The New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke
The Third Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to the memory of All the New Martyrs who suffered at the hands of the Turks during the centuries of the Ottoman domination of Greece and the other formerly Christian lands of the Balkan peninsula and the Middle East. Each Orthodox Christian descended from those who suffered under the Moslem domination should especially devote himself on this day to attendance at Divine Services and to pondering on the necessity of being a martyr, that is, a witness, to Christ.
We are blessed to have available in the English language a fine collection of the Lives of the New Martyrs, entitled New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke, published by St. Nectarios Press. The Introduction to this book, by Fr. Anthony Gavalas, written in 1985, is even more timely for us today, as we face a new era of Mohammedan fanaticism and the persecution of Christians. I should like to quote Fr. Anthony’s words at length:
“ In commemorating the lives and struggles of the holy New Martyrs who suffered for the sake of Christ’s holy Name, we give thanks to our God, Who is worshipped in Trinity, and Who in every age has raised up witnesses to His eternal providence and care for us.
“‘ God is marvellous in Hi saints.’ The saints are living proof of the applicability of the Gospels. They are living chapters of Holy Scripture. They are imitators of Christ and models for our emulation. This is the reason that God has glorified His saints in our sight: in His love for us, He wants to present to us as many different kinds of righteous ones as possible, so that we, regardless of our circumstances in life, might find patterns to live the life in Christ. “
The first and most glorious of martyrs is Jesus our Lord, Whose blood nourishes the members of His holy Body, the Church. In His loving kindness He has deemed some others worthy to be images and icons of His unique Martyrdom , and to spill their blood for the sake of the Holy Gospel, as a living witness and renewal for Christians who, seeing the steadfastness of their fellow mortals in the face of torture and death, might themselves become more fervent in the Faith.
During the dark days of the Moslem enslavement of the Orthodox people in the Balkans and the Middle East, our holy Faith showed its power in the face of the overwhelming force of the Turk. All the vital forces of Orthodoxy continued unabated. Monasticism flourished, theological conscience was alert, popular devotion was cultivated - all these fueled and nourished by the feats of the illustrious New Martyrs who brought to life before the grateful eyes of the oppressed Christians scenes of the martyrdoms of old, assuring them that indeed ‘Christ is the same yesterday and today and unto the ages of ages.’
“ ...these lives permit us to see a continuity - a golden chain - which links together the Christ-centered glories of the ancient martyrs with those of the Turkish domination, and on to those of China, Serbia, the Balkans, and the Russian land under the more modern but nonetheless demonic hatred of militant atheism, whose victims are numbered in the millions...
“ And what of the future? Despite our unworthiness of the martyr’s crown, will our Lord vouchsafe this greatest of blessings on Christians of our generation of or those to come? As we progress into this post-Christian era which is an introduction to the times of Antichrist, will there be New Martyrs from US?”
May we so live as to always be prepared to witness to Christ, even unto death. Amen.
The Holy New Martyr Mark of Crete
Whom the Holy Church remembers on 14 May.
The holy New Martyr Mark was a native of Crete. As a youth he was handsome in appearance; so the Turks abducted him and made him a Moslem by force. But he always sought the opportune moment to flee or to become a martyr for the love of Christ. He left Smyrna and went to Constantinople,, where he met a pious teacher to whom he confessed his ardent desire to become a martyr. The teacher advised and encouraged him wholeheartedly to seek martyrdom and strengthened him further by his blessing. Mark then returned to Smyrna. There, with great daring and boldness, he declared before all that Christ was the true God; and not fearing the wrath of the Hagarenes, he derided their false prophet and refuted their defiled religion.
When they heard this and observed that Mark had again embraced Christianity and was denying their religion, they crowded around him in rage. Seizing Mark, they struck and pushed him along to the judge of that territory. They testified that he was a Turk earlier and denied their faith, becoming a Christian, taunting the Islamic faith and the “prophet.” The judge hearing this was embittered and asked him: “Are you a Christian or a Turk?” The Martyr answered: “I had been a Christian and I am a Christian again. I worship my Christ as true God and confess and adore Him. Your faith I deny and abhor.”
...The judge, seeing that Mark would not budg, ordered the guards to lead him to the place of execution, where the Martyr bent his head and by the sword received his blessed end in the year 1643.
Through the prayers of the Holy New Martyr Mark, O Christ God, save our souls. Amen.