Venerable Patapios of Thebes

Patapius came from Thebes in Egypt and lived as a hermit in the desert, where people came to him for counsel. To escape his growing fame he went to Constantinople and settled near the Blachernae quarter, where, according to tradition, he founded a monastery of the Egyptians. His Life credits him with many healings.

When he lived is uncertain: some put him in the 4th century, others as late as the 7th. After the fall of Constantinople his relics were taken to Greece. In 1904 they were found in a cave on Mount Geraneia above Loutraki, where a convent of St Patapius now stands.