01 — Foundations
The origins of St. Nikephoros the Leper: the orphaned boy Nikolaos Tzanakakis of Sirikari in the Cretan mountains, apprenticed to a barber in Chania, and the coming of the leprosy that would define and sanctify his life.
Tradition: Greek Orthodox (20th-c. Cretan monk; glorified 2012)
This section establishes the human starting point of the saint’s life before the leprosarium: a poor, orphaned Cretan childhood, a trade learned in the town, and the first signs of Hansen’s disease — with the flight to Egypt that a young man of his time and place made to escape the isolation island of Spinalonga.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| nikolaos-of-sirikari-1890.md | Birth c. 1890 in Sirikari, western Crete; orphaned young; raised by his grandfather; apprenticed to a barber in Chania |
| the-onset-of-leprosy.md | The early signs of Hansen’s disease; the flight to Alexandria to hide it and escape Spinalonga; the return toward Chios |
See Also
- 02 — The Leper Colony of Chios — where the story resumes, in the Lovokomeio
- 06 — Sources — how these early, sparsely documented years are known