ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: The Veneration of Saint Matrona of Chios in the Islands of the Aegean

Having entered the Christmas season, we ask those who find the work of the Mystagogy Resource Center beneficial to them to help us continue our work with a generous financial gift as you are able. As an incentive, we are offering the following booklet.

In 1909 the German philosopher Arthur Drews wrote a book called "The Myth of Christ", which New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman has called "arguably the most influential mythicist book ever produced," arguing that Jesus Christ never existed and was simply a myth influenced by more ancient myths. The reason this book was so influential was because Vladimir Lenin read it and was convinced that Jesus never existed, thus justifying his actions in promoting atheism and suppressing the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the ideologues of the Third Reich would go on to implement the views of Drews to create a new "Aryan religion," viewing Jesus as an Aryan figure fighting against Jewish materialism.

Due to the tremendous influence of this book in his time, George Florovsky viewed the arguments presented therein as very weak and easily refutable, which led him to write a refutation of this text which was published in Russian by the YMCA Press in Paris in 1929. This apologetic brochure titled "Did Christ Live? Historical Evidence of Christ" was one of the first texts of his published to promote his Neopatristic Synthesis, bringing the patristic heritage to modern historical and cultural conditions. With the revival of these views among some in our time, this text is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

Never before published in English, it is now available for anyone who donates at least $20 to the Mystagogy Resource Center upon request (please specify in your donation that you want the book). Thank you.

October 20, 2021

The Veneration of Saint Matrona of Chios in the Islands of the Aegean

Icon of St. Matrona with scenes from her life dating to 1933 and located in the church bearing her name in Ano Vathi, Samos.

Saint Matrona of Chios is not only highly venerated on the island of Chios, but she is very popular in many Aegean islands and their inhabitants have a special reverence for her.

Thus, in Samos and Ikaria, the wonderworking Saint is especially honored and praised, since both Aegean islands neighbor Chios and are adorned with a total of ten sacred churches in her honor. The honor and veneration of Saint Matrona of Chios in Samos and Ikaria has a special interest and important historical extensions. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the people of Samos, following the Genoese, who had occupied the island, were forced to flee to Chios due to pirate raids. Thus in 1475 Samos submitted to the Turks and was abandoned for about a hundred years. The re-colonization of Samos took place in 1572 after the privileges granted to the island by Sultan Suleiman, and only a Christian population settled there. At this time the so-called Chiosamians, ie the people who had their origins in Samos but were living in Chios, returned to Samos and brought with them icons of Saint Matrona. In this way, her veneration and honor was established on the island and sacred churches were erected in her name in Ano Vathi, where an old miraculous icon of the Saint is kept, in Neo Karlovasi, where the churches was erected in 1845 and is decorated with a magnificent wooden iconostasis, in Mytilenious, where the reverence of the inhabitants towards the Saint is memorable, in Palaiochori Kampos Vourlioton, where the church is mentioned in a sigil of Patriarch Cyril from the year 1745 and is decorated with remarkable frescoes in folk style, and in Koumeika. Saint Matrona is also honored in Samos with an aisle named after her in the holy churches of Prophet Elias in Marathokampos, Saint Demetrios in Ydrousas and Saint Anna in Chora, while in several churches of the island there are portable icons of her (Saint Nicholas of Ormou Karlovakou, Saint Spyridon in Vatheos, Dormition of the Theotokos in Chora, Dormition of the Theotokos in Mytilenious, Transfiguration of Savior in Pythagoras). But also in Ikaria after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Giustiniani of Genoa and more specifically the family of the Aragians maintained the sovereignty of the island until 1481, paying the Turks a tribute. However, seeing the power of the Turks increasing threateningly, they left Ikaria and took with them the inhabitants of the island, taking refuge in Chios. Returning later to their island, the Ikarians established the veneration of Saint Matrona and built churches in her name in the villages of Perdiki (1887), Oxe, Maratho, Dafni and Vrakades.

Saint Matrona enjoys a special honor in Andros, where to the inhabitants of the island she is better known by the nickname "Agia Tsoura", which is a corruption from "Agia Kyra or Kioura". In this beautiful Cycladic island, eight sacred chapels bear her name and are located in the villages of Batsi, Mesathouri, Katakilo, Stenies, Apoikia (near the Monastery of Saint Irene), Episkopio, Aipatia and Sasha. Saint Matrona is also solemnly honored in the historic Church of the Panagia Palatiani in the town of Andros, known as "Agia Tsoura", in which an old portable icon of the Saint is kept.

Also churches dedicated to Saint Matrona of Chios exist in Chora of Patmos, in Partheni of Leros, in the village of Finikia of Santorini, where the church was built in 1859 and on October 20 is held one of the most beautiful festivals of the island, in the villages of Falatados and Marlas in Tinos, in Chora of Kimolos, in Aegina in the area of the village Agioi Asomatoi, while in Hydra there was founded in 1865 by the monk Chrysanthos Karantzas the Monastery of Saint Matrona of Chios in which is kept a beautiful portable icon of Saint.