Martyrs of the Strofades

The Martyrs of the Strofades are monks killed on the Strofades islands, near Zakynthos, in the year 1530 (or 1537), when the monastery there was sacked by the Turks. They are known from their service, composed by Pachomios Roussanos, titled "Service sung to the venerable fathers slain on the Strofades and to all who met a similar end". The historian Panagiotis Chiotis published a short note kept by the monks, according to which the monastery stood in its state until 29 July 1537, when the Turkish fleet passed by Zakynthos without harm; returning later to the Strofades, the same fleet burned and devastated them.

Their hymns say that they lived in the monastery of the Strofades in a way pleasing to God and endured the assault of the barbarians, being slaughtered like lambs. They are commemorated on 29 September, in the calendar of the Church of Greece (new style).