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Venerable-Martyr16th century

Venerable-Martyr Damian of Philotheou

c. 1500 – 1568

Also known as Damianos of Philotheou · Damian the New Martyr

A monk of Philotheou on Mount Athos who preached repentance in the region of Agrapha during the Turkish yoke. Seized for his preaching, he was tortured and hanged, and his body burned, receiving the crown of martyrdom in 1568.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Damian, the New Venerable-Martyr of Philotheou

Life

Damian of Philotheou was a sixteenth-century monastic of Mount Athos who became a wandering preacher of repentance in Ottoman-ruled Greece and was martyred in 1568. Greek sources place his birth around 1500–1510 in the village of Myrichovo (Richovon, also given as Merichovon) in the district of Karditsa, near the mountainous region of Agrapha in Thessaly.

Entering monastic life while still young, he received the tonsure at the Holy Monastery of Philotheou on Mount Athos, and afterward withdrew to a hermitage under the guidance of an elder named Dometius (Dometios). Moved by an inward call to teach others rather than to seek his own benefit alone, he left the Holy Mountain to preach throughout the regions of Thessaly. He was seized by the Ottoman authorities, tortured over many days, hanged, and burned, receiving the crown of martyrdom in 1568.

Timeline5 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 1500–1510Birth in ThessalyBorn, according to Greek sources, in the village of Myrichovo (Richovon) in the district of Karditsa, near Agrapha; the anchor synaxarion records only that he was from this village near Agrapha.
  2. YouthTonsure at PhilotheouWent to Mount Athos at a young age and received the monastic tonsure at the Holy Monastery of Philotheou.
  3. Following yearsHermitage under Elder DometiusWithdrew from the monastery to a hermitage to pursue prayer under the guidance of an ascetic elder named Dometius, where he remained for about three years.
  4. After about three yearsCall to preachHe heard a voice directing him to go forth and teach others; obeying it, he left the Holy Mountain to preach repentance among the Christians of Greece.
  5. 1568Arrest and martyrdomSeized by the Ottoman Turks and imprisoned, he endured fifteen days of torture, was hanged, and his body was cast into the fire. He received the crown of martyrdom in 1568.

Contributions & Legacy

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Preaching in Thessaly

After leaving Mount Athos, Damian traveled through the regions of Greece preaching the word of God, calling Christians to repentance and to turn from injustice and evil deeds, and exhorting them to keep the commandments of God. Greek accounts trace his missionary path through the area of Mount Olympus and on to Larissa and Mount Kissavos (Ossa), and eventually into the Agrapha region of his birth.

Greek tradition further holds that he established and largely rebuilt monastic houses during this ministry, including a monastery on Mount Kissavos and the rebuilding of the Monastery of the Panagia Peleketes at Karytsa, and that part of his preaching urged Christians not to engage in commerce on Sundays — a message the Ottoman authorities are said to have regarded as a disturbance of the markets.

Martyrdom and commemoration

Damian was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and imprisoned. The synaxarion relates that he was tortured for fifteen days before being hanged and his body burned; Greek sources add that his ashes were scattered in the river Pineios (Peneios). His death is dated to 1568.

He is commemorated as a Venerable-Martyr and New Martyr. The anchor synaxarion places his feast on February 23, while several Greek sources record the day of his martyrdom as February 14, 1568; the year 1568 is consistent across the sources.

Companions1 figureShowHide
The ascetic elder of Philotheou under whose guidance Damian lived in hermitage.
Venerable Dometiusof Philotheou
Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Founder of the Philotheou Monastery, where Damian received the monastic tonsure.
Venerable Philotheusof Athos
Fellow sixteenth-century monastic formed at Philotheou who likewise left the Holy Mountain to found and renew houses.
Venerable Dionysiusof Olympus

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints