Regina: Name Day and Patron Saint

St Riginos (Reginos) was born near the end of the third century in Livadia, in central Greece, to pious Christian parents who had him well taught in both worldly and church learning. He lived in chastity, prayer and fasting, and his reputation for holiness spread through the islands of the Sporades. When the bishop of Skopelos died, Riginos was chosen to take his place. As bishop he cared for the poor, the troubled and sinners, and the sick came to him seeking healing. In 343 he went to the Council of Sardica, in what is now Sofia, where he spoke against the Arian teaching that denied that the Son is one in essence with the Father, and he stood by the Creed of Nicaea. Under Julian the Apostate persecution reached the islands. The governor of Greece arrested the bishop and tried flattery, promises and threats to make him deny Christ, but Riginos only grew firmer. After torture and imprisonment he was beheaded at the Old Bridge of Skopelos in 362, and tradition says forty of his people died with him. The islanders buried him on a hill where his monastery now stands, and part of his relics, long kept in Cyprus, was later brought back to Skopelos. He is honored as the island’s patron and protector. The Church keeps his memory on 25 February (10 March on the Old Calendar), and the faithful ask his prayers for steadfast faith and for the people of his island wherever they live.

What the faithful pray for

• courage to confess Christ under pressure
• the people of Skopelos and the islands, wherever they live
• the sick who seek healing
• firmness in the true faith
• bishops and all who guard the Church’s teaching