Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Smyrna killed by mob in 1922

On August 27, 1922, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Smyrna was killed by a Turkish mob following a period of torture. The event occurred during the height of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, as the Greek presence in Ionia faced total destruction.

Prior to his death, Chrysostomos had sent a desperate plea to Eleftherios Venizelos, calling him a ‘savior and Messiah’ and urging him to take revolutionary action to save the Greek populations in Asia Minor and Thrace. In his final words delivered from the pulpit of the Church of Agia Foteini, he encouraged the citizens of Smyrna to maintain their faith despite the dire circumstances.