zakynthos town, with the body being carried, and a folk festival of the island's saint commemorate it.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dionysios of Zakynthos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dionysius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop and saint |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1547 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zakynthos Town |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 17, 1624 |
| Place of death | Anafonitria , Zakynthos Island |