Germanos Karavangelis (, also transliterated as Yermanos and Karavaggelis or Karavagelis, 1866–1935) was known for his service as Metropolitan Bishop of Kastoria and later Amaseia, Pontus. He was a member of the Hellenic Macedonian Committee and functioned as one of the major coordinators of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia.

Early life and career

Germanos Karavangelis was born Stylianos in 1866, in the village of Stipsi at Lesbos island, then still under Ottoman rule. His father was a Psariot by the name of Chrysostomos and his mother was Maria. He had seven other siblings which included six sisters and one brother. When he was two years old, his family moved to Adramyttio, Asia-Minor (now Edremit, Turkey) where his father opened a shop. There, he attended school and was awarded a scholarship to study at the Theological School of Halki. He graduated in 1888, when he was ordained a Deacon and received the name Germanos. He then went on to study philosophy at the University of Leipzig and University of Bonn.

Germanos received a doctorate and went to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) where in 1891 he was assigned as a professor of Ecclesiastical History and Theology at the Theological School of Halki, where he had previously attended. As a professor, he wrote an encyclopedia of theology as well as scientific works and ecclesiastical discourses. In 1886, he was ordained a bishop with the title "Bishop of Charioupolis." At this new position, he fought for more Greek education and to curb anti-Greek sentiment. He assisted in sending Greek students abroad for higher education and was successful in recruiting 130 to the newly built Zografeion Lyceum. He also founded a girls' school by the name of "Karavangeli Girls' School." and was one of the main coordinators of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia that had an aim of defending the Greek and Greek Orthodox clerical interests against the Turks and the Bulgarians in then Ottoman Turkish-ruled Macedonia.

During the Macedonian struggle, Karavangelis directed the Greek response to supporters of the Bulgarian cause, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) and the Exarchate. He was successful in returning many villages to the Patriarchate.

thumb|Germanos Karavangelis at the grave of [[Pavlos Melas. ]]

left|thumb|Germanos Karavangelis surrounded by Ottoman soldiers and officers in [[Kastoria.]]

Karavangelis organized armed groups composed mainly of Greek army officers and volunteers brought from Crete, the Peloponnese and other parts of Greek populated areas, Karavangelis denounced the usage of Albanian in mass and under his orders had Negovani murdered. In 1905, Karavangelis also ordered the slaughter of resisting Bulgarian inhabitants in the village of Zagorichani (today Vasileiada).

Karavangelis succeeded in strengthen Greek aspirations in Macedonia and thus helped the later incorporation of the major part of Macedonia by Greece in the Balkan Wars, for which he is praised as a national hero of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia ("Makedonomachos"). He is the author of the book of memoirs "The Macedonian Struggle" ().

Metropolitan of Amaseia and the Greco-Turkish War

In 1907, following Bulgarian complaints and Russian pressure, Karavangelis was removed from his position by orders of the Sultan. He returned to Constantinople as a Synod until the collapse of the Diocese of Amaseia in January 1908. The Patriarch had requested that Karavangelis fill the recently vacated position, and so he became the Metropolitan of Amaseia, based in Sampsounta. There, he helped create schools in the most remote villages and established a high school for Greek education. He also assisted in the formation of armed groups to defend the Greek and Armenian population from Turkish aggression and persecution by the Young Turks. During massacres of local Armenians, Karavangelis along with Chrysanthos of Trebizond and Bishop Efthymios were able to save hundreds by hiding them in the Metropolitan Church and other Greek homes. Their efforts were recognized by a United States-based Armenian newspaper.

His memoirs from the Macedonian Struggle were published in 1959. In 1992, his account, along with those of other Makedonomachoi, was included in Figures of the Macedonian Struggle, together with the "Affairs of Pontus" by Germanos Karavangelis by Antigoni Bellou-Threpsiadis.

Also in 1959, the "Institute for the Study of the Balkan Peninsula", along with the "Society for Macedonian Studies" (both of Thessaloniki) arranged the transfer of his bones, first to Thessaloniki, then finally to Kastoria.

There are monuments dedicated to him in Kastoria.<gallery widths="240" heights="240">

File:THES Karavaggelis 5946.JPG|A bust of Germanos Karavagelis.

File:Melas Karavangelis Monument Kastoria Metropoly 2013.JPG|A memorial depicting Germanos Karavangelis (left) and Pavlos Melas (right).

File:Karavangelis.JPG|Statue of Germanos Karavangelis.

</gallery>

See also

  • Greek Struggle for Macedonia
  • Pavlos Melas
  • Амасийская митрополия. Википедии. ("Metropolis of Amasya".)

Notes

References

Sources

  • Metropolitan of Kastoria Germanos Karavangelis. Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW). Retrieved: 25 August 2014.
  • Basil C. Gounaris. Social cleavages and national "awakening" in Ottoman Macedonia. East European Quarterly 29 (1995), 409–426.
  • Basil C. Gounaris. Preachers of God and martyrs of the Nation: The politics of murder in ottoman Macedonia in the early 20th century. Balkanologie. Vol. IX, n° 1-2 | décembre 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  • Basil C. Gounaris. "IX. National Claims, Conflicts and Developments in Macedonia, 1870-1912." In: Ioannis Koliopoulos (Ed.). The History of Macedonia. Thessaloniki: Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, 2007. pp.&nbsp;183–213.
  • Douglas Dakin. The Greek struggle in Macedonia, 1897-1913. Thessalonikē: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1966. 538 pp.
  • Dimitris Livanios. "'Conquering the souls': nationalism and Greek guerrilla warfare in Ottoman Macedonia, 1904-1908." BMGS 23 (1999) 195–221.
  • Julian Allan Brooks. "Shoot the Teacher!" Education and the Roots of the Macedonian Struggle." Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Simon Fraser University, Fall 2005. 191 pp.
  • Lora Gerd. Russian Policy in the Orthodox East: The Patriarchate of Constantinople (1878-1914). De Gruyter Open, 2014. p.&nbsp;10.
  • Olga Balytnikova-Rakitianskaia. Pontian Genocide. ORTHODOXY IN THE WORLD (www.pravmir.com). May 19, 2010, 14:45. Retrieved 27 August 2014.

Greek Sources

  • Πάνος Ν. Αβραμόπουλος. Μητροπολίτης Γερμανός Καραβαγγέλης - Ο ρασοφόρος Ακρίτας. Romfea.gr. Σάββατο, 11 Μαΐου 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  • Μητροπολίτης Καστορίας (1900-1908), Γερμανός Καραβαγγέλης . Ιερά Μητρόπολη Καστοριάς (I.M. Kastorias). Retrieved: 26 August 2014.
  • ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΟΣ ΚΑΡΑΒΑΓΓΕΛΗΣ (1866-1935). Stipsi, Lesvos. Retrieved: 25 August 2014.
  • Καραβαγγέλης, Γερμανός. Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias - Dictionary of Greek. 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  • Τσαγκάρης, Παναγιώτης (Θεολόγος). Γερμανός Καραβαγγέλης. Ο Παπαφλέσσας της Λέσβου. Διακόνημα (Diakonima.gr). 18 Μαΐου 2010. Retrieved: 26 August 2014.
  • Τάσος Αθ. Γριτσόπουλος. "Γερμανός. Ὁ Καραβαγγέλης." Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια (ΘΗΕ). Τόμος 4 (Βυζάντιον-Διοκλής). Αθηναι – Αθαν. Μαρτινος, 1964. σελ. 400–402.
  • Ψάρας, I., "O Γερμανός Kαραβαγγέλης και η ορθόδοξη Eλληνική Kοινότητα της Bενετίας (1924-1935)". Θησαυρίσματα 14 (1977), σελ. 275–287.

Related Sources

  • Anastas Vangeli. Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia. Nationalities Papers: The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity, Volume 39, Issue 1, 2011. pp.&nbsp;13–32.
  • Panayiotis Diamadis. "Why Macedonia Matters." AHIF POLICY JOURNAL. Winter 2012–13. pp.&nbsp;1–18.
  • Victor Roudometof. Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria, and the Macedonian Question. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. 265 pp.
  • Leonidas Papazoglou. The Bishop of Kastoria Germanos Karavangelis with Turkish Officers and Soldiers. Museum Syndicate (MS). Retrieved: 27 August 2014.