A few words about the Holy Temple
The Church of Saint Spyridon is a Greek Orthodox church located in Corfu, Greece. It was built in the 1580s. It houses the relics of Saint Spyridon and is located in the old town of Corfu. It is a single-aisled basilica and its 40-meter-high bell tower is the tallest in the Ionian Islands. It is the most famous church in Corfu.
According to tradition, in 1489, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the relics of Saint Spyridon and Saint Theodora were transferred to Corfu from Constantinople by the Greek monk George Kalohairetis. In the 1580s, after the demolition of the private church, the saint’s relics were transferred to their current location in a new church built within the city’s fortifications in the Campiello area of the old town.
Inside the church there is a crypt to the right of the iconostasis where the Saint’s relics are kept in a double sarcophagus. The larger of the two contains the smaller one and is wooden with silver lining. The smaller sarcophagus is covered in red velvet and has a removable bottom to facilitate changing the saint’s slippers.
Saint Spyridon of Trimythous
Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, also referred to simply as Saint Spyridon (c. 270-348), is a Saint of the Orthodox Church. He was bishop of the town of Trimythous. He is the patron saint of shoemakers.
He was born around 270 in the now occupied village of Assia, Cyprus. In his youth he lived as a simple but virtuous shepherd. He married and had a daughter, Irene. After his widowhood he embraced the monastic life, studied a lot, acquired great wisdom and thanks to his religious virtues he became Bishop of Trimythous and was an opponent of Arianism. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. He died in 348.
In fact, he performed miracles, trying to refute the heretic Arius, who spread that Christ is not the Son of God, but a creation of God, questioning the fundamental doctrine of Christianity of the Holy Trinity.
Saint Spyridon is honored as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. His memory is celebrated on December 12 in the Orthodox Church. Saint Spyridon is the patron saint of shoemakers.