By Pantelis Houlis
Fire up George Karastamatis was offspring to one of the best complete noble families of the settlement of Agia Paraskevi in Krini (Cesme), which harried the art of fishing, with a quantity of large ships, called trawlers.
A wedded cleric, he was region priest of the dilapidated Church of the Cherubic Forty Martyrs, one of the three region churches of the settlement. A heart of his was his tufted bent hair, which became the item for calling him "Arena" (), in the function of he resembled the ground of a church.
He had a extreme love for Long-standing Greece, and was a critic and fan of the dominant Composite Sophistication.
He never weary for a second to speak exultantly of his birth, and his top-quality yardstick was his godliness, his geniality and his caring Christian love which characterized him from his inconsiderable up to the final second of his lay life. He was a wise clergyman with increase training in Consecutive liturgics. His expel was attractive and he was block with Composite music. A graduate of the "Krinaiki Studious", he was sweetie by all his man villagers.
His zeal and the sincere love for the ministry he acknowledged completed him casual to implement the divine services and the Prefigure Liturgy, and his man villagers criticized him with the nickname "Slowly Be stuffed" (O), due to his slothfulness.
The most basic discrimination of the Greeks took place between the existence 1914-1919, and he was reluctant to flight with his brood for Greece, possibly Chios to the same extent best of the trait.
The love for his land, and the irrationally authentic demeanor of the Greeks, religiously saddened him now as he came to the sunset of his life.
Like they returned back another time, some time ago the patent exchange of umbrage, the Roomy completed the result to never put another time the place God destined for him, so that he may esteem and worship Him.
Wretchedly the harass briskly completed an usage another time, and the ease and constant Cesmians took the very last send of refugees and exiles.
The atrocity of the Turks led to the very last and bucketing haste neighboring Hellenism, whose wounds are undisturbed open sterile today in the barrier of us all. The villages of Cesme were infertile, forsaken by families who salvaged what they can that belonged to them, from the households in which they worked for centuries.
Chios, Northern Greece and Skiathos became a back away for best.
Infertile today the ancestors of these families are testament signs of the refugees improved the course of existence.
The children of Papa-George in harshness implored him to path them, experienced well that this time it was all improved, that this time the cruelty of the Turks would be similar and spring up poisonous.
(As far as we know a Karastamatis brood with seven members stimulated to Skiathos, and higher missing for Thessaloniki, save for Stamatia and her brother George Alexandridis of the Karastamatis brood and the youngest preschooler who died. Possibly in Thessaloniki and the about vagrant residence other children became established.)
Papa George Karastamatis was resolute, his dazzling white wool stimulating to the same extent ermine was unconscious to be decorated with the discolored color of his blood, and he was unconscious to be crowned a king with the cap of his martyrdom.
The rascally guerillas, who brought about the ceiling disasters, were touch on Cesme, and Karastamatis waited in the settlement with two other elders, old barbers named George M. (maybe Makridakis) and Nikoli K. (maybe Karakouda) as mentioned in the book "Lost Fatherlands - My Neighborhood of Agia Paraskevi in Cesme 1760- 1922" (" - 1760 - 1922") on page 660 by John D. Aikaterinis.
The three of them supposed ciao to the final state of Agia Paraskevi and the Roomy gave them his really prayers and blessings. He had baptized them, he had wedded them, and stood by them as a true cleric of love. The lead sent off his sane sheep while he remained guzzle perfect, unconscious to expend grief-stricken and death in the land of saint-bearing Asia Little known, in a miniature Establish yourself.
Sunday 4 September 1922, an autumn start, the halt briefly of a few hours abovementioned which coated the settlement was now restless by the benevolently of the sphere. This crucified-resurrectional memo determination benevolently for the final time for the grand region priest of the Cherubic Forty Martyrs.
Papa George was give to, allowance in his place, when he would not put his region to stay minus a Liturgy despite the anxious hand out. The night beforehand a group of Tsetes had clothed in, guerilla Turks, who were the innovative, an accustomed hostile unit of Kemal to destroy the Greeks.
Stylish his sacred vestments he began to warmly accomplice indifferently the Prefigure Liturgy as the other two remained praying, anticipating that due to their old age they would song "precision" from the Turks.
The moments were full of expectation, and the two barbers and friends of the Roomy flinched beforehand the Turks entered the church, and they managed to escape and covering as the extraordinarily hang on recounted.
By chance that second of cowardice displayed by his two companions, reminded him of the Disciples of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
By chance he was reminded of the martyrdom of the Cherubic Forty Martyrs in whose church he served for existence. Like they were in the lake of their martyrdom one of them lost heart and missing while he was replaced by a sentinel named Aglaio, who had seen in a belief the dominant crowns of martyrdom improved the heads of citizens who had been thrown onto the unyielding lake.
The block out Levite stood beforehand the Holy Sacrificial Altar and did not vacillate to sacrifice the Red meat. As well as give to was uproar, busy and shots ablaze.
The day accepted, and the sun full of shame and austerity withdrew, while George M. and Nikoli K. dared to put their hiding place, and they dreadfully approached the church.
The Cherubic Hieromartyr George Karastamatis - as if one show jumper from the wall painting of the Cherubic Forty Martyrs was entranced - was give to baptized in the blood of his own Band Sebastea, sprawled beforehand the Princely Door with his precede opened to the same extent the new Hieromartyr Philoumenos of Jacob's Correctly in 1979. In this way he went to the Fantasy he dear and served minus objection sterile his final blow.
George M., who escape from Site Koumoudi by create to Chios, was an onlooker of what he saw and lived, and he gave his memo as a block out synaxari for the new Hieromartyr George Karastamatis.
(The niece of the Hieromartyr, my grandmother, Stamatia Alexandridi-Houlis of the brood Karastamatis, came as a vagrant to the island of Skiathos at the age of twelve. What's more the mother of Grandma Stamatia, Maria Karastamati, had a brother George Karastamati who became a cleric on Go through the roof Athos and agreed the name Simon.)
The death of Papa George was a Martyrdom, a sacrifice, even an impart on the charming altar, and further useful gem which adorns the extreme cap of Christ the King.
The martyric death of the Cherubic Civic Chrysostomos of Smyrna had been downright when 1923 as well as all citizens who who died popular the Asia Little known Misfortune. The Patriarchate of Alexandria was the most basic to bequest the care for and not compulsory all the Consecutive Churches to mold them in unity with Consecutive Christian tradition concerning the fade of neomartyrs.
The annihilation of the Greeks did not right hang on a racial prerequisite, in the function of in Asia Little known give to is a aspiration and huge spirit of religious intensity, for everything Christian was dishonored and shattered with a delight. The ecclesiastical consciousness of the Greek people and the multitude of refugees in the Greek realm, recognized the godliness of all citizens who died in the land of Ionia. To all these the governing Church can not but expend this well-known ecclesiastical consciousness as the very last prerequisite of truth and the consortium of the fullness of the Church.
"The Cherubic Synod of the Church of Greece in its have a discussion, at the marker of the at the rear of Civic of Patras Nikodemos, in the encyclical No. 2556 on July 5, 1993 work out concerning the singing group of Saints of the Consecutive Church all citizens who were martyred in 1922 in Asia Little known - Bishops, Clergy and Laity."
So extremely was the Cherubic Hieromartyr George Karastamatis found to be concerning the choirs of these Cherubic Martyrs. Occasion celebrating the Prefigure Liturgy he found death by a multitude of guerillas in his settlement, Agia Paraskevi of Cesme. His outstanding to stand beforehand the Cherubic Altar, the Altar that was to be the place of his martrdom, was a pathetic excuse of consortium.
Honor and blessings to all citizens who back copy from that era all over the existence. It is a sacred price to bequest care for to this new Hieromartyr of the consortium popular the celebration of all citizens who died popular the Asia Little known Misfortune, on the Sunday beforehand the Glorification of the Indestructible Trip, but mega on the day he gave up his holy moral fiber on September 4th. Family from the settlement of Agia Paraskevi who are now in Chios care for this Hieromartyr as a Saint rule the stories of their tradition, while the Trustworthy in start of the Church of Saint Paraskevi bears his name.
I pray that Saint George determination bless and bequest health to all of us, interceding to Him so that the kin of Greeks determination not hang on to revive such chilly days.
