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Savvas the New of Kalymnos

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[[Image:St-Savas-the-New-icon.jpg|frame|right|St. Sava Savva the New of Kalymnos]]Our venerable and God-bearing father '''Sava Savvas the New''' (also spelled ''Savvas'' or ''Savas'') is the [[patron saint]] of the Greek island of Kalymnos (Calymna), where he lived during the last twenty years of his life as the [[priest]] and spiritual father of the [[nun]]s of the Convent of All Saints. He was a great [[ascetic]], [[confessor]], [[iconographer]], and [[wonder-worker|miracle-worker]]. He is one of the recently recognized [[saint]]s in the Greek Orthodox Church.
He died on [[April 7]], 1948 and his remains were exhumed in 1957 and "miracles happen for those who venerate these in faith". In Kalymnos, he is commemorated by the church [[April 7]]. The feasts dates of St. ''Sava Savvas the New of Kalymnos'' are celebrated on various dates in different traditions, including [[February 7]], [[April 7]] ([[March 25]] in the [[Old Calendar]]), [[December 5]] with St. [[Sabbas Savvas the Sanctified|Sava the Sanctified]], and the fifth Sunday of [[Great Lent]] with St. [[Mary of Egypt]].
==Life==
He later traveled for three years, throughout Greece, looking for a suitable place to stay. He visited [[Mount Athos]], then the Monastery of Phaneromenis, then Salamina and finaly the island of Hydra but in 1919, he was invited to stay at the Greek island of Aegina, by St. [[Nektarios of Aegina|Nektarios]], to serve as a priest at the Convent of the Holy Trinity, and stayed for six years at this convent (from 1919 until 1925). There he taught the nuns the sacred art of iconography and Byzantine music. This period was one of the most significant events in his biography due to his friendship with St. Nektarios; who was at the height of his spiritual development at this time. Sava had the opportunity to confess and receive counsel from the saint and the two held each other in high esteem and considered each a saint.
Savas Savvas conducted the funeral service for Saint Nektarios and is also renowed for painting the first [[icon]] of the saint.:''One day St. Sava Savvas asked the [[abbess]] not to let anyone disturb him for forty days, during which he remained confined to his cell in which the nuns could hear constant conversation (between the living Saint and the reposed Saint). After 40 days, he came out of his cell holding an icon of the saint. He handed it to the abbess and asked her to place it in the church for veneration. The abbess was surprised since Nektarios had not been formerly [[glorification|glorified]] ("canonized") as a saint, and was afraid that the convent would get into trouble. Although Savva Savvas was always meek and humble, he insisted, and told her in a commanding manner: "You must show obedience. Take the icon and place it on the [[iconostasis|icon stand]], and do not scrutinize the will of God." He knew the holiness and purity of St. Nektarios.''
After the repose of St. Nektarios, the number of pilgrims to the convent increased due to the growing reputation of the saint as a miracle-worker. This greatly disrupted the quiet life that Sava Savvas loved and with the encouragement of Gerasimos Zervos <ref> Gerasimos Zervos, the husband of Anna, who later became Sister Monica, who also went to Kalymnos. </ref>, he departed in 1925 and went to the island of Kalymnos.
There, he spent the last years of his life as the priest and spiritual father at the ''Convent of All Saints''. As a [[confessor]], he combined leniency with severity. He was lenient on certain sins and severe to others. He remained an ardent spiritual striver until the end of life and practiced extreme forms of self-restraint with regard to food, drink, and sleep. St. Sava Savvas became a shining example of virtue to all who came into contact with him. Many smelled a heavenly fragrance in his presence and some even saw him rising above the ground as he stood at prayer.
Towards the end of his life, St. Sava Savvas was in a state of intense prayer and holy contrition. For three days he did not receive anyone and he gave his last counsels: requested love and obedience in Christ. When he was on the point of death taking his last breath, suddenly he received strength, brought his blessed small hands together, and clapped them repeatedly saying his last holy words: "The Lord! The Lord! The Lord!" He went to the Lord in 1948 on the eve of the [[feast]] of the [[Annunciation]]. One nun saw the soul of the saint ascending in a golden cloud towards heaven. After about 10 years when the saint's grave was opened in accordance to the Greek Orthodox custom, a heavenly fragrance emanated from the grave which covered the whole island of Kalymnos, this phenomenon was witnessed by many, including the local [[bishop]]. This was a testament to the sanctity of the saint. Numerous [[miracle]]s and healings have since been attributed to St. Sava Savvas the New of Kalymnos.
== Notes ==
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