The Holy New Monastic-Martyr Agathangelus of Esphigmenou, Mount Athos
Life
Agathangelus of Esphigmenou was a New Martyr of the period of Ottoman rule who, after being coerced into a profession of Islam, returned openly to the Christian faith, became a monk on Mount Athos, and was beheaded at Smyrna in 1819. He is commemorated as a monastic-martyr (venerable-martyr), the rank given to a monk who dies confessing Christ. His feast is kept on April 19.
According to the synaxarion he was born at Enos (Ainos) in Thrace and given the name Athanasius. Orphaned by the deaths of his parents, Constantine and Krystalia, he went to sea and earned his living as a sailor before the events that led to his martyrdom.
Timeline 4 moments
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late 18th centuryBirth and early lifeAthanasius was born at Enos in Thrace and raised in a Christian family. After the death of his parents, Constantine and Krystalia, he became a sailor to support himself.
before 1819Forced conversion at SmyrnaWhile in the service of a Turkish shipmaster, the young man was pressed to embrace Islam. The synaxarion relates that at Smyrna he was threatened and coerced into an outward profession of the Muslim faith, though he inwardly held to Christ.
before 1819Refuge on Mount AthosTormented in conscience, Athanasius escaped and made his way to Mount Athos, where he came under the spiritual direction of Igumen Euthymius of the Esphigmenou Monastery. On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent he was tonsured a monk, at the age of nineteen, receiving the name Agathangelus.
April 19, 1819Martyrdom at SmyrnaReturning to Smyrna, Agathangelus publicly renounced his forced profession of Islam and confessed Christ. He was beheaded in the early morning of April 19. By tradition the year is given as 1819, though some accounts record 1818.
Contributions & Legacy
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Veneration and Relics
After his execution Christians gathered the relics of the martyr and buried them at Smyrna in the church of the Great Martyr George. The synaxarion records that a portion of his relics was sent to the Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos in 1844, where his memory is especially kept.
Agathangelus is numbered among the New Martyrs — Orthodox Christians of the Ottoman period who, having lapsed or been pressed into Islam, returned publicly to Christ and accepted death rather than deny the faith. The Church commemorates him on April 19.
