Galaktia of Pompia

Eldress Galaktia of Pompia, born Galatia Kanakaki, was a nun of the village of Pompia near Moires in Heraklion, Crete, who fell asleep in the Lord on 20 May 2021. She is honoured by the faithful as a spiritual mother and for her gift of foresight, without synodal canonization.

She lived many years in her house at Pompia in southern Crete, a house like a monastic cell, where she was more or less shut in because of illness. Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios, who knew her through Father Antonios Fraggakis, preacher of the Metropolis of Gortyna, says God gave her the gift of seeing people and events from afar, a gift she jokingly called "the spiritual television of the heart". Because of this someone called her "Eldress Porphyrios", after Saint Porphyrios. She was full of humility: she considered herself the greatest of sinners and said that the only thing she asked of God was repentance and forgiveness. At night she prayed for all, first for the priests, then for married couples, for her country and for all the countries of the world. She said she saw the Archangel Michael, whose icon she kept on her bed, and that he protected her from demons.

Metropolitan Hierotheos met her at Heraklion on 14 April 2013, when she made a hard journey from Pompia to see him. He described her as a small, thin old woman of 32 kilograms, with kindness and noble manners. He later visited her house, and they walked together to the Monastery of Koudouma. They spoke often by telephone. Between 22 February 2014 and 11 September 2015 she wrote him nine letters, about thirty-⁠five pages in all, in which she told of her experiences. After that she no longer had the strength to continue, she suffered several strokes, and her mind no longer worked well, but, in the bishop's words, the "nous" of her soul remained awake and she saw clearly what was hidden in those who came near her.

During her illness she received the Great Schema with the name Galaktia and was received as a sister of the Monastery of Kaliviani. After her repose Metropolitan Hierotheos wrote about her and published excerpts from their meeting and their correspondence. Her memory is kept on 20 May, the day of her repose.