“If You Want to Hang Me, Here’s the Rope!” — Orthodox Bishop Unafraid of the Nazis Saved Thousands
“If You Want to Hang Me, Here’s the Rope!” — Orthodox Bishop Unafraid of the Nazis Saved Thousands
Choosing between good and evil is easy. Choosing between a greater evil and a lesser one is a more difficult task, especially if it is not immediately apparent which is which. Imagine being offered a
This topic arose more than once in the communication of the Archbishop with the Nazis. In 1943, he stood up against the planned genocide of the Athenian Jewish community and was threatened with a shooting. The Primate replied, “The Greek hierarchs are not shot. They are hanged. Please respect this tradition.”
The Archbishop continued to harshly denounce the invaders in his sermons. Once the head of the collaborationist government Georgios Tsolakoglou told him, “Be careful, or the Germans will shoot you.” Again, His Eminence Damaskinos said, “It is the military who are shot. The hierarchs are hanged, and I am ready for it.”