Saint Philothei

Dismissal Hymn of the Righteous One Plagal of First Tone. Let us worship the Word T HE famed city of Athens doth honour Philothei, the righteous Martyr, whose relics it now reverent with joy; for while living in sobriety and holiness, she hath exchanged all earthly things for the everlasting life through great contests as a Martyr; and she entreated the Saviour to grant His mercy unto all of us. Kontakion of the Righteous One Third Tone. On this day the Virgin We all honour Philothei with jubilation of Spirit, as this day we reverently worship her venerable relics. For she lived her whole life working kindness and mercy; and the righteous one, receiving a martyr’s ending, is deemed worthy to entreat God That all be granted Eternal life with the Saints.

• Her time During this time in history, Turkish Moslems were holding Greecehostage, challenging Christianity. Christians were often oppressed and afflicted. “Through the dusty alleys of Athens someone could stumble upon old, sick unprotected men and women who died needy and helpless, like dogs…Woe, to the one who had nobody to turn to…” Then, Saint Philothei with her humane nature, her loving care, made the difference. A wind of consolation blew over Athens….

• Her life She was born in Athens in 1522 to an illustrious and wealthy family. Her father was Angelo Venizelos well known for his noble descend. Her mother Syriga Palleologina of an ancient Byzantine family herself was barren. However, one day she entered the church of the mother of God and prayed with fervor. She fell asleep and had a vision in which the magnificent and radiant light emitted from the Icon of Theotokos and entered her womb upon making she knew that her request to have a child would be fulfilled. Thus, Revoula (from Paraskevoula) was since her birth, a child of God. While growing up, she distinguished herself by her morality and her intelligence. Her excellent education was a rare thing for a girl at that time. At the age of fourteen, she was coerced into marrying Andreas Helas, a rich nobleman who was much older than she was. It was a marriage against her will. Battered by her husband she endured three yeas of cruelty in order not to displease her family. She shared the fate of many women of her time. Only seventeen, she became a widow, nevertheless, her wealth, her beauty, her education, as well as her noble descend (from the two most significant families of Athens) made her the most sought for bride all over Athensand beyond. Her parents pressed her once more to contact a second marriage but this time Revoula did not lend a favorable ear to her parents’ wishes and declared her desire to take up a monastic life. She took up charity work and ten years after her family had passed away, she dedicated her life to the Lord and became a nun named Philothei. (The friend of God, in Greek)

• Her life’s work Philothei loves the villager, takes pity of the wayfarer, and offers the well Psyhico to quench their thirst. She stands alert to assist all sufferers, be they people in danger, in pain, in despair, or being persecuted. She is all -giving, no longer belonging to herself, but dedicated to the effort of offering relief to all human misery and ignorance. Hence, Philothei touched upon the lives of female slaves who defrayed their faith, or had gone astray, captives in slave markets… She sought to light for knowledge, liberty and dignity. After the death of her family, Philothei became the sole owner of extensive wealth. Estates at Patissia, Perissos, Kalogreza, Philothei, Psychico and elsewhere, were all hers, not for her own well-being, but for the benefit of others.

She had the call from God. Along with the women who had been working at her family estate (which still stands) she established a convent dedicated (after a vision) to Saint Andrew, the First-Called, located at the present site of the Archdiocese of Athens, on the west side of the Church. In 1571, she builds her Parthenon and henceforth puts her fortune to charitable use. She now wears the nun’s habit and is known as Philothei. The noble woman, the lady of Athens establishes a convent with open doors, full of women, young and old, needy and wealthy. First, her domestic servants who were guided to monastic life, then all those poor, abused, enslaved, helpless women who run to her refuge and love and who had the choice to become nuns or just to stay. Even some noble wealthy women gave up secular life to become nuns, following her example. Philothei never rests. She transforms her sisters, along with the women under her protection, from passive to active individuals. She taught them to supplement their worship and devotions with crafts that could benefit the Church community. Women of rare skill in needlework, embroidery, weavers, and seamstresses work day and night at her Parthenon. The first school for girls is set up inside the Parthenon. She strongly believes that education will keep the girls away from the brutal conqueror, and if they were aware of their ancestors’ history, they would fight to become like them. Marianna Kampouroglou notes: “When they reached the proper age they were asked whether they would prefer to become nuns; otherwise they were given to marriage” Kalliroe Parren writes that Revoula Benizelou was the first who set the basis for Greek women’s education. She was the first who worked systematically to improve the state of female sex, disregarding superstition and danger. Zoe Gennakou in her book “ the revolution of a woman” points out that around the Parthenon soon sprung, a hospital , a guest house for the travelers, an orphanage and a home for the elderly. The Catholic Bishop of Zante, in a letter to the Doge of Venice informs us of an extremely revolutionary attitude for her time “she would accept many sinful even pregnant women in the convent, to save them from being punished by the Turks”. In the world history of social welfare, Saint’s Philothei’s monastery is definitely ahead. Her convert was increasingly becoming bigger, her workshops buzzed full of workers, the school was swarming with pupils, the nuns reached 150 -200 in number, not including those who worked there, but lived outside. People adored her and addressed her as “Kyra daskala”. The term “lady teacher” in the Greek language expresses respect and appreciation along with immediate love and affection. Wherever she went throughout the villages populated with Arvanites, they called the location “Kalogreza” (good old lady) in reference to her charity work there. At her family estate Persos (the name of which in Greek means plenty of water sources) she establishes a convent’s annex. Although the nun’s cells are comfortable enough, her own is very plain and ascetic. Marianna Kampouroglou notes that until 1821 both her ascetic cells in Athens and in Persos were still standing, equipped with her handicraft tools and her loom.

• The death and burial of the Saint. Turkish Muslims hoped that the mere pressure of their presence would lead to the gradual replacement of Christianity by their own Muslim faith. They unsuccessfully tried to discredit many faithful Christians and spiritual leaders. Philothei became a target, not only because of her open defiance, but because they considered her sex to be a weakness and hoped, she would succumb to surrender more easily. At first, she was threatened and thrown into prison but when released, she continued her mission as before and furthermore, she started performing miracles of healing. Enraged the Turks attacked her during a service, in Saint Andrew’s church. Her fellow nuns and most of the women were brutally beaten, with clubs and stones and then dragged into the street, to be murdered in front of the devastated but unable to react townspeople. Philothei was carried out alive, but yielded to her wounds, on February 1589. She gave up her spirit to the Lord she cherished, thanking Him for everything. Some scholars of that period write about the above events: Dim. Kampouroglou: In our opinion, Philothei was tortured at Patissia. Because of her severe wounds and for fear of rebellion she was carried to her nearby estate of Persos, where she died; this is also according to local tradition. Ioannis Gennadios : In his book, “the house of Benizelus and Saint Philothei” she claims that according to local tradition, her relics were transferred from Kalogreza to Athens. It is possible that she was firstly buried in Kalogreza- as she was probably carried there wounded from Patissia- to be hospitalized from October (when she was attacked) until November (when she died). Fotios Kontoglou: He says that, her fellow nuns took her the following day to Persos. On 19/2/1589 she gave up her pure soul to the Lord. Her holy remains were buried at her little convent of Kalogreza and then her relics were enshrined in the church of Saint Andrew, where today’s Archdiocese stands.

• Disinterment of remains - The miracle. On 19-2-1589, the saint was buried. Twenty days later, from the place where the body lay, came an unearthly odour. After a year had passed following the decision for her disinterment, her body was found whole, intact and giving off exquisite scent. We are informed in the oldest biography of the Saint (published in 1775 in Venice by Leonard, ex D. Kapetanakis of Athens) that “No man could imagine the miraculous grace coming out of her tomb”

• The dependency of Kalogreza The dependency of Kalogreza had a lot of land to rule, so it must have looked like a busy swarm of bees, in which along with the nuns many poor landless villagers cultivated the fields.

The masses at the main church of the convent, dedicated to the “Presentation of the Virgin Mary” must have been like visiting heaven. It was fascinating even just to be inside. Even today, the imposing design of the premises, the inner details and atmosphere created by the wall paintings, the icons and the echo, instill devotion and belief. When Philothei was present at the ceremonies, the Christians must have seen her, as the leading light of hope, love and care. However, the Turks were still there, they could always come to the convent to demand taxes. “You see a Turk? He wants money…and you see another Turk? …He wants more money…” as a saying of the time goes.

Measures of protection To deal with these challenges the convent took simple but effective measures:

• Underground escape tunnel. A popular legend, wants a 400m long tunnel, which started from the monastery and continued its underground walk until it reached a hill among rocks and bulrushes. In 1910, a local resident (Th. Harokopos) described a hole (probably the mouth of the tunnel) full of snakes, where an oil burner was lit for her grace and also the surrounding area was linked to her charitable deeds. Today, there stands a church and a stone cave. The spot is believed to have been where Philothei found seclusion for her prayer. Nowadays though, many rich weddings and Christenings take place there.

• Empty warehouses The Turks could have turned the world upside down, without finding anything. The products were stored in big jars, buried in the ground. Even today, inhabitants of the suburb, named after her, say that they find such jars when digging, even as far as 2 hectares from the Monastery’s outer walls.

The end of an era A document of 1838 kept in the public records, signed by the mayor of Amarousion , D. Haimanta says that five cells of the Monastery were demolished by Kioutahi’s army . According to the general Makrygiannis memoirs, it is obvious that since 1826 Kioutahis, forced the inhabitants of the villages around Athens, to submit and convert to Islam. Until 1838 nobody could have repaired the cells and the Monastery deteriorated. The church was used as a storehouse. After the foundation of the New Greek State, King Othon and the Bavarians closed down all the women’s convents and their land was made property of the state. The holy Convent is sold to private individuals to be turned into a library. According to Makrygiannis, all sacred objects even the holy grails, were being sold by the Bavarians,… as valueless objects.