Chrysostomos of Smyrna
Encyclopedia
Chrysostomos Kalafatis , known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox
bishop
of Smyrna (Izmir
) between 1910 and 1914, and again from 1919 to his death in 1922. He was born in Triglia (today Zeytinbağı
, Turkey
) in 1867, and was killed by a lynching mob during the taking of Smyrna by Turkish troops at the end of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. He was declared a martyr
and a saint
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece
on 4 November 1992.
in 1902 and the Metropolitan of Smyrna in 1910.
. The general decided to hand him over to a Turkish mob who murdered him.
According to French soldiers who witnessed the lynching but were under strict orders, at the point of their commanding officer's revolver, not to intervene:
Bishop Chrysostomos was then dragged (according to some sources, he was dragged around the city by a car or truck) into a backstreet of the Iki Cheshmeli district where he died soon after.
is a well-known Greek-Lebanese politician, artist and producer.
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Smyrna (Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
) between 1910 and 1914, and again from 1919 to his death in 1922. He was born in Triglia (today Zeytinbağı
Zeytinbagi
Zeytinbağı is a town in Bursa Province, Mudanya, Turkey, situated west of Mudanya. Trilye is a quaint township along the Marmara Sea shoreline.The area, which was inhabited since 5th Century BC, was known by the names such as “trigleia”, “bryllion” and “trilya” in the history...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) in 1867, and was killed by a lynching mob during the taking of Smyrna by Turkish troops at the end of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. He was declared a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
and a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece , part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
on 4 November 1992.
Early life
Kalafatis studied at the historical Theological School of Halki from the age of 17. He became the Metropolitan of DramaDrama, Greece
Drama , the ancient Drabescus , is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the peripheral unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the...
in 1902 and the Metropolitan of Smyrna in 1910.
Return to Smyrna
He had not been in good terms with the Ottoman/Turkish authorities and he was displaced. When the Greek army seized Smyrna in 1919, at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish war, Kalafatis was reinstated to his office as bishop.Lynching
On 9 September (Julian style – 27 August) 1922, soon after the Turkish army had moved into Smyrna, a Turkish officer and two soldiers took Chrysostomos from the office of the cathedral and delivered him to the Turkish commander-in-chief, Nureddin PashaNureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
. The general decided to hand him over to a Turkish mob who murdered him.
According to French soldiers who witnessed the lynching but were under strict orders, at the point of their commanding officer's revolver, not to intervene:
"The mob took possession of Metropolitan Chrysostom and carried him away... a little further on, in front of an Italian hairdresser named Ismail ... they stopped and the Metropolitan was slipped into a white hairdresser's overall. They began to beat him with their fists and sticks and to spit on his face. They riddled him with stabs. They tore his beard off, they gouged his eyes out, they cut off his nose and ears."
Bishop Chrysostomos was then dragged (according to some sources, he was dragged around the city by a car or truck) into a backstreet of the Iki Cheshmeli district where he died soon after.
Family survivors
Chrysostomos Kalafatis was survived by his nephews, among whom Yannis Elefteriades, who witnessed the arrest and execution of his uncle, having found shelter by his side after the killing of his parents. He escaped to Lebanon, as a refugee, where today, his grandson Michel ElefteriadesMichel Elefteriades
Michel Elefteriades is a Greek-Lebanese politician, artist, producer and businessman. He is noted in the Arab world for his eclectic style, as well as his unorthodox beliefs and opinions, which have generated controversy and ignited passionate responses from his supporters and detractors alike.-...
is a well-known Greek-Lebanese politician, artist and producer.
See also
- Relief Committee for Greeks of Asia MinorRelief Committee for Greeks of Asia MinorThe Relief Committee for Greeks of Asia Minor was a relief organization established during World War I in response to the persecutions of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire. The committee was also known as simply the Greek Relief Committee....
- Armenian GenocideArmenian GenocideThe Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
- Halki seminaryHalki seminaryThe Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki , was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki , the second-largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It was the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until...
External links
- Chrysostomos (Kalafatis) of Smyrna, at Orthodox Wiki.