The Holy Myrtle of Paliani and the Continuation of Tree Worship in Crete

The most characteristic case of tree worship, which has been preserved for centuries in Crete, concerns the Sacred Myrtle of Paliani.

By Eleni Vasilaki

Although as a plant the Myrtle is classified as a shrub in the Monastery of Paliani, the perennial myrtle is an entire tree, which even has its own separate celebration, on September 24, and not on August 15, when the Katholikon of the Monastery, in the courtyard of which it is located, celebrates.

Its celebration was established on this date as, it is said, September 24 was when the miraculous icon of the Panagia Myrtidiotissa was found.

In fact, the icon of the Panagia, in the case of the Holy Myrtle of Paliani, according to religious tradition, is still embedded in the trunk of the Myrtle tree today, invisible to those who do not have the power and faith to see it.

Saint Anthimos the Serpent-Hunter of Kefallonia

Venerable Anthimos Kourouklis, the Blind Ascetic of Kefallonia, who reposed on September 4th 1782, is also associated with the Greek island of Astypalea where he did missionary work and performed a number of miracles. It was here that he helped exterminate a huge serpent that nested in a small cave in the northeast of the island, known to this day as Drakospilia or Drakontospilaio (translated as Dragon Cave).

The serpent instilled such fear in the inhabitants that the entire area beyond the narrow part of the island was uninhabited. The Saint advised them to cultivate the rest of the island in order to survive; however, he encountered their resistance due to the serpent. Then Anthimos, accompanied by a few faithful witnesses to the remarkable miracle that followed, crossed the narrow passage of the island and reached an elevation from where the cave of the dragon could be discerned.