Righteous Methodia of Kimolos

Life and Asceticism

Methodia was born on Kimolos and baptized Irene, the daughter of pious parents and one of eight children. From childhood she was drawn to divine things and frequented the church. Her parents arranged her marriage to a sailor, who was lost in a shipwreck off the coast of Asia Minor.

After her husband's death, on the counsel of her spiritual advisor, she was tonsured a nun at the church of Panagia Hodēgḗtria by Archbishop Methodios of Syros, who gave her the name Methodia. She settled in a solitary cell and practiced strict fasting, vigilance, prayer, tears, study, humility, and charity.

Many women sought her spiritual guidance. According to the accounts of her life, she counseled them through a small window without opening her cell door, and women from other islands also came to her. Through her asceticism she was said to have received the grace to perform miracles and was remembered as a healer through Christ.

Canonization

The community of Kimolos formally acknowledged Methodia as the patron and guardian of the island in 1946. Her cause was advanced over the following decades: Protopresbyter Konstantinos D. Vastakis prepared the papers submitted to the Synod recommending her official recognition, and Protopresbyter Ioannis Ramphos is credited with promoting awareness of her sanctity.

She was officially recognized as a saint in 1991 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece; sources record the canonization act under varying dates in 1991. The event was documented at the time in the Hellenic Chronicle by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos. Her feast is kept on October 5, the day of her repose.

Relics & Shrines

Methodia was initially interred in the Church of Saint Spyridon on Kimolos. By 1962 her monastic cell had deteriorated, and a small church was built over the ruins, dedicated to the Panagia Eleousa and the Venerable Methodia; her remains were transferred there from Saint Spyridon.

Following her official recognition, her relics were relocated during the first post-canonization celebration on October 5, 1991, to the Metropolitan Church of Panagia Odigitria, the cathedral of Kimolos. That church (built 1867–1874) also houses a 15th-century icon of the Panagia Odigitria and iconostasis paintings by the iconographer Photios Kontoglou.

Miracles & Traditions

Historically Documented: Methodia was venerated locally well before her formal canonization, the island community acclaiming her as its patron and guardian in 1946 and a church being dedicated in her honor by the early 1960s.

Traditional Accounts: The accounts of her life relate that she received the grace to work miracles and became a healer through Christ, and that the day after her death observers noted her limbs were still flexible.