The glorious city of Athens is not only famous for its pre-Christian past, but also for its later Christian one. From the first Christian years it raised great saints. In the dark years of Turkish slavery it also raised many New Martyrs. One of them was Saint Anthony the Athenian.
Was born in Athens halfway through 18th century. His parents Uterus and Kalomira, were very poor and unknown people, but pious Christians. They raised their son Antony with affection and inspired him with faith in the true Triune God. In their poverty they managed to teach him elementary letters, as much as the enslaved Romans could learn. When he was twelve years old, wanting to help his poor family financially, he surrendered himself to the work of a rich Turkish merchant, one of the many who lived in Athens and plundered the rich lands of the Attic land. Antony showed unusual industriousness and honesty, so that he gained the trust of his masters.
Four years later, in 1770 The Russian armada sailed to the Peloponnese, under the Orlov, for the release of Moria. Then many Turko-Albanians rushed to suppress the revolution and plunder the rebellious Moraites. Among them was Antonio's boss, taking with him his slave Antonio. After the revolution was suppressed and incredible massacres and plunderings took place, the Turko-Albanian sold Antonio to some Agarean emirs. They immediately asked him to deny his faith and embrace Islam. They threatened him daily and tortured him, but he categorically refused to deny Christ.
After some time they took him with them to the Danube River and enlisted him in the Turkish army. There they began to resell him successively to various Turkish masters, five times. All of them blackmailed him into converting to Islam and being promoted to the Turkish army. They flattered him and offered him money, honors and positions. After his stubborn refusal, they intimidated and tortured him. But Antony remained steadfast in the faith and piety of his fathers.
When they saw that their efforts were in vain, they sold him to an Orthodox Christian businessman, a silk worker, in Constantinople, for four hundred groschen. That man was of good intentions and loved Anthony, because he served him with zeal and honesty. He helped his wife at home and in his workshop. There he was given the opportunity to visit a spiritual person and confess his sins with a broken heart and to receive communion of the Immaculate Mysteries in the Agios Nikolaos in Toumbiali.
After a while, he had a strange dream. He was visited by a beautiful noblewoman who promised him help, strength, and protection, covering him with her dress. Antony took it as a message of martyrdom.
Indeed, in the morning, when he went to the workshop, his last Agarean master, who was an officer of the Turkish army (a centurion), passed by. He recognized him and decided to punish him for his stubborn refusal to convert to Islam. He began to shout, slandering him, that this young man had converted to Islam and had renounced Islam and become a Christian again. In fact, he even took care to find some false witnesses to make himself believable by the Turkish authorities. Refusal of the Muslim religion is punishable by death
from the Koran, unless he converted back to Islam. The bystanders grabbed him and with insults and merciless blows dragged him and led him to the judge Murat Mulan, accusing him of despising Islam. The judge asked him if the accusations were true and he courageously replied that he was born a Christian, raised a Christian, has never denied his faith and will never deny it.
The judge began to offer him money, positions, and honors if he converted to Islam. But he remained unconvinced and showed with his facial expression that he was laughing at the offers, answering the judge: "Do not think that you can change my faith in Christ with these terrors of yours, and therefore torture, scourge and dismember my body, and think of no other new and most painful death for me, because it is more likely that you will become a Christian than that I will deny Christ and not confess that He is the Son of God and the true God." But the judge was a just man and understood that it was a conspiracy and began to curse the false witnesses. He called them wicked and liars, because they use such pitiful methods to convert Christians to Islam. But they insisted and threatened him that they would report him to his superiors for bias in favor of the deniers of Islam. Then the judge was afraid and began to beg Antony to regret his youth and embrace Islam, because there was no other way to be saved.
Then Anthony replied that Christ said that whoever denies him before men will be denied by Him before His Father and began to shout that he was and would remain a Christian! So against his will, the judge, in order to get rid of the false witnesses, referred him to his friend. Vizier Mehmet Melek Pasha, secretly accusing him of a conspiracy and asking him to release him.
They brought him to him to interrogate him. He also understood that the accusations were false and wanted to save him, but they were afraid of the fanatical mob. He asked him the same things and offered him wealth and honors if he would accept to convert to Islam. Antony gave the same answers, he did not leave any room for converting to Islam. Then he was forced to imprison him, thinking that there he would realize his difficult position and succumb. He threw him into the terrible prison Muhzur.
But instead of giving in, his resistance grew stronger. To his surprise, the guards and his fellow prisoners found that, instead of being worried and sad, he was happy and was singing incessantly all the hymns he could remember. He took out all the money he had from his pocket and distributed it to the poor prisoners. He wrote a letter to his boss to forgive him, because he had not managed to repay the amount he had spent to buy him with his work. He also begged him after his death to take charge of his memorial services and to inform his parents of his death, so that they could be consoled for his blessed end.
The vizier waited in vain for Antony to surrender. At the same time, the false witnesses gathered fanatical Turks every day, who shouted outside his house and office. When time passed and the vizier had not killed him, they went to the sultan, where they denounced him for covering up a traitor and being biased in his favor. Fearing riots from the crowd, he issued a condemnatory decision, his death by beheading. Again, against his will, the vizier was forced to carry out the order.
They took him from prison, tied him up behind his back, and led him to the place of execution. He ran joyfully, as if he were going to a festival. The executioner
He struck the Martyr's neck with the deadly whip three times, lest he should be afraid and change his mind, but he cried out, repeating the words of Christ: ""Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit!" Seeing that it was in vain to wait, he cut off the honest head of the Martyr. The immortal thus received the crown of martyrdom and his soul flew to heaven to meet the Lord Christ, to reign with Him for endless ages. It was February 5, 1774.
The Christians of Vlagas They collected the sum of seventy groschen, with which they purchased the holy relics of the Martyr, which they carried in procession and with triumphant chants to the church of Life Giving Fountain, where he was buried with honors. His memory is honored in 5 February, day of his martyrdom.
photo Orthodoxy Society
https://www.koinoniaorthodoxias.org/agiologio-eortologio/o-agios-neomartys-antonios-o-athinaios/
