Saint Nikiphoro was confined to his bed, blind and in pain, people came to him for a blessing and he taught them: “My children, do you pray? And how do you pray? …with the prayer of Jesus you should pray, with the ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’. Thus you should pray.”
“At 4 o’clock that night I fell asleep. In my dream, he visited me – Saint Nikephoros the Leper. I recognized him immediately. I saw him in his black dew, standing up, holding a golden cross in his right hand. He addressed me with the words: “Warn all Christians to pray to me, but repeatedly. Let them also read the services. There is a cure and this is the Holy Communion. There’s also a herb to drink, it’s thyme, it kills viruses. And in any case, be sure to visit the house of God at this difficult time, because there is no contagion there and no one can be infected. ”
Saint Nikephoros the Leper, a powerful intercessor for Covid-19 and every disease
Miracle of Saint Nikiphoro the Leper who cured a Physician from the covid infection.
Nicholas Tzanakakis was born in Greece in a village on the island of Crete in 1890. His parents passed away when he was a young boy, leaving him in the care of his grandfather. At the age of 13 the first signs of his disease began to show. By the time he was 16 the disease was visible, for the fear of being exiled to Spinaloga (Greece) he boarded a ship and fled to Egypt. While in Alexandria the signs were no longer able to be hidden, a Priest recommended he move to Chios (Greece), so moved in 1914. Father Anthimos Vagianos (later canonized as St. Anthimos of Chios 1960) had established a home to house those with lepers.
Here he began his studies in the Orthodox Faith. Father Anthimos noticed his devotion to the Christian faith and tonsured him a monk with the name Nikephoros. Nikephoros would devote hours each night to pray and grow closer to God.
In 1957 the leper home in Chios was closed, all who lived there moved to St. Barbara near Athens to the leprosy center. By this time, Father Nikephoros was 67 years old the disease had left him blind and deformed, but his soul had grown stronger towards the Lord.
One day, when Elder Eumenios (the founder of the leprosy center in St. Barbara) entered the room of Father Nikephoros, he saw him in prayer and levitating three feet off his bed, his face shining like the sun. A priest/monk, Father Nikodemus, who met him in 1961 left this description:
“The marks of the disease were clear on him. He was blind, mutilated and physically worn out. It could be immediately discerned however, that underneath the sick body was spiritual power, divine zeal and an endless love and peace that entirely pierced you.”
Even though he was confined to his bed, blind and in pain, people came to him for a blessing and he taught them: “My children, do you pray? And how do you pray? …with the prayer of Jesus you should pray, with the ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’. Thus you should pray.”
Father Nikephoros fell asleep in the Lord on January 4, 1964 at the age of 74. When his relics were uncovered they emitted a heavenly fragrance. He is remembered each year on the anniversary of his repose December 22/January 4.