The Oldest Surviving Depiction of the Holy Neomartyr Kyranna of Thessaloniki

The oldest surviving depiction of the Holy Neomartyr Kyranna is found in a fresco of the second half of the 18th century (1765-circa 1800), in the kyriakon church of the Skete of Kavsokalyva of Mount Athos.

The depiction is particularly important, since its painting is placed in the first decades after the martyrdom of the Saint, which took place in 1751. Saint Kyranna is depicted as a bust at the north window, together with Saint Michael Mavroudis from Granitsa, Agrafa.

Saint Kyranna the New Martyr Resource Page

St. Kyranna the New Martyr (Feast Day - January 8 & February 28)

Verses

Lady Kyranna suffered and was tortured,
And was seen to depart to the Lord of lords.

 

Holy New Martyr Kyranna of Thessaloniki (+ 1751) 

 

Holy New Martyr Kyranna as a Model for our Lives

 

The Recent Discovery of the Relics of Saint Kyranna the New Martyr of Ossa  

 

The Church Where the Relics of St. Kyranna Were Discovered 

 

The Translation of the Relics of Saint Kyranna

 

The Oldest Surviving Depiction of the Holy Neomartyr Kyranna of Thessaloniki

 

Testimonies Regarding the Miraculous Discovery of the Sacred Relics of the Holy New Martyr Akylina

Holy New Martyr Akylina of Thessaloniki (+ 1764)

Holy New Martyr Kyranna as a Model for our Lives

St. Kyranna of Ossa (Feast Day - February 28)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Holy New Martyr Kyranna lived in the 18th century. She was born in the village of Avyssoka or Vyrsoka - in today's Ossa of Thessaloniki - from reverent parents. She was extremely beautiful, yet this was the reason for her martyrdom. This is because a girl who was beautiful in the years of the Turkish occupation was regarded by her own as a curse and misfortune. For the very beautiful girls were grabbed by the Turks and taken to their harem. Saint Kyranna was seen by a janissary, who was a collector of taxes in the village, and wanted to convert her to Islam and marry her. She declined, remaining constant and steadfast in her faith, with the result that she underwent terrible torture. Finally, after having been tortured in prison, they hung her, and in this way she surrendered her soul into the hands of her Bridegroom Christ, whom she loved with all her soul. The moment her soul "flew" to the heavens, her body, as well as the area of the prison, were illuminated with a most brilliant light. This light was seen by the imprisoned Christians, and they crossed themselves while glorifying God. This was also seen by some Muslims, however, and they were scared thinking that a fire broke out. The light retreated, but in its place remained a fine exquisite fragrance. The body of the Saint was buried by Christians outside of Thessaloniki, in the Cemetery of Saint Paraskevi. Her memory is celebrated in Ossa of Thessaloniki, in the beauteous sacred church erected in her honor in 1840, on January 8 instead of February 28, the day of her repose, obviously so that it does not coincide with Great Lent.

The Translation of the Relics of Saint Kyranna

On 11 October 2011 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the Church of the Archangels in the village of Ossa in Lagada to venerate the recently discovered holy relics of the Holy New Martyr Kyranna. He was met by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, Metropolitan John of Lagada, many more bishops and priests, and a multitude of people who gathered for the Doxology.

After Metropolitan John spoke about the life and martyrdom of St. Kyranna, as well as the miraculous discovery of her holy relics in recent days, the Ecumenical Patriarch spoke about the mindset of St. Kyranna, and noted that she should be an example and model for our times. He supported this by quoting St. John Chrysostom, who said: "Those who honor the martyrs, should imitate the martyrs."

After this priests bore the relics of St. Kyranna in a larnax and began a procession to transfer the relics from the old church to the new church built in honor of the Saint. Women threw flowers before the relics on the way, while children ran to venerate the relics of the Saint or grab a blessing from a priest. When the relics arrived inside the church, they were placed in front of the Holy Altar where Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew venerated them, followed by the Archbishop of Athens, the Bishops and all the people. Shortly afterwards the Ecumenical Patriarch was presented with the manuscript of the Service to Saint Kyranna by Tryphon Tsombani, a professor of the Theological School of Aristotle University.

The Church Where the Relics of St. Kyranna Were Discovered

To see more photos of this church, as well as photos of the church dedicated to St. Kyranna where her relics will be translated, see here.

The Recent Discovery of the Relics of Saint Kyranna the New Martyr of Ossa

Metropolitan John of Lagada and Exarch of Central Macedonia has called 2011 "the year of Saint Kyranna", which was inaugurated on the feast of the Saint on 8 January 2011. The center of the festivities has been in the village of Ossa, near Thessaloniki, where the Saint lived and where a magnificent church exists in her honor. (To read about the life and martyrdom of Saint Kyranna, see here.)

Following the heroic and martyric death of the young Saint Kyranna on 28 February 1751, the faithful took her honorable relics and had her buried outside the city of Thessaloniki. At the same time portions of her clothes were cut into pieces and given to the faithful as relics for a blessing. The people of the village of Ossa had a church built in the village in her honor a few decades after this event and Christophoros Prodromitis had a Service of Praise written to be chanted on the annual commemoration of her martyrdom. Her life was recorded by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite in his New Martyrology.

Because St. Kyranna was martyred during the time of Turkish occupation, the only thing that was known about the location of her relics was that they were buried "outside the walls" of Thessaloniki with the other Christians. 260 years later St. Kyranna allowed the location of her relics to be discovered to the people who have honored her memory all this time. This all began when Metropolitan John of Lagada inaugurated 2011 as the year of Saint Kyranna, and he began to research her life in various sources. Thus on 12 September 2011, with the help of a monk from Mount Athos and the assistance of specialists and forensic experts, they confirmed that in the Holy Altar of the Church of the Archangels in Ossa, where St. Kyranna herself attended the Divine Liturgy, beneath the floor slabs a large portion of her relics were discovered.

Any questions generated by the investigation of the remains of the Saint were quickly put aside when a beautiful fragrance filled the church at the time the relics of the Saint were uncovered. Along with her bones there were also the leather shoes of the Saint, and forensic experts were able to determine the height, sex, age and year of burial of the Saint. Following this great discovery, Metropolitan John notified Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, then proceeded to have the public informed through a formal statement.

On Friday 23 September 2011, in an atmosphere of emotion and piety, the faithful of Ossa and the surrounding area gathered in the Church of the Archangels to celebrate the first all-night vigil with the presence of the relics of their patron saint. Metropolitan John was the officiant together with Bishop Demetrios of Thermes and a large number of priests from the Metropolis. The celebration will continue until October 10th with daily Supplication Services and all-night vigils, and will culminate on October 11th when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will visit the village and venerate the relics of St. Kyranna. At that time also the relics of St. Kyranna will be translated from the Church of the Archangels to the newer church dedicated to her honorable memory.

Holy New Martyr Kyranna of Thessaloniki (+ 1751)

St. Kyranna of Thessaloniki (Feast Day - January 8 and February 28)

Verses

Lady Kyranna suffered and was tortured,
And was seen to depart to the Lord of lords.

Our Orthodox Church today celebrates the memory of the New Martyr Kyranni or Kyranna. Saint Kyranna came from the village of Ossa near Thessaloniki, and was born to pious parents. Because she was very beautiful, one day a certain Janissary who came to Kyranna's village in order to collect taxes, upon seeing her, wanted to make her his wife. Even though he tried to persuade her to change her religion with flatteries and gifts in order for her to marry him, the modest girl stubbornly refused to resign to his flattering. Then he began to bully and to threaten her that if she did not give up her faith, he would torture and kill her.

But the Saint did not change her mind, neither with the threats nor his bullying. He therefore captured her and brought her to the Turkish judge in Thessaloniki, where before the judge he lied by saying that Kyranna cheated him by promising him that she would become Muslim in order to marry him, but at the end she refused to do so. When the Saint was asked to defend herself, she confessed before all who were present her faith in Christ, and right after, the Turks imprisoned her.

Inside the prison, the Saint went through daily torture from the Janissary and the prison guards. One would hit her with a stick, another with the flat of his sword, and another would kick or punch her. Then when they left, the jailer would come and hang her by her arms and beat her until he was tired out, despite the cries of outrage and rebukes of the common prisoners. Despite these torments, Kyranna would remain strong and courageous, and seemed unaffected by the pain as if someone else were suffering, and she refused the food offered her.

One night, after seven days of such torment, on the 28th of February 1751, Kyranna was severely beaten by the jailer with a piece of wood and he left her hanging dead. This was done because the jailer had illegally allowed others in to beat Kyranna, and one Christian prisoner threatened to reveal this to the pasha. In the morning the body of the Saint was covered by Holy Light and gave off a celestial fragrance, as her soul was delivered to God, and the Christian prisoners upon seeing that, started to glorify the Lord, but the Muslims and Jews were afraid because they thought it was fire. When a Christian prisoner went to bring down the body of the Saint and found out that she was dead, he took care of it, and the next day it was given to the Christians who buried it. This Christian reprimanded the jailer, who came to repent of his evil deed. Her body was buried outside of Thessaloniki, at the Cemetery of Saint Paraskevi.

Today, in the village of Ossa, a great church exists dedicated to the New Martyr of Christ Saint Kyranna, who is also the patron saint of the community, and for this reason it is dedicated to her memory, since she was born and lived in Ossa. According to the historian Asterios Thilikos, the church was built in 1840, or according to its foundation date, it was built in 1868. The miraculous icon of Saint Kyranna is kept inside the church, which was painted around 1870, by Christodoulos Ioannou Zografos from the village of Siatista.

The church is a center of reverence for the villagers of Ossa, a place of worship throughout the region and her memory there is celebrated on January 8. In a Codex of Great Lavra her memory is listed for celebration on January 1. Generally her memory is celebrated on February 28th, the day of her martyrdom. The reason why her feast is celebrated in January is because it often happens that February 28th lands during the somber season of Great Lent when celebrations are discouraged. January 8th was likely chosen because the families of the village are together for the Christmas and Theophany holidays. Her memory toay is celebrated on the Sunday after January 8th.

Apolytikion in Plagal of the First Tone

Rejoice offspring and divine offshoot of Ossa, Virgin Martyr Kyranna the Bride of Christ God, who firmly contested in these latter years, and destroyed the enemy, by steadfastly persevering. And now she ceaselessly entreats, on behalf of the faithful who honor, her blessed contest.

Kontakion in the Second Tone

Virgin Martyr Kyranna, true Bride of Christ and beautiful maiden, we hasten towards your fervent intercession, to release us from every disease and affliction, and give us unceasing joy.

Megalynarion

On every occasion we hasten to your intercession, revered Kyranna, receiving the requests, of Ossa that brought you forth, and we cry out to you with faith: keep away from us O Martyr, a life of misfortune and bitterness.