Saint St. Timotheos of Euripos

Saint Timothy of Euripus (born Tasos Kalamiotis, 1510) is an Orthodox saint and Bishop of Euripus in Chalcis. His feast day is celebrated on August 16, and in 1993, a church dedicated to Saint Timothy was built in his honor on the island of Kea, which is also commemorated on July 13. Born in 1510 in the village of Kalamos, Attica, he came from a family of local priests. From a young age, he loved the Holy Scriptures, and his father was his first teacher, instilling in him a love for Orthodoxy. Timothy was known from childhood for his virtuous life, piety, and strength of character, which earned him the affection of prominent church figures. The Bishop of Oropos, who became his spiritual father, funded his education in Athens. After completing his studies, Timothy returned to Kalamos. The Bishop of Oreoi tonsured him as a monk and ordained him a hierodeacon, and later a hieromonk. He served by administering the Holy Sacraments and preaching the Word of God, reviving the spirit of the people during the Ottoman occupation. Following the death of the Bishop of Oreoi, Saint Timothy succeeded him and was consecrated as the Bishop of Oreoi. Shortly thereafter, he was consecrated Metropolitan of Euripus, with his see in Chalcis. During the reign of Sultan Selim II (1566–1574), a decree was issued ordering the conversion of certain Christian churches into mosques. The saint’s immediate resistance provoked the deadly wrath of the local Ottoman governor, who planned to kill him by framing him as an enemy of the state. Timothy escaped with the help of the governor's wife, a crypto-Christian and his spiritual daughter, who provided him with funds to flee. Some accounts suggest he was also warned by local Ottoman residents who held him in high regard. In 1572, he fled with a deacon and a cleric to the opposite coast of Attica, staying for a time at the Kalolivadi monastery.