Hieromartyr Nikodemos of Meteora was a monastic of the Great Meteoron Monastery (the Monastery of the Transfiguration) in Thessaly who suffered martyrdom for his faith in 1551, during the Ottoman period. He is commemorated on August 16th.
Almost nothing survives concerning his life. The sole historical attestation is a brief notice by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, who recorded the martyr's name, his monastery, and his year of death, and composed commemorative verses about him. Beyond this, the circumstances that led to his martyrdom are not known.
He is classified among the New Venerable Martyrs of the Ottoman era and is commemorated jointly with Daniel of Meteora.
Timeline 2 moments
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1356Foundation of the Great MeteoronThe Monastery of the Transfiguration (the Great Meteoron) is founded by Athanasius the Meteorite in Thessaly, the community where Nikodemos would later live.
1551MartyrdomNikodemos, a monastic of the Great Meteoron, suffers martyrdom for his faith during the Ottoman period. He is commemorated on August 16th.
Contributions & Legacy
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Historical Context
The Great Meteoron, the Monastery of the Transfiguration, was founded in 1356 by Athanasius the Meteorite atop the rock pillars of Meteora in Thessaly. During the century following its foundation the region fell under Ottoman rule, which lasted until Thessaly passed to the Kingdom of Greece by the Convention of Constantinople in 1881.
Nikodemos lived and struggled at the Great Meteoron and was martyred there in 1551, within this long Ottoman period. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, who preserved his memory, recorded that the martyr declared during his passion that he was being put to death for the love of the Lord.
Sources and Uncertainty
The historical record for Nikodemos is extremely sparse. The Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion notes only that he struggled in Thessaly and suffered in 1551. The fullest account, drawn from Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, explicitly states that apart from his having lived at the Great Meteoron Monastery and having been martyred on August 16th, no other information about the saint or the cause of his martyrdom is preserved.
No birthplace, birth date, biographical detail, or account of relics survives in the reachable sources.
Commemorated With
Nikodemos is commemorated together with Daniel of Meteora, another New Venerable Martyr of Meteora. Daniel originated from Farkadona (ancient Tsioti) in southeastern Trikala. Daniel's sacred skull is preserved at the Great Meteoron Monastery in a reliquary case dating to 1786, and is brought to Farkadona for veneration on the first Saturday of the August fast.
