Today, Feb. 19, is the feast day of St. Filothei, who was born in 1522 in Ottoman-occupied Athens.
Both of Filothei’s parents were descended from noble Byzantine families, and Filothei was the couple’s only and dearly-beloved child. She was renowned for her extensive philanthropy for the Christian faithful, amid the harsh rule of the Ottoman Turks in the area.
St. Filothei, among others, opened a shelter for mistreated women and established the first school for girls during the dour Ottoman occupation of Greece.
Orthodoxia Νews Αgency today features extensive information and material on the life and death of the Martyr Filothei in our website.
The site of the saint’s tomb was also opened to worshippers on Tuesday . It is located in a crypt next to a church dedicated to the Saint. During the Middle Ages, the crypt led to a 300-meter underground tunnel that ended at the nearby monastery at the Kalogreza site.