Venerable (Monastic) 16th century

Venerable Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia

c. 1509 – 1579

Also known as Gerasimos of Kefalonia

A Greek monk who labored on Zakynthos, Mount Athos, and Cephalonia, founding a women's monastery; the patron saint of Cephalonia, often invoked for the mentally afflicted and demon-oppressed.

Feast Day

August 16

Also Oct 20

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Gerasimus the New Ascetic of Cephalonia, the Wonderworker

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Mental Health

Deliverance from the Occult

Life

Gerasimus the New, called the New Ascetic of Cephalonia, was a sixteenth-century Greek monk remembered as the patron saint of the Ionian island of Cephalonia (Kefalonia). Sources place his birth around 1509 in the village of Trikala in Corinthia, in the Peloponnese, and report that he descended from the prominent Notaras family.

After years of pilgrimage and ascetic labor across the Orthodox world, he settled on Cephalonia near the middle of the century, restored an old church, and founded a women's monastery dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. He reposed in 1579 and was numbered among the saints after his body was found incorrupt.

He is widely venerated on Cephalonia, where his incorrupt relics are kept at the monastery he founded, and he is invoked in particular on behalf of the mentally afflicted and the demon-oppressed.

Timeline 7 moments Read Hide

c. 1509 Birth in Corinthia According to the sources he was born around 1509 in the village of Trikala in Corinthia, in the Peloponnese, into the well-known Notaras family. The OrthodoxWiki account names his parents as Demetrios and Kale and relates that he was raised in piety and studied the sacred writings.
Youth Time in Constantinople By tradition he visited Constantinople in his youth, where the witness of Christian martyrs is said to have moved him toward the monastic life.
Mid-16th century Years of pilgrimage and asceticism He was tonsured a monk on Mount Athos and undertook extensive pilgrimage, including, by the sources' accounts, some twelve years in Jerusalem and time in further places of Orthodox monasticism before turning toward the Ionian Islands.
c. 1555 Arrival on Cephalonia He came to Cephalonia around 1555, after a period on Zakynthos. On Cephalonia he first lived as a hermit in a cave, in the area known as Lassi.
After settling Foundation of the monastery He restored an old church and built a convent around it at the place called Omala, near Valsamata, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and also called 'New Jerusalem.' The community cared for the poor and became a center of charity.
1579 Repose He reposed in 1579 at the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Valsamata on Cephalonia; the sources give the day as August 15.
After his death Discovery of incorrupt relics His body was buried and later exhumed, found whole and incorrupt, which led to his being numbered among the saints. The translation of his relics is commemorated on October 20.

Contributions & Legacy

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Pilgrimage and Ascetic Life

The accounts of Gerasimus describe a long course of monastic wandering before he settled on Cephalonia. He was made a monk on Mount Athos and, by the sources, spent roughly twelve years in Jerusalem; the OrthodoxWiki account adds time in places such as Mount Sinai, Egypt, and Crete, and notes a period of cave-dwelling.

Before reaching Cephalonia he spent time on the island of Zakynthos, where tradition relates that he lived for several years in a cave. Settling on Cephalonia, he again took up the solitary life, dwelling for a time in a cave at Lassi before gathering a community.

The Monastery at Omala

On Cephalonia, Gerasimus restored an old church and built a women's monastery around it at the place called Omala, near the village of Valsamata. The house was dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and, according to the sources, also bore the name 'New Jerusalem.'

The monastery cared for the poor and became a center for charity. It remains the principal site of his veneration on the island, and his relics are kept there.

Relics & Shrines

Gerasimus's body is reported to have been buried and afterward exhumed intact; this discovery of incorruption led the Church to number him among the saints. His incorrupt relics are kept at the monastery he founded near Valsamata and are made available for veneration.

The OrthodoxWiki account relates that the relics remain whole and incorrupt and are associated with a sweet fragrance and many reported miracles.

Veneration & Patronage

Gerasimus is honored as the patron saint of Cephalonia and protector of its inhabitants. He is commemorated on August 16 and on October 20, the latter marking the translation of his relics.

In the broader Orthodox tradition he is invoked especially on behalf of the mentally afflicted and those held to be demon-oppressed.

Notes

Also commemorated Oct 20.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints