Athanasius of Attalia ( el, Αθανάσιος της Αττάλειας) was a Christian

Neomartyr The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el, νεο-, ''neo''-, the prefix for "new"; and μάρτυς, ''martys'', "witness") is conferred in some denominations of Christianity to distinguish more recent martyrs and confessors from the old martyr ...

who lived in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

in the 17th century. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated on January 7.

Martyrdom

He was a poor and simple man, but a convinced Christian. One day he entered into a religious dispute with a Turk. The Turk was educated and adroit with words, but Athanasius defended the Christian faith and argued its superiority over

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Finally, they parted. On the next day, Athanasius was summoned to trial and met the Turk as his accuser. The judge called on Athanasius to repudiate Orthodox Christianity and accept Islam, as he had said that he would die before denying Christianity. For this he was condemned to death and beheaded in the year 1700. His holy

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

were buried in the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

of St. Paraskeva in Smyrna.

References

External links

New Martyr Athanasius of Attalia and Smyrna (1700)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athanasius of Attalia Year of birth missing 1700 deaths 17th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 17th-century Christian saints Christian saints killed by Muslims Saints from Anatolia