Jonah of Leros

Venerable Martyr Jonah of Leros was a monk and was killed by pirates at Lipsi (Leipsoi) in the Dodecanese on 28 February 1561. He is one of the five venerable martyrs of Lipsi, recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and commemorated together on the first Sunday after 10 July.

In 1550 several hermits left the monastery in Patmos and reached the island of Lipsi, seeking a place where the world would not disturb them and where they could praise God alone. They chose a barren, inhospitable place and first built the church of the hermitage, high above the sea in a hard-⁠to-⁠reach spot for fear of pirates, dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. They struggled with the rocks and with the lack of water and food, but the grace of God was enough for them. Despite the height, the pirates reached the hermitage, and in one raid they killed the monk Jonah of Leros. Before that, in 1558, the monk Neophytos of Amorgos had been killed; later Neophytos Fazos (1609), Jonah of Nisyros (1635) and Parthenios (1696) were killed. The five were buried with tears by their fellow ascetics and are kept in memory with gratitude.