Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lesbos () are venerated as saints and neomartyrs in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. According to a 20th-century legend, they lived on the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

in the 15th century and were killed by Turkish raiders in April 1463. Raphael is said to have been the abbot of a monastery of Karyes, near the village of Thermi, Nicholas a deacon in the same monastery, and Irene the 12-year-old daughter of the local mayor. The story of the three saints first emerged in 1959, when local villagers reported seeing them in their dreams and in miraculous visions, during which the saints revealed their stories to them. The supposed site of their martyrdom was subsequently excavated and human remains believed to be those of the saints were found. These relics are today kept in a monastery that was re-built on the site. It is situated at the northeastern part of the island, at a distance of 12 km from

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

and 3 km of Thermi, on a hill called ''Karyes''.Monastery of Sts Raphael, Nikolaos and Irene, Historical notes regarding the discovery of the relics of the newmartyrs
/ref> The saints were canonized in 1970. The monastery has become a prominent center of pilgrimage.

References

{{authority control Christian martyrs Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox martyrs New Martyrs Virgin martyrs