Chapter three – Cries from unbearable pain after being stabbed by the dagger o

Chapter three – Cries from unbearable pain after being stabbed by the dagger of the “Andarts”

1. One hot August morning Husni Hussein - Pasha received two Beg (Ottoman official) brothers named Dervis Beg and Selim Beg, sons of the almighty Kasim Beg well respected in Kostur by Ali - Pasha from Ianinna. During a cordial but informal conversation Hussein Pasha said:

“You know that Apostle Paul passed through here and wrote a letter to the people of Corinth, in which he said: ‘I am nothing without love’. It was an interesting thought expressed through these words, don’t you think? Apostle Paul did not stay long while passing through Macedonia because here he found true believers, and so he continued his mission to see if the seeds of Christianity could find fertile soil further away from Solun. Historical facts have shown that things did not go well in Hellas where polytheism was dominant even five centuries after St. Paul’s mission. But that was not his most essential work. It seems that the message ‘I am nothing without love’ did not take root in Hellas where the apostle threw more seeds.”

Husni Hussein Pasha was well liked by the people of Kostur, especially by the fishermen. He was very fond of and often listened to the lovely stories they told. He was well respected and addressed the people of Kostur in their own dialect of the Macedonian language: “My good people what can I do for you today? I know times are tough but, when we are able, we are obligated to help families, friends and neighbours. You must follow the goodness of your ancestors. This is how we have lived together for centuries.”

He was remembered as a man who had much understanding of the people’s problems and never banned the Macedonian language. In fact he made an effort to learn to speak Macedonian so that he could communicate with the ordinary people.

Apart from being merciful, Hussein Pasha was also remembered for building a hotel in which the Sarai Caravan travelers lodged. Those traveling from Epirus, from the city Ianinna to Tsari Grad (Istanbul), had a place to stay. Long columns of people and horses often left

this place for the long road to Solun. Sometime the columns were so long they stretched from Kostur to the Klisura Pass. For centuries they followed the trail of their ancestors. It was a long and dangerous journey, during which many people were killed during robberies. That’s the way it was. Some among the travelers were rich and spent their money (Turkish liras) here in Kostur. Others left some of the goods they were carrying. The Caravan was good for Kostur’s economy.

Beside the hotel there was a bath house. The walls of which are still visible along with the smooth stones that were used to build it. The stones were cut by specialist stone cutters. The corners were so precise that they looked like they were cast in molds. Now the gates have fallen down and a large building has been erected next to the old bath house in which a Pontian colonist has built an overnight lodge and a restaurant. In front of the building there is a wide veranda with a magnificent panoramic view of Kostur’s nature.

* * *

One day Husni Hussein Pasha invited a number of high ranking officers to his place for a formal dinner to celebrate the suppression of the Ilinden Uprising. While they were having a discussion, Hussein Pasha suddenly raised his hand and everyone stopped talking. Because he loved drinking coffee he wanted to tell the officers something over coffee.

“Friends,” Hussein Pasha said, “You have heard of Karavangelis, the Kostur Metropolitan, right? Karavangelis may know how to properly wear the robes but that does not mean that he loves God. It does not mean he can be a good envoy of his country. Karavangelis has shown himself to be the opposite. In fact I believe he has teamed up with the devil.

During my Military Academy days after I learned how to handle a sword, I beat my teacher at a sword fight. He became enraged and threw the sword away and began to cry. I walked away out of respect for him. But what I really wanted to tell you about was the anger and hatred of the Southern Christians, particularly that of Bishop Germanos Karavangelis, the Bishop of Kostur, towards the

Macedonians. The people of Kostur when they saw the Black Angel, excuse me I meant to say Karavangelis, they walked away from him because he is the man who opened the gates of HELL for the Macedonians.

I want to explain myself here because in our Turkish language ‘Kara’ means ‘Black” and ‘Karavangelis’ means ‘Black Vangelis’. He may be someone from our seed, but it is better to prove that he is not... This man is more than a black devil, he is full of malice.

You all know that on July 20, 1903 (August 2, 1903 by the new calendar) the Macedonian people all throughout Kostur Region declared the Ilinden Uprising. The moment the people of Kostur woke up they saw the mountains all around them turn black. The place looked like an ant colony crawling with rebels but we won and now we get to celebrate our victory. But let me say this, that all these rebels were honest children of Macedonia. I do not know whether you know this or not but several decades ago, I think it was since 1875, a Macedonian gymnasium operated in Kostur which was run by the brave rebel commander Lazo Pop - Traikov.

They were no bother for the Turkish government. Quite the opposite, we would have been happy to have more educated people. It was only reasonable, right? Even the celebrated Ata Turk belonged to the tormented Macedonian nation.

After Karavangelis arrived as Bishop of Kostur, he visited me many times and begged me to close down the Gymnasium because, he would say, it was a nest for rebels. But I told him a hundred times, we can’t do that and risk embracing the Turkish government in front of Europe. It would be an uncivilized act. He would then leave dissatisfied and angry with his face looking like that of a hungry beast.

One day he said: ‘We will open the Gymnasium in Greek…’

I broke out laughing and said: ‘Bishop, Bishop… Who will you teach Greek here when no one in Kostur is Greek?!

He got angry and his face became distorted. He then picked up his robe and hat and left. He didn’t even drink the coffee I served him. I thought to myself; What kind of priest is this Karavangelis?...

After our victory over the Ilinden revolutionaries, he used our anger against the rebels. He personally broke into the Gymnasium and destroyed everything; the furniture, the desks, the maps, the library which contained books from all over the world; English, Russian, Turkish and old Byzantine images from the Exarchate Joseph. He did so much damage that the Gymnasium never recovered from it and since then has stopped operating.

I had distinguished guests visiting me that day and they insisted on coming with me to see what had happened. A large crowd had gathered in front of the Gymnasium.

I looked around the lobby and did not see much, but when we entered the library I said: ‘What the hell has happened here?’

The bishop had tossed his tall hat and taken off his black robe, which made him look completely different. He now looked jovial and even heartfelt. Incoherent phrases were coming out of his mouth like angry snakes.

I was all shaken up. He looked less like a holy man and more like someone from Greece from the secret services.

In my confusion I asked: ‘Is that you Bishop?’

Before I saw him or he saw me, I thought about his cold heart when I witnessed how he had ripped a picture of the Exarchate Joseph and how he had ripped the Holy book written with Cyrillic letters into small pieces. This was the second time I saw the man cry and the funny thing about this man was that he was a priest. I know that tears are craving for tenderness, but not in this corrupt and dirty priest. In him there was no tenderness; only anger! I thought to myself perhaps the bishop was crying for my benefit, trying to arouse me, or perhaps he wanted to alleviate his problems or wanted me to take responsibility for his problems that he himself could not handle. But I was convinced that it was delayed crying.

I was astonished by the hatred in his voice and in his words when he shouted: ‘These people must go, disappear from the face of the earth! This language and Cyrillic alphabet irritate my soul, I cannot stand them, I will explode...!’

I became impatient with him and said: ‘No, Bishop! You very well know that he who is against the Cyrillic alphabet is against civilization and all that is self-serving and offensive. We have been here for five centuries and have never even thought of doing something so cruel.

It looks like your fanaticism had blinded you and you cannot understand the Macedonians, especially the people of Kostur who possess indescribable power and a strong sense of belonging! You cannot do that which you are thinking.’

He looked at me. His face was without expression like his black frock. His breathing was rapid and he swallowed hard. He clenched and twisted his teeth. His eyes were dilated and bloodshot.

I asked him: ‘So, why does it bother you so much? Are you not one of Christ’s children!?’

He answered me with eyes full of vengeful tears: ‘I have a job to do!’ he said, ‘I am here to prevent new situations from taking place!’

I then said: ‘Bishop, it is hard to understand you. For many years priests and bishops did everything they could to help their people and you in an instant have destroyed all that...’

One of my agents said to me: ‘This person is truly mad! He is in a foreign country under our rule and does what he feels like! Is he that ignorant not to understand that Macedonia is under Ottoman rule?! And who knows what else he does!’

My agent looked at me and said: ‘Commander Sir! You know what made this priest mad!? He is not a child of God! He is more dangerous than the devil! He wants to create trouble for these peaceful Christian people who have an Orthodox Church, which

belongs to the Exarchate family and is full of their saints. But this Karavangelis character wants to push then to join the Hellenic Church. But such a church does not exist here. So, to make the churches Hellenic he decided to replace the saints. Is that not anti-Christian?

For a while now he has been spreading his madness and anger and agitating the South Christians. He tells the people of Kostur that they are Greeks from the time of Alexander the Great but the Slavs who passed by here made them into Slavs. He tells them that their appearance is Greek and that the soil they walk on is Greek. He tells them that memories hidden in the soil can testify to that. And those memories are Greek and can be found in the ancient Greek coins. The writing on the coins is Greek.

Look at him! He is holding the thick book in his hands and tearing it apart. That book has pictures of the Macedonian saints. These saints are the Soldiers of Christ and sons of Macedonia. Here, look at the names: St. Angel Lerinski. St. Jakov Kosturski, St. Dionisi Kosturski, St. Giorgi Kosturski. And here is Zlata Meglenska, St. Nikita Serski and many other Macedonian saints. They served their people here under the most difficult conditions. This is the truth. The rest is invented lies!

He came here some time ago and started to undermine the feelings of the poor people. He propagated his lies by giving them gold if they declared themselves Greek. It is happening even today. Look at the windows and balconies. Those who sold their identity for gold are now flying Greek flags. By doing so, this crazy priest has violated Ottoman law!? This is enough reason to have this mad man expelled, right?’ concluded my agent.

In our company, beside my agent who spoke, stood Bei Demirpeiko who had come all the way from Iannina to visit with Bei Hussein. Encouraged by the words of my agent, Demirpeiko said: ‘Your agent is right. This man – priest, whom I have been watching for a while now, according to some of the people of Kostur that I have spoken with, is not a Christian. He is wearing the shadow of greed and is abusing our hospitality.

I am familiar with the Christians who live in this region. My great grandmother Sevda, wife to my great-grandfather Ali - Pasha from Iannina, was from this region, from the Vicho mountain villages. She was a very beautiful woman. My great grandfather kidnapped her and had three sons with her. One of those sons was my father, Bei Galipeio. We called her Baba Sevda. Baba Sevda raised me. Because of the great respect I have for her I cannot allow this crazy priest to do this against these people.

This devil priest does not deserve to carry the rod with the silver chain used by Macedonian saints, martyrs and deserving priests who were born and lived in Kostur and spread and taught the Christian Faith. This devil is destroying everything and replacing it with his own chosen material, which begins anew with him. Observe! He destroyed the thick book written in Macedonian entitled “Autobiographical notes on the Macedonian saints - and all soldiers of Christ and sons of Macedonia”, in which there is information about the lives of those great figures who were here during the worst conditions and were tortured and oppressed, imprisoned, enslaved, crucified, beheaded, bodies cut to pieces, skinned, etc., while being forced to give up Christ and their homeland. But they remained faithful to Christ and to their Macedonia to the end.

My beloved and well-respected Baba Sevda told me a great deal about this. One time she said: “We Macedonians are very patient people, but that does not mean that we are willing to give up our Holy Church and our saints…” Often she would say that the Macedonian people did not experience true evil from the Ottoman government… But they now do with this devil Karavangelis who is bent on destroying these people with bribes and lies...’ concluded Bei Demirpeiko.

I then turned to Karavangelis and said: “Oh Father, Father, I don’t know how you can call yourself a ‘child of God’? How you can eat the bread from these people when all you do is commit crimes and evil against them? And you came here all the way from hell to preach the Christian faith?!

I can count on my fingers the number of most inhuman crimes that you have committed against the Macedonian people, whose future generations will never forget:

You paid assassins to bring you the head cut off Lazo Pop – Traikov (3), Director of this Gymnasium here in Kostur.

You welcomed Kote the executioner with words that are improper for a Christian who represents himself as a child of God, to use. In God’s name you play dirty games against the Macedonian people. You told Kote: ‘Now my obligations and concerns have eased.’ Lazo Pop – Traikov was a driving force behind the freedom fighters here. Now he will not write any more poems or teach any of the freedom fighting children.

I believe that future Macedonian generations will admire Lazo Pop – Traikov and will sing and read poetry about him and his deeds like the following:

‘Why do you cry, why do you mourn, you tall Lisets Mountain, why are you covered in fog from top to bottom?

I will cry and I will mourn, for many centuries, because look where they slaughtered Lazo Pop – Traikov.

They cut off his proud head for fifty liras (Turkish gold coins) and took it to Kostur, a gift for the despot Karavangelis.’

It will be shameful, very shameful, to speak about that despot who paid the beast Kote to behead Lazo.

Let us all say: ‘May God forgive Lazo Pop – Traikov’s sins and save his soul!

He was the first and greatest commander and poet in Kostur of our time!’

Bei Demirpeiko stood there looking furious, tightly holding the handle of the sword hanging from his waist with his right hand. The moment Husni Hussein - Pasha finished talking, in a raised voice he said:

“It is shameful for a bishop, given that he is a guest of the Ottoman authorities, to be hanging the head of a dead person at the door of an Ottoman government building in Kostur and leaving it there to rot until the last days of October.”

Bei Demirpeiko then turned to Karavangelis and said: “I would like to ask you a question. Do you believe in the Christian faith and justice or is there a dark executioner hiding under that black robe. This kind of behaviour belongs to the so-called psychopaths and sociopaths, and not to God’s children.”

While thinking of the head hanging in the dry October wind and, without any particular expression of heroism and virtue, suffering, or fear of death, Bei Demirpeiko said: “The Macedonian people have experienced enough dark trials from this crazy priest through his tortures, violence and decapitations. He is responsible for the demise of many Macedonian leaders. Our empire should not tolerate foreigners with such wild and revolting practices!”

Demirpeiko then, but only for a moment, stared at the people walking by outside the window, momentarily stopping, startled by his piercing gaze. Red faced and hair standing up at the back of his neck, he turned to Karavangelis, angrily looked at him and said:

“Shame on you! You also organized and butchered entire villages. Only an evil man would do that! Here is what the representative of the Russian Embassy in Bitola said about one of your abhorrent and inhumane acts of slaughter, carried out by your henchmen at the village Zagorichani:

‘Oh my God! There is no pen to write with to describe the horrors and atrocities committed against these people by those beasts armed from head to toe. They committed unheard of horrors never before seen in this world and in the history of mankind.’

Then we find the following written by a newspaper on the slaughter in the village Zagorichani: ‘On March 25, 1905, during the so-called Greek Struggle for Macedonia, 200 paid soldiers led by the Greek officers headquarters were dispatched to destroy the village Zagorichani where the soldiers committed one of the most heinous acts known to mankind. They killed more than fifty innocent villagers (among them old men, women and children) and burned all the houses and barns that were still standing after the Ilinden uprising. These savage soldiers fled only after the village was approached by the Ottoman regular army. The Zagorichani massacre cast fear and terrible nightmares all over Europe,’ the newspaper wrote,” concluded Bei Demirpeiko.

Demirpeiko then paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued talking to Karavangelis: “And what do you say to the horrors committed in Zelenich!? …The bloody wedding in the village Zelenich?! Should I continue?”

Bei Demirpeiko looked up, raised his hands and said: “My God, how can this Empire, our Empire allow this to happen, allow this person to commit such heinous acts before our eyes, an evil person who disguises himself as a man of God and as the bishop of Kostur?”

The concept of “one church” is a reflection of its name “Church of Greece”, also known as the “Greek Orthodox Church”. The name is a western mold and is associated with only one church. The autonomy of this church was recognized by Constantinople in 1850, 20 years after Greece became independent. The Church of Greece belongs to “Old Greece”, which does not include Macedonia or Crete which are still under the authority of the patriarch in Constantinople.

Bei Demirpeiko then turned towards Hussein – Pasha and said: “God help us all! It is now clear to me but I will explode from frustration, why would you, Honourable Husni Hussein – Pasha allow this to happen?” He then turned towards Karavangelis and said: “After the entire world heard what you, Karavangelis, said when you were watching the village Zagorichani burnt like a torch, you went and celebrated. You celebrated March 25 as the greatest

attack against the believers of the Exarchate Church! You then, when you were talking about the great ‘Andart evil’, said:

‘I deliberately visited Zagorichani while it was burning and rejoiced, feeling like a second Nero.’…”

Demirpeiko paused for a moment, looked at Karavangelis, and said: “I don’t know from what hell God brought you here, but when these gentle people, the true children of God, and all other Christians in the world, find out that you, a priest and bishop no less, rejoiced at the killings of simple ordinary Christian peasants - Macedonian people, for simply praying at their Exarchate Church, what will they think of you?!”

Demirpeiko then turned to the others and, while pointing at Karavangelis, said: “Look at him, he committed all these criminal acts and he is still happy…”

Demirpeiko then turned to Karavangelis and said: “You, Bishop Karavangelis, you must realize that Kostur is not Greece, it belongs to the Ottoman Empire, and you must cease your criminal acts and stop behaving like a spoiled child in a candy store! Do you understand?”

The crafty bishop looked at him sideways and immediately jumped out of the place where he was standing, put his black robe on and, with open arms raised up in the air, said:

“You spoke well Bei Demirpeiko but put aside your concerns and kindness. You know very well who those freedom fighters are. They are those people who want to kick you Ottomans out. They are the ones who refuse to accept the Greek Church and want Macedonia for the Macedonians.”

At this point I (Husni Hussein – Pasha), interjected and said: “I am standing here listening to all of you and I can’t believe what I am hearing! My agents and Bei Demirpeiko are upset and I can’t understand why this priest is so angry at the Macedonians and where his negativity is coming from? It seems to me that this bishop has been angry for a long time and was in need of a cathartic discharge.

He has been charged with mixed emotions and was waiting for some time to perform such a catharsis, to purify his soul and to achieve spiritual and psychological fulfillment and emotional discharge. His nerves could not sustain honest stress as he lives in a state of panic. After the Macedonians failed to liberate themselves during the Ilinden Uprising, he took it upon himself to believe that this was the end of Macedonia.”

I then stood up and proudly said: “I have been with these people for many years, especially with the people of Kostur, and I can assure you that the Macedonians, in addition to their history and culture, which are fundamental aspects of their regular life, have their own Macedonian identity and are fighting to preserve it. And we respect that!

On the other hand, I am equally certain that this bishop is a man who loves no one, not even himself. He is strangled by the mistakes of his own life. He has yet to truly begin to live. I also believe that he is a man who will never find peace in his soul and even God cannot help him...”

After hearing me out, Karavangelis composed himself, turned and, while looking at me with the protruding eyes of an executioner, soberly said:

“Lord Husni Hussein – Pasha, you have power, I don’t doubt that, but I do believe these books here have even greater power, magical power and you can’t just leave them here.”

The bishop stood there in front of the Pasha looking shaken and disappointed that he had not destroyed the book “Macedonian Military Training and Doctrine” written by Gotse Delchev and Gorche Petrov. That particular book was written in 1900 and had authentic information about military training and rules of engagement for the Macedonian military units. The book also had guidelines for teaching the Macedonian people basic revolutionary tactics and how they should be implemented.

I (Husni Hussein – Pasha) then turned to Karavangelis and said: “Bishop, what you are doing is evil and criminal. You are not only

violating Christian laws but you are also violating human rights laws, unfortunately you cannot see the criminality of your actions, even now that they have been made clear to you. Stupidity is the most uncommon of all diseases, but I never thought it could be caught by a preacher of the faith…

You have lost your true Christian ways and you have turned the weak into servants of the strong. But let me tell you that we the Ottomans are in power in Macedonia, and not you the Greeks. You have a great desire for Macedonia to become Greek very soon but that has not happened. We are responsible for Macedonia and have to answer to the international community and to the civilized world about the Macedonian people and not you. You should also know that we consider your ‘Andartes’ as nothing more than a bunch of dangerous gangs who skillfully use and abuse our leniency.”

I then turned to the others and said: “Here is a man who appeared to us like a phenomenon in the early 20th century and who paid people to cut off the heads of prominent Macedonians, like the Commander and Professor Lazar Pop - Traikov.

An especially powerful tool used by this bishop has been a combination of religion and politics. While he prayed and blessed his Andartes, he was a master of psychology and a demagogic orator when it came to controlling the masses. He was convinced that brains did not work with the masses, only emotions. In moments of weakness he used his skills to apply this age-old psychological technique in order to create hatred in the people against a common enemy, the Exarchate Church.

Karavangelis has lived a Christian life since he was very young but after he became Bishop of Kostur, he strayed from his true Christian faith. Perhaps this is why God, after listening to the long prayers of the Macedonian people, against whom he committed many heinous crimes, sent him a vision that it was time for him to not only leave Kostur but to also leave his earthly life, because he forgot that he belonged to God.”