16th century
Saint Nicanor the Wonderworker
Sixteenth-century monk from Thessaloniki, founder of the Zavorda monastery near Grevena.
Biography
Nikanor, born Nikolaos, was born in Thessaloniki in 1491 to devout parents. After his father died and later his mother too, he gave away his inheritance to the poor and to orphans and became a monk; the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki ordained him deacon and priest, hoping to make him his successor.
Nikanor, however, withdrew after a divine call and founded, at Grevena, the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, known as Zavorda, after finding there an icon of Christ that had been hidden since the years of Iconoclasm. He became known for his teaching and healings, until he died on 7 August 1549.