In commemorating the 200 years of Greek Independence we focus in this issue on the lives of some of the New Martyrs of 1821.   These heroic Saints witnessed for their faith during the retaliations of the Ottoman Empire against the Greeks and Orthodox Christians. St Dorotheos (Proios), Metropolitan of Adrianople (+ 1821) St Dorotheos was born and educated on the island of Chios, and later studied in Patmos, Italy and France. It was through his studies that he became one of the leading scholars of the Greek Enlightenment, and even edited the first edition of the Rudder of St [...]

1821 Independence Milestones At the start of the war of independence, the Greeks had been under the Turkish yoke for almost 400 years. The Greeks faced the Ottomans, a well-established world power for 400 years. The Greeks did not have a regular army, centralised government or military command, let alone materials for waging war, or funds for the struggle. However, the Greeks had a desire for liberty and religious freedom. As Kolokotronis said “Greeks, God has signed our Liberty and will not take his signature back.” As God blessed David against Goliath, so He blessed the Greeks in their struggle. [...]

Heroes of 1821 The 25th of March 1821 marks the beginning of the Greek revolution and 22 March 1829 the day of the creation of the modern Greek state. Presented below are some of the key heroes of that revolt. Their common characteristics were that the Divine flame lit their souls, and that their fierce patriotism was inspirational to all. A number of these heroes became members of the “Filiki Etairia” (Society of Friends), which was a major world-wide underground Greek revolutionary movement that was led by by Alexander Ypsilantis at the time of the revolution. Gregory V of Constantinople [...]

Entrance of the Theotokos On November 21 our Church commemorates the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. This event is not mentioned in the Holy Gospels, so our source is Holy Tradition, being drawn from the hymnology and iconography of the feast, as well as the writings of the Fathers. When the blessed Virgin was three years old, Joachim and Anna fulfilled their promise to dedicate their child to the Lord. Her father gathered a procession of young pure virgins, each carrying a lit candle. The holy Maiden outran her attendants in her great zeal to enter [...]