An Icon of Saint Eleutherios That Belonged to Eleutherios Venizelos

This is a portable icon of Saint Eleutherios, measuring 43.5 x 34 cm., bearing the inscription "The Holy Martyr Eleutherios" (Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΙΕΡΟΜΑΡΤΥΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΟΣ).

This unique personal heirloom of Eleutherios Venizelos, which the great Greek politician revered as an icon of his patron saint, is located in the Eleutherios Venizelos Museum in Chania on the island of Crete.

50 Questions-Answers about the Asia Minor Campaign and Catastrophe (26 - 50)

 ...continued from part one.

Question 26: Did the Soviets help Kemal?

Answer: The Soviets helped Kemal because, as they claimed, they were against the imperialists (France, Italy, Britain, Greece) and they made agreements with Kemal by sending him gold rubles in gold bars and armaments.

Question 27: What was Britain's attitude towards the Asia Minor campaign after the November 1920 elections?

Answer: The British believed that in order for the Treaty of Sèvres to be implemented, Kemal had to be defeated, and the only power that was called upon to impose the terms of peace was Greece. Britain supported the Greek side, without providing substantial financial and military aid. He believed that security and stability in Europe came first and favored the solution of a peace settlement with the Turks at the expense of the Treaty of Sèvres and at the expense of Greek interests.

50 Questions-Answers about the Asia Minor Campaign and Catastrophe (1-25)

Venizelos and Constantine

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

I carefully read the book by the University students Angelos Syrigos and Evanthi Hatzivasiliou titled The Asia Minor Catastrophe, 50 Questions and Answers, published by Pataki. Then I wrote my impressions in a short text titled "The Asia Minor Catastrophe", which was published in the "Ecclesiastiki Paremvasi" newspaper and posted on various websites.

However, I also made a brief summary of the authors' answers to the 50 questions concerning the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

As can be seen, the summary of the 50 answers, which extend over 255 pages of the book, is a difficult task and perhaps even dangerous. It is, however, indicative and perhaps selective, which should give the reader a reason to read the book itself in order to gain knowledge of the entire problem of the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

The Miraculous Icon of Saint Anna in Vori of Marmara

In the beautiful coastal Corinthian city of Aigio, a group of uprooted Greeks were transplanted in 1922 after the terrible Asia Minor Catastrophe.

The refugees in Aigio built, with effort and struggle, starting from scratch, their new life. The Aegean refugees came from Proikonisos, where there were then five villages: Aloni, Vori, Skoupia and Houchlia. Leaving while persecuted, the pious people of Proikonisos took with them above all the precious objects of their churches, holy icons, holy utensils, etc. Even their children show special love for these sacred relics.

A 103 Year Old Woman Recalls Having Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia as a Village Priest and Her Difficult Life

By Romanos Kontogiannidis

 

103 year old Zoe Kortsinidou - one of the few living first generation refugees - experienced deprivation, poverty, pain, orphanhood, successive uprootings, wars and death. However, with the intercessions of Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia - "Hadjifentis" as she calls him - God blessed her to make her happy with a large family and to be satisfied with the little sight in her eyes.

From the depths of her mind she recalls her memories of her village, Farasa of Cappadocia, which Zoe Kortsinidou left as a child forever during the uprooting of the Greeks of Asia Minor.

Despite her deep old age, Mrs. Zoe remembers very clearly the place where she was born and talks about it with longing. Maybe in her mind she becomes a child again and runs again on the cobbled streets of her homeland.

Metropolitan Chrysostomos and the Tragedy of Smyrna in 1922

 By Panagiotis Melikidis

On August 27, 1922, the Kemalist troops, after breaking through the defensive line of the Greek troops in the area of Eskişehir-Afyonkarahisar-Kütahya, invaded the city of Smyrna, where the Greek element was in the majority.

Among the victims of the Turkish atrocity is the Metropolitan of Smyrna and Exarch of all Asia, Chrysostomos Kalaphatis. The martyrdom of the Hierarch is considered the culmination of the atrocities committed by the Turks against the Christian population.

Black Easter of Thrace (April 6, 1914)

Beginnings in 1906

The beginnings of the persecutions of Thracian Hellenism can be found in the area of the North Thrace in 1906, when the Bulgarians with their nationalist rage organized the massacres and persecutions in Anchialos and other cities at the expense of the Greek element that forced many Greeks to flee to Turkish-occupied Eastern and Western Thrace and most in free Greece.

The Cathedral Church of Saint Photini in Smyrna, Which Was Destroyed in 1922

 

The Metropolitan or Cathedral Church of Saint Photini in Smyrna (Izmir) of Asia Minor was completely destroyed in 1922. However, its impressive bell tower survives to this day in many cities in Greece, as the Smyrna refugees wanted to bring with them the most glorious part of their homeland.

Smyrna was one of the most cosmopolitan centers of the Mediterranean. Races and religions from all over the world coexisted harmoniously in its neighborhoods. The Greek Orthodox community was one of the most numerous and important. That is why there were a total of sixteen Orthodox churches in the entire city of 350,000 inhabitants. The largest was of course the Cathedral of Saint Photini with its famous bell tower.

Saint Philothei Welcomes the Refugees from Asia Minor in 1922 in the Settlement of Psychiko

 

 

 

 

The Turkish Boatman and the Holy Icon of Saint Haralambos

The Cathedral of Saint Haralambos is located in Varvasi of Chios. It was built in 1927 by persecuted refugees from Asia Minor who came to Chios after the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 and lived in the Varvasi area of the city of Chios.

Due to its rough construction it suffered severe damage in the earthquakes of 1949 and so in 1967 it was demolished and rebuilt from scratch.

The Hidden Cross of Pontus, a True Story

Harry Efraimides, a Professor at Metsovio Polytechnic of the National Technical University of Athens, went to Trebizond in Pontus of Asia Minor to teach a seminar, which he was invited to, and at the same time he wanted to fulfill the request of his aunt. His aunt had lived in Trebizond before the population exchange of 1922, and during the catastrophe her infant son was taken by the Turks and never heard from again (most likely he was raised to be a Turkish soldier, it was thought). Harry's aged aunt, who was living in Athens, now wanted Harry to visit her old house in Trebizond and retrieve for her the baptismal Cross that belonged to her son Kostis, to remember him. Now when Harry arrived at his aunt's house, what he found greatly surprised him.

The Wonderworking Icon of Saint Anna with the Theotokos from Smyrna

The icon of Saint Anna with the twelve-year-old Theotokos was originally located in Smyrna of Asia Minor. During the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922, the Turks set the city of Smyrna on fire to banish the Greeks who formed the majority population of the city, including the Cathedral of Saint Photini in the city square, in which was this icon of Saint Anna and the Theotokos. The icon was saved from the fire by a faithful Christian.

Saint Chrysostomos, Metropolitan of Smyrna at the time, who was ripped to pieces and slaughtered by the Turkish mob, would bring childless couples to this icon. He would have them fast for forty days, say prayers to Saint Anna, and at the end of the forty days to commune of the Divine Eucharist. When this was completed, the faithful couple could be sure that they would now be able to have a child. And when they did have a child, they would make a metallic offering to the icon. Because this icon was so wonderworking, it was full of vow offerings, even from childless Muslims who would come and pray before this icon and become partakers of the miraculous grace.

Last year the Mayor of the Kahramanmaraş province in Turkey, Hayrettin Güngör, was caught on camera telling a woman from Trabzon, "We made you Muslim." Although he later apologized, it highlighted one of Turkey's best-kept secrets: Islamized Christians.

In 1924 various sources reported on a ship loaded at Mudanya, Turkey with 400 tons of human bones destined for use as fertilizer in France. They were believed to be the bones of Greeks & Armenians slaughtered during the final phase of the genocide.

In 1923, Near East Relief worker Miss Emily Petty of Berwick, PA arrived at Aleppo, Syria after shepherding 210 Greek & Armenian orphans from Harput, Turkey enduring freezing conditions over 500 miles through long stretches of desert & mountains infested with bandits.

Some Greeks in Turkey armed themselves and resisted the genocide. One of them was Evangelos Fotiadis. In 1920 Fotiadis offered stubborn resistance to the Kemalists near Karasu. He protected 10,000 hiding up in the mountains and directed them through the Kemalist zone to Greece.

In the same way that Jews hid from the Nazis in cupboards & cellars during the Jewish Holocaust, a young man by the name of Efthimios Couzinos spent 515 days hiding from the Kemalists in a hole under the floor of his school during the Greek Genocide.

The massacre of 40 Greek Boy Scouts at Aydin in June 1919 during the Greek Genocide coincided with a larger scale massacre of the Greeks of the town. According to a French source 1,500-2,000 Greeks were massacred at Aydin in June 1919.

June 1919: Turkish troops commit ghastly massacre of 40 Greek Boy Scouts & their leader at Aydin, western Turkey. They were all asked to renounce their Greek heritage. Instead they defiantly sang the Greek national anthem. All were subsequently massacred.

Félix Sartiaux was sent to Foça, Turkey in 1913 to conduct archaeological excavations on the town. Sartiaux witnessed and later documented the violent pillage & massacre of Greeks in June 1914 by Turkish irregulars. Over 100 Greeks were massacred.

Félix Sartiaux: An Eye-Witness to the Massacre of Greeks at Foça