Sophianos

Saint Sophianos was bishop of Dryinoupolis and Argyrokastro in Epirus and fell asleep on 26 November 1711. The Church commemorates him on the same date (new style, the Greek calendar). He was an important figure of his age and is regarded as the forerunner of Saint Cosmas the Aetolian.

He was probably born in the village of Politsani, in the Pogoni region of Northern Epirus. In 1672 he founded a school at the nearby monastery of Saint Athanasios. In his time conversions to Islam were very frequent, and he went from village to village urging people to keep their tradition and faith. In 1711, a few months before his death, he resigned his episcopal duties and became a monk, to give himself entirely to preaching and missionary work. By his character he was respected even by Muslims: it is told that a young Muslim woman, in despair at losing her fez embroidered with gold coins, came to him, and he, after praying, told her that it lay in a stork's nest; she found it there.

Another sign of his is attested by historical sources and oral witnesses: a doubting passer-⁠by, hearing a miracle told by the monks, expressed his disbelief. Sophianos had three burnt pieces of cherry wood brought from the hearth, planted them in the courtyard and said they would blossom and bear fruit by the next spring. By his prayers the wood took root, put out leaves and fruit, and it is still found in the courtyard of the monastery, which today bears the name of Saints Athanasios and Sophianos. The venerable head and relics of the saint are kept in the church of the Archangels at Politsani, where they were moved for safety by the priest Euthymios Kalamas and the villagers.