Fr. Stephanos Dalianis received particular attention during the pandemic when he gave video testimony of his nearly half a century of service at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in West Attica, which is famous among Orthodox Christians for treating the leprosy of Saint Nikephoros the Leper and Elder Eumenios Saridakis, who served as parish priest there for the lepers during his life and with whom Fr. Stephanos served behind the altar and who was his spiritual father.
On the day of his repose, 24 July 2021, someone posted the following testimonial about him on Facebook, which I translated below:
'Fr. Stephanos Dalianis was the pastor of the Church of the Holy Unmercennaries located in the Hospital for Infectious Diseases. He had as a spiritual father Fr. Eumenios Saridakis and was his co-liturgist.
He was not my spiritual father, I only saw him once and communed from his hands and I felt through his humbleness the greatness he hides.
When we went out in the courtyard of the church I waited for him to come out and I followed him with my eyes. A little girl of around eight approached him. I went next to them to experience him near me.
"What do you want?" he asked the little one.
"Your blessing Father," she sweetly answered him.
"The blessing of our Christ, my child. Tell me the truth, what gift would you like Christ to give you?"
"To become a good Christian," the girl answered.
This was an emotional surprise that brought tears of joy from those who heard it.
Fr. Stephanos then shouted out, "Did you hear? Did you hear what the child said? The whole essence of the Gospel has now been told to us by a child!"
I loved him immediately and he was always in my mind and heart from the one and only time I saw him.'
