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

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

Orthodox

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of Moschonisia, in modern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, 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: * Orlov revolt (1770) Greeks' first major, organized Revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the support of Russia *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire * First Greco-Turkish ...

. He is commemorated by the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

as Hieromartyr () and his feast day is celebrated on the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross each year (September 7–13).

Life

Ambrosios was born in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

(modern

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

), in the

Aidin vilayet The Vilayet of Aidin or Aydin (, ) also known as Vilayet of Smyrna or İzmir after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire in the south-west of Asia Minor, including the ancient regi ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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 Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar; Greek: Τράλλεις)'' is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River (ancient ...

. 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 Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. In 1910 Ambrosios returned to Smyrna, where he preached in the local metropolis, under metropolitan Chrysostomos. From 1919 Ambrosios is found on

Cunda Island __NOTOC__ Cunda Island, also called Alibey Island, (), Greek Moschonisi ( or Μοσχόνησος), is the largest of the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in Turkey, which was historically called the ''Εκατόνησα'' (''Hekatonisa'') or '' ...

, part of a small island cluster off western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

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 (, 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 largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

. 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 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