Saint Methodia was born in 1865 on the island of Kimolos in the Cyclades to pious and God-fearing parents. From childhood she wanted to devote herself entirely to the service of God and Holy Church. She set at a distance all worldly pleasures, and delighted only in what profits the soul. Contrary to her own wishes, her parents married her to a sailor from Chios but, shortly after their wedding, her husband was drowned on a voyage to Asia Minor. She mourned his loss but took it as a sign from God to do what, in the depths of her heart, she had always desired. She received the holy angelic Habit, taking the name Methodia. Then, as a hart longs for flowing streams (Ps. 41), she made haste to leave the world and shut herself in a little cell situated near a fortress where, sheltered from all care, she could give herself over unceasingly to divine contemplation. She never left this little refuge except when love of neighbour constrained her to do so. She spent the whole day in prayer and meditation and, after resting a while, kept vigil all night long with tears, as she contemplated the heavenly Bridegroom with the spiritual eyes of her soul. She observed a strict fast every day of the week save Saturday and Sunday, when she left her retreat to communicate in the divine Mysteries at church. She received no visitors during Great Lent, and remained in seclusion until Easter. Her ascetic struggles, and the graces that God granted her in return, soon became widely known, not only all over the island but also in the surrounding area. To avoid temptation, she would accept only women visitors. Those who came to her for the needs of the soul or practical advice always returned home full of joy at having found a true handmaid of God. She would instruct them in the ways of repentance and of the evangelic virtues, and give them some oil from the lamp that was always burning in her cell, as a sign of the consolation obtained for everyone by her unceasing prayers. She wrought many healings and, having fought the good fight (2 Tim. 4:7), fell asleep in peace to be with the Lord, in her forty-third year, on 5 October 1908.