Description
St. Laurence was a devout married man with two sons, and they lived in the town of Megara on the road from Attica to Corinth in Greece. The Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him and asked him to go the the Island of Salamis and restore a church there, now called “Panagia Phaneromene,” which means “All-pure [a name for the Virgin Mary] revealed.” Salamis is the closest island to Athens, and is west of Athens in the Saronic Gulf.
St. Laurence listened to the words of his Heavenly visitor and went to the Island of Salamis and found there the ruins of an old church, which with much effort he rebuilt into a new church. He dedicated the church to an icon of the Virgin, also named Panagia Phaneromene, which is shown in this icon. Later, St. Laurence left all worldly attachments and became a monk, dedicating his life to the monastic ideals of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, which are the four monastic vows. He lived in the monastery he built in the same place as the Panagia Phaneromene Church and lived his life out in devout service to God. He died on March 7, 1770, and his relics are still wonder-working.