St. Dionysios is the patron saint of Zakynthos and was born in Zakynthos in 1547. He was born to a wealthy,
\nnoble family and was baptised Draganikos Sigouros. In 1568, at the age of 21, following the untimely death
\nof his parents, he decided to enter the priesthood and to assume a life of monasticism. At this time he was
\ngiven the name of Daniel.
\nHe spent the next few years travelling between the monasteries of Zakynthos and Strofades (a small island
\nsouth of Zakynthos). St Dionysios gained much respect from the clergy and people in both places, and in
\n1577 he was ordained Archbishop of Aegina-Poros. His name was changed to Dionysios in honor of St.
\nDionysios Aeropagitis. With the ordinations that were bestowed upon St Dionysios, it seemed that a
\nspecial gift was also bestowed upon him. The many blessings, which he granted to his people seemed to
\nproduce miracles and caused his popularity to grow even more. He served as the Archbishop of Aegina for
\none year before feeling the need to return to Zakynthos.
\nAmong the many blessings and miracles for which St Dionysios will be remembered is his unbelievable act
\nof forgiveness. In December 1580, St Dionysios‘ brother, Konstantinos, was murdered by a man, who in
\ntrying to flee from the authorities, found refuge at the monastery where St Dionysios served as abbot.
\nWhile at the monastery, the murderer confessed the sin to St Dionysios, who not only forgave him for the
\ncrime, but hid him from the soldiers and helped him escape across the sea to the shores of Kefalonia.
\nIn the spring of 1622 he was faced with serious health problems and on the 17 th December 1622 he passed
\naway. At his request he was buried at the Monastery in Strofades. Several years later, when his body was
\nremoved from its grave, his remains were not only found to be intact, but his body emitted a mixed
\nfragrance of flowers and frankincense. In 1703, the Orthodox Church in Constantinople declared him as a
\nSaint and protectorate of Zakynthos. The memory of St. Dionysios is celebrated on the 17 th December, the
\nday of his death.
\nOn the day before the celebration at 11am the casket where St. Dionysios‘ body rests horizontally is
\nopened and is moved into an upright position. Gunshots, cannons and ship sirens can be heard, signaling
\nthe start of the celebrations.
\nThere is a procession on 17 December and as St. Dionysios passes by the crowds they are able to see his
\nbody, which has miraculously been preserved for nearly 300 years and also catch sight of his famous
\nslippers that are perched on his feet. People will cross themselves and the truly religious will lie on the
\nroad allowing the glass casket to pass over the top of them in the hope and belief that the Saint will
\nperform a miracle for them and take care of them.
\nThe casket is kept in an upright position in the church for the 3 celebration days allowing believers to visit
\nand be blessed by the Saint. Following the three days of celebration, St. Dionysios is returned to his silver
\ncasket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
St. Dionysios is the patron saint of Zakynthos and was born in Zakynthos in 1547. He was born to a wealthy, noble family and was baptised Draganikos Sigouros. In 1568, at the age of 21, following the untimely death of his parents, he decided to enter the priesthood and to assume a life of monasticism.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-updates-fr-de"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n