The memory of Agia Irini of Chrysovalantos in Efkarpia, Thessalonikitranslated

The memory of Saint Irene of Chrysovalantou, the noblewoman from the holy land of Cappadocia, was honored by the Local Church of Western Thessaloniki by holding religious events in the Parish of the same name in the Municipality of Efkarpia. On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, a High Priestly Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the preeminent of the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Neapolis and Stavroupolis, Mr. Barnabas.

"Today we are not celebrating an ascetic, but a woman, who proved that holiness is a natural condition of life for every believer who loves Christ very much." With this phrase, the Panosiology Archimandrite Father Dionysios Tzitzos, after giving the definition of holiness, proceeded to reveal the holy life of Saint Irene, the Abbess of the Chrysovalantou Monastery in Constantinople, stressing that "strict exercise and fervent prayer sealed her earthly course".

After the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness thanked the faithful who flooded the Holy Temple, wished everyone a good rest of the summer and offered an apple as a blessing. According to tradition, a sailor from Patmos offered Saint Irene three unusually large, beautiful apples that gave off an indescribable, divine fragrance...