by Christos Stergiou

Summer 2026

Some stories are so magical, they feel as though they have been invented. The one below is among the most astonishing true stories of my life. For our family, Patmos has always been a gift that keeps on giving in ways that are difficult to comprehend.

Long before St Alexandros became part of our family's heritage, my mother Petra had made a promise to God. In Greek, we call it a τάμα: a silent vow, made quietly and faithfully, trusting that one day, in His own time, it would be fulfilled.

My mother's τάμα was to become the caretaker of a small chapel in Patmos. She tried to make it happen, but we had no space to build one at The Petra. When she looked elsewhere on the island, bureaucratic obstacles proved insurmountable. Eventually, she gave up - or so she thought.

The land adjacent to The Petra, in its original form, belonged to the descendants of Alexandros Bloudanis, one of Patmos' great benefactors. His vision and generosity had helped establish the island's Medical Center long before Patmos even had a proper harbor. In the 1980s, he built on his land a small chapel dedicated to Saint Alexandros.

Some of my earliest childhood memories include the modest celebration held every August 30th, when I would walk to St Alexandros alongside my father and neighbors to attend the service honoring the Saint, celebrated by a local priest.

When the land eventually came into our hands, our family teased my mother that the only thing she truly cared about was St Alexandros, not the land itself. I cannot count the times she cried while dreaming about how she would care for the chapel and continue the heritage of the Bloudanis family.

The first thing she did was turn to the nuns of the Convent of the Annunciation (Evangelismos), with whom our family has shared a bond of love and respect for decades. The chapel's walls were bare, and with extraordinary devotion and artistry, three nuns painted them and transformed St Alexandros into the small jewel it is today. To each of them-now almost part of our family-we are forever grateful.

As the chapel was being reborn, a distinguished Italian professor of Art History-a devoted lover of Patmos and a first-time guest at The Petra at the time-stepped inside and quietly remarked that St Alexandros had become part of the cultural treasure of Patmos.

It is difficult to describe the feeling of entering this small chapel. Visitors are often surprised by its beauty and serenity, and we still find ourselves in awe every time we step inside.

Today, St Alexandros stands at the heart of The Petra as a reminder that some promises are fulfilled in ways more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

I have given more speeches than I can count, including a TEDx talk. But when I first welcomed the community to celebrate St Alexandros on August 30th, 2025, alongside my family and my friend Theofilos Bloudanis-the grandson of Alexandros Bloudanis-I cried too, just like my mother had before me.

Forever thankful to Patmos and its gifts.