Savvas the New of Kalymnos

[haralampopoulosjc]

Does anyone know anything about this Elder? He's recognized by the World Orthodox, and he knew Saint Nektarios for a year before his repose. He also supposedly painted the first icon of Saint Nektarios. Does anyone know if he took any sort of position on the calendar issue?

[SavaBeljovic]

Does anyone know anything about this Elder? He's recognized by the World Orthodox, and he knew Saint Nektarios for a year before his repose. He also supposedly painted the first icon of Saint Nektarios. Does anyone know if he took any sort of position on the calendar issue?

From his life (which can even be found on WO sources like the OCA website):

"Towards the end of his life, St. Savvas remained in a state of intense prayer and holy contrition. For three days he did not receive anyone and he gave his last counsels: requested love and obedience in Christ. When he was on the point of death taking his last breath, suddenly he received strength, brought his blessed small hands together, and clapped them repeatedly saying his last holy words: "The Lord! The Lord! The Lord," then he recited the hymn of the Annunciation which the nuns found odd as it was not the Annunciation with the new gregorian calendar, but only did the nuns realise later that at that point those following the old Julian calendar were celebrating the vesper feast for the Annunciation. Thus, he died on 7 April 1947 (which was 25 March for the Old Calendar -the eve of the feast of the Annunciation. Upon closing his eyes, one of the nuns saw the soul of the saint ascending in a golden cloud towards heaven."

He continued to serve on the Old Calendar, which in Greece even into the 1970s (as per what we know from Fr. Philotheos Zervakos' letter talking about Fr. -- later Met. -- Cyprian) was an offense the state church would defrock people over. I know many people in the GOC-K and throughout True Orthodoxy that think Elder Savvas of Kalymnos was an Old Calendarist and venerate him. It could be that he continued to use the Old Calendar but with the Old Calendatist, like Fr. Philotheos Zervakos, but I'm not sure.

post scriptum: I thought Blessed Matthew of Bresthena wrote the first icon of St. Nektarios? Perhaps I'm mistaken. St. Nektarios of Aegina in prophesy knew the Church of Greece was going to change the calendar and warned people not to go along (it also happens most of the same people who were persecuting him in life later were responsible for switching the calendar) so I would very surprised if any his spiritual children actually went with the New Calendarists.

[haralampopoulosjc]

post scriptum: I thought Blessed Matthew of Bresthena wrote the first icon of St. Nektarios? Perhaps I'm mistaken. St. Nektarios of Aegina in prophesy knew the Church of Greece was going to change the calendar and warned people not to go along (it also happens most of the same people who were persecuting him in life later were responsible for switching the calendar) so I would very surprised if any his spiritual children actually went with the New Calendarists.

So he stayed with the State Church while continuing to serve on the Old Calendar like Philotheos Zervakos. That makes sense (sort of).

I would have thought so, too, given that Saint Matthew was well-known as an iconographer, but perhaps not. We WERE the first ones to recognize him as a saint, though (although I'm not sure if we've ever officially glorified him), even before the Florinites or the New Calendarists.