Biography
Savva of Ioannina
About Savva of Ioannina
Savva lived at the monastery of John the Forerunner on an island in the lake of Ioannina. His birthplace is unknown. The church notice describes aristocratic origins but emphasizes the poverty and humility he chose in monastic life. He became spiritual father to Nektarios and Theophanes of the Apsaras family, both later venerated as saints.
His remembered discipline was demanding: long nightly prayer and a small, plain diet. The account also stresses qualities less visible than fasting, describing him as free from anger, condemnation, and the nursing of grievances. He is identified as a hesychast, devoted to stillness and prayer. He died in 1505 and was buried at the monastery. The tradition reports fragrance at his death; a relic is venerated at the Roussanou monastery at Meteora. The notice offers no reliable detail about his childhood or the exact date of his birth.
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