PROLEGOMENA
The initial icon of Panagia Soumela is set aside in a monastery in Macedonia that bears its name, but it came from the fairylike Monastery of Soumela in Pontos of Asia Inconsequential. The fact that contemporary is an keen counterfeit of it at the Church St. John the Baptist in Boston, where contemporary is furthermore a generously proportioned Greek Pontian community, provides the destiny to take out all of secure basic facts concerning the icon of Panagia Soumela and of Pontos and the Greek Pontians. The Greek Pontians as a awful group of Hellenism lunch achieved bulky objects in history and remain standing with the rest of the Hellenes to store up their heritage not merely in Greece but furthermore acquaint with in America and in every other rotate of the earth where they lunch been single and outlook by divine good fortune.
PANAGIA SOUMELA
According to church tradition the icon of Panagia Soumela took its name from the Monastery of Soumela in Pontos of Asia Inconsequential. The name "Soumela" comes from "Stou Mela", i.e. "at the mount Melas" and consequently signifies a private immediate area in Pontos. The icon of Panagia that bears the name of this breakthrough Monastery had been set aside contemporary for centuries. Yet, according to ancient tradition, it was treat ancient than the Monastery. It was dyed by St Luke the Evangelist and was as you think fit set aside in Athens beast called "Atheniotissa." It was brought to Pontos for the sake of assure protection by two monks who are furthermore meant to be the founders of the Monastery of Soumela, St. Barnabas and St. Sophronios and fittingly its new name.
Communicate are two views at home the time of this reason. In the important view it occurred in the 4th century. In the last view it happened in the 10th or 9th century. Clearly a submission has been propounded. This icon of St. Luke was set aside in the Monastery of Osios Lukas in Biotia. It was carried to Athens by Ananias, the learner of Osios Lukas, at the back of the death of his studious. So past, taking into consideration the Saracenes crushed the urban of Athens in the 10th (or 9th) century the holy monks Barnabas and Sophronios brought the icon to the Monastery of Soumela in Pontos for assure protection.
The Monastery of Soumela, which had been founded in the 4th century by a Pontian Priest Christopher of Trepizond, suffered destructions and renovations give orders the hunger and stormy history of Pontos, but the icon of Panagia remained unharmed. The top of the Monastery was in the era of the Convoluted reign of Trepizond, taking into consideration it became the spiritual central part of Undiluted Hellenism (see the history part beneath) acquiring special human rights from the Komnenoi emperors. These human rights were sealed here the Turkish task by crest of firmans fixed by the Sultans and consequently at that time furthermore it stood as a of great consequence central part of Hellenic paideia for the enslaved Christian nation.
Clothed in the Foremost Foxhole War the Monastery was crushed, but the holy icon of Panagia remained unharmed.Equally in 1922 the Greek Pontians were arduous evicted from Pontos the monks hifd the icon with other unhealthy vessels in the rocks of mount Mela. End on the Turks approved, examination conversations of the governments of Greece and Droop (Benizelos and Inonou), the monk Ambrosios to regular the degraded monastery of Soumela and retrieve the holy icon and the rest of church plunder and bring them to Athens. In 1951, the holy icon of Panagia Soumela, that had been set aside in the Convoluted Museum of Athens, was transferred to the new Monastery of Soumela that was constructed on one of the pig food of mount Bermion of Macedonia where it is set aside today.
As we noted spare, one of the three comparatively history keen copies of the initial icon of Panagia Soumela is set aside in our constituency which bears the name of St. John the Baptist. This separately is an unanticipated fact, if one bears in notice that the initial Monastery of Soumela in Pontos had been constructed in the 4th century with the purpose of an massive in close proximity Monastery that ore the name of John the Front line and Baptist.
PONTOS AND PONTIANS
The history of Pontos and the Pontians can be subdivided stylish five solution periods as follows: a) the Greek-Persian, b) the Roman-Greek, c) the Greco-Roman or Convoluted, d) the Turkish task and e) the Pontian Diaspora.
A) The Foremost Greek-Persian Seminar (6th-1st c. B.C.) begins encompassing 600 B.C. taking into consideration Greek immigrants firm in the coastal vicinity of Cappadocia and founded immense Greek cities, which became the starting upset for the Hellenization of the Barbarian inhabitant tribes of that vicinity and their ticket stylish ethnicity -such were the Chalyves, Mossynoikoi, Makrones, Tzanoi or Skythians, Kerkites, Taouchoi, Kurds, Kolchians, Abasgians, Tibarians, Paphlagonians, etc. These Hellenic Pontian cities included Sinope, Amisos, Kotyora, Kerasous, Trapezous (Trepizond), etc. All of them became strong centers that ruled the series regions, therapeutic them from the feudal suzerainty of the Persians.
Communicate was, of course, a prehistory of Hellenic spirit in the Pontian vicinity, which is coupled with the noteworthy mythology about Frixos and Helle and the footer of Argonauts and the Blonde Deprive. Communicate was furthermore the epic history of the Myriad of Greek multitude with Xenophon who passed give orders the Greek cities of Pontos in 400 B.C. (the Gymnias, Trapezous, Kerasous, Kotyora, Sinope, Herakleia etc.) and is described in Xenophon's Anabasis.
The important disinterested Pontian king- dom was founded by Mithridates I (337-302) who delivered the land from Persia and matrimonial the Persian with the Hellenic ethnicity that had been introduced stylish the vicinity by the Greeks. The successors of this king lengthened his hardheaded of Hellenization and the borders of this chaos by annexing other in close proximity lands. Mithridates II (302-266 B.C.) annexed Cappadocia and Paphlagonia and transferred the treasury of the Pontian chaos from Amaseia to Sinope. Mithridates III (255-222 B.C.) matrimonial the girl of Seleucid, Alexander's For all and sovereign of Syria. The girl of Mithridates IV (222-184 B.C.) became queen of Syria give orders marrying Antiochos, singular For all of Alexander and sovereign of Syria. The Pontian chaos enjoyed its greatest amplification and express under Mithridates VI Eupator (160-63 B.C.), examination two proud wars adjoining the Romans. In the end, save for, the Romans miserable Mithridates and his chaos in a third war.
B) The Very Roman-Greek Seminar (1st c. B.C. - 4th c. A.D.) begins in 64 B.C. taking into consideration Pompey in a meeting the chaos of Pontos. Pompey restructured the chaos by separating it stylish two parts, the Western which included Galatia and was named Galatian Pontos, and the Eastern which included Bithynia and was named Polemoniakos Pontos (from king Polemon). In mint condition efficient action of Pompey was the age bracket of new cities in the indoor, such as Nikopolis, Pompeioupolis, Diospolis, Magnopolis, etc. Onward secretarial measures were ended by Pompey's successors.
In 48 B.C. Pharnakes, the son of Mithridates VI tried to experience again the Greco-Persian command in the vicinity but weakening outcome and was outdone by Caesar. In 39 B.C., save for, the Roman Anthony entrusted the fee of the old Pontian chaos to Darius, the grand-son of Mithridates VI. Like with a emerge of Pontian kings continued to go on the chaos for the Romans, in the midst of whom we find Polemon I and Polemon II. This lasted until 64 A.D., taking into consideration Eastern Pontos was shared with the Western to form one Roman rule that was named Mesogeiakos Pontos in 166 A.D. End on the Roman Ruler Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) fixed Pontos disinterested situation and subdivid- ed it stylish three eparchies, Diospontos, Polemoniakos and Miniature Armenia.
This screen of the Roman command improved even treat the Pontian Hellenism, and it can really be called Roman-Greek. At the fantastically time this is a screen of Christianization of the Greek Pontiac population and the puff of bulky church Fathers, such as Gregory of Neocaesarea, who matrimonial the Christian trust with Hellenism and solid the peoples of Pontos on this search, contributory to the age bracket of a new devotee and priestly commencement, which is called Greco-Roman or Convoluted.
C) The Third Graeco-Roman or Convoluted Seminar (4th-15th c. A.D.) is the greatest and brightest in Pontian history. In the proto-Byzantine era, which begins with Constantine the Puff up, Pontos became a Perfecture with Caesarea of Cappadocia as its treasury and took the name Helenopontos (from St. Helen). The urban of Caesarea had become the central part of a new Christian-ized Hellenism, which transmitted Christianity to Armenia and the wider vicinity in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
In 325 whichever Pontian Bishops participated at the important Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea, such as Domnos of Trapezous and the Bishops of Amaseia, Komana, Zelon, Neocaesarea and Pityous. In 381 at the last Ecumenical Synod of Constantinople, it was St. Parsley of Caesarea's theology that triumphed, as soon as St. Gregory the Theologian was the travel and other Pontian Bishops participated such as St. Gregory of Nyssa. At the end of the 4th century (380-386) the bulky Monastery of Panagia Soumela was arranged on the fence in of Melas in the vicinity of Trapezous. This bulky monastery was crushed in the 6th century and was restored in 644. It became fairylike since the 9th century, taking into consideration the two Athenian monks Sophronios and Barnabas brought to it the delightful icon of the Panagia Atheniotissa - a work of St. Luke. This holy icon survived the break down of the Monastery in the 20th c., and rests today in the new Panagia Soumela Monastery on a expansion of mount Vermion plug Kastania of Beroia in Northern Greece.
The 4th c. was one of the utmost stunning periods of Pontian history credit to the bulky Fathers of the Church who appeared in the Church contemporary, such as St. Parsley the Puff up, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Gregory of Nyssa and a band of fathers and saints. These Fathers progressive the finalize Christian world and not here a established donation of neat trust. In the 5th c. the Pontian bishop Atarvios presided at the fourth Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon (451), and was escorted by copious other Pontian bishops. The magnificent Code of belief 28 of this Synod located the Pontian Perfecture under the management of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, where it remained until just starting out period.
From the 5th to the 7th century the vicinity of Pontos suffered from Persian invasions which were intercepted by the Convoluted armies of Justinian and Herakleios. So in the 8th c. the Arab invaders appeared on the stance and that was the time taking into consideration Pontos, close the other regions of Asia Inconsequential, was prepared on the search of individual Roman Themes, e.g. Koloneia, Armeniacum, Chaldia, etc., which lingering their own armies and crayon the Arabs and past on (11th c. historical) the Turks. In the past Convoluted era the Pontian vicinity brought forth bulky leaders such as the Komnenian residence of emperors, the Gavras leaders and copious others. Equally Constantinople was sacked by the papal Western Crusaders in 1204 Alexios III Komnenos arranged an individual Convoluted reign in Pontos with Trapezous (Trebizond) as its treasury, in which 20 kings reigned here its life time (1204-1461). At that time the Archbishop of Trapezous customary the respectability All-Holiness as the Patriarch of Constantinople. This reign was the arise to fall to the Turks (1461) having outlived the fall of Constantinople (1453).
The stunning Convoluted screen of the Pontian history raised bulky facts in the church and in the reign of Constantinople. In the purport Convoluted era, whichever Metropolitans from Pontos became high-level, to order public of Trapezous, who even presided best quality Ecumenical Synods. In the 9th/10th c. we see St. Nikon Metanoeitai and St. Athanasios the Athonite, founder of the Puff up Lavra; in the 11th c. the bulky Patriarch Ioannis Xiphilinos. In the past Convoluted era contemporary are new high ranking figures; in the 14th c. George Trapezountios and in the 15th c., the astute Bessarion of Nicaea. The Monasteries, the churches, the icons, the saints of Convoluted Pontos composition one of the greatest reserves of the Byzantium and the Undiluted Church.
D) The Fourth Seminar of the Turkish task (15th-20th c. AD) is a screen of persecutions and deliberate deteriorating give orders inexperienced stages, but furthermore witnessed period of express. The important row (15th-16th century) was flawed by despotism. As the arise one to put on the back burner to the Turkish invaders, the vicinity of Pontos salaried dearly by pain bulky decimation. The land was pitilessly degraded. Strong persecutions forced copious to become Islamized or to shock the inhabitants. In hostility of this, the awful line of Pontos survived the distress. Their moving picture and stubborn work enabled them to sort out and variety stylish a reconstructive last row (end of the 16th and 17th c.) which put them spare their keen Turkish land-lords to the upset that they may well no longer be with indifference reasonable. This, sadly, gave puff to a third row of new persecutions. It was the time taking into consideration copious of the Pontians withdrew to the mountains, having not here the lowlands and costal lands, or immigrated earlier period Pontos to Northern territories as copious had done here the beyond stages. On the mountains of Pontos a new fourth row of renewal began. Present the Pontians took best quality the old blade mines and became masters of steelworks that enabled them to puff taking into consideration once more spare the Turks. From now in the 18th century the Greek Pontian residents of the mountainous regions tripled! The obstacle came taking into consideration the steelworks came to an end, whereupon a fifth row of new trials dawned. Diverse took the trail to cast out and used up northwards to Russia. The population diminished highly, but the family Pontian consciousness was retained. Calm down public who were forced to rob Islam remained slyly Christians (crypto-Christians), steadfast to the priestly convictions of their descendants.
What want be agitated acquaint with is the weakness of the Pontians of this screen to the Greek secret code and Christian occurrence. The "Academic Point" of Trapezous, which in 1683 the bulky Pontian studious Sevastos Kyminites (from Kymina) founded, became utmost distinguished. The fantastically happened with the Hellenic University in Bucharest that he furthermore founded by the spare to support the fantastically track down. This screen saw copious Pontian Greek teachers traveling all best quality the Turkish unavailable territories and distribution Greek occurrence and Christian paideia. In 1722 contemporary were immense Greek schools in Argyroupolis (Chaldia), Sinope, Theodosioupolis, Soumela and Kerasous. Stuck between the utmost distinguished leaders of the Greeks were the Pontian families of Hypselantes and Mourouzes who played immense vanguard roles in the survival and renewal of the Greek Undiluted nation.
In the 19th century the Greek Pontians had ameliorated their environment. The Russo-Turkish war of 1828 was utilitarian to them. A few 90.000 Pontians had relocated to Argyroupolis (Chaldia) which was under Russian restraint. From now taking into consideration the "Hatti Humayun" was signed (1856) the Pontians regained their priestly freedom. A few 20.000 crypto-Christians returned at that time to the Undiluted Church with the help of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Lots of schools churches and villages were rebuilt and contemporary was habitually an unanticipated renewal of the Greek Christian population of Pontos. Career to and from Russia bigger and the new projection that had been fashioned led to a chubby prosperity in the midst of the Pontian communities. As a stimulate of these changes the population bigger. In 1865 the Greek words Pontians were unreal to be 330.000 (contemporary were as copious Turkish words), as soon as in 1913 they reached 697.000. This sixth row of resurgence was decisively and disappointingly sporadic at the dawn of the 20th c. give orders the 1st Foxhole War and the Asia Inconsequential Mishap of 1922. The drafting of Pontians by the Turkish Army for the 1st WW together with 1914 and 1918 displaced 235.000 Pontians, as soon as some 80.000 turn your back on to Russia. The concluding impression came in 1922 taking into consideration, weakening any become aware of, the Pontians were put out and evicted from their household lands and turn your back on to Greece and the West as refugees.
E) The Fifth Seminar of Pontian Diaspora (1922-the Sitting) is the existing screen, taking into consideration the Pontians lunch been seeking to acknowledge new home-lands. In Greece and in the West, they lunch revealed taking into consideration once more their board to outlook and their invincible silhouette which is surrounded in the Greek Undiluted trust and heritage. Present in America, where line of all backgrounds manipulation copious freedoms and opportunities all Pontians are certain, low with the finalize Greek homogeneia, to remain standing the work that their awful and inexorable descendants lunch assigned to them. They lunch a special necessity, once more with all their guy Greek and other ethic Undiluted Americans, to remain standing the work that Christ has entrusted to them taking into consideration he included them in the midst of the important heralds of the Gospel of unification and salvation of the world.
The Greek Undiluted District, with its Metropolises, under the aegis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople guarantees the continual expansion of all the Pontians of America low with the rest of the Greek Undiluted and other Undiluted brothers.
