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The Metropolis of Smyrna ( el, Μητρόπολη Σμύρνης) is an ecclesiastical territory (
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
) of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
, modern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The Christian community of Smyrna was one of the
Seven Churches of Asia
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven major Churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in ...
, mentioned by
Apostle John
John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee ...
in the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
. It was initially an
archbishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, but was promoted to a
metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
during the 9th century. Although the local Christian element was reduced during the 14th and 15th centuries, it retained its ecclesiastical autonomy continuously until 1922.
History
Early Christianity and Byzantine era
The precise year when Christianity spread in Smyrna is unknown. It was perhaps introduced by
Apostle Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
or one of his companions.
[Ascough, 2005: 8] By the end of the 1st century the city already hosted a small Christian community,
[ while its first head was one named Aristion.][ The Church of Smyrna was also one of the ]Seven Churches of Asia
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven major Churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in ...
, mentioned at the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
, written by John of Patmos
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, according ...
.[ In ca. 110 AD, ]Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (; Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, ''Ignátios Antiokheías''; died c. 108/140 AD), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (, ''Ignátios ho Theophóros'', lit. "the God-bearing"), was an early Christian writer ...
wrote a number of epistles among them to the people of Smyrna and its bishop, Polycarp
Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...
. The latter martyred during the middle of the 2nd century AD.[ Polycarp was martyred, the next bishop of Smyrna was Papirius. Papirius was later succeeded by Camerius, Smyrna was also the place of martyrdom of Saint ]Pionius
The Martyrdom of Pionius is an account dating from about 250AD to 300 AD of the martyrdom of a Christian from Smyrna named Pionius. It is also known as The Martyrdom of Pionius the Presbyter and His Companions, The Acts of Pionius, and in Latin as ...
, during the reign of Decius
Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251.
A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...
.
Already from the early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...
years Smyrna was an autocephalous
Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
archbishopric as part of the wider Metropolis of Ephesus
The Metropolis of Ephesus ( el, Μητρόπολις Εφέσου) was an ecclesiastical territory ( metropolis) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in western Asia Minor, modern Turkey. Christianity was introduced already in the cit ...
. During the 9th century the local archbishopric was promoted to a metropolis.[Kiminas, 2008: 94] At the time of its promotion, the diocese of Smyrna held the 39th position in the ''Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church.
In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...
'', while during the reign of Emperor Leo VI Leo VI (or Leon VI, notably in Greek) may refer to :
* Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor 886 to 912
* Pope Leo VI, 928 to 929
* King Leo VI of Armenia (1342 – 1393), of the House of Lusignan, last Latin king of the Armenian crusader Kingdom of C ...
(886–912) it held the 44th position.[ The city was also the place of exile of the monk ]Theodore the Studite
Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. H ...
,[ who played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium.
In the 13th century, the city thrived under the ]Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse ...
, while several churches and monasteries were erected, the most notable of them being the Lembon monastery.[
]
Ottoman era
During the 14th century, the Turkish raids and eventual capture of the city caused the local Church to decline and its territory to shrink. As a result, at the end of that century only the bishoprics of Phocaea
Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionia
Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northern ...
and Magnesia were under the jurisdiction of the metropolis. Moreover, there are no surviving records of a local metropolitan after 1389. In December 1402 Smyrna was razed by the army of Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
. However, it appears that the Christian community survived the devastation of the city.[
After the Ottoman conquest of Smyrna, it appears that the local Christians enjoyed a special status, contrary to several adjacent metropolises that became inactive,][ while with the ]Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
(1453) to the Ottomans, a major reorganization occurred in the ecclesiastical administration following the incorporation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
into the social structures of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Thus, although Christianity in Anatolia was in steady decline during that period, the diocese of Smyrna survived, even in a restricted area of jurisdiction and managed to retain its status as a metropolis of the Orthodox Church.[
During the 17th and 18th centuries a significant number of local saints (]new martyr
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 ...
s) are recorded in the city, where most of them rejected conversion to Islam and were tortured by the Muslim authorities. At that period
the Christian community increased enormously, due to the general demographic boom of the region, as a result of the commercial development of Smyrna.[ The city became a center of the ]Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment ( el, Διαφωτισμός, ''Diafotismos'', "enlightenment," "illumination"; also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment) was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment.
Origins
The Greek Enlightenment w ...
culture, while several schools were erected, like the Evangelical School and the Philological Gymnasion. On the other hand, the local leadership of the Church was suspicious of progressive ideas, especially in education and supported a more traditional educational system.[
]
In 1907, the administrative model of the local Greek Orthodox community still retained the traditional communal authorities of the Church and the Council of Elders ( el, Δημογεροντία), but power was in fact exercised by a new body, the Central Committee, which comprised not only Ottoman Greeks but also citizens of the independent Greek kingdom
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
.[ Nevertheless, according to this model the metropolitan of Smyrna retained an essential role and represented both the Church and the Orthodox community of Smyrna in all their external affairs and supervised it together with the Council of Elders and the Central Committee. The significant role of the Church authorities became more evident in the activity of metropolitan Chrysostomos, especially in the promotion of Greek nationalism among the Smyrniote Greeks.][Terezakis, 2006]
Orthodox Christianity in Smyrna ended as a result of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. In September 1922, during the events of the Great Fire of Smyrna
The burning of Smyrna ( el, Καταστροφή της Σμύρνης, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; tr, 1922 İzmir Yangını, "1922 Izmir Fire"; hy, Զմիւռնիոյ Մեծ Հրդեհ, ''Zmyuṙno Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of ...
, thousands of civilians lost their lives and the survivors found refuge to Greece. It is estimated that of a total of 459 priests and bishops of the metropolis of Smyrna, 347 of them were murdered by the Turkish army. Among them was also the metropolitan, Chrysostomos.
Since 2016
In the mid-2010s, several Greek churches in Izmir were renovated by the municipal authorities and opened for occasional service.
On 29 August 2016, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople elected the elder Bartholomew Samaras as Metropolitan of Smyrna.
Religious monuments
According to 17th-century traveler accounts, the main Christian sites of interest in Smyrna, were the ministry of Apostle John
John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee ...
, the tomb of Saint Polycarp, as well as the place of his martyrdom. However, the remains of the Roman stadium where he martyred were demolished by an Ottoman vizier, in 1675 and in modern times the site was built over.[Johnson, 2005: 246] Today, the only surviving place in memory of Saint Polycarp is a cave where, according to the tradition, he was tortured.[
Currently the municipality of Izmir has started a study to re-construct the ancient stadium on the skirts of Mount Pagos. Moreover, it also opened the former Saint Voukolos Church in Basmane district as a museum (2012) and as a Greek Orthodox church (2016).
]
Notable religious personalities
Early Bishops
*Apelles
Apelles of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἀπελλῆς; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed (''Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and ''passim'' ...
* Strataes, brother (or uncle) of Timothy
* Ariston
* Bucolus
*Polycarp
Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...
*Papirius
*Camerius
*Eudaemon
Arabia Felix (literally: Fertile/Happy Arabia; also Ancient Greek: Εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία, ''Eudaemon Arabia'') was the Latin name previously used by geographers to describe South Arabia, or what is now Yemen.
Etymology
The term Arabi ...
[Herbermann, Charles George]
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14
Martyrs of the Roman era
* Strataes
*Bucolus
*Papirius
*Camerius
*Eudaemon
*Polycarp
Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...
*Thrasea
*Eumenia
*Pothinus
Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co ...
and Irenaeus
Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...
of Lyons
*Dioscurides
*Pionius
The Martyrdom of Pionius is an account dating from about 250AD to 300 AD of the martyrdom of a Christian from Smyrna named Pionius. It is also known as The Martyrdom of Pionius the Presbyter and His Companions, The Acts of Pionius, and in Latin as ...
New martyrs of the Ottoman era
*Nicholas of Karaman
*Dioscurus of Smyrna
*Demus of Smyrna
*Alexander of Salonica
*Procopius the new martyr
*Agathangelus the new martyr
*Nektarius the new martyr
*Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople
Gregory V ( el, , born , ''Georgios Angelopoulos''; 1746) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808, and from 1818 to 1821. He was responsible for much restoration work to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St ...
, metropolitan bishop of Smyrna (1785-1797)
*Chrysostomos of Smyrna
Chrysostomos Kalafatis ( el, Χρυσόστομος Καλαφάτης; 8 January 1867 – 10 September 1922) known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishop o ...
Μodern Τimes
*Bartholomew of Smyrna (2016-)
See also
*Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Izmir
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Izmir ( la, Archidioecesis Smyrnensis) is a Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Asian Turkey (Anatolia).
The archdiocese's cathedral motherchurch and thus see of its archbishop is St ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*{{cite web, last=Terezakis, first=Yorgos, title=Diocese of Smyrna, url=http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9913, publisher=Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία, accessdate=28 October 2012
Smyrna, metropolis
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 ...
Smyrna, metropolis
Smyrna, metropolis
Smyrna, metropolis
Smyrna, metropolis
Smyrna, metropolis
Smyrna, metropolis
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 ...
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 ...
Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Turkey
Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Asia