New Martyr Angelos of Chios

Angelos, also called Angelis, was a physician of Argos in the Peloponnese who suffered martyrdom on the island of Chios on December 3, 1813, during the period of Ottoman rule over the Greek lands. He is numbered among the New Martyrs, the Orthodox Christians who confessed the faith and died at the hands of the Ottoman authorities in the centuries after the fall of Constantinople. He is commemorated on December 3.

The Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion preserves only his name, title, and feast day, giving no detailed life. The fuller account of his life is transmitted in the Greek neomartyrological tradition, where he is remembered as the physician of Argos. According to that tradition he was pious, quiet, and obedient in character, and was moved to seek martyrdom after an encounter that tested his faith publicly.

By the account of the Greek tradition, Angelis fell into a religious dispute with a French traveller who mocked the Christian faith. He challenged the man to a public contest, agreeing to face him armed only with a stick while the Frenchman bore full arms; when his opponent withdrew, Angelis was reckoned the victor. Stirred by this, he abandoned his medical practice and closed his shop to devote himself wholly to God.