02 — The Leper Colony of Chios
The heart of St. Nikephoros’s formation: his entry to the Lovokomeio (leprosarium) of Chios c. 1914, his tonsure as the monk Nikephoros, and the spiritual community of the sick gathered there under the confessor and later saint Anthimos of Chios.
Tradition: Greek Orthodox (20th-c. Cretan monk; glorified 2012)
This section covers the four decades that made Nikephoros a monk. The Chios leprosarium was not merely a place of medical segregation but, under the chaplaincy of St. Anthimos (Vagianos) of Chios, a genuine ascetic community. It was there that Nikolaos received the angelic schema and the name Nikephoros, learned obedience, fasting, and unceasing prayer, and — as the disease took his sight — became the chanter who sang the services from memory.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| the-lovokomeio-of-chios.md | Entry to the Chios leprosarium c. 1914; the chapel of St. Lazarus; the tonsure as Nikephoros (c. 1916) by St. Anthimos of Chios |
| monastic-life-among-the-sick.md | The spiritual community of the lepers; St. Anthimos (Vagianos) of Chios as confessor and spiritual father; obedience, fasting, and the recording of Anthimos’s miracles |
See Also
- 01 — Foundations — the flight from Crete that brought him to Chios
- 03 — The Antileprosy Station in Athens — the 1957 transfer that closed the Chios chapter
- 04 — The Ascetic of Joy — the interior life formed in the Lovokomeio