JOHN, this newly-revealed Martyr of Christ, was a native of the renowned Peloponnesus, that is, of the Morea, from the regions of Monemvasia, from a village called Geraki. He was young in age, about fifteen years old, the son of a priest, and educated in the sacred letters. In the time of the captivity of the Morea, which came about in 1770, many Albanian Moslems came, imprisoning the Christians of that place. They also enslaved the Martyr’s village, putting his father to the sword and taking John and his mother with them to Larisa. There they were sold two and three times, each one separately, but later both were sold together to a Thessalonian Hagarene who, since he did not have a son, desired very strongly (his wife no less than he) to have the blessed John as their adopted son. Therefore he would not cease from troubling the blessed John, daily attempting to pervert him from the faith of the Christians and to bring him to his own religion, using at times flatteries, promises of honor and position, and at other times threats of punishment and torture. But the Martyr of Christ was firm and unshaken in his piety and valued all these things as nothing.
One day the Hagarene, being greatly wearied of having availed nothing from his urging the Martyr to deny piety, was greatly angered and, placing the Martyr before him and prodding him with his sword, took him as far as the courtyard of the mosque. There many Hagarenes gathered who attempted violently to make the Martyr become a Moslem by striking him with the sword, kicking him and threatening him with a pistol at his heart. Many other things did they do, but in vain did they labor, for the valiant John, without losing heart, would say, “I will not become a Moslem; I am a Christian, and I shall die a Christian.” I will not mention the magical charms and satanic spells which the Hagarene’s wife made to drive the blessed John out of his mind or to arouse in him the desiring of woman, and thereby to make him become a Moslem. But the grace of Christ protected him from all these things.
In the meantime the fast of the Lady Theotokos arrived, that which is called the “Fifteen-in August.” And because John of blessed memory did not consent under any circumstances to eat non-Lenten food and break the holy fast, he was locked by his master in a cellar. There for the fifteen days the Hagarene would at times hang John up and burn straw beneath him, or at other times would beat him with the flat of his sword all over his body, in order to force him to eat of their abominable foods. But the valiant one of Christ, imitating the Three Children who did not consent to eat of the impure food of King Nabuchodonosor and also the Holy Maccabees who did not consent to eat pork because it was prohibited by divine law, unto the end did not consent, not even so much as to taste these foods. But invoking the name and the assistance of the Lady Theotokos, in whose honor this fast is observed, he preferred rather to be put to death than to break the holy fast. His master, seeing that he did not submit, left him hungry for two and three days at a time. His mother, standing near her son and seeing him exhausted from the sword beating, the hangings, the fasting and all the other hardships, exhorted him to eat, saying, “Eat, my son, of these foods so that you will not die, and God and the All-holy One will forgive you because you do not do so with your own will, but of necessity. Pity me also, your poor mother, and do not will to die an untimely death, to leave me unconsoled in this strange land, for having you it seems as though I am not in slavery.”
The Martyr, strengthening his mother’s weakness, spoke thus to her, “Why do you act thus, O mother? Why do you not imitate the Patriarch Abraham, who out of love for his Creator was willing to sacrifice his only son? Are you weeping on my account alone? I am the son of a priest and I must keep the laws and customs of our Holy Church better than the sons of the laymen, for if we do not keep the lesser commandments, how can we keep the greater?” Finally his master, seeing that he could not prevail upon John to abandon the Faith of Christ or to break his fast, was greatly enraged and dealt him a fatal stab to the heart. After two days John expired and received the martyr’s crown on October 21, 1773. While dying, the Martyr directed his mother, in the same manner as the all-virtuous Joseph had directed the Jews, to remain and exhume his relics and to take them and go to his country, which command his mother fulfilled. And now his fragrant relics are found in his village, firstly to support piety and faith, and secondly to shame and censure those Christians who are slaves to their bellies and who do not keep the fasts handed down by the Church of Christ, to Whom be glory and power unto the ages. Amen.
Taken from The New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke. Copyright 1985. All rights reserved.
Archbishop Gregory P.O. Box 3177 Buena Vista, CO 81211-3177 USA Email: ArchbishopGregory@starband.net
Copyright 2005.
