Saint Christos the Arvanid or the Gardener | |
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Shën Kristo Shqiptari apo Kopshtari | |
![]() Icon of Saint Kristo the Albanian | |
Personal | |
Born | Unknown |
Died | 12 February 1748 |
Cause of death | Beheaded |
Religion | Christian |
Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
Known for | Martyred for refusing to convert to Islam |
Other names | Kristo |
Profession | Gardener, Merchant |
Senior posting | |
Profession | Gardener, Merchant |
Saint Christos (Christ) the Arvanid or the Gardener (Albanian: Shën Kristo Kopshtari) was an 18th-century Eastern Orthodox saint from Albania. [1]
Saint Kristo the Arvanid was an Albanian [2] born in Përmet [3] and lived in the early 18th century during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans. [4] Little is known of his early life, besides that he lived as a gardener and sought out further business opportunities in Constantinople, leaving Albania behind. [5] [6]
In 1748 he began working in the Sultan's garden in Constantinople. This is commonly exemplified in iconography showing Saint Kristo holding apples. [7] While negotiating a price for his apples with a Muslim, he was accused of desiring to become a Muslim by his customer after they were unable to agree on the value of his apples. As was the custom in the Ottoman period, Kristo was brought before Islamic authorities, where those bearing false witness testified that he indeed declared he wanted to convert. Kristo persisted that he would not become a Muslim and since he was a Christian, his testimony was not equal to that of a Muslim. [7] [6]
After being imprisoned for two years and tortured to renounce Christianity he continued to hold onto his Christian faith. A monk by the name of Kaisarios Dapontes visited him while he was in Ottoman custody, bringing him food. Kristo rejected the food, stating "Why should I eat? I do not expect to live, so I may as well die hungering and thirsting for Christ." [5] [6] Kristo was then sentenced to be beheaded for apostasy for refusing to follow through with his alleged conversion to Islam. In order to have money to provide a memorial service, Kristo asked Dapontes to sell a metal file he had. [5] [6]
Kristo was beheaded on February 12, 1748. He was then canonized as a neo-martyr. [7] [6]
The majority of the territory of present-day Greece was at some point incorporated within the Ottoman Empire. The period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century to the successful Greek War of Independence that broke out in 1821 and the First Hellenic Republic was proclaimed in 1822, is known in Greek as Tourkokratia. Some regions, however, like the Ionian islands and various temporary Venetian possessions of the Stato da Mar were not incorporated in the Ottoman Empire. The Mani Peninsula in Peloponnese was not fully integrated into the Ottoman Empire, but was under Ottoman suzerainty.
Përmet is a city and municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qendër Piskovë and Përmet. The total population is 10,614, in a total area of 602.47 km2. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 5,945. It is flanked by the Vjosë river, which runs along the Trebeshinë-Dhëmbel-Nemërçkë mountain chain, between Trebeshinë and Dhëmbel mountains, and through the Këlcyrë Gorge.
Himarë is a municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of 571.94 km2 (220.83 sq mi) and consists of the administrative units of Himarë, Horë-Vranisht and Lukovë. It lies between the Ceraunian Mountains and the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast and is part of the Albanian Riviera. The traditionally perceived borders of the Himarë region gradually shrank during the Ottoman period, being reduced to the town of Himarë and the villages of the coastline, generally including only Palasë, Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Vuno, Iljas and Qeparo.
April 17 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - April 19
Christianity in Albania was established throughout the country in 325 AD. From 1100 AD, the Roman Empire carried out Church missions in the area. In relation to the increasing influence of Venice, the Franciscans started to settle down in the area in the 13th century. From the 15th century to the 19th century, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Christianity was replaced by Islam as the majority religion in Albania during the Ottoman Empire.
May 28 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 30
The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autocephaly in 1922 through its Congress of 1922, and gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937.
August 3 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 5
The most common religion in Albania is Islam, with the second-most-common religion being Christianity. There are also a number of irreligious Albanians. There are no official statistics regarding the number of practicing religious people per each religious group.
January 11 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 13
February 11 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - February 13
The history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time. According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, and four of these ancient patriarchates remain Orthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form in late antiquity, when the ecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, the Fathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form.
The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr is conferred in some denominations of Christianity to distinguish more recent martyrs and confessors from the old martyrs of the persecution in the Roman Empire. Originally and typically, it refers to victims of Islamic persecution.
Vithkuq is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Korçë. The population at the 2011 census was 1,519. The municipal unit consists of the villages Vithkuq, Leshnje, Gjanc, Lubonjë, Rehovë, Roshanj, Trebickë, Grabockë, Treskë, Stratobërdh, Panarit, Shtyllë and Cemericë.
In AD 1453, the city of Constantinople, the capital and last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Empire. By this time Egypt had been under Muslim control for some seven centuries. Jerusalem had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate Muslims in 638, won back by Rome in 1099 under the First Crusade and then reconquered by Saladin's forces during the siege of Jerusalem in 1187. Later in the seventh Crusade, it was taken back by the Catholics once again. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1517. Orthodoxy, however, was very strong in Russia which had recently acquired an autocephalous status; and thus Moscow called itself the Third Rome, as the cultural heir of Constantinople. Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church acquired power as an autonomous millet. The ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative ruler of the entire "Greek Orthodox nation", which encompassed all the Eastern Orthodox subjects of the Empire.
Holy Trinity Church of Lavdar, also known as the Holy Trinity Church of Tudas is a 15th century Albanian orthodox church built in the Byzantine style by the medieval Albanian noble family of Muzaka. It is located near the villages Lavdar and Tudas in the region of Opar in Korçë county, southeastern Albania. Noted for its distinguished architecture and frescoes, it was declared a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1963.
August 29 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 31
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. Vladimir was acknowledged as a pious, just, and peaceful ruler. He is recognized as a martyr and saint, with his feast day being celebrated on 22 May.
This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.
The new martyr Nicodemus also known as Saint Nicodemus of Berat was born in Vithkuq in present-day Albania. He was married and had children there. Later he converted to Islam and then became a Christian again, at Mount Athos, Greece. After three years he decided to return in his native town, informing the Muslim authorities of his decision. He was beheaded on 11 July 1722. His relics are venerated in Berat.
Kristo Kopshtari ishte nga Përmeti dhe ushtronte zanatin e bahçevanit në Stamboll