St. Vissarion of Agathonos Monastery

Orthodox icon of Saint Vissarion of Agathonos Monastery, Αγ. Βησσαρίων Μονής Αγάθωνος

Commemorated: January 22nd

Saint Vissarion Korkoliakos, the Agathonite, was born in Petalidi, Messinia, in 1908 AD, where he learned to read and write. His secular name was Andreas. At the age of 18, he went to Kalamata, where he became associated with spiritual people and decided to enter the holy clergy. He became a monk and took the name Vissarion. He was then ordained a deacon, a priest, and received the office of archimandrite.

He completed his higher education at the Scholarchion. However, his continuous study of the sacred books, the texts of our Church, and the books of the analogion had made Saint Vissarion a man of broad and deep theological education.

Full of spiritual gifts, in 1935 AD, following an invitation from the Metropolitan of Karditsa, Ezekiel, also from Messinia, Saint Vissarion went to Karditsa, where he devoted himself to the work of our Lord's ministry. There he practiced charity work and devoted his entire life to it, to the point that while in the Sotiria Hospital shortly before his death, he asked from his bed of pain with tireless concern for children, the poor, and the affairs of the Church and society.

He undertook many difficult missions. Among these, he played an important role during the German occupation, during which he is said to have helped many patriots and saved children who had been arrested by the Germans through his personal interventions.

After the Liberation and the Civil War, Saint Vissarion left Karditsa. Already an Archimandrite with many years of ascetic life and rich spiritual and social work, he came to the Holy Monastery of Agathonos after 1955 AD, influenced by Father Germanos Dimakos, also from the Peloponnese. There he took on the spiritual ministry of the monastery. He had internal duties within the monastery, but he also had external duties in the world. Every Monday and Tuesday he went to the hospitals of Lamia, visited the patients, comforted them, and heard their confessions.

With his charismatic personality, his love for people, and his gentle and simple manner, he managed to bring relief to suffering souls. On other days, he would sit in front of the church at the monastery, welcoming people with his friendly smile and listening to their problems. People who came to him burdened with pain, suffering, and anxiety left the Holy Elder feeling relieved. He also helped many of them financially. Whatever things and money were brought to him by the many people who trusted him, the old man distributed to the poor and those in need. He would constantly say, "Outside, people are poor, outside they are hungry, we must help them."

Saint Vissarion was also the "carrier" of the Monastery. He would go out with the icon of the Virgin Mary to the villages, where the faithful eagerly awaited him in the streets. They would perform services, the old man would confess them, speak to them with spiritual and edifying words, and they would give blessings from their produce. Saint Vissarion divided what he collected into two "sacks." He brought one sack to the monastery for its needs, as the Agricultural School operated there at the time and the Holy Monastery housed 82 destitute children. He distributed the contents of the other sack directly to the poor. He knew the needs of each family and distributed accordingly.

Saint Vissarion spent his life admonishing, advising, and ministering to God's flock in every way possible. He was the good shepherd who sacrificed his life for his sheep. He considered all worldly things to be rubbish, as the Apostle Paul says, "that he might gain Christ." And he gained Christ. Saint Vissarion is now close to the Lord, who has seen fit to give him special honor. He did not simply sanctify him, but kept his body incorrupt, so that we could all see it with our own eyes and believe, be strengthened, be enlightened, and be moved.

Saint Vissarion was generally in good health. He had no major problems. Towards the end of his life, fatigue and old age set in. Due to the seriousness of his condition, he was transferred to the Sotiria Hospital in Athens, where he died of pulmonary edema on January 22, 1991.

Access to the monastery during those days was difficult due to heavy snowfall. The hearse had difficulty climbing the hill. For two days, his body lay in the church, where many people came to pay their respects to the Elder and mourn. His face shone in the coffin and his body exuded a sweet fragrance. His body could not be buried in the cemetery due to weather conditions and was therefore buried in the Baptistery, where there were rooms intended for confession. For years, many people came to worship the relic, showing their piety. In fact, many brought him offerings, as if they were offering them to a saint, without waiting for any sign to prove his holiness. In fact, there are reports of miraculous experiences and events that took place at the Elder's tomb. Many had turmoil in their homes, but when they saw Saint Vissarion in their sleep, peace returned to the family, and other similar stories. It was decided not to exhume the body, but to upgrade the Baptistery area. However, the subsidence that occurred on the eastern side of the Monastery required its demolition and reconstruction with new supports. Therefore, the exhumation was necessary.

A Trisagion was performed and after the removal of the bricks began. The coffin appeared to be in excellent condition. After it was transferred to the cemetery, the monks opened the coffin to remove the bones. However, when they opened it, they were surprised to find that the body under the shroud was intact.

This was a miraculous event and divine providence. Although all the monks believed in his holiness, the Holy Church had to take charge of the matter. His Eminence, Metropolitan Nikolaos of Fthiotida, was shocked when he heard about it, visited the monastery, and venerated the holy relic with emotion. The incorrupt body of the Holy Elder was transferred to the chapel of the Holy Trinity for protection and has been there ever since, where thousands of faithful come to worship.

The quiet Elder with God's grace, shook the whole of Greece. After fifteen years, this man's body was found intact, simply shrunken and dehydrated, still holding the Holy Gospel, which no one could easily take from him. It was as if he wanted to tell us that we had strayed from the Gospel and urge us, especially the priests: "Return to the deep wounds of our Faith, to the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition. Stop dealing with worldly and social issues; there are others who are responsible for these matters. Your duty is to lead souls to salvation, to raise man from Earth to Heaven!...".

On June 14, 2022 AD, the Ecumenical Patriarchate included him in the Church's calendar of Saints.