Phanourios

The Holy Great-Martyr St Phanourios, the miracle worker, is commemorated by the Church on August 27 and is not simply honoured by the faithful on this date but on many occassions through a symbolic cake, called the "Phanouropita" which can be brought to the church, at any time, for a blessing.

Not much is known about St Phanourios's life because all evidence of his life has been destroyed with time. The only evidence that supports a historical date, relating to this saint, is documented in the book "Lives of the Saints", which testifies that his icon was discovered, in Rhodes, around 1500 AD. Some sources support the opinion that the icon was discovered in Cyprus and not in Rhodes.

Discovery of the icon

The church has understood the life of this Saint through the discovery of his icon in Rhodes (or Cyprus). Around the original icon are 12 stations showing his martyric death. The portrayle of each illustration is as follows:

1. The saint is standing in front of a Roman magistrate and defending his Christian faith;

2. Soldiers beat the saint on the head and mouth with rocks to force him to deny his faith.

3. The saint remains patient which angers the soldiers. They are shown in this illustration, throwing him to the ground and beating him with sticks and clubs in a further attempt to force him to deny his faith.

4. The saint is now in prison. He is illustrated completely naked with the soldiers ripping his flesh apart with some sort of iron implement.

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