Ambrosios Pleiathidis ( el, Αμβρόσιος Πλειανθίδης, 1872–1922) also known as Ambrosios of Moschonisia was the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

Moschonisia __NOTOC__ Cunda Island, also called Alibey Island, ( tr, Cunda Adası, Alibey Adası), Greek Moschonisi ( gr, Μοσχονήσι or Μοσχόνησος), is the largest of the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in Turkey, which was historically ...

, in modern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, from February to September 1922. He was executed by the Turkish Army at the end of the

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire *Undeclared war in 1854 during the Crimean War, with Greek irregulars invading Ottoman Epirus ( Epirus Revolt of 1854) and Thessaly * Fi ...

. He is commemorated by the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Analogously, a monk who is a priest is known as a hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, � ...

( el, ιερομάρτυρας) and his feast day is celebrated on the Sunday before the

Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these ...

each year (September 7–13).

Life

Ambrosios was born 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 ...

(modern Izmir), in the

Aidin Vilayet The Vilayet of Aidin or Aydin ( ota, ولايت ايدين, translit=Vilâyet-i Aidin, french: vilayet d'Aïdin) also known as Vilayet of Smyrna or Izmir after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the ...

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) ...

, in 1872. He graduated from the Evangelical School of his home town at 1893. After his graduation Ambrosios became an archdeacon in the nearby metropolis of Heliopolis and Thyateira, based in Aydın. He continued his studies and in 1895 he attended the Theolodigal Academy of Kiev and then he became a priest in the Greek community of

Feodosiya uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. In 1910 Ambrosios returned to Smyrna, where he preached in the local metropolis, under metropolitan Chrysostomos. From 1919 Ambrosios is found on Cunda Island, part of a small island cluster off western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

n coast, which at that time was part of the Greek controlled Smyrna Occupation Zone. On February 19, 1922, he became metropolitan bishop of the newly created local metropolis of Moschonisia, based in Cunda. Following the developments of the Greco-Turkish War and the subsequent Greek defeat, the region of his metropolis came under the Turkish Nationalist Army. Most of the local population did not follow the retreating

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

. On the other hand, the Turkish troops arrested the remaining civilian population and sent them to labor battalions in the interior of Anatolia; the majority of them were executed, on September 15, 1922. Among these people was Ambrosios, who was buried alive after being tortured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleianthidis, Ambrosios 1872 births 1922 deaths People from İzmir People from Aidin vilayet Anatolian Greeks People who died in the Greek genocide Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Executed priests Occupation of Smyrna Premature burials Smyrniote Greeks 20th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Deaths by live burial