Elesa of Kythira

Holy Martyr Elesa of Kythira died in the year 375. She was born in the Peloponnese, the daughter of the rich pagan Helladius and the devout Christian Eugenia, who had long been childless and had prayed unceasingly to be given a child. Eugenia baptized Elesa and raised her in the Christian faith.

When Elesa turned fourteen her mother died, and her father wished to give her in marriage, though the girl objected. She fled to the island of Kythira, wishing to become a nun. Furious, her father searched for her and found her on a mountain peak and tried, with words and tortures, to force her to renounce the true faith and submit to his will. When Elesa remained unshaken, the pagan, beside himself, beheaded his daughter.

Over the saint's tomb a small church was built, which stood until 1867. In 1871 a new church and a monastery dedicated to her were built on the ruins of the old one, and in 1945 the church became a parish church. With Saint Theodore the Venerable, Elesa is honoured as patroness of the island of Kythira.

The Greeks commemorate her on 1 August, that is 14 August in the new style. Her name is not included in the present calendar of the Russian Church.