Metropolitan Bishop (1867 – 1922)
Metropolitan Bishop of Smyrna Chrysostomos was the spiritual leader of all the Greeks of Asia Minor during the turbulent years of the Greco-Turkish War. He along with a number of other bishops and priests was among the victims of the Turkish atrocities during the Great Fire of Smyrna and its aftermath, refusing to leave behind his flock. Chrysostomos is recognized today as a Saint by the Greek Orthodox Church.
Chrysostomos’ work can be divided into two parts. His work as Metropolitan Bishop of Drama from 1902 to 1910 and his work as Metropolitan Bishop of Smyrna later on until his death in 1922. As Metropolitan Bishop of Drama Chrysostomos became one of the primary leaders of the Macedonian Struggle, immediately taking actions to enforce the Greek presence of Macedonia and protect the Greeks from the Bulgarian raid and the Turkish occupation. In 8 years Chrysostomos had implemented a social-welfare and educational program which accomplished the founding of 34 schools across Macedonia, most of which had been closed by the Bulgarians, the building of hospitals, graveyards as well as the metropolitan Church of Drama.
As the torchbearer of the Macedonian Idea he accomplished the annulment of the Bulgarian raids in Drama. Chrysostomos sought to raise awareness of the oppression and sufferings of the Greeks in Macedonia by gathering and compiling evidence of the propaganda and the atrocities of the Bulgarians and the Turks to inform, sensitize and awaken Europe. His two books and multiple essays were communicated to foreign Churches, embassies and associations as a means from the bishop to seek help.
His intensive actions soon came into conflict with the Sultan as well as with the interests of the British, who had proclaimed Drama and its neighbouring villages as their zone of influence, forcing Chrysostomos to resign from his position. It was during that time that Metropolitan Bishop of Smyrna Vasilios had passed away, prompting the Holy Synod to elect Chrysostomos as his rightful successor.
With his coming to Smyrna, Chrysostomos was hailed as a national hero and spiritual leader of all the Hellenism of Asia Minor. Under his leadership schools were renovated and gymnastics introduced as a compulsory subject. Churches were rebuilt, athletic associations inaugurated and the Metropolitan Megaron of Smyrna constructed. Chrysostomos’ prime objective was to combat poverty and inequality. He organized a group of clerics, dubbed the “Army of Salvation” by the people, who actively offered food, shelter and medical care to the impoverished. His programs supported Turks as much as the Greeks and both enjoyed mutual benefits of Chrysostomos’ policies as both were equals. Driven by a strong sense of patriotism, Chrysostomos averted the raids of the Tsetes of Rahman Bei against the Greeks of Asia Minor and continued to gather and publish evidence of the destruction of the Greek settlements. Furthermore, he succeeded in removing Nurendin Pasha as vali (administrator) of Smyrna and was one of the very few who accused Eleutherios Venizelos rightfully as the culprit of the destruction of Smyrna and Asia Minor.
Chrysostomos was far from just a bishop. He was a hellenist, a fighter, a visionary, who offered unconditionally his services to Greece to see the revival of the Byzantine Empire, the embodiment of the Great Idea (Megali Idea), unfold. Unfortunately, fate has tragic endings destined for heroes such as Chrysostomos, whose sacrifice was an inevitable consequence of the disastrous conclusion of the Greco-Turkish War. He was apprehended by Nurendin Pasha who, in retribution delivered him to a ferocious Turkish mob, which tortured him to death and tore his body apart. Chrysostomos’ gruesome death could have been avoided, but he chose instead an honourable death next to the people he served all his life rather than abandoning them in the mercy of the Turks. As the late contemporary historian Sarantos Kargakos said: “[The Turks] killed the man and made him into an idea. And ideas never die and are never conquered”.
Bibliography:
- Καργᾶκος, Σαρᾶντος. 2010. Ἡ Μικρασιατικὴ Ἑκστρατεία. Ἀθήνα. (2 τόμοι)
- Καργᾶκος, Σαρᾶντος. Ὁ Ἐθνομάρτυς Χρυσόστομος. Myriobiblos On Line Library of the Church of Greece. Available at: http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/greek/kargakos_chrysostom/index.htm. Retrieved on September 16, 2020.
