Early Life and Education
Ambrose was born in 1872 in Smyrna, with paternal ancestry from the Cycladic island of Tinos.
He studied at the Theological School of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and at the Theological Academy of Kiev.
New Martyr20th century
New Hieromartyr Ambrose Metropolitan of Moschonisia
1872–1922
Also known as Ambrosios of Moschonisia
Metropolitan of Moschonisia, buried alive together with priests of his flock in 1922 during the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross
Feast Day
Life
Ambrose of Moschonisia (secular name Ambrosios Pleiathus, also transliterated Pleianthidis) was a bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who died a martyr during the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922. Elected Metropolitan of Moschonisia — the Ayvalık Islands off the Aegean coast of Asia Minor — earlier that year, he was killed by Turkish forces during the reoccupation of the region.
According to the principal accounts, he was buried alive in a pit outside the city of Kydonia (Aivalí, modern Ayvalık) on September 15, 1922, together with priests of his flock. He is one of five hierarchs of the Asia Minor Catastrophe commemorated collectively with Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna.
He was canonized by the Church of Greece in 1992, and his feast, established by encyclical of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is kept on the Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross.
Timeline7 momentsReadHide
- 1872Birth in SmyrnaAmbrosios Pleiathus is born in Smyrna, of paternal ancestry from the island of Tinos.
- August 6, 1900Ordained priestOrdained to the priesthood at the Church of Christ the Savior in Galata, Constantinople, after ordination as deacon by Metropolitan Vasilios of Smyrna.
- October 6, 1913Consecrated bishopConsecrated titular Bishop of Xanthopoulos, serving as auxiliary to the Metropolis of Smyrna.
- 1919Patriarchal Exarch of MoschonisiaAppointed Patriarchal Exarch of Moschonisia, the Ayvalık Islands.
- February 1922Elected MetropolitanElected Metropolitan of Moschonisia.
- September 15, 1922MartyrdomBuried alive in a pit outside Kydonia (Aivalí) together with priests of his flock during the Turkish reoccupation.
- 1992CanonizationCanonized by the Church of Greece alongside four other martyred metropolitans of the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
Contributions & Legacy
5 contributionsReadHide
Ordination and Ministry
He was ordained deacon by Metropolitan Vasilios of Smyrna, and on August 6, 1900, was ordained priest at the Church of Christ the Savior in Galata, Constantinople.
He then served as a parish priest among Greek communities of the Crimea, including Symferopolis (Simferopol), Sevastopolis (Sevastopol), and Theodosia (Feodosia).
On October 6, 1913, he was consecrated titular Bishop of Xanthopoulos, serving as auxiliary to the Metropolis of Smyrna. From 1919 he acted as Patriarchal Exarch of Moschonisia, the Ayvalık Islands, and in February 1922 he was elected Metropolitan of Moschonisia.
Martyrdom
During the Asia Minor Catastrophe, as Turkish forces reoccupied the Ayvalık region, Ambrose was arrested. According to the accounts summarized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he was buried alive in a pit outside the city of Kydonia (Aivalí) on September 15, 1922, together with nine priests. An alternative account describes him as tortured, shod with nails, and mutilated during forced displacement.
Four days after his death, on September 19, 1922, several hundred Greek islanders were killed on Cunda (Alibey Island, the main island of Moschonisia); only some children were spared and sent to orphanages.
Historical Context
Ayvalık (ancient Kydonia) and the surrounding Moschonisia archipelago had a predominantly Greek Orthodox population before 1922; an 1891 census recorded 21,666 Greeks and 180 Turks in the town of Ayvalık. The community had flourished under a wide measure of Ottoman autonomy granted after 1770.
The reoccupation of September 15, 1922 — the day of Ambrose's execution — was followed by death marches of local men into the Anatolian interior and, in 1923, by the population exchange mandated under the Treaty of Lausanne, which replaced the Greek inhabitants with Muslim populations from Crete and Lesbos.
Canonization and Legacy
Ambrose was canonized in 1992 alongside four other martyred metropolitans of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. His feast, on the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, was established by Ecumenical Patriarchate encyclical 2556 of July 5, 1993, which commemorates him together with Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Prokopios of Iconium, Gregory of Kydonia, and Euthymios of Zilon, along with the wider clergy and laity massacred during the catastrophe.
His neoclassical mansion still stands on the seafront of Cunda island.
Companions1 figureShowHide
Related SaintsShowHide
Browse other saints who share his calling and place.
Sources: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/09/st-chrysostomos-of-smyrna-and-hierarchs.html