The conversions to Islam and the incestuous marriage of children continued until the late 18th century in western Greece, Epirus and Albania, and Kosmas Aitolos would emerge as the leader of the fight against them. His forerunner and spiritual mentor, relatively unknown to the wider public, was the Northern Epirote hieromonk from Moschopolis, Nektarios Terpos (born between 1675 and 1690 and died between 1740 and 1741), both through his actions and his books. Among them was the Booklet, called Faith, which went through 12 editions, between 1732 and 1818.*
OR Faith its main objective was to deal with the conversion to Islam and the conversion of the Orthodox. We read in the preface of the work: "Therefore, I did not compose this Booklet, called Faith, for wise and literate people, but for the illiterate and peasants, because in these parts of Turkey, many Christians have been misled, and are being misled by a little need and the giving of tribute, and they deny (forsake) Christ, and they are delivered into the hands of the devil.".
Nektarios served as a teacher at the school of Moschopolis – the later infamous New Academies– περιόδευσε δε ως ιεροκήρυκας στη σημερινή Βόρειο Ήπειρο, Βεράτι, Σπαθία και Μουζακιά, καθώς και στη Νότια Ήπειρο μέχρι την Άρτα, ως πρόδρομος του Κοσμά Αιτωλού. Οι αντιμωαμεθανικές και αντιτουρκικές θέσεις του οδήγησαν και στην κακοποίησή του τα Χριστούγεννα του 1724, στο χωριό Τραγότι, κοντά στο Ελβασάν. Όταν κήρυσσε παρατήρησε ότι το ακροατήριό του το αποτελούσαν 120 γυναίκες και μόλις 15 άνδρες, διότι οι υπόλοιποι είχαν αλλαξοπιστήσει. Τότε στράφηκε εναντίον του Μωάμεθ, γεγονός που οδήγησε στον άγριο ξυλοδαρμό του:
«Ύστερον δε το έμαθαν δύο αδέλφια Αγαρηνοί, οι οποίοι ήσαν σουμπασάδες, το πώς εκήρυξα ομολογώντας [ ] τον Μωάμεθ ψεύστην και πλάνον, και έναν πρώτον μαθητήν του αντιχρίστου. Ήλθαν και με ηύραν εις το σπίτι του Παπά, και είχεν ο καθ’ ένας από ένα κοντόξυλον από γλατζινά, και κτυπώντες απάνω μου ανελεήμονα… Εις όλα τα μέρη με εβάρεσαν, αλλού το κορμί μου εκοκκίνισε, και εις περισσότερους τόπους εμαύρισε, και ό,τι έκαμαν η βεντούζαις και τα κέρατα, και χάριτι Χριστού ιατρεύθηκα, όμως το ζερβόν μου μπράτζο έμεινε βλαμμένο, και ποτέ δεν ημπορώ να αναπαυθώ εις αυτό το μέρος».
Anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sermon
Terpos, In his texts and sermons, uses a violent anti-Turkish, anti-Islamic language, which we rarely encounter in texts that circulated, and especially to such an extent, in turkish-occupied Hellenism:
«Αλήμονον εις εκείνον τον άνθρωπον, οπού θέλει να αποθάνη εις την πεπλανημένην θρησκείαν του πλάνου, και αποστάτου [ ], του Μωάμεθ, και του γαμβρού αυτού Αλή, οι οποίοι είναι, και ευρίσκονται πάντοτε εν τω μέσω του πυρός της κολάσεως, ομού με τον πατέρα τους τον διάβολον. Μην τολμήση λοιπόν τινάς να λέγη ότι τους Τούρκους ο Θεός τους έκαμε, και τους έδωσε βασιλείας και εξουσίαν…. Τοιούτη λογίς είναι και οι Τούρκοι απάνω μας. Θηρία λογικά, Λύκοι ανήμεροι, Όχεντραις φαρμακεραίς, Βασιλίσκοι βλαπτικοί».
Given the enormous circulation of his books – the circulation of Faith exceeded 10,000 copies – his positions did not go unnoticed by both the Turks and the Greek pro-Turks and "injustices", even the clergy. Moreover, he also intervened in the social conflicts that took place in Moschopolis.
In the bloody clashes of 1724, the workers resisted the Turk-Albanians who had been invited by the "kumbanies". The clashes over the administration of the city, between the "lords", the guilds, as well as the demands of the workers who demanded an increase in wages, had taken on an endemic character. A few years later, new bloodshed is recorded, with the murder of prefects and merchants, inside the monastery, in 1735, during the feast of Diakainisimo:
"And who are those who have God in the lower parts of hell? There are those who seek power and authority, and to stand as judges, without the country and the state wanting them. There are also those who give and brush white for power. [ ] There are also those who bring royal men, and harm the country and the poor. [ ] These are all disciples of the devil, who fight, and commit robbery, and become rulers."
National and social dimension
For nektarios, The social and national dimensions seem to be inextricably Intertwined. liberation from ottoman rule is directly related to the "many of God", the "poor". The liberating and Hellenistic character of his preaching is also underlined by the frequent references to the ancient Greeks: "The best beginning of all things is God, but the head of all virtues is faith," as Aristotle says. "Socrates the philosopher, seeing a certain rich man in a state of disgrace, said to those who were with him: Look at the golden idol."
He makes repeated references to Alexander, Plutarch, Diogenes, Solon, Diogenes Laertius, Epictetus, Epicharmus, Thucydides, Pindar, Stilpo, Xenophon, Aristides, Democritus, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Lucian, etc. Finally, G. Valletas extols the literary value of the language of his predecessor Makrygiannis.
If, for scholars and educated Greeks, language and history were a component and enhancer of their identity, apart from religion, for the people the Orthodox faith was the only barrier to the loss of identity and Islamization. Hence the enormous importance of the neomartyrs. Terpos refers to the case of the neomartyr of Northern Epirus, Saint Nicodemus of Elvasan, who was martyred in 1722 and whose memory is commemorated on July 11:
«Και ακούσατε. Ετούτος ο άγιος ήτον από τα Βελάγραδα [ ] φθόνω του διαβόλου, αρνήθη τον Χριστόν παρρησία, και έγινε Αγαρηνός [ ]. Η δε γυνή αυτού ελυπάτο πολλά δι’ αυτόν, και επαρακάλει… διά να επιστρέψη πάλιν προς Κύριον. Τέλος υπήγε εις το Άγιον Όρος και εξομολογήθη εις τους εκείσε Πατέρας, [ ] έλαβε το Άγιον Σχήμα και έγινε καλόγερος. [ ] Ο δε άγιος Νικόδημος ωσάν ήλθεν εις τα Βελάγραδα [ ]…τον επήγαν εις τον ηγεμόνα λεγόμενον Χουσέν πασιάς. [ ] Ο δε άγιος του απηλογήθη· μη γένοιτο, ω ηγεμών να αρνηθώ ποτέ τον (Μωάμεθ) πιστεύω πως είναι προφήτης του σατανά, και κάθεται μέσα εις το πυρ το αιώνιον, αυτός και όσοι τον πιστεύουν διά προφήτην. Ταύτα ειπών ο άγιος, ο ηγεμών εθυμώθη και εν τω άμα τον αποφάσισε να τον αποκεφαλίσουν. [ ] Και η μεν αγία του ψυχή ανέβη στεφηφόρος εις τον χορόν των αγίων μαρτύρων, το δε άγιον αυτού λείψανον, λαβόντες οι χριστιανοί κατέθεσαν αυτό εις τον ναόν της Θεοτόκου λεγόμενον Σουρούμπουλη, εις δόξαν Θεού».
Terpos, more than any other writer of the Ottoman period before Rigas, Korais and the "Anonymous" of Prefecture, uses his book as a war machine against Turkish rule, because it is at the heart of the struggle against Islamization. His homeland, Moschopolis, was an outpost of Hellenism in Northern Epirus. The enormous dissemination of his writings also testifies to the directly resistance-oriented nature of the invocation of the Orthodox faith for the Greek rajades.
From his book George Karabelias «Church and Nation in captivity", Alternative Publications, Athens 2018.
