The Holy New Martyr Panagiotis of Caesarea in Cappadocia
Life
Panagiotis of Caesarea was a young confessor of the faith who suffered martyrdom in Constantinople in 1765, during the period of Ottoman rule over the Greek Orthodox of Asia Minor and the imperial capital. He came from Caesarea in Cappadocia, the great Christian center of central Asia Minor, and was beheaded at the age of twenty for refusing to renounce Christ and embrace Islam. He is numbered among the New Martyrs, the Orthodox Christians who sealed their confession with their blood under Turkish rule.
His commemoration is kept on June 24. He is distinct from the later New Martyr Panagiotis of the Peloponnese, who suffered in 1820.
Timeline 2 moments
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1765Martyrdom in ConstantinoplePanagiotis, a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, refused to abandon his Christian faith and was beheaded in Constantinople at the age of twenty. Some sources record the year of his martyrdom as 1767.
After 1765Burial at the Life-Giving SpringHis relic was buried with Christian honors in the Church of the Life-Giving Spring (Zoodochos Pege) in Constantinople.
Contributions & Legacy
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Life and Martyrdom
Panagiotis was a Greek Orthodox Christian from Caesarea in Cappadocia, the ancient metropolitan city of central Asia Minor. According to the tradition preserved in his commemoration, he refused to become a Muslim and abandon his Christian faith, and for this confession he was put to death.
He suffered at Constantinople under the Ottoman authorities and was beheaded at the age of twenty. The accounts that record his life place his martyrdom in the year 1765, with some sources giving the date as 1767. The surviving notices are brief, supplying the place, the manner of death, and his youth rather than a detailed biography of his family or how he came to the capital.
Relics & Shrines
After his death his sacred relic was buried with Christian honors in the Church of the Life-Giving Spring (Zoodochos Pege) in Constantinople.
A portion of his relic is venerated today in the Skete of Saint Panteleimon, a dependency of Koutloumousiou Monastery on Mount Athos.
His companions & kin
A distinct New Martyr of the same name who suffered in 1820; not to be confused with Panagiotis of Caesarea.
New Martyr Panagiotis of the Peloponnese
Notes
Distinct from Panagiotis of Peloponnesos (+1820).
Sources: GOARCH calendar; OCA / J. Sanidopoulos cross-check