Former "Christ-Denying" Saints and the Neomartyr Matthew of Gerakari Who Was Martyred in Rethymno of Crete

By Emmanuel K. Doundoulakis,
Permanent Assistant Professor of the
Patriarchal University Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete

Repentance, as a means of restoring, among other things, our relationship with God and our fellow man, is found in Holy Scripture, proclaimed by the Fathers of our Church, presented in the Ascetic literature and attested by our Hagiological tradition. 

The denial of Christ, with a typical example being that of the Apostle Peter after the Lord's arrest and before His sacrifice on the cross, is repeated by a certain category of Saints of our Church, known as "Christ-deniers". We mention, for example, from this category the Venerable Martyrs Euthymios, Ignatios, Akakios, etc.

These specific martyrs are observed mainly during the period of the Turkish occupation and were Christians, who at some stage in their lives denied Christ, the Christian faith, and became Muslims. Mainly the rebuke of conscience, but also a sign from God,1 urged them to repent for their action, for their denial under oath, and to want to bear witness to the "love of Christ".

The approach towards martyrdom required preparation on the part of the apostate, which, in most cases, took place on Mount Athos, under the guidance of the “trainer,” who prepared him spiritually, with admonitions and participation in the Divine Mysteries, for the impending martyrdom in the place where he had denied Christ. Holy New Martyr Matthew (August 18), who came from Gerakari in Amari and was martyred in Rethymno around 1700 AD, belonged to the category of “Christ-deniers.” This information is provided to us by the Documents of the Sacred Tribunal of Rethymno, where we get the main source of information about the New Martyr. There it is noted about him by his wife Aisha: “A year ago, before the High Sacred Tribunal, Matthew, son of the priest George, from the inhabitants of the village of Gerakari in the province of Amari, was worthy to accept the religion of Islam.”2 The denial under oath of the New Martyr is mentioned or implied both in the Hagiological tradition about him and in his Hymnography, as recorded in the Cretan Panagion,3 but also in the Cretan Parakleteke.4

In the case of the New Martyr Matthew, the “martyrdom of conscience” precedes, which is something peculiar in “Crypto-Christianity” (sealing of the body with the sign of the cross, prayer, perhaps fasting), before the “martyrdom of blood” comes, when his Turkish wife turns him in to the Sacred Tribunal.

The confession of Christ and his Christian identity by the New Martyr Matthew, at the place of the denial, namely in Rethymno, led to his martyrdom, to his inclusion in the choir of the Saints of our Church, since, according to the words of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite: "Those who denied Christ, then confessed Him again, and were tortured and died for this confession, become Saints."5 

 

The confession, the "martyrdom of conscience" and subsequently the "martyrdom of blood" of the New Martyr Matthew come to give a clear message to modern man who is prone to all kinds of falls, is seized by despair over loss and is unmoved in terms of return, repentance and his reconnection with God and people. They come to remind us, firstly, that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4) and secondly, that salvation, Holiness, also presupposes our own cooperation/submission (1 Cor. 15:10) to His invitation. It also presupposes our repentance, not because we are led to repentance by guilt, but because we are "bound" by His love and freedom (Rom. 8:35-37).

Notes:

 

1. Characteristic is the incident of the anonymous Neomartyr, a former "Christ-deniar", a cleric, from a village in Messara. See Chrysostomos Papadakis (Archim.), The Holy New Martyr John the Former Hagarene. Life and Services, ed. ΠΣΑΙΦ, 2004, pp. 29-30.

 

2. Documents of the Sacred Tribunal of Rethymno, 17th-18th centuries, edited by G.Z. Papiomytoglou, ed. ΔΚΒΡ, Rethymno 1995, p. 117.

 

3. Cretan Panagion, namely the Services of All the Saints in Crete, vol. 3, ed. ΙΕΣΕΚ, Heraklion, Crete 2001, pp. 234, 236, 237, 242.

 

4.  Chrysostomos Papadakis (Archim.), Cretan Parakleteke: Canons for the Saints of Crete, vol. 2, ed. ΙΜΜΒ, Mount Athos, 1900, pp. 99, 100, 101, 103, 107.

 

5. Alexandros Korakidis, Martyrdom and Holiness. The Hagiology of the Orthodox Church, vol. 2, ed. N. Panagopoulos, Athens 2008, p. 137. 

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.