Saint Panagis Bassias

Saint Panagis Bassias lived in Kefalonia in the 19th century and was sanctified by the Orthodox Church on September 7th, 1986. He was born in 1801 in Lixouri, where he lived most of his life. Initially he worked as a teacher, unable to tolerate the English domination he quit his job and became a monk at the monastery of Virgin Mary Vlacherna at the island Dias, on the shores of Palliki. Returning from there he was ordained priest and dedicated to the service of the church. He had as a base for more than fifty years the church of Saint Spyridon in Lixouri, where he accepted every soul in pain and trouble seeking advice and consolation. He suffered in his life from neurasthenia, he donated his entire fortune to the poor and those who were in need and helped people with all his strength. The stories of his miracles, insight and intuition remain vivid in memory of local people who refer always with great love to “Saint Bassias.”