Chryse, Pella Province, Greece, October 14, 2026
Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency
Faithful gathered in the Greek village of Chryse on Monday to welcome home the relics of their own New Martyr, St. Chryse (Zlata), who was martyred here in 1795. A procession of nuns with an honor guard met the relics at the village entrance and carried them to the parish Church of St. Chryse.
The relics were received at the church doors by Metropolitans Joel of Edessa and Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, and Bishops Macarius of Glavinitsa, Christopher of Amphipolis, and Stephen of Almopia. They were joined by a large number of clergy from the Metropolis of Edessa and from various parts of Greece, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The fragrant, myrrh-streaming relics were found last month near the ruins of the old Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, in the fortress of the village of Chryse. Analysis at specialized laboratories in Germany found that the bones belong to a young woman of about 17 who died in 1795, the year given in the saint’s life.
Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency
Metropolitan Hierotheos presided at Vespers following the reception of the relics and gave the sermon. He spoke about the saints and focused on those who love the saints, meaning people who show their love for Christ and His saints through their actions.
He said four kinds of such people are linked with St. Chryse. The first is St. Nikodemus the Hagiorite, her biographer, who made her known along with the other New Martyrs and so supported the nation during the Turkish yoke. He also mentioned her secret burial.
The second is St. Callinicus, Metropolitan of Edessa, Pella and Almopia, who recognized and loved the saints. From the start of his episcopate, he urged the faithful to establish the saint’s feast and to rebuild her church, whose foundation he laid.
Photo: Orthodoxia News Agency
The third is the current Metropolitan of Edessa. Metropolitan Joel loves, honors, imitates and glorifies the saints, and has the rare gift of hymnography. He wrote the service to the saint and consecrated her church. In his days, the saint was revealed, a sign of God’s and the saint’s favor toward him, his clergy and his flock. Finally, Metropolitan Hierotheos said, the faithful of the whole Metropolis are also lovers of the saints and deserve congratulations, because they love the saints and the Church.
“Let us acquire a golden mind, a golden heart, a golden life, and glorify the name of the Holy God,” Metropolitan Hierotheos said.
***
St. Chryse was born in the village of Slatena (present-day Chrysi) in the district of Almopia. A Turk abducted her while she was gathering firewood and tried to make her convert to Islam and become his wife. She refused, and on October 13, 1795, the Turks cut her body to pieces with knives, and she received the crown of martyrdom.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, and MeWe!
