« Pilgrims of the Diocese of Sourozh venerated the holy sites of Corfu Island »
11-09-2026 
From September 7 to 10, 2026, with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, a pilgrimage of believers from the Diocese of Sourozh to the holy sites of Corfu, Greece, took place.
The group of thirty pilgrims, which included Orthodox residents of Oxford and neighboring towns, was led by Archpriest Stephen Platt, Dean of the Diocesan District of Central England and Rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford.
The central event of the pilgrimage was the Divine Liturgy on September 8 at the Church of St. Spyridon of Tremithus, patron saint of Corfu. Archpriest Stephen Platt assisted the local Greek clergy, as well as clergy from Russia and Moldova. The participants of the trip were privileged to receive Holy Communion.
At the proskomedia in the church altar, Father Stefan recalled the numerous prayers for health and repose that had been given to the pilgrims before their departure from England. Following the Liturgy, the pilgrims venerated the precious and incorrupt relics of Saint Spyridon, which rest in a 19th-century silver reliquary in the south aisle of the church.
Continuing the program, the faithful visited the Corfu Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos Spileotissa, the Hieromartyr Blasius, and Queen Theodora. The pilgrims venerated the relics of Saint Theodora, who restored the veneration of holy icons in Byzantium in the 9th century. Her holy relics, like those of Saint Spyridon, were transferred to Corfu from Constantinople after the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1456. Pilgrims also had the opportunity to venerate the relics of the Hieromartyr Blasius and Saint Gerasimus of Cephalonia, housed in the church.
That same day, the group visited the Convent of the Holy Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised, founded in the 15th century and considered the oldest monastery within the city, and the Church of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater—a 1st-century Byzantine church erected on the site of the first Gospel sermons delivered by the disciples of Apostle Paul to the inhabitants of Corfu.
In the following days, the pilgrims prayed at other famous monasteries in Corfu: the 18th-century Convent of Pantocrator, where the nuns practice monastic life according to the Athonite Rule; The Paleokastritsa Monastery, founded in the 13th century on the site of the miraculous discovery of the icon of the Mother of God; the Kasopitra Monastery of the Holy Mother of God, home to the miraculous icon of the Holy Mother of God healing the blind, as well as a large collection of relics of saints of God.
In addition to the pilgrimage program, the faithful were given the opportunity to pray privately at the shrine of St. Spyridon, explore the island's historical heritage, and relax by the sea.