Luke of Steiris

[12] Luke's fame spread and a number of miracles are ascribed to him during this period, such as revealing to two brothers the location of their dead father's buried treasure.

[16] Luke, followed by the local villagers, fled to a nearby island, almost perishing when attacked by Bulgarians in a stolen ship.

[18] Instead, he went to serve a stylite at Zemena for the next ten years, until he was stranded in the Peloponnese on an errand when the harbour master refused to allow him to return to Hellas, fearing raids (whether Bulgarian or Arabic is not mentioned).

[20] The Life also cites Symeon's death in 927 and the succession of his more pacific son Peter as a reason why Luke returned to Ioannitza to build his own community.

[23] Once there, Luke found the desert island to be a suitable place to pursue his solitary ascetic life, and stayed for three years, enduring terrible thirsts.

[24] Eventually Luke's companions persuaded him to leave, and he settled for the remainder of his life in the far more amenable environment of the present Hosios Loukas, where he founded his hermitage c. 946 AD in the area of Stiris (which may be a corruption of Soterion, or place of healing).