Ο Σμύρνης Χρυσόστομος προς τον Θεσσαλονίκης Γεννάδιο. Ανέκδοτη Επιστολή του 1914

Abstract

The metropolitans Chrysostom of Smyrna (1910-1922) and Gennadiosof Thessaloniki (1912-1951) were both Bithynians. They were born inGreek Orthodox villages in Bithynia in 1867 and 1868 respectively whiletheir paths crossed repeatedly in their education and in their careersin the Church. They both rose to senior episcopal positions in the hierarchyof the Great Church of Christ, the Patriarchate of Constantinople,and played important roles not only as ecclesiastical but also as politicalleaders at the head of their respective communities in Asia Minor andin Macedonia. Their documented interaction, however, is sporadic andtends to limit itself to formalities. The letter dated April 19, 1914 fromChrysostom of Smyrna to Gennadios of Thessaloniki enriches significantlythe rather sparse record of ties and communications between the twoBithynian prelates. It is addressed to Gennadios, to whom Chrysostomappeals to exercise his influence and pastoral authority among his flockin order to avert persecution of Muslims in the newly liberated territoriesof Northern Greece. Such actions, Chrysostom warns, may provoke reactions at the expense of Christians in Asia Minor. The occasion of the letter was an incident at the expense of the Muslims at the village of Aşıklar and their mosque in the Kilkis region north of Thessaloniki in April 1914. The letter published here is bringing the incident to the attention of historical scholarship for the first time.