Patron saints of Greek cities and islands

Every Greek town, and almost every village, has its own patron saint (πολιούχος, poliouchos, literally “holder of the city”): the saint whom locals regard as the protector of their home. The saint's feast is usually marked with a procession and a local festival, and it even shapes local names. Where a saint is especially revered, many people carry the saint's name, so the feast doubles as a huge local name day.

Patron saints of major cities

• Thessaloniki: Saint Demetrius, on 26 October. The fourth-century great martyr is called the Myrrh-streamer because, according to tradition, fragrant myrrh flowed from his tomb, and his great basilica in the city dates back to the mid-fifth century. On the same day Thessaloniki celebrates its liberation in 1912. It is the name day of Dimitris and Dimitra.
• Athens: Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, on 3 October. According to the Acts of the Apostles he was a member of the Areopagus court who believed after hearing the Apostle Paul; tradition holds that he became the city's first bishop. The pedestrian walkway around the Acropolis bears his name. Athens also especially honours Saint Philothei of Athens, on 19 February.
• Patras: Saint Andrew the Apostle, on 30 November. Tradition says he was crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross. His head relic was returned to the city from Rome in 1964, and the cross of his martyrdom from Marseille in 1980. It is the name day of Andreas.
• Larissa: Saint Achillius (Agios Achilleios), on 15 May, a bishop of the city who, according to tradition, took part in the First Ecumenical Council. Achilleas celebrates the same day.
• Kalamata and Chania: here the patron is not a saint but a feast. Kalamata honours the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Ypapanti) on 2 February, and the town of Chania the Entry of the Virgin into the Temple on 21 November.

The islands and their saints

• Corfu: Saint Spyridon, on 12 December. A fourth-century bishop of Trimythous in Cyprus, he is known on the island simply as “the Patron” because, according to tradition, he saved Corfu from the plague. His relics reached Corfu after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and rest in his church in the town. They are carried in procession on Palm Sunday and on other special occasions, and on 11 August there is a procession that the Venetians established after the siege of 1716. It is the name day of Spyros and Spyridoula. Saint Spyridon is also the patron saint of Piraeus.
• Kefalonia: Saint Gerasimos, honoured twice a year: on 16 August and on 20 October, the day of the translation of his relics. A sixteenth-century ascetic from the Notaras family, he came to the island in 1555 and founded a convent at Omala. On his feasts, by custom, his relics are passed over the sick in the hope of healing. It is the name day of Gerasimos.
• Zakynthos: Saint Dionysios, on 17 December. Born on the island in 1547, he became archbishop of Aegina and died in 1622. He is remembered above all for forgiving the man who murdered his brother. Dionysis usually celebrates on 3 October, but on Zakynthos many celebrate on 17 December instead.
• Crete: Saint Titus the Apostle, on 25 August, a disciple of Saint Paul, who appointed him bishop of the island. His head relic was returned from Venice in 1966 and is kept in the church of Saint Titus in Heraklion, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Crete since 2013. The patron saint of the city of Heraklion, however, is Saint Menas, on 11 November.
• Chios and Rhodes: Chios honours Saint Markella on 22 July, and Rhodes Saint Phanourios on 27 August.

Saint Nicholas, protector of sailors

Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century archbishop of Myra in Lycia, holds a special place. Honoured on 6 December as the protector of sailors, he has churches in many Greek harbours and is the patron of many places, from Volos, Syros, Kos and Kalymnos to Kozani and Alexandroupoli. It is the name day of Nikos and Nikoleta.

Patron saints and local names

Devotion to the patron saint shows in local names. Spyros and Spyridoula are very common on Corfu, Gerasimos on Kefalonia, Dionysis and Dionysia on Zakynthos, Andreas in Patras and Achaea, and Markella on Chios, while on Rhodes you will meet women called Tsampika. So if you find yourself in one of these places on the patron's feast, you will have plenty of people to wish “Chronia polla!” (“many years”). To learn more about how names are chosen, see the guide to Greek naming traditions.

This list is far from complete: almost every town and village has a patron saint of its own. You will find each saint's feast on the saint's page, and all saints in the list of saints.