Music Nationalism in a Non-Communist Country: The Canonization of National Martyrs in Greek Orthodox Church and Its Impact on Ecclesiastical Hymnography
Music Nationalism in a Non-Communist Country: The Canonization of National Martyrs in Greek Orthodox Church and Its Impact on Ecclesiastical Hymnography

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with an important aspect of nationalism in south-eastern Europe in the 20th century: the inclusion of several national figures into the list of recognized saints of the Church of Greece. That practice began to take momentum after 1921, when the Church of Greece decided to canonize Patriarch Gregorios V of Constantinople, who was hung by the sultan for his inability to supress the Greek uprising (1821). The canonization coincided with the Greek army expedition to Asia Minor following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and its partition by the Great Powers. The Patriarch’s body was eventually interred in the Athens Cathedral and is still commemorated as national martyr (ethnomartyr). In the same year (1921), Gregorios’ service was published containing various hymns with several nationalistic overtones. Another example discussed is the canonization of Bishop Chrysostom of Smyrna (1992), who was lynched and dragged around the city following the defeat and retreat of the Greek Army from Asia Minor (1922). The paper will also examine other related issues, such as the Church’s involvement in politics, the identity of the hymnographers and composers of the services, their reception by the press and the public, etc.

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