Brief Life of St Chrysostomos, Confessor and former Metropolitan of Florina

The Late Primate and Confessor, the former Metropolitan of Florina, Kyr Chrysostomos

[Deacon Fr.] Zisis Tsiotras, Theologian-Educator

 

Introduction

By the grace and blessing of the Holy God, we find ourselves unexpectedly so soon again in our beloved city of Patras, in the local Church of the First-Called disciple of the Lord, where we have connected with spiritual fathers and brothers who are fighting the good fight of the Orthodox faith honorably and courageously. Feelings of joy overwhelm our soul today, as we had the opportunity, due to the present conference, to be among you. Southern Greece leads in these beautiful struggles.

The time is short for the modern history of the Church of Christ to grasp its place in the entirety of history over the past two thousand years. We are already in the 85th year of its modern history and are just beginning to understand this heroic era, as the events of the calendar innovation and the ecumenist apostasy are still unfolding.

It has always been, both in the past and it is evident today, that the study of history and the exploration of the past is a source of strength and example for humanity, especially for Christians, since the Church has its foundations in the past, is supported by tradition, and this is its measure and rule.

In this recent historical period, where once again the Church is forced to add an additional epithet to accurately define itself against its usurpers, the adjective "Genuine," a multitude of saintly, heroic figures arise, exuding the fragrance of Christ to the Orthodox faithful.

Many figures adorned the Honorable struggle of the Genuine Orthodox Christians, whom the older generation, those blessed to have known them, remember with emotion. Saints who emerged during periods of harsh persecutions, hardships, and sorrows. These were times in which the manifest presence of God was not absent, to support, sanctify, and guide His children.

Of these holy figures, I have the honor to present to you today the crown of the confessors of our time, the pride of the Genuine Orthodox, the leader of our sacred struggle, the blessed and courageous, the patient and upright, Saint Chrysostomos Kavourides, former bishop of the Metropolis of Florina.

His Early Years

The former Metropolitan of Florina, Chrysostomos Kavourides, this great Hierarch of modern Hellenism, came into the world on a significant day. He was born on November 13, 1870, on the feast day of the great Saint John Chrysostom, the golden-tongued.

His virtuous parents, Georgios and Melpomeni Kavourides, gave him the name of the saint of the day, and this was no coincidence, as the blessed one imitated the golden-mouthed saint in all things. His love for Christ and His Church, his inclusion in the ranks of the Hierarchs, the persecutions and various sorrows he endured, as well as his inexhaustible patience, his absence of malice, and his unparalleled courage, were a shared fate and heritage of both saints.

He completed his secondary education in Madytos, Eastern Thrace, at a time when the Greek presence flourished in its ancestral homelands. As a student, he was distinguished by his piety and the diligence of his behavior, so much so that he gave the impression of a wise elder rather than a carefree youth.

His parents' desire was for him to become a merchant. However, in the soul of the young Chrysostomos burned the unquenchable desire to serve God at the holy altar. The encouragements of his parents and relatives were not enough to persuade him otherwise. On the contrary, his fervent zeal for God made his decision firm and unwavering.

Naturally prudent, he took care of his own education, an essential asset for those whom God's providence has chosen to lead His people. He turned, therefore, to his uncle, his mother's brother, the wealthy cotton merchant in Egypt, Charalambos Stefanides, so as not to burden his family with the expenses of his theological studies.

Chrysostomos enrolled among the first seminarians at the distinguished theological school of Halki. Gifted with great intellect and a strong will for study, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the study of the sacred science, always excelling. His education placed him among the aristocracy of intellect. However, he did not cultivate pride or arrogance within himself; on the contrary, with the modesty of his character and his asceticism, he adorned himself with the virtue of Christian humility. Two great virtues—his education with the height of intellect, and his modesty with the humility of his character—came together harmoniously in the person of Chrysostomos.

The renowned theological school of Halki, from which distinguished hierarchs graduated—who benefited the Nation and protected it from the Franks and the Protestants—nurtured him and armed him with the weapons of wisdom and knowledge.

While still a student, he had no difficulty serving as a domestic servant in the household of the then-director of the school, Konstantinos Paritsis. This was a tangible proof of his humble mindset. In this way, he was able to send money to his parents instead of asking from them.

Before finishing his studies, while still a student, he was ordained a deacon under Patriarch Joachim III at the Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was appointed as a preacher in Panormos, where he was loved by the flock for his excellent sermons.

In 1901, he received his degree in Theology. His dissertation was titled "The Orthodoxy of Cyril Loukaris," yet another martyred Patriarch of the Nation.

Returning to Constantinople, he served as Grand Archimandrite of the Patriarchate and managed with exceptional prudence the entire complex administration of the Phanar.

In 1908, he was ordained Bishop of Imbros. During the Balkan Wars, we find him as Metropolitan of Pelagonia, in the city of Monastir, in what is today the region of Southern Serbia, Skopje. At that time, the city became the target of intense bombardments. Every day, many were killed, and the fear of the bombings was so great that the priests did not have the courage to bury the dead. Metropolitan Chrysostomos himself stayed near the dead, giving courage to the priests. He was so devoted to his duty that he refused to go down to the shelter during the dangerous bombings.

In the Service of the Nation

One day, French officers, having appeared before him, asked:

- "How do you view those who are attacking the city and killing so many people from the civilian population?"

Chrysostomos, without losing his courage and considering the Anglo-French forces to be the cause of the troubles, since they had filled Monastir with all kinds of war machines, making it a significant military target, replied:

- "I will answer you after first asking: what do you call those who turned the city into a large arsenal?"

After this incident, one day while descending to Thessaloniki for matters concerning his Metropolis, two soldiers of the French army arrested him under the pretext of an interrogation, took him to prison, and confiscated his money. They also imprisoned his Archdeacon, Athenagoras, along with him. Subsequently, they exiled him to Mount Athos, to the Skete of Mylopotamos in the region of the Great Lavra, along with Athenagoras.

After his return from exile, the King of Serbia hastened to meet him and asked him to remain as the bishop of the city of Monastir, which had been taken over by the Serbs, officiating in both languages, Serbian and Greek. However, the great man with his strong national sentiment replied with dignity:

"I am a Greek bishop and I am called to shepherd Greek flocks."

The Rise of Metaxakis to the Throne of Constantinople

During the period of the Asia Minor campaign and after the death of Joachim III, the candidates for the throne were Chrysanthos of Trebizond and Meletios Metaxakis. Out of Orthodox intuition, Metropolitan Chrysostomos, knowing of Metaxakis’ modernist ideas, acted against his election. He once again put himself in danger, without considering the consequences, because his Christian duty and love for the Church demanded it. He serves as a model for our generation, which in many cases prefers to remain silent, allowing evil to grow and spread without resistance. For this reason, he quickly departed to meet with General Constantine, who was in Eskişehir.

The late King held particular esteem and sincere respect for Chrysostomos. He had long had the courage, even in Athens, to enter the royal palace and dine with the King. Now, with the King in Eskişehir, Asia Minor, he received Chrysostomos with great affability in his tent and regarded his visit during those difficult times for the Nation as a heavenly consolation.

After discussing the matter of Meletios' candidacy, the King referred him to the then Prime Minister of Greece, the late D. Gounaris. However, despite Chrysostomos' urging, the Prime Minister remained inactive, not due to malice, but out of a spirit of scholasticism. Thus, Meletios was elected Patriarch, to the great detriment of the Church. As a result, it was inevitable that the pure and idealistic Chrysostomos would come under persecution by Metaxakis.

Metropolitan Chrysostomos Persecuted

When he returned to the Patriarchate, they did not even allow him to ascend the stairs. It is true that anyone who has the courage to rebuke evil always becomes hated. "Rebuke the wicked, and they will hate you."

At the Patriarchate, he found the Greeks of Constantinople in uncontrollable enthusiasm due to the temporary occupation of the city by the Greek Army. However, despite his fervent patriotism, he did not approve of this enthusiasm because he was certain that the disgraceful anti-Hellenic diplomacy of the Anglo-French and Germans would not allow such national happiness for small but glorious Greece. For this reason, he advised moderation and restraint in their expressions.

After Constantinople, filled with bitterness over the national and ecclesiastical disturbances, he went to Athens, where, out of a fatherly duty, he arranged the affairs of his faithful deacon until then, the Grand Archimandrite of the Metropolis of Athens, who later became Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras.

In the meantime, Metaxakis, vindictive as he was, ordered the arrest of the honorable and struggling bishop. However, Chrysostomos managed to depart for Alexandria in time. There, the clergy appreciated his personality and loved him, and after the vacancy of the throne of the Evangelist Mark, they secretly planned to elevate him to the patriarchal throne—on the illustrious throne of St. Athanasius, Cyril, and other glorious Fathers of the Church. His unimpeachable reputation, his patristic and dignified character, brought him to the very threshold of the patriarchal throne, with only one step separating him from it: the step of his humility. Realizing this, the astute hierarch quietly departed for Athens, allowing Christophoros to be elected as patriarch. Christophoros honored the throne worthily and stood as a supporter of the Old Calendarists in Greece.

Bishop of Florina

After Alexandria, we find him in Athens, where he began extensive ecclesiastical activity. He then proceeded to the Diocese of Filiates as a locum tenens, and subsequently to Florina as Metropolitan of Florina.

In Florina, where he became Metropolitan—his last diocese after serving in four positions: Bishop of Imbros, Monastir, Filiates, and Florina—he gained the title by which we all know him: former Metropolitan of Florina. There, he worked with zeal and dedication to strengthen the faith and patriotism of his flock.

In 1928, at the age of 58, and four years after the imposition of the New Calendar, he was elected as a synodal hierarch and found himself in Athens. There, he fell seriously ill and was admitted for treatment at "Evangelismos." After his recovery, he resigned from his metropolis due to health reasons, though he did not cease his ecclesiastical activity.

The First Contacts with the G.O.C.

The Church and its historical trials called him as an athlete to the arena of a new struggle, where he proved to be great. Great not only for his contributions but also for his sacrificial character, which was tested not only by his enemies but also by supposed companions. The Holy Triune God chose him to carry Orthodoxy on his shoulders, like another Atlas, and thus, by divine providence, he had to be in Athens to closely observe the honorable struggle of the Genuine Orthodox Christians, mockingly called Old Calendarists, to be moved by their confession, and to become their leader. It was destined by divine providence for him to take on the most difficult and bitter struggles for the holy and honorable matters of our faith.

From 1924 to 1935, for a full eleven years, the holy struggle of the Genuine Orthodox Christians was without hierarchs, an unprecedented event in the history of Christianity. At the beginning of this struggle to preserve the traditions, Athonite hieromonks, heroic clergy of Greece, and laypeople became its leaders. During this critical eleven-year period, significant figures played a fundamental role in leading the struggle—figures that history will one day highlight.

The first organized legal entity of the struggle was the "Greek Religious Community." Greeks and Christians, with love and fervor for the faith and the homeland, formed the first community of Orthodox Christians, under which those Greeks who rejected the innovation found shelter. In their founding act on December 12/25, 1925—a sorrowful day marked by a deep division, as the Genuine Orthodox celebrated Saint Spyridon while our New Calendarist brothers celebrated Christmas—a Christian society that had lived in unity for 2,000 years was dramatically split. On that day, at the Holy Church of "Omorphokklesia" in Galatsi, these venerable fathers declared: "We establish our own religious community under the name 'Greek Religious Community of Genuine Orthodox Christians' with the purpose of preserving the age-old tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the decrees established by the God-bearing Fathers at the 7 Ecumenical Councils. We proclaim our unwavering adherence and inviolable observance of these, and our commitment to combat any innovation in our native language, which fully conveys the high and genuine concepts of the teachers of our Orthodox faith."

In Athens, by God's providence, he became acquainted with representatives of the G.O.C. He immediately appreciated their mindset and was moved by their struggles. Many times he was seen discreetly observing their descent to Faliro for the ceremony of the immersion of the Holy Cross, including on January 6, 1935. By May of the same year, he was already leading the Orthodox.

The first contact with the Zealots of the Patristic Traditions took place in December 1934 at his home. Those who contributed to this meeting were the late monk of Mount Athos, Antonios Moustakas, and the esteemed brother Elias Angelopoulos. Chrysostomos, the former Metropolitan of Florina, himself published articles in the "Herald of the Orthodox," the community's press outlet, supporting the ancestral traditions and the Orthodox Calendar under the pseudonym "Cleric."

The Historic Decision of the Three Metropolitans

The glorious day for Orthodoxy was May 13, Sunday of the Samaritan Woman. Three Hierarchs—Chrysostomos formerly of Florina, Germanos Mavromatis of Demetrias, and Chrysostomos of Zakynthos—came to lead the Holy Movement. In the Church of the "Dormition of the Theotokos" in Kolonos, Athens, the happiest day dawned for the Greek zealots of the Patristic Traditions, as they saw their struggles being vindicated.

The Church of Greece, alarmed by the movement of the three Hierarchs, decided on their elimination. An emergency synodal court on June 1 condemned them to defrocking and five years of exile in remote desert monasteries. The late Chrysostomos was exiled to the Holy Monastery of Saint Dionysios on Mount Olympus. He remained there until October 1935, when the Governor, the blessed G. Kondylis, reinstated him in Athens due to his respect and kindness towards him.

Upon returning to Athens, he immediately planned a trip to Jerusalem to seek, in collaboration with the Eastern Patriarchs, the restoration of the Calendar and the reestablishment of peace and unity within the Church. The patriarchs received him with joy and promised to help by convening a pre-council or a great Orthodox Synod. However, the Greek consul, acting on orders from Athens, did not allow him to return to Greece. Dark, anti-national, and anti-Orthodox forces that had unfortunately infiltrated the state machinery did not permit the favorable progress of such an endeavor.

The Miracle

For five months, he remained inactive in Jerusalem. On April 23, he attended the Divine Liturgy and, with pain, pleaded with Saint George, who was commemorated that day, to help him.

He himself recounts:

I prayed to the Saint to help me. "Great Martyr of Christ, Saint George, protector of the poor and liberator of captives, deliver me from this captivity."

That night, just before I fell asleep, there was a knock at the door of my room. I opened it, and a polite young man entered and said to me, "You are free to leave. No one will notice."

"Please go and have my passport stamped," the late Hierarch requested, pleadingly.

The young man left willingly. He returned shortly afterward and said, "Everything is ready."

As the holy Hierarch moved to offer him a tip, the young man vanished before his eyes.

Astonished, Chrysostomos wondered who this could have been. At the same time, his soul was filled with peace and courage.

Skipping over the rest of the marvelous details of the Saint’s intervention, we conclude that he passed unnoticed and arrived in Piraeus on a Romanian ship.

Struggles and Battles

In collaboration with the late Germanos of Demetrias, also Germanos of the Cyclades, and Matthew of Vresthena, they shepherded and spiritually guided the Orthodox faithful. The Church of Greece prosecuted them in civil courts. However, his eloquence, his irrefutable arguments, and the radiance of his character compelled the judges to admit: "You are absolutely right, but for reasons of expediency, we are obliged to condemn you."

He continued his struggle by writing, shepherding, preaching, traveling to the various branches across Greece, teaching, comforting, hearing confessions, giving lectures in various halls, such as the "Parnassos" hall or the "Archaeological Society," and elsewhere, before an audience of many officials, ministers, members of Parliament, generals. He also continuously published books on the calendar issue. Though advanced in age physically, he remained youthful in spirit—the holy Hierarch, fervent in his zeal, bearing the full weight of the struggle.

Discord and Schisms

However, more serious problems soon arose, concerning the internal affairs of the piety movement of the G.O.C. These were the divisions and disputes among the faithful—problems that arise in settings where, by necessity, there has not yet been time to establish an organized administration and hierarchy. These issues were fueled by the spirit of ambition, a great flaw of the Greeks from ancient times until today. This struggle tested the endurance of both the flock and our holy Hierarch to the utmost, like being in a fiery furnace.

A theological-ecclesiastical disagreement divided the bishops and the people into two factions. The blessed shepherd found himself facing an explosive situation. He saw the struggle heading toward failure and the piety movement falling into decline. Uncanonical actions, irregular ordinations, envy, and egos were undermining the effort. The leader watched as sacrifices and labors were wasted. He endured the greatest martyrdom and drank the bitterest cup of his life.

In the face of this critical situation, he did not lose his courage, a hallmark of a true leader. With determination, he condemned the deviations, publicly denounced to his flock and the Greek people the uncanonical and unlawful actions, and took care to protect his flock from ecclesiological errors. He admonished them to remain steadfastly oriented toward ecclesiastical legitimacy. The Church owes him much today for this mindset.

New Persecutions

The persecutions by the official church continued, becoming harsher and more determined. In 1951, the new Archbishop of Athens, Spyridon Vlachos, a severe persecutor of the Orthodox, in collaboration with the then-government of Venizelos and Papandreou, issued the unconstitutional decree No. 45/51 of the Council of Ministers. Based on this decree, a fierce persecution was launched, with all churches being closed and sealed.

The former Metropolitan of Florina was arrested and exiled to the desolate Monastery of Ypsilou in Mytilene in March of 1951. The Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, his former deacon, took it upon himself to help him and promised him one of the best Metropolises and any other form of comfort. But the late Metropolitan "chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Moreover, Saint Chrysostomos of Florina, through his confessional struggle, had prepared for himself a higher place in the heavenly dwelling and an incorruptible Metropolis.

He spent seventeen months in exile with admirable endurance and patience when the honorable members of parliament, Zorbas of Chios, Skouteris of Attica, and Gorgias of Serres, took it upon themselves to act on behalf of the government for the revocation of his exile. Their pressure on then-Prime Minister N. Plastiras yielded the desired result, and on July 18, 1952, he arrived at the Hellinikon airport, where he was enthusiastically received by the entire Council of the P.T.E.O.K., the aforementioned esteemed members of parliament, and a large crowd of Genuine Orthodox Christians, who accompanied him to his home.

The Archbishop of Athens, Spyridon, soon invited him to his home in Psychiko and proposed the following:

"Listen, Chrysostomos, you have a very good place in the history of the Church. Don't tarnish your past by insisting on the Old Calendar. You see that your collaborators have abandoned you, and the followers of the Old Calendar have dispersed." (Indeed, Christophoros Chatzis and Polykarpos Liosis, out of fear, had returned to the New Calendar and became metropolitans.) "Return to the fold of the Church, which, among other things, will also give you the overdue payments of your pension, amounting to many thousands of pounds."

The heroic hierarch abruptly interrupted him and said: "Your Beatitude, focus on uniting the Church by restoring to it the ancestral Calendar, so that the Orthodox Christians may find peace. I have no interest in pensions or money, nor will I violate my conscience. It is false that the Old Calendarists have dissolved or are dissolving; on the contrary, their resolve is being strengthened. But even if we assume that all the Old Calendarists were to drift toward the New Calendar, as you claim, and only one Old Calendarist remained, that one would be me." This was the response and the final meeting between Saint Chrysostomos of Florina and the Archbishop.

The pressures from Spyridon continued against Chrysostomos and the other clergy and laity, through various persecutions and manipulations. The leader of the piety movement bravely and selflessly persisted in his struggle, remaining steadfast and uncompromising to the very end.

The End of His Life

However, his age was now advanced. He felt that his physical strength was gradually leaving him. The end was near. Until his final moments, he remained a defender of our ancestral traditions and the patristic decrees. He fulfilled his duty to the end, closed his eyes peacefully, and surrendered his holy soul without seeing the unity of the Church restored. However, he had sown the Orthodox mindset abundantly.

On his lips are fitting the words of the Apostle Paul:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day" (2 Timothy 4:7).

His saintly figure departed from this temporary world and set out for the eternal dwellings on the night of September 6th to 7th, in the year of salvation 1955.

His final farewell took place on Wednesday, September 8th, at the Holy Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Kypseli. Crowds of people accompanied him to Parnitha, to the Monastery of the "Dormition of the Theotokos," with more than 300 taxis, where he was buried. As his body was taken to the Monastery, the bells of all the churches rang mournfully due to a coincidental event, as an order had been given for the bells to toll in response to the acts of vandalism committed by the Turks against the Greeks in Constantinople the previous day. In this way, even unintentionally, all of Greece mourned the passing of a holy Hierarch who had sacrificed his entire life for the nation and Orthodoxy.

Saint Chrysostomos, former Metropolitan of Florina, took on the task of saving the Church, betrayed by its shepherds, along with its institutions and traditions, and its catholicity and apostolicity. This was necessary because when the innovators harshly struck the root of the Church with the axe of the New Calendarism, attacking the traditions of our fathers, they were preparing the ground for the pan-heresy of Ecumenism. This pan-heresy is now ravaging the Church of Christ.

However, the example of the Saint leaves us no other choice but to align ourselves with the martyric Church, which has not accepted the stain of innovation.

Epilogue

The struggle is fierce, the waves are mountainous, Christ seems to sleep, the faithful are in distress, Orthodoxy is sinking, and Ecumenism is triumphant. Yet, the Church is not defeated. Christ has gone forth conquering and to conquer. We continue the path of our Holy Hierarch. Christ is our guide, and our Saint is our intercessor.

In our conscience, he holds the place of a great and holy ecclesiastical figure, whose radiant path is a legacy and a way of Orthodoxy for us. Even more so, the greatness of his character is revealed today, as the holy and sacred elements of our holy Orthodoxy are shamelessly handed over to the hands of Ecumenism.

Our holy hierarch left us with his practical example, his teachings, his modest character, his heroic spirit, his steadfast confessional stance, and his wise leadership as an eternal example. We continue the same struggle until the triumph of Truth.

Eternal be the memory of Saint Chrysostomos of Florina, brothers.

Greek source: https://ec-goc.gr/viografies/arthra-dimosiefseis/viografies/agios-proin-florinis-xrysostomos