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July 12, 2023

Argyro Stephanakis, a Holy Leper Who Reposed on July 12, 2014


Argyro Stephanakis was a hidden ascetic of the world who was born around 1920. After she was married and had one child, she suffered with leprosy and went to live at the leper colony on the island of Spinalonga. When the leper colony closed in 1957, she went to live in Attica at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases. This is where she met Saint Nikephoros the Leper, a fellow patient, and Saint Eumenios Saridakis, who was cured of leprosy and served as ministering priest (all three holy lepers were from Crete, as depicted in the icon above). She reposed on July 12, 2014. On July 26, 2017 the translation of her sacred relic took place, which gushed forth a heavenly fragrance, revealing the degree of her holiness.

More details to come.