Athanasius of Thessaloniki was an eighteenth-century Greek New Martyr who confessed Christ under Ottoman rule and was put to death in 1774. Remembered in the synaxaria as Athanasius the Koulakiotis after his home village of Koulakia near Thessaloniki, he was an educated young layman, fluent in Turkish and Arabic, whose martyrdom arose from a false accusation that he had embraced Islam. He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on September 8.
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18th centuryOrigin and familyAthanasius was born to a Christian family in the village of Koulakia near Thessaloniki, the son of Polychrous, the village headman, and his wife Loulouda.
YouthEducationHe was educated first in his village, then in Thessaloniki, afterward at the Athonite School at Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos, and finally in Constantinople, becoming fluent in Turkish and Arabic.
1774The accusationWhile discussing religion with Muslims, Athanasius referred to the Islamic confession of faith to make a point; an emir present construed his words as a personal profession of Islam and reported him to an Islamic judge as a convert, an accusation Athanasius firmly denied.
1774Trial and confessionBrought before the judge in Thessaloniki, Athanasius was pressed to accept Islam under threat of torture and refused, holding to his confession of Christ. He was imprisoned as the accusers demanded his punishment.
September 8, 1774MartyrdomSentenced to death as an alleged apostate from Islam, Athanasius was hanged outside Thessaloniki at the age of twenty-five.
Contributions & Legacy
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Education and learning
Sources describe Athanasius as an unusually well-educated young layman for his time and place. He is said to have studied in his native village, then in Thessaloniki, then at the Athonite School at Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos under noted teachers of the Greek Enlightenment, and finally in Constantinople before returning home.
Through this schooling and the multilingual world of the Ottoman Balkans he became fluent in Turkish and Arabic, which placed him in the kind of interreligious conversation that would later be turned against him.
Martyrdom
The charge against Athanasius rested on a misconstrued remark. In conversation he had referred to the Muslim confession of faith, and an emir who was present treated this as if Athanasius had professed Islam himself, denouncing him to the Islamic judge as a convert. Under Ottoman law, a Christian who was held to have accepted Islam and then maintained Christianity could be condemned as an apostate.
The judge is reported to have at first recognized the misunderstanding, but he gave way to the accusers and demanded that Athanasius convert, threatening torture. Athanasius refused and was imprisoned. He was then sentenced to death and hanged outside Thessaloniki on September 8, 1774, at the age of twenty-five, taking his place among the New Martyrs who suffered under Ottoman rule.
