Today, Tuesday of the Renewal Week (Diakainisimos), is dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos.
Also today, our Holy Church honors the memory of Hieromartyr Januarius, Martyr Alexandra the Empress, and Venerable Anastasius Sinaita, and, also transferred from April 9, honors the memory of the New Martyrs Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene.
Hieromartyr Raphael, originally from Ithaca, lived in the early 15th century. Originally he was called George and in his childhood, he received a rich education. He later followed a solitary life under the name Raphael. He was ordained a priest and received the office of archimandrite.
After the fall of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, he left the place of his ascetic life in Macedonia and, together with his comrade Nicholas, settled in the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, on the island of Lesbos.
During the Turkish invasion, in 1463, they were arrested and horribly killed, along with little Irene, from the village of Thermi. The place of the martyrdom and the lives of the three Saints were revealed, in 1959, after several wonderful signs of St. Raphael to the faithful of the area.
Their monastery in Lesbos is a pole of attraction and a source of healing for the faithful, who turn to their grace from all over the world.
Source: Church of Cyprus
