- On Monday April 10, one of the Saints that is commemorated on the calendar of the Orthodox Church is Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople. Patriarch Gregory served as Ecumenical Patriarch on at least three different occasions. He was deposed the first two times, but his last tenure on the Patriarchal throne ended with his execution.
- He was executed at the gate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the Sunday of Pascha. He was held responsible by the Ottoman Sultan for the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence. Formally, the Patriarch renounced the Greek uprising. Unofficially however, he had known about plans for an uprising but remained silent. He took the position that he could not be formally involved but did nothing to betray the Greek cause either.
- After the Greek uprising, a campaign of terror was undertaken against the Greek Orthodox populations of Constantinople, Smyrna, and Thessaloniki. The martyrdom of the Patriarch seemed to have exhausted the rage of the Sultan and the policies against the Greeks in those cities was relaxed. The Patriarch gave his life for the protection of his flock.
- His execution angered both the Russian and British governments. The Russians were angry that an Orthodox Patriarch was put to death and the anti Greek terror campaign in the Ottoman Empire hardened Russian attitudes to the Turks. The British recognized that the execution of one of Christendom’smost prominent spiritual leaders was a horrendous crime and could not ignore it.
- The Patriarch suffered considerably. Along with several bishops he was hanged. The gate where he was hanged from at the Patriarchate has remained closed up to the present day. A former Mayor of Constantinople that was elected in 1994 named Recep Erdogan had vowed that he would visit the Patriarchate and the gate would be opened just for him. International pressure forced him to back down.
- The Patriarch Gregory V was weak and frail. He was hanging for hours before he died. His body was subsequently degraded and dragged through the streets of Constantinople. His body was thrown into the bosporus was eventually found and taken to Odessa where he received an official State funeral at the expense of the Russian Empire. In 1871, the relics of the Patriarch were sent to Athens where they have remained in the Annunciation Cathedral to be venerated by faithful Orthodox Greeks.
- Patriarch Gregory V is an example of a spiritual shepherd. His life was lost so his faithful left behind in the Ottoman Empire would be spared. On the one hundredth anniversary of his martyrdom in 1921, the Patriarch Gregory was officially recognized as a Saint by the Greek Orthodox Church. This was when
- the Greeks were fighting for the liberation of Asia Minor and it was hoped the Greek Army would be inspired by the Saint from Constantinople.
- It should be noted that the Russians gave the Patriarch a state funeral. There is no reason why the Ecumenical Patriarchate should not have brotherly spiritual relations with the Russian Church. Greeks and Russians share so much including the Saints. Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V was an Orthodox traditionalist and one of the best Patriarchs to serve in the post Byzantine era. The present occupant of the Ecumenical Patriarchate should emulate
- his example and his bravery.
- In this case, bravery would be to reverse what has been done in Ukraine over the past five years. This necessitates condemning the oppression of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Let us remember Patriarch Gregory V! His memory be eternal!
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