St. Spyridon

Saint Spyridon
Icon of Saint Spyridon
Thaumaturge (Miracle-worker) (Ὁ Θαυματουργός)
Born	c. 270 Askia, Cyprus
Died	348 Trimythous, Cyprus
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholicism, Roman Catholicism
Canonized	(pre-congregation)
Major shrine	Corfu
Feast	East: December 12, Cheesefare Saturday West: December 14
Attributes	Vested as a bishop with omophorion, often holding a Gospel Book, with his right hand raised in blessing. Sometimes the image features a potsherd, or sprig of basil. Iconographically, he is depicted as tall, with a long, white forked beard, and wearing a woven, straw hat on his head - a traditional shepherd's hat and a representation that he was a shepherd of God's people.
Patronage	Potters, Corfu, Piraeus

Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon (Greek: Ἅγιος Σπυρίδων; c. 270 – 348) is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions.

Spyridon was born in Askeia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepherd and was known for his great piety. He married and had one daughter, Irene. Upon the death of his wife, Spyridon entered a monastery, and their daughter, a convent.

Spyridon eventually became Bishop of Trimythous, or Tremithous (today called Tremetousia), in the district of Larnaca. He took part in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), where he was instrumental in countering the theological arguments of Arius and his followers.

He reportedly converted a pagan philosopher to Christianity by using a potsherd to illustrate how one single entity (a piece of pottery) could be composed of three unique entities (fire, water and clay); a metaphor for the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

As soon as Spyridon finished speaking, the shard is said to have miraculously burst into flame, water dripped on the ground, and only dust remained in his hand (other accounts of this event say that it was a brick he held in his hand).