The revolution of a Woman - Saint Philothei of Athens (February 19)

From Wikipedia (images from here)

 

Saint Philothei
Born	November 21, 1522 Athens, Greece then Ottoman Empire
Died	February 19, 1589 (aged 66)
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodoxy
Feast	February 19
Patronage	Athens, Women and Charitable works

Saint Philothei of Athens, (also known as Philotheia or Philothea) (Greek: Άγια Φιλοθέη η Αθηναία) (November 21, 1522 - February 19, 1589), née Revoula Benizelos (Ρεβούλα Μπενιζέλου), was a Greek Orthodox religious sister, martyr and saint from Ottoman-era Greece.

Life

Philothei was born as Revoula Benizelou in Athens on November 21, 1522 to the illustrious and wealthy Benizelos family. Her parents were Angelos Benizelos and Syrigi Palaiologina, both from old Byzantine families. They had no children, but after fervent prayer her mother gave birth to a daughter whom they named Revoula, her birth name. Against her will, she was married at the age of 14 to the noble Andrea Chila, who mistreated her. When he died in 1539, she was only 17, beautiful and wealthy and her parents insisted that she get remarried. Instead, she remained at home, spending much of her time in prayer. The family wealth gave her the opportunity for charitable work, and while still a young woman she had gained the respect and love of the community.

When her parents died in 1549, Philothei found herself the owner of extensive holdings. She took up the monastic life and around 1551, establishing a women's monastery under the patronage of St. Andrew. She took the name Philothei.^[1] There the young nuns taught handiwork, weaving, housekeeping and cooking. In this way, she prepared the young women who came to her for the domestic life. 

Philothei is primarily remembered for her abundant philanthropy. The convent had a great deal of charity establishments both in Athens and on the islands of the Aegean sea. Philothei founded a second, more secluded monastery at Patisia. She also built hospices, homes for the elderly, and schools for the girls and boys of Athens. One of her more controversial activities was to buy the freedom of Greeks taken as slaves by the Ottoman Turks, especially women taken to the harems. She offered shelter to the young women, some pregnant. Despite being hunted by the Turks, she helped them escape secretly to Tzia, Andros, Aegina and Salamina, where they were safe.^[2] In a 22 February 1583 letter to the Venetian Gerousia, Philothei asked for monetary support to pay off her debts from ransom money, duties, bribes, and taxes that she owed to the occupying Turks. Her monasteries were frequently plundered, and the farming and agricultural program, which were a basic source of sustaining her work, devastated.^[2]

Four women enslaved by the Ottoman Turks in harems also ran to her for refuge. The women were traced, and Philothei was beaten and brought before the magistrate who put her in prison. Friends intervened and paid the district governor for her release. As her fame grew, so did the animosity against her. On 3 October 1588, four Ottoman mercenaries broke into the monastery at Patisia [photo] during the evening vigil service and beat her severely. She remained bedridden and died of her injuries on 19 February 1589.^[2]

 

Benizelos mansion

The bay window at the south facade of Benizelos mansion.

The mansion of St Philothei's family locates in Plaka and is probably the oldest house in Athens.

Veneration

The shrine of Saint Filothei

Philothei is considered a martyr by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Just a few years after her death, she was canonized a Saint, in the days of the Ecumenical Patriarch Matthew the Second (1595-1600). Her memory is venerated on February 19. Along with Saints Hierotheus and Dionysius the Areopagite, Saint Philothei is considered a patron of the city of Athens. Her relics are interred in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. The Filothei district of Athens is named after her. 

Saint Philothei has a Troparion written about her:

Troparion to St. Philothei (Tone 5) The Faithful of Athens and all the world honor Philothei the martyred nun and rejoice in her holy relics. For she has exchanged this passing life for the life that knows no end through her struggle and martyrdom; and she begs the Savior to have mercy on us all.^[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Philothei of Athens.

References

3. "Troparia to Saint Philothei", Antiochian Christian Archdiocese of North America 

Further reading

• Topping, Eva Catafygiotu. "Philothei the Athenaia", Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy

 "Saint Philothei the Righteous Martyr of Athens", Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto

"St. Philothei of Athens 1522-1589", Pemptousia, 2 November 2011

Grace and “the Inverted Pyramid”

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Glory 2 God for all things

 

Fr. Sophrony [Sakharov], in his book on St. Silouan, presents this theory of the “inverted pyramid.” He says that the empirical cosmic being is like a pyramid: at the top sit the powerful of the earth, who exercise dominion over the nations (cf. Matt. 20:25), and at the bottom stand the masses. But the spirit of man, by nature [unfallen nature as given by God], demands equality, justice and freedom of spirit, and therefore is not satisfied with this “pyramid of being.” So, what did the Lord do? He took this pyramid and inverted it, and put Himself at the bottom, becoming its Head. He took upon Himself the weight of sin, the weight of the infirmity of the whole world, and so from that moment on, who can enter into judgment with Him? His justice is above the human mind. So, He revealed His Way to us, and in so doing showed us that no one can be justified but by this way, and so all those who are His must go downwards to be united with Him, the Head of the inverted pyramid, because it is there that the “fragrance” of the Holy Spirit is found; there is the power of divine life. Christ alone holds the pyramid, but His fellows, His Apostles and His saints, come and share this weight with Him. However, even if there were no one else, He could hold the pyramid by Himself, because He is infinitely strong; but He likes to share everything with His fellows. Mindful of this, then, it is essential for man to find the way of going down, the way of humility, which is the Way of the Lord, and to become a fellow of Christ, who is the Author of this path.

Archimandrite Zacharias in The Enlargement of the Heart

The teaching of St. Silouan, itself a continuation of the unbroken Tradition of the Church, was continued in the life and writings of the Elder Sophrony. Today it continues in the life and teachings of the elders and community of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England, of whom Archimandrite Zacharias is an example. His recent visits to the United States to conduct retreats have now become books which continue to expand and confirm the teaching of St. Silouan and the Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Christian faith.
One of the strongest elements drawn out in both the life and teachings of St. Silouan is just this word of humility as illustrated in my opening quote. To be a follower of Christ is to accept a “downward path,” to follow Christ into the depths of His humility. This is not a new word, but echoes that of the Apostle (which itself seems to have been a hymn which the Apostle was quoting):

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phillipians 2:5-11).

This clear teaching of the Apostle, which only echoes the utterly consistent teaching and example of Christ, has a history of being obscured within Christianity – with Christians forgetting this essential teaching and following after a human Lordship and model of salvation.

In a wide variety of places and situations, Christians have thought to establish some image of the Kingdom of God (or even the Kingdom itself) here on earth through means other than the path of humility set forth by Christ and the faithful Tradition of the Church. The result has been varied – but has often been merely a tyranny in the name of God, which is no better than a tyranny in the name of something else.

I am reminded of a statement by Stanley Hauerwas, Protestant theologian and professor at Duke University:

The Christian community’s openness to new life and our conviction of the sovereignty of God over that life are but two sides of the same conviction. Christians believe that we have the time in this existence to care for new life, especially as such life is dependent and vulnerable, because it is not our task to rule this world or to “make our mark on history.” We can thus take the time to live in history as God’s people who have nothing more important to do than to have and care for children. For it is the Christian claim that knowledge and love of God is fostered by service to the neighbor, especially the most helpless, as in fact that is where we find the kind of Kingdom our God would have us serve.

in A Community of Character

In countless lectures and seminars in which I participated while a student at Duke’s Graduate School of Theology, I heard Hauerwas echo this quote with the assertion that “so soon as Christians agree to take responsibility for the outcome of history, we have agreed to do violence.” This violent outcome is a complete perversion of the “downward Way” described by Archimandrite Zacharias and the Orthodox Tradition. Our goals are thus never measured by the “outcomes of history” but by the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

This same contradiction, in narrative form, can be found in Dostoevsky’s classic chapter, “The Grand Inquisitor,” in The Brothers Karamazov. The Grand Inquisitor lashes out at Christ for His failure, as measured in the outcomes of history, and justifies Christians’ use of tools such as the Inquisition as an improvement over the weakness of God. The argument of that famous chapter, as well as the previous chapter, “Rebellion,” mark the high-point of Dostoevsky’s summary of the argument against God and the Orthodox Christian faith. The answer to that diatribe is not a counter argument, but the person of the Elder Zossima, who lives in the Tradition of the Holy Elders of the Faith such as St. Silouan, St. Seraphim of Sarov, the Elder Sophrony, and a host of others. Their lives, frequently hidden from the larger view of the world, are the continuing manifestation of the Kingdom of God in our midst – fellows of the sufferings of Christ – who freely and voluntarily bear with Christ the weight of all humanity. It is this secret bearing that forms the very foundation of the world – a foundation without which the world would long ago have perished into nothing. It is the emptiness of Christ, also shared in its depths by His saints, that is the vessel of the fullness of God, the source of all life and being. We can search for nothing greater.

   
                  Click here

Fr. Stephen is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, serving as Rector of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also author of Everywhere Present and the Glory to God podcast series.

The Photo is of 12th century Norman Church down the road from St. John the Baptist Monastery in Essex. The Monastery has use of the Church and has Sunday liturgies there. Also, this teaching in contemporary publications is probably best found in the books by either Elder Sophrony or Archimandrite Zacharias... (from here).

See also
Theosis, St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony
Monastery of Saint Silouan the Athonite in Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay, France (Video & biography)
About Elder Sophrony, click here! 

 

St John the Compassionate, Patriarch of Alexandria (November 12)

In Communion 

St John was Patriarch of Alexandria in the seventh century. When he was elected Patriarch he immediately asked that a list be drawn up of “all my masters, down to the least of them.” When asked what he meant by this strange request, St John replied “The people whom you call poor and beggars are my masters and helpers, for it is only they who can really help us and bring us to the Kingdom of Heaven.” The list ended up contains 7000 names, and to each one St John allotted a daily allowance of money.

St John then issued decrees about commerce, imposing penalties for those who cheated others in the markets, and then built seven hospitals, each with forty beds. To women who came to give birth in these hospitals, he gave a ‘maternity benefit’ upon leaving. He also built homes for the aged and infirm, and houses of hospitality for strangers.

He cared particularly for Syrian refugees when, in 614 the Persians invaded Syria. Many came to Alexandria, where he provided generously for them. The Persians also sacked Jerusalem, leading the saint to send large amounts of money and food to the city, and ransomed captives there.

St John was also a peacemaker. Twice a week he would sit outside his cathedral and would settle disagreements and advocate for justice for the oppressed. At one point, St John was stopped by a woman who was seeking a mediator for a conflict with her son-in-law, and the other religious officials tried to dismiss her and hurry St John along, no doubt to do what they considered important ecclesial work. St John rebuked them and said “How can I expect God to listen to my prayers if I do not listen to what this woman wants?”

Icon from here

St John loved to get money from the wealthy to give to the poor. One time a certain wealthy person tried to ingratiate the saint by buying him a lavish gift. St John sold it and gave the money to the poor, so another gift was given. This kept happening and St. John said “We shall see who gets tired of this first!” He would also say “If in order to help the needy one is able, without ill-will, to strip the rich down to their shirts, one is not doing wrong, especially if they are heartless skinflints.”

St John's compassion, mercy, and peaceability made him immensely popular with his people. Before him, Christianity in Alexandria was remarkably conflicted and at times violent, but through his peaceful mercy he was reportedly able to increase the number of churches tenfold.

St John the Compassionate/Merciful: the Mission named after him in Toronto Canada (photo)

Herod’s best friend!

 The Beheading of the holy glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John (29 August)

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ: Ο καλύτερος φίλος του Ηρώδη
O Nekros - Translation A.N.

We have become accustomed to imagining Saint John the Baptist as an angry and boisterous prophet, permanently dissatisfied and grumpy, who used to rant loudly at people in a harsh manner, urging them to repent for their sins so that they won’t be annihilated by the wrath of God and burn in hell. And that may well be the case… Of course the expression “wrath of God” is an image that symbolizes man’s enmity towards God, and “hell” is man’s view of the Divine Light as a consuming fire, because of human egotism. But, the truth is that Saint John – as well as all the Prophets and Saints in every era – who, inspired by Divine Grace, possessed abundant love for mankind, and it was precisely that kind of love (and not any harsh “sense of justice” or any supposed “offence to God” and such irrelevant notions) that prompted them to persuade people to repent.
Repentance is what will help people to be saved, and mankind’s salvation is the true concern of the Prophets and the Saints; in other words, it is God’s true concern that inspires them.
In Herod’s case, we can see that the Baptist was by no means his actual enemy; on the contrary, he was Herod’s best friend (or rather, his ONLY friend!), given that Herod, a very vicious individual, most probably had no other, true friends… 
 

Icon from here

Everyone knows how the Baptist exercised austere criticism on Herod, given that he had stolen his brother’s wife, Herodias, and had made her his official concubine, or possibly wife. A very annoyed Herod threw John into prison as punishment for his criticisms, but, Herodias with her familiar shrewdness, instructed her daughter Salome (who charmed Herod and all his “distinguished” guests during his birthday party with her obviously sexual enticing dance) to demand the head of the Baptist on a platter. This demand was “honoured” by the king (as foolishly promised by him in public), and the Baptist’s severed head was handed to the teenage Salome, who then handed it over to her cunning mother (may God forgive them all…).
We need to point out here that the specific Herod here was Herod II (Herod Antypas), son of the old Herod, who had commanded the slaughter of the thousands of infants (in the hope of exterminating the threat of the then newly-born, prophesied King); this was Herod the Tetrarch, the so-called “Great” Herod.

But why did the Saint exercise such austere criticism on Herod? Was it to cause him political damage? Or to provide a reason for rebels to overthrow him? For social or political reasons specifically? Well, we have no reason to believe that the Saint had any such motives. Being familiar with the tradition of the Saints, we are able to perceive something else: John the Baptist’s criticism of Herod was intended to save him! And with him, his consort, Herodias, whose inspiration it was to kill the Prophet. And how was John striving to save them? Well, with his vociferous critique, John strived to curb the long-term sin of adultery that Herod had been committing. As such, John proved to be the best (if not the only) friend of the royal couple, because he was the only one who dared to publicly declare them as sinners and urge them to resort to salvific repentance.


Icon from here

But, there is something else that is indicative of the Saint’s love and concern for Herod. In Mark’s Gospel (ch.6, verses 19-20), we read the following, which pertains to the time that the Saint was imprisoned:

“19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man and he protected him. And by listening to him, he did many things, and he listened to him gladly.”

(Here is one more case where the word “feared” has the meaning of “respected” – as in the familiar Gospel quote of “…and the woman shall fear the man…”)
The fact that John conceded to talk to Herod from inside his prison, and even counselled him on certain matters - obviously for him to be proper and just – is proof that the Saint held no grudge against Herod, nor did he hate him, but on the contrary, loved and cared about him! This stance provides a very important example of how a Saint becomes a rebel against a corrupt authority: he censures it with boldness, but not with hatred. He hates corruption, the abuse of power and sinning, but continues to lovingly care about the persons, even when they are corrupt and sinful, and strives for their salvation (provided of course that they also desire it). He does not change this stance, and even gives up his own life for them.

 

Περιοδικό "Εξωτερική Ιεραποστολη", τεύχος 250, παρηγοριά & αγωνία από τον Ευαγγελισμό της Οικουμένης! // The new summer issue of the Orthodox Mission magazine

 

Αδελφότητα Ορθοδόξου Εξωτερικής Ιεραποστολής

Με τη χάρη του Θεού, το τριμηνιαίο περιοδικό μας “Εξωτερική Ιεραποστολή” συμπληρώνει 250 τεύχη απρόσκοπτης και συνεχούς κυκλοφορίας.

Στο νέο τεύχος Σεπτεμβρίου μπορείτε να διαβάσετε νέα και ανταποκρίσεις από 12 ιεραποστολικά κλιμάκια.

• Πώς ξεκίνησε η Ιεραποστολή μεταξύ των Μαορί της Νέας Ζηλανδίας;
• Τι έκανε η Ιεραποστολή μας στο Ναϊρόμπι για να βοηθήσει τον κόσμο κατά τη διάρκεια του lockdown λόγω της πανδημίας;
• Ποιες είναι οι προοπτικές ανάπτυξης της Ορθόδοξης Ιεραποστολής στην Μπουρκίνα Φάσο;
• Ποιος είναι ο νέος επίσκοπος Κισούμου, επί κεφαλής της Ιεραποστολής μας στα ανατολικά της λίμνης Βικτωρίας;
• Ποιος ο νέος ιεραποστολικός αγρός του Ερμόλαου Ιατρού στην Τανζανία;

Αυτά και άλλα πολλά στο τεύχος που έχετε στις οθόνες σας. Ξεφυλλίστε το, διαβάστε το, διαδώστε το.

Σας προσκαλούμε να το διαβάσετε δωρεάν εδώ! 

The new summer issue of the Orthodox Mission magazine is out with news and reports from 14 missionary regions in Africa, Asia and the Pacific (in English).

 

• Why is the Tongan Orthodox mission looking for a priest?
• How do our missions in Africa and Indonesia experience the COVID-19 pandemic?
• How did the Ugandan Orthodox church celebrate its centennial?
• What finally happened to the sick boy who was hospitalized in Toliara?
• New Orthodox Parish in Burkina Faso.
  

These and many more in the issue at hand. Read it online. Share it with your friends.

You can read it free here:

ierapostoli.wordpress.com

https://orthodoxmission.org.gr/

See also

Orthodox Christian Initiative for Africa

 

Ορθόδοξη Ιεραποστολή - Orthodox Mission -Mission Οrthodoxe – Misión Ortodoxa – Missão Ortodoxa – Missione Ortodossa – православная миссия - Misiunea Ortodoxă - 东正教使命 – रूढ़िवादी मिशन 

 

Ουγκάντα – Κένυα: Η συμβολή της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας στον αγώνα για την ανεξαρτησία της Αφρικής 

 

Ο Χριστός στην Ασία

 

Ο Χριστός στα βάθη της Ασίας

 

Ο Χριστός στην Αφρική 

 

Όλες οι θρησκείες έχουν τον ίδιο Θεό; 

 

Ορθόδοξες ρίζες στη Δύση 

Forgiveness – The Hardest Love of All

Ancient Faith / Glory 2 God for all things

Fr. Stephen Freeman

 
I cannot think that any of my readers is a stranger to forgiveness, either the need to be forgiven or the need to forgive. The need to forgive, according to the commandment of Christ, extends well beyond those who ask for our forgiveness: we are commanded to forgive our enemies – whom I presume would rarely want to ask for our forgiveness.
Of course, our experience of those who are truly enemies is that we do not want to forgive them. We do not trust them; the wound has been too deep; their offense is not against us but against someone we love who is particularly vulnerable. I could enlarge the list but we are all too familiar with it. The reasons we find it hard to forgive our enemies is endless.
But the commandment remains – not as a counsel of how to live a healthier, happier life – but with the added reminder that we will only find forgiveness as we forgive. Forgiveness is not optional – but a fundamental spiritual action which we must learn to use as though our salvation depended upon it – for it does.
Several times in Scripture forgiveness of others (including enemies) is linked with our becoming like God, being conformed to His image. Thus when I think of forgiveness I think as well of the whole life of salvation – for the path to being restored to the fullness of the image of Christ runs directly through the forgiveness of our enemies. It may indeed be the very key to our salvation (as it is worked out in us) and its most accurate measure.
Having said that, however, is also to say that this commandment to forgive is not of man – we do not have it in us to fullfill this commandment in and of ourselves. St. Gregory of Nyssa once said that “man is mud whom God has commanded to become God.” Of course it is utterly and completely impossible for mud to do such a thing (unless God make it so).
Grace is the foundation of forgiveness. We pray for forgiveness to enter our heart. We beg for forgiveness to enter our heart. We importune God for forgiveness to enter our heart.
Even as a product of grace – we do not begin with the hardest things but with the easiest. We do not begin fasting by tackling the most strict regimen. We do not begin prayer with an effort to pray continually for forty days (or some other great feat). Such efforts would either crush us with their difficulty or crush us with our success.

These are a few thoughts on beginning the life of forgiveness:
1. Begin by struggling to form the habit of forgiveness in the smallest things. With a child, with traffic, with little irritations. Do not struggle in a small way but throw yourself into forgiveness. It should become a habit, but a habit of grace, a large action.
2. Use this prayer for the enemies who seem to be beyond your ability to pray: “O God, at the dread judgment, do not condemn them for my sake.” This places forgiveness at a distance and even a hard heart can often manage the small prayer of forgiveness at such a distance.
3. Be always aware of your own failings and constantly ask for God’s forgiveness. “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
4. As much as possible cultivate in your heart the understanding that all human beings are broken and victims of the fall. None of us enters a world of purity, nor do we enter the world fully fuctional as a human being. It is the gradual cultivation of mercy in our heart. Many will complain that our culture already has a “cult of victimization” in which no one takes responsibility for their actions. The same people will imagine that the world would be better if only everyone took more responsibility. But they themselves will not take on the responsibility that belong to us all. As Dostoevsky says, “Each man is responsible for everything before everyone.” Thus the complaint comes out of our pride. We think we ourselves are not responsible for the state of the world as it is and that if only others were as good as we were the world would be better. This is a lie.
5. The proper response to taking such responsibility is to pray and ask forgiveness. Feeling guilty is generally another self-centered action and is not the same thing as asking forgiveness.
6. Make a life confession at least once a year – being careful to name as many resentments as you can remember (this last advice comes from Met. Jonah Paffhausen).

“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke 6:27-38).

See also

 
Beginning of Great Lent - The forgiveness at the very center of Christian faith and of Christian life
A CLOSER INSPECTION OF EXCUSES - A Sermon for Judgment Sunday

St. Dionysius of Zakynthos, the Saint of Forgiveness, "the Walking Saint" [icon]

Christian life means forgiveness  

Love the sinner, hate the sin

St. Augustine (June 15): "love the sinner, hate the sin" 

 

Three Greek Orthodox Christian Hierarchs Who Tried to Stop the Holocaust in Their Country

 

 

Written by Gregory Pappas  

Pappaspost.com

 

Stories of death and annihilation are usually those associated with the Holocaust. But included are also those stories of humanity, when people across the continent risked their own lives to help a friend, a neighbor — even a stranger.

Included in these stories are several high-profile Greek Orthodox Church leaders who risked their own faithful, as well as the safety of their Christian flock, should their efforts to help Jews had been uncovered by the Nazis.
 

DAMASKINOS, the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece 

 

"I have made my cross, have spoken with God, and decided to save as many Jews."

 
The leadership role of the high-profile head of the country’s Greek Orthodox Church, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Damaskinos, was unprecedented in all of Europe. Not hiding behind cowardly “neutrality” of his counterparts at the Vatican and other European churches, Damaskinos openly and unabashedly opposed the deportation of the Jews of Greece and took drastic, and sometimes life-threatening measures to fulfill his mission.
With the support of the police chief of Athens, Archbishop Damaskinos oversaw the creation of several thousand “baptismal certificates”, and provided more than 27,000 false identify papers to desperate Jews seeking protection from the Nazis. 
The forged papers gave them Christian names and allowed them free passage through Nazi checkpoints. The Archbishop also ordered monasteries and convents in Athens to shelter Jews, and urged his priests to ask their congregations to hide the Jews in their homes. As a result, more than 250 Jewish children were hidden by Orthodox clergy alone.
Damaskinos also spearheaded a direct protest to the Germans, in the form of a letter in a bold defense of the Jews who were being persecuted.
The letter incited the rage of the ferocious Nazi General Jürgen Stroop— the man responsible for the brutal suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and the loss of 50,000 lives who had since been transferred to Greece. He threatened the Archbishop with death by a firing squad.
Damaskinos’ response was, 

”Greek religious leaders are not shot, they are hanged. I request that you respect this custom.” 

The simple courage of the religious leader’s reply caught the Nazi commander off guard.
The appeal of the Archbishop and his fellow Greeks is unique; there is no similar document of protest of the Nazis during World War II that has come to light in any other European country. It reads, in part:

”In our national consciousness, all the children of Mother Greece are an inseparable unity: they are equal members of the national body irrespective of religion… Our holy religion does not recognize superior or inferior qualities based on race or religion, as it is stated: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek’ and thus condemns any attempt to discriminate or create racial or religious differences. Our common fate both in days of glory and in periods of national misfortune forged inseparable bonds between all Greek citizens, without exemption, irrespective of race…”
”Today we are… deeply concerned with the fate of 60,000 of our fellow citizens who are Jews… we have lived together in both slavery and freedom, and we have come to appreciate their feelings, their brotherly attitude, their economic activity, and most important, their indefectible patriotism…”

Photo from here

JOACHIM, the Metropolitan Bishop of Volos
 

“I am a Jew”


 
On September 30, 1943, the Jewish New Year, the chief rabbi of the central Greek city of Volos was ordered to report to the German military leader, Kurt Rikert, and submit a list of the names of the city’s Jewish community within 24 hours. At the time, there were 872 Jewish residents.
The rabbi turned to his friend, Metropolitan Joachim (Alexopoulos) who presided over the Greek Orthodox flock of the region and didn’t even blink an eye when asked to help.
He ordered every priest in his diocese to help any Jew who asked for it and signed his own name to a letter of introduction that the rabbi used to seek hiding. The letter read in part 

“I heartily recommend the teacher, bearer of this letter, and I ask every brother who is going to meet him, to listen to him carefully and in good will, and to give him any kind of assistance for anything he may be in need of for his life as well as for his flock, so they do not become victims of this difficult situation.”

Joachim mobilized the underground of the region and within 24 hours, 702 Greek Jews fled and were taken into the protective hands of strangers in the villages of the mountains surrounding the city. When he was asked for information about Jews from the Germans he firmly refused their requests for lists of Jewish residents, answering them, “I am a Jew”.
The 130 Jews who decided to remain behind were arrested by the SS and sent to Auschwitz. The Nazis blew up the synagogue and looted and pillaged the shops and homes in the Jewish neighborhood.
In November 1944 after the liberation of Greece and the Jews came out of hiding, Joachim issues a statement urging all local inhabitants to return to the Jewish residents any valuables they may have either taken during the looting or left in their hands for safe-keeping.
For saving the lives of some 700 people, he was recognized posthumously, in 1998, by the State of Israel with an inscription in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and on the Righteous Honor Wall at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
 

CHRYSOSTOMOS, the Metropolitan Bishop of Zakynthos 

 

”I will march together with the Jews straight into the gas chamber.”

 
Of course, there is also the timeless survival story of the ONLY Jewish community in all of Europe that didn’t lose a single soul during the Holocaust, on the Greek Island of Zakynthos— thanks to the efforts of the Metropolitan Bishop of the island, Chrysostomos.
When asked for the island’s Jews, he offered his own name, and that of the Mayor’s, as the island’s Jews and proceeded to tell the German commandant that he was prepared to march with his Jewish neighbors straight to the gas chambers if that were his destiny.

“The Jews of Zakynthos are Greeks, peace-loving and industrious. They are pure-blooded Zakynthians and totally harmless. I beg you to rescind the criminal order.”

When the commander remained persistent and threatened Chrysostomos and the mayor with their lives, and severe reprisals against the civilian population of the island, they handed him a scrap of paper with their own two names scribbled on it.

“I am at your mercy,” Chrysostomos told the Nazi. “You can arrest me, not them. If this does not satisfy you, then know that I will march together with the Jews straight into the gas chamber.”

Three Greek Orthodox hierarchs, each with high-profile positions of moral authority, spoke to their God and responded with what they believed to be their moral and ethical responsibility to save fellow humans— regardless of religious background.

You can see also

Theotokos vs Nazi (photo)

Saint Charalambos of Magnesia (vs Nazi)

Orthodox New Martyrs in France vs Nazi
A Saint Speaks To Europe From Dachau (1), (2), (3), (4) 

The Holy Martyr Alexander Schmorell

St Grigol Peradze, the Holy Hieromartyr in Auschwitz, 1942

The Holy Martyr Bishop Gorazd of Prague

Not often you see a Nazi serpent in an icon
Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac Concentration Camp
Orthodox Holiness - The New Martyrs of Bosnia
The Miracle of Saint Menas in El Alamein in 1942  

Orthodox Pascha (Easter) in Dachau