Faith is not uprooted - By Metropolitan Florinis Irenaiostranslated

On the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-giving Cross, the Martyrs of Asia Minor are honored, people who did not just talk about the Cross, but lived it. Saint Chrysostom of Smyrna and the Martyrs of Asia Minor lived through the dramatic hours of persecution and destruction, remaining steadfast in their faith and duty towards the people. They did not turn away from those who were being tested and did not back down in the face of fear and violence.

When everything fell apart, they stayed. Their attitude sealed an entire era and left the Church a precious legacy of faith, sacrifice and responsibility.¹

Then came the uprooting. People left behind homelands, houses, churches, graves of ancestors and a whole life. Many of them reached the land of Western Macedonia and took root in Florina, Amyntaio and Ptolemaida. But they did not only convey their pain. They brought the sacred images they saved from their churches and homes, their faith, their piety, their manners and customs, their traditions, their songs and their memories. They also brought industriousness, creativity, perseverance and that strength needed to start again when everything seems…