Makarios Kalogeras of Patmos

Venerable Makarios Kalogeras of Patmos, hierodeacon and teacher of the nation, was born on Patmos in 1688, into a well-⁠off family. He went to Constantinople for studies, came into contact with prominent families and clergy of the capital, then served as a deacon at the side of the Metropolitan of Nicomedia. Concerned for the teaching and education of the Greeks under foreign rule, he returned to Patmos in 1713 and founded the Patmias School. The lessons were free for all pupils and at first Makarios taught alone. After some years the best pupils were chosen as teachers; they came from Patmos and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. His main collaborators were the monk Kosmas of Lemnos and the monk Gerasimos the Byzantine. The number of pupils rose to a hundred, so new buildings were raised, with the help of wealthy benefactors from Constantinople, and the Patmias became one of the most important schools of Hellenism.

Makarios, in poor health, reposed on Patmos in 1737, but his work preserved his name. He never rose above the rank of deacon, because, as he himself said, he preferred to serve rather than be served. He was counted among the saints in the time of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. He is commemorated on 19 January, by the calendar of the Church of Greece (new style).