Arsenius of Corfu

Saint Arsenius of Corfu (Arsenius of Kerkyra) was bishop, then archbishop, of Corfu, and died about 959 (according to some Greek sources, in 953 or 959). He is one of the principal patrons of the island of Corfu, together with Saint Spyridon. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 19 January (1 February by the new calendar, in the Serbian Church).

The sources do not agree about his origin. According to the English source, he was born in Bethany, near Jerusalem, became a monk at twelve and completed his studies at Seleucia. According to the Greek source, he was born in Constantinople, in a family of Jewish faith, then became a Christian; it is also said, however, that he was probably from Palestine. The same source calls him the first bishop of Corfu, but the English one says that he became archbishop first, after the diocese received the rank of archdiocese.

Ordained priest, he went to Constantinople, where Patriarch Tryphon entrusted him with some offices in the diocese. He led a life of strict asceticism and was a man of great learning and a renowned spiritual writer. In 933 Tryphon's successor, Theophylact, appointed him bishop of Corfu. In that same year the city, led by Arsenius, withstood an attack of the Saracens. The diocese of Kerkyra received the rank of archdiocese, and Arsenius was its first archbishop.

He was very assiduous in prayer, and in ancient times in Corfu there was a cave in which, according to tradition, Arsenius retired and spent the nights in prayer. He is credited with putting together the rite of the Holy Unction of the sick in its present form (the Greek source speaks of the ordering of the mystery of Chrismation, which shows a difference between the sources). Returning from a journey to Constantinople, he fell gravely ill and died at Corinth in the year 959. His body was carried to Corfu and buried in the church of Saints Peter and Paul. The saint's relics are now kept in the cathedral of Saint James and Saint Christopher. At Gimari there is a small Byzantine church dedicated to Saint Arsenius.