Hierarch18th century

Saint Panaretus of Cyprus

c. 1710 – 1790

Also known as Panaretos of Cyprus

A hierarch of Cyprus venerated by the Church; few details of his life are preserved.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Panaretos, Bishop of Paphos

Life

Saint Panaretos of Paphos was an eighteenth-century hierarch of the Church of Cyprus who served as Bishop of Paphos from 1767 until his repose in 1790. Sources record him as a learned and ascetic prelate who, beyond his pastoral and building activity, helped lead the Cypriot hierarchy in a petition to Constantinople against an oppressive Ottoman governor of the island.

He was glorified as a saint by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1794, a few years after his death, and is commemorated on May 1.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide

TroparionTone 4

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Panaretus,
entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline7 momentsReadHide

c. 1710Birth in PeristeronopigiBy the accounts preserved, Panaretos was born around the start of the eighteenth century in the village of Peristeronopigi, in the Mesaoria plain northwest of Famagusta, Cyprus.
early lifeEducation and monastic tonsureHe was educated at the Greek Orthodox school in Nicosia and became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Anastasios in his home village.
by 1764Abbot of PallouriotissaBefore his episcopate he served the Church of Cyprus in several capacities, including as abbot of the Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Pallouriotissa in Nicosia.
January 1767Consecrated Bishop of PaphosHe was consecrated Bishop of Paphos in January 1767, succeeding Bishop Chrysanthos, and held the see until his death in 1790.
1783Petition to ConstantinopleHe joined Archbishop Chrysanthos and fellow bishops in a journey to Constantinople that secured the removal of an Ottoman governor of Cyprus who had oppressed the island's Orthodox population.
1790ReposeHe reposed in 1790; sources place his death and funeral in early June of that year.
1794GlorificationHe was glorified as a saint by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1794.

Contributions & Legacy

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Episcopal ministry

As Bishop of Paphos, Panaretos is remembered for restoring and renovating numerous monasteries and churches throughout his metropolitan district. He also took an interest in scholarship and printing: sources credit him with funding the 1780 publication of a philosophical work by Theophilos Korydalleus and with supporting the 1788 publication of Archimandrite Cyprian's 'Chronological History of Cyprus.'

His most prominent public act was his part, in 1783, in the Cypriot hierarchy's petition to Constantinople for the discharge of the Ottoman governor of the island, who according to the accounts had oppressed the Orthodox people of Cyprus.

Ascetic life

The Cypriot accounts describe Panaretos as a man of strict personal asceticism. He is said to have eaten only once a day, after vespers, to have spent much of the night in standing prayer, and to have bound his body with an iron chain as a discipline. Tradition relates that the chain was discovered only after his death.

By tradition he is also said to have foretold his own repose.

Relics & Shrines

The chains that Saint Panaretos wore in his ascetic discipline were given to the Monastery of Stavrovouni in Cyprus, where the sources report they are still preserved.

The accounts relate that at his funeral a paralyzed man was healed upon touching his relic.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints