Statue of the Ecumenical Patriarch (Archbishop) of Constantinople Gregory V of Constantinople (1746-1821) outside the University in Athens, Greece
Gregory V (Georgios Angelopoulos), (1746 - 22 April 1821) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808 and from 1818 to 1821. He was responsible for much restoration work to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George, which had been badly damaged by fire in 1738. At the onset of the Greek War of Independence, as Ethnarch of the Orthodox Millet, or court of law, Gregory V was blamed by Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II for his inability to suppress the Greek uprising. This was in spite of the fact that Gregory had condemned the Greek revolutionary activities in order to protect the Greeks of Constantinople from such reprisals by the Ottoman Turks. After the Greek rebels scored several successes against the Ottoman forces in the Peloponnese, these reprisals came. During Holy Week in April of 1821, Gregory was taken out of the Patriarchal Cathedral on 22 April 1821 (10 April Old Style), Easter Sunday, directly after celebrating the solemn Easter Liturgy, Gregory was accosted by the Ottomans. He was taken out of the cathedral, still in full Patriarchal vestments, and hanged, being left for two days on the main gate of the Patriarchate compound, all by order of the Sultan. This was followed by a massacre of the Greek population of Constantinople. The Patriarch's body was eventually interred in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. He is commemorated by the Greek Orthodox Church as an Ethnomartyr. In his memory, the Saint Peter Gate, once the main gate of the Patriarchate compound, was welded shut in 1821 and has remained shut ever since.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: University of Athens, Omonoia, 106 79 Athens, Attica, Greece, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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