Holy Great Martyr Xenίa of Kalamata

The Holy Great Martyr Xenίa was born in Kalamata in 291 to devout and God-loving parents, Nicholas and Despina, who were from the eastern part of Italy. Because of the persecution of Christians at that time, they fled to Kalamata in the Peloponnesos, where they had a farm outside the city, because her father was a farmer.

From a young age Saint Xenίa adorned her soul with fasting, temperance, silence, unceasing prayer, tears, vigils, and charity. When Dometian, the eparch of that region, happened to meet the Saint, he was dazzled by her beauty and wanted to make her his wife. Saint Xenίa absolutely refused to change her faith, or to become the wife of an idolater. Then Dometian had her arrested. The Saint was tortured mercilessly and then beheaded in 318. Thus, she entered into the joy of her Lord and received an unfading crown of glory from Christ God.

Father George Nasis, the rector of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in New York City from 1942-1967 was praying one day when a beautiful woman appeared to him. She said her name was Xenίa, a martyr who had been forgotten for almost 1700 years. She asked him to paint an icon, depicting her holding a cross.

At first Father George did not mention this to anyone, thinking that perhaps people would mock him. Then he decided to inform the Archbishop. Researchers tried to find references to Saint Xenίa of Kalamata, but they were not successful. Finally, they found her name in a list of Saints, where she is described as a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

By God's grace, the Saint has worked many miracles after her death.

In 1993, a new parish church of the Holy Trinity was built in the western part of Kalamata, which has a chapel dedicated to Saint Xenia.