The Appearance of Saint Hierotheos to a Greek Nun During World War 2

The presence of Saint Hierotheos in the Monastery of Panagia Kyparisiotissa and Saint Hierotheos in Megara of West Attica is noticeable.

At the time of the Second World War, one of the nuns, Sister Salome Adamakis, was overcome by human weakness and feared the danger of the Germans who went to the Sacred Monastery every now and then, as they were looking for English soldiers. So she decided to secretly leave the Monastery of Panagia Kyparisiotissa and Saint Hierotheos.

How the Panagia Eikonistria Saved Skiathos and Her Church From the Destruction of the Nazis

The Icon of Panagia Eikonistria

The following excerpt is from a homily delivered by the Theologian, Iconographer and Professor of Byzantine Music, Konstantinos Koutoumbas, on August 23, 2009, on the anniversary of the saving of the city of Skiathos from being destroyed by the Nazi German army.

 

But even in the difficult years of the occupation, when the Italians were succeeded by the German conquerors, who victoriously marched into the Greek lands, the Most Holy Theotokos, the helper and protector of those who call upon her, did not abandon her faithful people, just as she did not abandon her humble island. The olive oil was abundant, the fruit trees were choked with their fruits with their branches leaning to the ground, the harvests were rich in those years. What the evil conqueror deprived the people of God, was abundantly provided by the nourisher of life, the Panagia Eikonistria.

However, on the morning of August 23, 1944, Skiathos was about to experience a nightmare. It was preceded, a few days before, by the arrest of the German commander of the Northern Sporades, Adler, from the 54th regiment of ELAS Pelion, following the order of the EAM Volos, which confirmed the fears of the local EAM Skiathos committee of retaliation by the Germans.

How Saint Anna Saved a Greek Family from a Nazi Assault

Hieromonk Hesychios Agiannanites

During the years of the German occupation of Greece, the following incident happened.

Father Hesychios Agiannanites (1909-1982) was passing through a village with the relic of the foot of Saint Anna, the Grandmother of the Lord. In a certain house, when they learned that the Holy Relic of Saint Anna had arrived, they ran to welcome it with longing.

With many tears and words of thanks, they venerated and kissed the Saint.

A Miracle of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste at Dachau Concentration Camp

Elder Theophylaktos Nanopoulos from the Athonite Cell of Saint Nicholas (known as the "Cell of the Typographers"), which is under Iveron Monastery, once told the following story with tears in his eyes:

"During the years of the German Occupation I was arrested by the Germans, together with my brother according to the flesh Papa-Panteleimon, and they took us to Dachau. One night they took us outside to execute us. It was winter and they undressed us. We waited for our turn. There was no hope for our salvation.

Despite the War, Many of the Greek Soldiers in 1940 Kept the Fasts of the Church

 

The Greco-Italian War took place between the kingdoms of Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. According to the eye-witness testimony of Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos, who wrote the book The Miracle of the Greeks of 1940, many soldiers who fought in the Pindus mountains continued to keep the fasts of the Church despite all the hardships they faced.

A Letter to the Rulers of Nations Who Love War (Elder Philotheos Zervakos)

Listen oh Kings and Rulers of the nations and take into consideration oh ye lovers of war!

The Almighty God and Creator of all things has made you Kings, Lords and Rulers of nations and peoples, and the people have entrusted you with their rule, to rule your subjects with justice and truth and, as affectionate fathers and excellent rulers to provide and take care for the prosperity, happiness and salvation of your peoples.

Why do you forget your destiny? Listen and take into consideration! You killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, handing them over to slaughter, fire and the depths of the sea! Hundreds of thousands of people have become very unfortunate, miserable, poor, hungry, naked and homeless!

The German Nazi Soldier Who Shot Saint Barbara in the Neck

During the German occupation, in the city of Sparta, there was a German Nazi soldier, known in the local community for his crude and malicious character. One day as he was passing by the Church of Saint Barbara, he repeatedly fired the icon of the Saint that was in the shrine at the intersection towards Kalogonia, opposite the church. One of the bullets struck the Saint in the neck. The incident, as was natural, made the Spartans agitated and sad.

September 14, 1943: The German Bombardment of Kerkyra and Kefallonia (Events Which Inspired the Book and Film "Captain Corelli's Mandolin")

One of the worst moments in the history of Kerkyra (Corfu) was the day of the feast of the Holy Cross on September 14, 1943.

Through various sources we made a historical and emotional effort to present the tragic events of that night (13th-14th) but also of the next day.

In early September, Italians and the people of Kerkyra struck a German ship which was going to disembark soldiers in Benitses. There were dozens dead.

The order of the Headquarters of the Italian Forces stated that the Italian soldiers, after the capitulation of Italy with the Allied Forces, must keep Kerkyra and Kefalonia under Italian occupation.

Saint Adrian of Ondrusov Protects the Villagers of Obshi During World War 2

During World War 2, Karelia (a region in northwest Russia, bordering Finland) was occupied by the Finns. In 1944, a large offensive of the Soviet troops began on the Karelian Front. In the area of the village of Obzhi, heavy shelling from Katyusha rocket launchers and artillery was conducted. The Finns left the village by the beginning of the offensive. But the Soviet artillerymen did not know this. The shells exploding near the village houses rattled terribly, everything was engulfed in fire and smoke. The villagers, who fled in fear from their homes, lay down with their livestock in a deep ditch by the river. Someone's cow, frightened by the shooting, jumped out of cover and got stuck in a swampy place near the Obzhanka river. But no one, out of fear of dying, dared to help her get out until the shelling stopped and the advanced Soviet units approached. Only then did the villagers come out of their hiding place.

The Great Miracle at the Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring in Paros in July of 1944

Monastery of Longovarda of the Life-Giving Spring in Paros

On May 14, 1944, an English submarine anchored in the bay of Piso Livadi, Paros, and the soldiers were divided into three groups led by the residents of the island Antonios Delenta, Manolis Gryllakis and Nikolaos Stella. They went up to the village of Tsimpidos (Marpissa) and captured seven German soldiers that were sleeping, killed two radio operators who had just managed to send out a telegram about the raid, and injured the commander of the airport Lieutenant Tampe; communication cables were also found cut. In retaliation, the Germans arrested the young Nikolaos Stella from Leukes at the airport the next morning. Having reasonable suspicions against him, they killed him, hanging him on a tree in a high place to be seen by the surrounding villages for intimidation on May 21st.

Father Iakovos Valodemos: The Priest Who Miraculously Survived Machine Gunfire from German Soldiers

 

By Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos

According to a letter from the teacher Savvas Theodorou, which was sent and published in the newspaper "Orthodoxos Typos", during the German occupation the following event occurred:

When one afternoon the Elder, Fr. Iakovos Valodemos (1870-1960), was traveling on foot from Ioannina to Monodendri, he reached Karyes which is located near the 19th kilometer of the main road Ioannina - Konitsa.

There he was met by a German patrol who were trying with nods and yelling to force him to stop.

Saint Haralambos and his "Deal" with the Nazi Concentration Camp Survivor Metropolitan Dionysios of Trikkis and Stagon

Metropolitan Dionysios of Trikkis and Stagon

Metropolitan Dionysios Haralambous of Trikkis and Stagon (1907-1970), during World War 2, served as preacher of the Holy Metropolis of Methymna on the island of Lesvos (1940-1942) and was abbot of the Holy Monastery of Leimonos, and in August 1942 was arrested by German occupiers on charges of helping and treating British soldiers. The Germans tortured him without mercy for four days and then condemned him to ten years imprisonment. 

 

In the first phase he was sent to Thessaloniki to "Pavlos Melas" camp and then for three years in the German camps Stone and Bernau, where he was horribly tortured and arrived many times on the verge of death. With the intervention of the Mother of God, he was saved. After the end of the war, he continued his ministry in Mytilene, Nafpaktos, Karpenisi and also organized in Cyprus the "Apostle Barnabas" School for Priests. Dionysios also worked hard on the law to recognize Meteora as a sacred site. He became Metropolitan of Trikkis and Stagon in 1959.

The German Soldier Who Shot a Bullet at an Icon of Saint Barbara

During the German occupation of Greece, in the city of Sparta, there was a German soldier, known in the local community for his awkward and bad character.

One day as he was passing by the Church of Saint Barbara, he repeatedly shot at the icon of the Saint which was on the iconostasis of the crossroads towards Kalogonia, opposite the church. One of the bullets struck the Saint directly on the neck. This naturally made the Spartans react and it made them upset.
 

Miracles of Saint Spyridon During the Greco-Italian War of 1940

 

 

 

In Daphne of Mount Athos there is a Kathisma of the Monastery of Saint Paul dedicated to Saint Spyridon. A 90 year old layman lived there who narrated the following story:

"During the war of 1940 I was the captain on a warship and we were off the coast of Kerkyra. We had run out of ammunition, that is, we were defenseless. We were then attacked by two or three German Stukas [a warplane known for its dive-bombing precision], and having no other hope, we called upon God to help us.

The Austrian Who Saved a Greek City from the Nazi's and Became an Orthodox Christian Iconographer

 

 

Josef H. Blechinger was a German soldier who turned out to be one of the greatest heroes of the Greek resistance, who literally saved a town from destruction.

Blechinger came to Greece as a conqueror with the German army. A few years later, after the war, he became Greek, changed his name to Elias Kokkinos, started a family and died in Greece.

Elias Kokkinos was born as Josef H. Blechinger in Dresden. His mother was Czechoslovakian and his father Austrian, but officially he was a German citizen. When World War II broke out, he had to enlist in the German army. First he served in occupied Poland. Then he was transferred to Greece.

How Saint Irene Chrysovalantou Saved a Man from Certain Death by Nazi Soldiers

In he year 1944, Nicholas Mavromatakis was a resident in Kifisia of Athens. He was a pious Orthodox Christian who was married and had seven children. His wife was expecting their eighth child. Nicholas and a friend took a position at Ntaou Penteli in Attica, hauling wood and wood charcoal. It was during this time that a member of the Greek Resistance had killed a German garrison commander in Rafina of Attica as well as his driver while in an automobile.

On July 14th the German high command ordered the arrest of all those found in the vicinity of Ntaou Penteli. Approximately forty men were rounded up, including Nicholas Mavromatakis. None of the forty had any connection with the killing of the two Germans. The forty were taken as prisoners and transported to the village of Harvati near the large property of Levides. The men were ordered to strip naked and fall prone to the uneven ground. They were ordered to drag themselves, on their bellies like snakes, across uneven terrain. After the passage of a considerable amount of time, they were all exhausted and bruised. Then they were directed to stand on their feet in rows of three. The German soldiers then began shooting them in their backs with automatic weapons.

Holy New Martyr Ignatius Bazyluk of Poland (+ 1942)

St. Ignatius Bazyluk (Feast Day - August 9)

The Holy New Martyr Ignatius (Bazyluk) was born in Poland sometime in 1860s, and received the name Jacob at his Baptism. Very little is known of his early life or where he was born, but in the period between the First and the Second World Wars he was a monk at Saint Onuphrios Monastery in Jabłeczna. At his tonsure he received the monastic name Ignatius.

Father Ignatius was one of the oldest monks in the monastery, and he fulfilled the obedience of ringing the bells for church services. When he first entered the monastery, it consisted of about a dozen monks, whose task was to offset the propaganda of the Roman Catholics and Uniates among the Orthodox population. However, the monks were unprepared for such a task and uneducated. Ignatius witnessed therefore the rise of the monastery when priests and monks came who helped restore the monastery and established a school for children, so that in 1915 there were about eighty monks and four hundred pupils in the school.

The Truth About the Miracle of Saint Haralambos in Filiatra in 1944

By John Sanidopoulos

In 2010 I posted an article on the miracle attributed to Saint Haralambos in Filiatra on July 19, 1944 when he appeared to the German commander and prevented a massacre of the residents of the city. When I did so, I looked for historical corroboration of the event, or at least something close to it, that was not ecclesiastical in origin. I was also a bit troubled by certain contradictions in the accounts from various Orthodox sources. For example, in some accounts it said it took place in 1943 while in others it said it took place in 1944, and in some sources the name of the commander is given as Kontaou while others call him Kunster. As for any historical corroboration, none were to be found, not even close. This surprised me, because the German occupation of Greece is pretty well documented, and I expected to at least find a photo of the German commander, who was said to visit Filiatra annually for the feast of Saint Haralambos. Even more surprising, this only took place in 1944, so surely in 2010 someone must have been alive to corroborate the narrative of the events as they have been handed down to us.

My Day With a Holocaust Survivor

By John Sanidopoulos

In our days words like "Nazi" and "Concentration Camp" are used in a very ignorant fashion, especially by those in America who stand on the political left, which leaves me with the understanding that they have no clue what a Nazi or Concentration Camp was. On the other end you have holocaust deniers, who I would consider to possess the same ignorance. This has prompted me to write this brief article on a day I once spent with a holocaust survivor, and what he told me about his ordeal.

The Chapel of Saint Nicholas on the Battlecruiser Averof

History

Georgios Averof is the world's only surviving heavily armored cruiser of the early 20th century. During the Balkan Wars (1912-13), she was the Hellenic Navy fleet flagship during the campaign in the North and Central Aegean islands, as well as the coastal cities of East Macedonia and Thrace.

Greece remained neutral during most of World War I. Eleutherios Venizelo's government in 1917 decided to participate on the Allies' side. At the end of World War I, November 1918, the Averof sailed to Constantinople and raised the Hellenic flag as one of the winning powers of the Great War. After the signing of the peace treaties, Averof together with the rest of the fleet moved the Hellenic troops to Asia Minor.