Saint Maxim the Greek Church was inaugurated in June 2016 in the area Trigono of Arta. This is the first church founded in honor of the saint in his birthplace. It is expensive and imposing work, which has not been completed yet, of great importance for the city, as Saint Maxim is one of the greats of the 16th century with a reputation beyond Greece’s narrow borders. He had an enlightened personality, which marked the spiritual life and orthodox theology. Known as Saint Maxim of Vatopedi, he has been described as a “”reformer of the Russians””, while the Russians themselves call him “”Maksim Grek””, meaning Maxim the Greek.
His contemporary, the Russian professor of philosophy, Mikhail Gromov, wrοte about him: “”as a worthy successor of the important Greek civilization, Saint Maxim rightly became a wise philosopher and famous writer of the Russian land, who contributed the most to the development of our culture.”.
His memory is honored on the 21st of January, while the faithful worship his relics, which are kept in the church.
A few words about the life of Saint Maxim of Vatopedi or Greek: Saint Maxim, the world-famous Michael Trivolis was born in Arta in 1470 AD, where his father, Manuel, from Sparta-Mystras, had settled. His mother was called Irene. Saint Maxim’s parents were of noble origin and highly educated. Russian sources describe them as “”philosophers”” revealing a higher education, while the saint himself describes them as “”genuine believers””.
Little Michael first learned next to his parents and, at a young age, traveled to Corfu, to the scholar Dimitrios Trivolis, his father’s brother. There, he continued his education with the philosopher Ioannis Moschos, who was a student of Georgios Plithonas Gemistos and completed his studies in Italy. He studied at the Greek school in Venice and later at the Universities of Padua, Florence, and Milan, where he had prominent Greek teachers, such as Ianos Laskaris, Laonikos Chalkokondylis, and others.
He became a monk in 1505-6 on Mount Athos and received the name Maxim. The rest of his life will find him in Russia, where he went at the invitation of the Tsar, Vassily Ivanovich, in 1516. His mission was to translate various liturgical and theological books into Slavonic. For 17 months, he was successfully translating the books. However, his stay in the country took a dramatic turn after the defamatory accusations of heresy and magic unleashed against him by Daniel, the abbot of the Volokalamsk Monastery. Maxim was imprisoned for many years and endured shackles, torture, and exile. Finally, in 1551, he was transferred to the Lavra of St. Sergius, where the abbot surrounded him with a lot of love, appreciating his spiritual work. There, he left his last breath on the 21st of January, 1556.
Saint Maximus wrote many apologetic and interpretive works. He was canonized on the 31st of May, 1988.
An Orthodox Theological Institute was established in Athens to honor the saint, encouraging research, recording, preservation, dissemination, promotion and projection of the wealth and reserves of global Orthodox spirituality and culture: “”Saint Maxim the Greek Institute, Research, Preservation and Promotionof Spiritual and Cultural traditions””.