Picturesque Churches Dedicated to Saint Kyriaki

 

Nydri, Lefkada

The Feast of Saint Kyriaki and the Role of Women in the Church

By Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

(From his homily delivered in the Church of Saint Kyriaki in Kontoskaliou of Constantinople on July 7, 2020)

The feasts of female Saints and Martyrs, such as the commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Kyriaki, is an opportunity for us to remember the martyrdoms, sacrifices and offerings of women in the Church, and the particular reverence which they give to Orthodoxy.

Unfortunately and misguidedly, the Orthodox Church is described from the outside as male-centered. However, the central position of the Theotokos in her life, the abundance of Holy Women, the contribution of women to the parishes, their multifaceted ministry work, and their essential role in the family, the "small Church", according to our predecessor on the Throne of the Church of Constantinople, John Chrysostom, are admired, canceling these views. Quite aptly, the Metropolitan of Pergamon emphasizes the fact that in Orthodox Tradition, the woman is the pre-eminent expression of the person-centered ethos.

Women, more than anyone else, and perhaps first of all as a Mother, teach us to live as persons and not as individuals, that is, as beings of a relationship, and not as autonomous and independent beings.

The 9th century Aniconic Church of Saint Kyriaki on the Island of Naxos

There are eight churches on the island of Naxos dedicated to Saint Kyriaki. The Church of Saint Kyriaki, located in the mountainous mainland of Naxos, in the area of ​​Apeiranthos, is a rare case of a Byzantine temple that has been preserved with aniconic decoration. According to archaeologists, the church was built during the period of Iconoclasm. The decoration includes crosses, geometric and plant themes, as well as unique bird performances. Based on the iconographic criteria, it dates back to the time of the Emperor Theophilos (829-842), when by his orders, "divine figures are to be removed from all the churches, while they are to be decorated and painted with beasts and hens instead" (Theophanes, Chronikon III, 10). There is also preserved later frescoes dating back to the 13th century, as well as the representation of the Deisis in the chapel. The iconostasis also dates to this time. The effort to rescue this unique monument began in 1993 by J.-G. Eynard of Geneva and the Amitiés gréco-suisses of Lausanne financing the restoration study of the monument. It was completed in 2016.

The 12th century Church of Saint Kyriaki in Keratea

The Chapel of Saint Kyriaki is located in Keratea - Kalyvia, 700 meters from the Church of the Holy Trinity and about 1.5 kilometers from the center of Keratea.

The area, formerly known as the Great Court, is uninhabited today. The chapel is situated in the middle of the valley, between fields, with Mount Pani rising to the southwest. In this area, remarkable ruins of antiquity, traces of walls and building material, as well as abundant shells, have been observed. This has made some writers to assume that here was the ancient Athenian municipality of Kefali, but today there is the view that the municipality of Kefali was located on the eastern edge of Keratea, near Agios Serafim.

Saint Kyriaki Resource Page

Holy Great Martyr Kyriaki (Feast Day - July 7)

Verses

Kyriaki died before beheading

Voluntarily, yet perfected by the sword.

On the seventh, Kyriaki ascended to her Betrothed.

 

Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

Saint Kyriaki as a Model for our Lives

Homily for the Feast of Saint Kyriaki (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

The Honorable Skull of Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

The Right Arm of St. Kyriaki in Husi, Romania

Picturesque Churches Dedicated to Saint Kyriaki

 

The Veneration of Saint Kyriaki in Pontus

The Island of Saint Kyriaki and Her Chapel

The Chapel of Saint Kyriaki In Lefkada

The Church of Saint Kyriaki Kontoskaliou in Constantinople

The 9th century Aniconic Church of Saint Kyriaki on the Island of Naxos

The 12th century Church of Saint Kyriaki in Keratea

St. Kyriaki in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The Church Burned, But the Icon Shines

Saint Kyriaki and the Widow Who Lost Everything

The Feast of Saint Kyriaki and the Role of Women in the Church

Little Kyriaki Tells the Story of Saint Kyriaki

The Church of Saint Kyriaki Kontoskaliou in Constantinople

By Nikos Ghinis and Constantinos Stratos

Among the populous Greek neighborhoods of Kontoskali, Vlanga and Hypsomatheia close to the Propontis, the Sea of Marmara, there are about ten church complexes that still have a life of their own.

As we know it today, the Church of Saint Kyriaki in Kumkapi was built in the late 19th century to the design of Pericles Photiades, who was the architect also of the Zographeion School. The earliest reference to the Church of Saint Kyriaki Kontoskaliou was made by the representative of the Russian Czar, who visited it in 1583.

Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

St. Kyriaki the Great Martyr (Feast Day - July 7)

Verses

Kyriaki died before beheading

Voluntarily, yet perfected by the sword.

On the seventh, Kyriaki ascended to her Betrothed.

There was a devout Christian couple named Dorotheos and Eusebia, who were wealthy and philanthropic, yet had neither son nor daughter, which was a cause of grief for them. After supplicating God to grant them offspring, Eusebia conceived and gave birth to a daughter on a Sunday, which is the Lord's day, hence her given name at Holy Baptism was Kyriaki (Gr. Lord's day).

From a young age Kyriaki was modest and mature beyond her age, neither participating in the disorderly games of her peers or participating in their gossip, but she greatly revered her parents and attended to them. The more she aged, the more she grew in wisdom, knowledge and beauty, both physically and spiritually. She was not interested in costly clothes, secular music or dancing, preferring to live an ecclesiastical life and listen to the lives of the saints. Though she was attractive, she did not parade her beauty or adorn herself in any way to enhance it. Rather, she arrayed her soul with fasting, discipline, silence, prayer, guarding her eyes and restraining her tongue. And although many handsome young men sought her hand in marriage, Kyriaki desired to preserve her virginity and devote all her life and love to Christ. When her parents tried to persuade her to get married to bequeath to her all they possessed, she answered among other things: "I desire to become a bride of my Christ and God. What would marriage profit? What woman has ever married and not regretted it? Who became a mother and has not grieved? Sorrow and distress, out of necessity, is most felt at the loss of one's child, husband or relative. Yet, virginity has no sorrow, neither many cares... Therefore, my parents, why would you submit me to such cares and anxieties?"

In those days there was a wealthy magistrate who lived in the same city of Anatolia as Kyriaki, who saw her to be young and beautiful, but also wealthy, and because he desired her wealth, he decided to betroth her to his son. With this hidden motive in mind, he came to an agreement with her parents for their children to be brought together. Because, however, Kyriaki had consecrated both soul and body to God, she replied: "I am a pure bride of my Christ and I desire to die a virgin." This very much angered the magistrate.

The Church Burned, But the Icon Shines

In August 2012, in the mountain village of Pertouli within the province of Trikala in Greece, the stone Church of Saint Kyriaki entirely burned from the inside out. Though the flames protruded outside the front door and engulfed the area, the icon of St. Kyriaki remained unharmed and shined in the sunlight despite the devastation and burning of its frame.

Saint Kyriaki as a Model for our Lives

St. Kyriaki the Virgin Martyr (Feast Day - July 7)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The reign of Diocletian (3rd century A.D.) revealed many Martyrs, who shine like multi-luminous stars in the noetic firmament of the Church of Christ. One of them is Saint Kyriaki. Raised in an environment of reverence and love for the true God, she was raised in the admonition of the life of the gospel and became, according to the sacred hymnographer, a spring with much water that watered the Church and made her bear fruit. "Like a spring of much flowing water, Virgin Martyr of Christ, you watered His Church, Wise One, and contested excellently...."

The Right Arm of St. Kyriaki in Husi, Romania

The right arm of the Holy Martyr Kyriaki was received as a gift in 1787 from Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos by Bishop Jacob Stamati (1782-1792), who paid off a large amount of its debt. Today it is enshrined in the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul (1495) in the city of Husi in Romania.

St. Kyriaki in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The Church of Sveta Nedelya (Saint Kyriaki) in the Bulgarian town Plovdiv (Philippoupolis) is one of the biggest churches in the town. The original building was built in 1578. From this church is preserved only the main icon of St. Kyriaki.

The Honorable Skull of Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

Saint Kyriaki was the daughter of Christian parents, Dorotheos and Eusevia. She was given her name because she was born on Sunday, the day of the Lord (in Greek, Kyriaki). She contested in Nicomedia during the reign of Diocletian, in the year 300. After many bitter torments she was condemned to suffer beheading, but being granted time to pray first, she made her prayer and gave up her holy soul in peace.

The Honorable Skull of St. Kyriaki is kept in the Sacred Monastery of the Archangels in Aigialeia. This Monastery was founded by Saint Leontios in c. 1450. As the son of an aristrocratic family of Constantinople, the Monastery was built with the support of his uncles Thomas and Demetrios Paleologos, who were impressed by the saintliness of their nephews life. As a gift they gave him also the Skull of St. Kyriaki from Constantinople, which remains a priceless treasure of the Monastery.


Kontakion in the Second Tone
The Martyr of Christ hath called us all together now to praise and acclaim her wrestlings and her godly feats; for possessed of manliness of mind, she hath proved to be worthy of her name, being lady and mistress of her mind and the passions of unseemliness.

The Chapel of Saint Kyriaki In Lefkada

Across from Nydri in Lefkada, on the other side of Vlychos Bay, there is a small church which is hard not to notice. It is known as "the chapel on the rocks" to those who do not know that it is in fact dedicated to Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr.

According to tradition, sailors who passed by this area one night saw light coming from a cave near the rocks of the coast. They were unable to approach the cave however because the current near the rocks was strong.

One day the owner of the property nearby this cave, whose name was Kakonas, discovered there the icon of Saint Kyriaki. He took the icon and determined to place it in a small chapel he was to build for it on much smoother ground on his property. This became impossible however, because the icon would leave its place and appear again in the cave where it was originally found. For this reason Kakonas had the chapel built near the cave, as the inscription on the chapel reads: "This sacred church was founded in 1906 and built by Kakonas."


It is unknown how the icon came to be in the cave originally. What is known, however, is that every year on July 7th, many faithful come to the Chapel of Saint Kyriaki which now stands near the cave, according to the desire of St. Kyriaki, to honor this wondrous and great Virgin Martyr of the Lord.

To get to the church without a boat, drive from Vlycho towards Geni and Desimi. At one point the path will fork to the left, and this is where the church is. The road stops short 200 meters from the church.