Dionysios of Zakynthos

Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (1547-1622) was a bishop of Aegina in the sixteenth century and is the patron of the island of Zakynthos, where he was born and where he fell asleep in the Lord in his own monastery. He is among the best-⁠loved saints of Greece today.

Childhood and learning

He was born in 1547 on the shore of the town of Zakynthos, in a well-⁠off family with roots in Western Europe. His name in the world was Gradenigos Sigouros. His parents were called Mochios and Paulina, and his siblings were Constantine and Sigoura. His father came from a noble family, Norman in origin, and his mother from a Venetian family, the Valvi. His family was known for almsgiving and piety. According to local tradition, not confirmed historically, Saint Gerasimos of Kefalonia was his godfather.

He received a good education from a teacher, Nicholas Kerofilas, and from Greek and Italian tutors. He knew ancient Greek, Latin and Italian. He read the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, and a letter of his shows that he commented on works of Saint Gregory the Theologian.

The monk

At twenty, after the death of his parents, he gave all his property to his brother and sister and withdrew to the monastery on the Strofades islands, thirty-⁠seven miles from Zakynthos. Even before becoming a monk he was known as a man of prayer, fasting and wisdom. In 1568 he was tonsured with the name Daniel, and in the same year was appointed abbot of the monastery of the Mother of God Anafonitria on Zakynthos. A year later he was ordained deacon, and in 1570 priest by Bishop Philotheos Loverdos of Kefalonia and Zakynthos, seeing that people came to him to confess and seek counsel. He ordered the life of the monastery well.

The bishop

In 1576 he set out on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At Athens, Archbishop Nikanor urged him strongly to accept the episcopal see of Aegina, and Patriarch Jeremias of Constantinople backed the proposal. At twenty-⁠nine he became bishop of Aegina, Hydra and Paros and received the name Dionysios, in honour of Saint Dionysios the Areopagite, patron of Athens. He cared for orphans and widows and defended them in need. Merchants, sailors, officials and priests sought his advice, and his sermons, simple and inspired, drew pilgrims from all of southern Greece to Aegina.

After two years he left the see and, in 1579, with the blessing of Patriarch Jeremias II, returned as abbot to the Anafonitria monastery. In 1581 he was vicar of the island's bishop, but the bishop of Kefalonia and Zakynthos complained to Venice, to which the island belonged, that the saint had meddled in his affairs. According to some sources, around 1589 the Patriarch of Constantinople made him archbishop of Zakynthos until a permanent archbishop arrived. After that he returned to his island monastery and lived there until his death.

Death and veneration

He fell asleep in the Lord on 17 December 1622. He is patron of the town of Zakynthos and a helper of those who pray to him. His memory is kept on 17 December, the day of his repose, and on 24 August, at the translation of his relics.