Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia

Saint Porphyrios (Bairaktaris) the Kafsokalyvite (Όσιος Πορφύριος ο Καυσοκαλυβίτης; secular name: Evangelos Bairaktaris (Ευάγγελος Μπαϊρακτάρης; February7,1906 – December2,1991) was a Greek Athonite hieromonk who became widely known for his gifts of spiritual discernment. He was canonised as an Eastern Orthodox Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the 27th of November, 2013.

St. Porphyrios was born on February 7, 1906, in the village of Agios Ioannis, which translates to St. John Karystia, in the province of Evia in Greece.

His parents, Leonidas and Eleni Bairaktaris, baptized him as Evangelos, and he was the fourth out of five siblings.

He attended only 2 years of school in his childhood, and instead began work at 8 years old, first tending animals on his family's farm, then in a coal mine, and finally for a grocer in Halkhida and Piraeus.

It was during his childhood where it is claimed he wanted to pursue a monastic lifestyle, which he was inspired to do after reading the life of Saint John the Hut-Dweller.

He was tonsured a monk at the age of fourteen with the monastic name Nikitas.

He served in the Athonite skete of Kafsokalyvia, in the Cell of St. George, under two spiritual fathers: Fr. Panteleimon and his brother Fr. Ioannikios.

Forced by pleurisy to depart the Holy Mountain, he returned to Agios Ioannis, staying at the monastery of Saint Haralambos while back in his birthplace.

During this time he was often visited by Bishop Fostimis of Kymi, and through the help of Porphyrios III, Archbishop of Mount Sinai and Raithu, Nikitas was ordained a deacon and then a priest, under the name Porphyrios, at 21 years old.

Two years after his ordination, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Karystia appointed him as a father confessor, and later appointed him the office of Archimandrite in 1938.

With the outbreak of World War II, St. Porphyrios became a hospital chaplain in Athens, namely the Polyclinic Hospital, which he served for around 33 years, from 1940 to 1973.

During his time there, he was allowed to also serve the Church of Saint Gerasimos by the Professor of Canon Law, Amilkas Alivizatos, and also aided in the renewal of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Kallisia.

While working as a chaplain, he had also suffered various afflictions, including a fractured leg, kidney troubles, and a coma.

Following his service as a chaplain, he worked to accomplish his goal of establishing a convent, initially in 1955 with the Holy Monastery of Pendeli, to no success.

By 1981, St. Porphyrios had his convent, the Holy Convent of the Transfiguration of the Savior, recognized by Presidential decree, and although construction work began in 1980, the foundations were not laid until February 1990.

Between this time, in 1984, he returned to Mt. Athos, and resumed living in the same cell he occupied prior to his leave.

His physical health continued to deteriorate, suffering from a hernia which persisted until his death, a heart attack, and blindness in 1987 caused by a botched operation on his left eye.

It was on Mt. Athos where he spent the rest of his life, and wished to have a quiet death, preparing a farewell letter for his spiritual children to avoid a crowd.

He died on December 2, 1991, at 4:31 AM, surrounded by a few monks of the holy skete of Kavsokalyvia, and had his death announced at the dawn of December 3.

Through his role as a spiritual father, Elder Porphyrios became known to an ever-wider circle of Orthodox followers, and his sainthood was declared by the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on November 27, 2013.

In 2014, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decreed that St. Porphyrios' name be added to their church calendar and commemorated on December 2.

In 2017, the holy synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church also added him to their calendar on December 2.

St. Porphyrios, similar to other canonized saints, has his own Akathist that is sung on December 2, his commemoration and feast day.

Several compilations of stories and sayings attributed to him have been published since his commemoration as a Saint.

On April 17, 2019, the Chapel of Saint Porphyrios was inaugurated by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Maroneia and Komotini, for the social houses of Agios Stylianos Parish of Komotini.

Then, in December 2019, Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj dedicated the chapel of the Rebra-Parva monastery, found in Romania's Bistrița-Năsăud county, to Saint Porphyrios.

In January 2021, an Orthodox, English language, multicultural mission parish dedicated to Saint Porphyrios was formed in Lanark County, Ontario, under Fr. Peter (Craig) Bowers, of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.