Hieromartyr Stergios of Thessaloniki (+1935): In Thessalonica, Fr. Stergios Liouras, the married priest of the True Orthodox Church of the Three Hierarchs, was arrested after the Liturgy on the orders of the New Calendarist Metropolitan. He is beaten by the police and dies a few days later.
Hieromartyr Theonas of Fokis (+1936): The New Calendarist Bishop of Boston, Joachim, returned to Greece and was appointed by the State Church as the Metropolitan of Fokis. While visiting the village of Desfini in Fokis, he enters the Old Calendarist church during the time of the Divine Liturgy while Hieromonk Theonas is celebrating. Metropolitan Joachim grabs the holy chalice out of the hands of Father Theonas, throws it to the ground, and tramples it with his feet until it is completely flattened. Then, he seizes Father Theonas, tears out his beard with his bare hands, pushes him to the ground and begins kicking him mercilessly. A short time later, Father Theonas dies from his wounds. Despite this homicidal act, Metropolitan Joachim of Fokis is later rewarded with advancement to a larger diocese, the Metropolis of Demetrias, to replace Metropolitan Germanos who had left the New Calendarist State Church in 1935 to lead the True Orthodox Christians.
Hieromartyr Plato of Patras (+1950): During the tenure of the New Calendarist Archbishop Spyridon of Athens (c. 1949-1956), efforts to violently persecute the True Orthodox of Greece were greatly increased. For example, an aged Priest, Father Plato, was beaten to death by the police in Patras, and then hastily buried in a field to cover up the crime.
New Martyr Basiliki of Lefkada (+1950): The local oral tradition of the Orthodox of the village of Lazarata, Lefkada, preserves many ; unknown incidents of the persecution of 1950. This persecution was carried out by the innovative Archbishop of Athens Spyridon Vlachos, assisted by the local new Metropolitans, not simply with the tolerance of the Greek State, but with its active participation, since it had placed the Gendarmerie at the disposal of both the Archbishop and the Metropolitans! During this persecution, very serious events
occurred in some areas, such as in Phthiotis (with Metropolitan Ambrosios as persecutor and victims among others the fathers of the Holy Great St. Anne of Lygaria Lamia, of whom Elder Archimandrite Minas Brettos was tried 33 times " for opposing authority; and was convicted 29 times!), in Messinia (with Metropolitan Chrysostomos Daskalakis as persecutor and victims mainly the fathers of the Holy Great Evangelistria - Panagoulaki Skete) and in Chios (with Metropolitan Panteleimonas Fostinis as persecutor). During this incident, a believer was seriously injured, who died a little later, as a result of the her
death. This is Vasiliki , wife of Apostolos Lazaris, a resident of Lazarata. Both were
very faithful, but without knowing it, they followed the New Calendar, “ but when in 1935 they read in the newspapers that three Hierarchs had returned to the old, then they decided to return too ”. The place and circumstances of the fatal injury of the Vasiliki Lazari are as follows: In 1949, the Hieromonk Polykarpos Matthioulis, brother of the Most Reverend Sotiros Kouvaras, was sent to Lefkada by the then Archbishop of Athens (of the True Orthodox Church of Greece), Holy Father Matthew I. He left behind for the Church a memory of a good, blameless and virtuous cleric. In the world, Konstantinos Matthioulis, was born in Palama, Karditsa in 1913. After the encyclical letters, he engaged in the profession of shoemaker. Humble and charitable by nature, simple and blameless, he
was cultivated in Christian virtues by his family environment and in 1944 he embraced the monastic life. He lived as a monk in the Holy. Most Rev. Sotiros Kouvaras, under the Bishop of Vresthenas, Matthew I the Confessor. He received the priesthood in 1948, from his elder, Matthew. His priestly ministry was quiet and humble. He served in many parishes (Thessaloniki, Lefkada, Kaparelli Thebes, Livadia, etc.) and for many years was the vicar of the Holy Mother of God of Keratea. In 1952, during the persecution of the innovative Archbishop Spyridon Vlachos, he was arrested, excommunicated and
exiled, but he faced it all with his simplicity and patience. He fell asleep peacefully on May 17, 1981, while hospitalized at the Red Cross Hospital. He was buried in the Holy Mother of God of Metam. Sotiros Kouvaras. His funeral was presided over by Mak. Archbishop Andreas in the Holy Mother of God Church, where he served for a number of years.
The blessed Fr. Polykarpos remained in Lefkada until May 1950. Subsequently, Fr. Polykarpos was expelled from the island. The only Orthodox church in Lefkada was the Holy Mother of God Church of the Holy Apostles of Lazarata. It is a church with an ancient history, more than 200 years old. In a list of the churches of the Metropolis of Lefkada from 1850, it is mentioned as the second parish church of Lazarata. The church was destroyed in 1948 by an earthquake and was renovated; from the ground up; by the Orthodox of the
village. During the renovation, some old architectural elements were preserved, such as lintels, etc. When the new Metropolitan of Lefkada Dorotheos was informed about the actions of Fr. Polycarp, he ordered the Gendarmerie to arrest him and disperse the Orthodox. According to the testimonies of eyewitnesses, Fr. Polycarp, in order to avoid being arrested, remained inside the Church of the Holy Apostles for 6 months! in a cell in the narthex. Thus, the Gendarmerie arrested only the faithful who were going to be served.
The sad events during which Vasiliki Lazari was mortally wounded occurred when the Guards broke through the door of the Church and entered to arrest the Priest. Then Vasiliki Lazari, in her attempt to protect the Priest, received a fatal blow from one or more Guards, resulting in her being seriously injured and dying a short time later. Her case is similar to that of the New Martyr Catherine Routi, who was seriously injured in the Holy
Church of St. Taxiarches of Mandra, during the historic vigil of November 7-8, 1927.
Catherine, in her attempt to defend the Liturgical Priest with her body, received a fatal blow from a gendarme (with the butt of his weapon) and died a little later (on November 15, 1927), at the; Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, where she was being treated. And in both cases, the simple women of the people, Catherine and Vasiliki, protected with their own
lives not only the authenticity of the Faith, but also the Priesthood - Apostolic Succession, by not allowing the arrest - abuse of the Orthodox Servants of the Most High, who are worthy in every way, by the organs of the heretical, innovative and unworthy of their mission Metropolitans. Similar cases of martyrdom of Orthodox Christians by heretical “ Christians ” are mentioned in many places in the Church’s Hagiography (e.g., the Martyrs under the Iconoclasts at the Bronze Gate of Constantinople, the Holy Martyrs of Mount Athos under the Latins, the Martyrs of Yuriev in Estonia under the Lutherans, etc.).
In the consciousness of the entire True Orthodox Church, the pastors and the pastors, the clergy and the people, Catherine Ruti, Vasiliki Lazari and the other Confessors of the 20th century occupy the position of New Martyrs of the Faith. The venerable Kara of New Catherine, kept in the Holy Monastery of St. Panagia Keratea, is honored as a Martyr Relic. There is currently no information about the Relics of the New Basilica.