George of Drama

Saint

George of Drama
A photograph of St. George giving a priestly blessing
Venerable New Confessor
BornAthanasios Karslidis
ათანასე კარსლიდისი
January 1, 1901
Chadik, Tsalka, Borchaly uezd, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire (present-day Georgia)
DiedNovember 4, 1959
Taxiarchis, Drama, Greece
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
CanonizedNovember 2, 2008, Monastery of the Ascension of Christ, in Taxiarchis, Drama, by Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.[1]
Major shrineRelics in Monastery of the Ascension of Christ, in Taxiarchis, Drama.[2]
FeastNovember 4 (ns)[3][4][5] October 24 (os)[6][7]

Saint George of Drama (Greek: Ὁ Όσιος Γεώργιος της Δράμας, Georgian: დრამის წმინდა გიორგი, January 1, 1901 – November 4, 1959), born Athanasios Karslidis, was a Caucasus Greek Orthodox monk venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is particularly revered in the Greek and Georgian Orthodox traditions for his spiritual guidance and asceticism.

The relics of Karslidis are kept at the Monastery of the Ascension of Christ in Taxiarches, Drama.[2] It is reported that his skull bears an imprint resembling the sign of the holy cross. He was glorified on Sunday, November 2, 2008, during a visit by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Drama.[1] In 2016, a portion of his relics was donated to the episcopal see of Tsalka, Georgia, under the Georgian Orthodox Church.[8]

At its meeting on December 24, 2008, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church resolved to include Karslidis in the Menology of the Russian Orthodox Church, designating his feast day as October 24 (Old Style)/November 6 (New Style).[6][7]

Early life

George Karslidis was born in Chadik, Tsalka, in the Russian Empire, in 1901.[9][10] His grandparents were refugees from Gümüşhane in the Ottoman Empire, who fled after the Crimean War. He was orphaned at a young age, losing both parents on the same day, and was left in the care of his older brother. According to anonymous accounts, after experiencing unspecified abuse from his brother, Karslidis escaped to the mountains, where Turkish villagers found him and took him to Pontus.[11] Karslidis later established the Monastery of the Ascension of Christ in Taxiarches, which was officially consecrated in 1939. He served as its elder and spiritual leader for the local community. Some accounts report that Karslidis was witnessed levitating in prayer during the Divine Liturgy.[12]

Career

Karslidis began his monastic life as a novice monk at a monastery in Georgia after travelling to Tiflis, where a priest cared for him. Reports state that he waited nearly ten years to be officially tonsured a monk, which finally happened in July 1919, at the age of eighteen. He received the monastic name George Symeon.[13]

According to his biographers, he was already regarded as a spiritual elder at that time, attracting many visitors seeking his counsel.[14]

In 1929, Karslidis settled in the village of Taxiarches, Sipsa, Drama, Northern Greece, where he lived for the remaining thirty years of his life.[3] In 1936, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting sites associated with the life of Christ, as well as numerous monasteries and hermitages.[15]

In 1938, the Greek government allocated him an acre of land as part of a permanent rural land distribution. On this plot, he established the foundations for a monastery dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus, which was officially consecrated in 1939.[15]

Followers of Karslidis believe that he foretold World War II and the subsequent Greek Civil War.[15] In 1941, he was reportedly sentenced to death by Bulgarian forces. However, after calmly praying and inviting his executioners to proceed, they abandoned the attempt and fled, apparently out of fear.[3]

Death

Karslidis was buried behind the Katholikon (main church) of the Monastery of the Ascension, where he had worked for three decades.[16]

Monastery of the Ascension

After Karslidis's death, the monastery fell into disrepair until Metropolitan Dionysios (Kyratsous) of Drama began its renovation in 1970. Following restoration, monastic life was revived, and a sisterhood dedicated to Christ was established.[17] The monastery was reconsecrated on April 25, 1971, and on November 5, 1976, it received official recognition from the Church of Greece.[18]

Citations

  1. ^ a b (in Greek) ΙΕΡΑ ΜΟΝΗ ΑΝΑΛΗΨΕΩΣ ΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΤΑΞΙΑΡΧΩΝ (ΣΙΨΑ) ΔΡΑΜΑΣ. Μοναστήρια της Ελλάδας. Retrieved: 30 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b (in Greek) ΤΟΠΙΚΗ ΑΓΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ Archived 2014-09-30 at the Wayback Machine. Ιερά Μητρόπολις Δράμας. Retrieved: 30 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek)Ὁ Ὅσιος Γεώργιος Καρσλίδης. 4 Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
  4. ^ (in Greek) Όσιος Γεώργιος Καρσλίδης ο Ομολογητής. Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής. 04/11/2014.
  5. ^ (in Greek) Τυπικὸν τῆς Μεγάλης τοῦ Χριστοῦ ᾽Εκκλησίας. 4η Νοεμβρίου 2014. Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (Ecumenical Patriarchate). Retrieved: 18 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b (in Russian) 6 ноября (24 октября). Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). (Orthodox Encyclopedia – Pravenc.ru).
  7. ^ a b (in Russian) Торжества по случаю первой годовщины канонизации и 60-летия со дня преставления преподобного Георгия (Карслидиса) прошли в г. Драма (Греция). Официальный сайт Русской Православной Церкви (Patriarchia.ru). 9 ноября 2009 г. 15:21. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Ο Όσιος Γεώργιος Καρσλίδης στην Γεωργία. | Ιερά Μητρόπολις Δράμας". www.imdramas.gr. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
  9. ^ Ὃ ὅσιος Γεώργιος τῆς Δράμας - Νέα ἔκδοση, Ιερά Μονή Αναλήψεως του Σωτήρος Ταξιαρχών Δράμας (Σίψα), Πορφυρία Μοναχή, 2019
  10. ^ Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 179.
  11. ^ Excerpt From: Anonymous. “Saint George of Sipsa, From Child to Saint.” iBooks.
  12. ^ Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 183.
  13. ^ Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 180.
  14. ^ Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 181.
  15. ^ a b c Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 184.
  16. ^ Πορφυρία Μοναχή (2019). Ὃ ὅσιος Γεώργιος τῆς Δράμας - Νέα ἔκδοση (in Greek). Ιερά Μονή Αναλήψεως του Σωτήρος Ταξιαρχών Δράμας (Σίψα): Εκδόσεις Κάστρο. ISBN 9786188452107.
  17. ^ Middleton, Herman A. "Elder George of Drama." In: Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece. 2nd Edition. Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, NC: Protecting Veil Press, 2004. p. 187.
  18. ^ (in Greek) ΙΕΡΕΣ ΜΟΝΕΣ – 2) Αναλήψεως Του Σωτήρος. Ιερά Μητρόπολις Δράμας. 18/10/2011 . Retrieved: 30 July 2014.

Further reading

In Greek

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