Euthymius of Mount Athos
died March 22, 1814
Born Eleutherius in Demitsana of the Peloponnese, he became a monk of the Skete of the Forerunner (Prodromou) on Mount Athos. He confessed Christ before the Turks and was martyred, joining the company of the New Martyrs.
The Holy New Martyr Euthymius of Mount Athos
Life
Euthymius was a monk of Mount Athos who was martyred at Constantinople in 1814 and is numbered among the New Martyrs who confessed Christ during the centuries of Ottoman rule. He was born in Demitsana in the Peloponnese, the son of Panagiotes and Maria, and was given the name Eleutherius at his baptism.
After attending school in his native town, Eleutherius went to Constantinople, where he enrolled in the Patriarchal Academy. By tradition he afterward resolved to embrace the monastic life on the Holy Mountain; with assistance from the Russian embassy he made his way to Mount Athos, where he was received into the Church and tonsured a monk under the name Euthymius. The synaxarion connects him with the Skete of the Forerunner (Prodromou) on Athos.
Resolved upon martyrdom, Euthymius traveled to Constantinople in the company of a monk named Gregory, arriving on March 19, 1814, and receiving Holy Communion on Palm Sunday. He then put off his monastic habit, dressed himself as a Muslim, and went to the palace of the Grand Vizier, where he openly confessed himself an Orthodox Christian who desired to die for Christ, denounced Islam, and trampled the turban he had worn. He was put to death about midday on March 22, 1814. His head is preserved at the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos.
Timeline 2 moments Read Hide
- 1814 Arrival at Constantinople Euthymius reached Constantinople with the monk Gregory on March 19 and communed on Palm Sunday.
- March 22, 1814 Martyrdom He confessed Christ before the Grand Vizier, denounced Islam, and was put to death about noon.