Volume 4 Theology and Culture

Theology & Culture
The Academic Journal of the

Department of Theology and Culture
University College Logos
Theology & Culture

Volume 4, June 2022
ISSN: 2708-6755
Department of Theology and Culture

University College Logos
Publication information:
Theology & Culture is the Academic Journal of the Department of Theology &
Culture, Univeristy College Logos and is published online two times per year.
The Department is located at Saint Blaise, 5 minutes outside Durrës, Albania.
Volume 4, June 2022
ISSN: 2708-6755
Aims and Scope:

Theology & Culture is an international peer-reviewed open access journal
dedicated to publishing high-quality research articles in the field of Theology,
Study of Religion, Education, Literature and Social Sciences. The journal
publishes reviews, original papers, conference announcements, book reviews
and research reports trying to provide a platform for experts and scholars
worldwide to exchange their latest researches and findings. Another goal of
the Journal will be the promotion of case studies that concern religion, history,
culture and society in Albania and the Balkans in general. The official language
of the Journal is English and only in special cases will be printed articles in
German, French or Italian.
Editorial Board Members:

1. Dr. Georgios Gaitanos, Lecturer of Religious Studies (Head of the
Department of Theology and Culture, University College Logos)
2. Dr. Georgios Keselopoulos, Lecturer of Liturgical Studies (Department of
Theology and Culture, University College Logos)
Manuscripts and correspondence are invited for publication. You can submit
your papers via e-mail to theolculture@gmail.com. Submission guidelines
and Web Submission system are available at https://theolkulogos.wordpress.
com/2020/01/30/theology-culture/
Copyright© 2022 by the Department of Theology & Culture, Univeristy College

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with the title of this journal, serial number and the name of the author.
Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Thoma Çomëni
1. Aspects of reshaping the consciousness in the Orthodox Church
of Albania after the fall of the Communist System 11
Thoma Shkira
2. Religious Coexistence through the Cult of the Saints in Albania.
Saints George and Blaise 27
Thomas Mavromoustakos & Sotirios Despotis
3. Numerology in the Gospel of John I:
A contribution to the understanding of the numbers (2:6) 43
Georgios Gaitanos
4. Religious Freedom and Millet during the Tanzimat Reform 57
Thomas Mavromoustakos & Sotirios Despotis
5. Numerology in the Gospel of John II: The Jesus’ burial, the resurrection
and the significance of the numbers two and one hundred 81
Acknowledgements
T
his edition is the fourth volume of the Journal “Theology & Culture”
(ISSN: 2708-6755), which is the official academic Journal of the De-
partment of Theology & Culture, University College Logos. This
academic journal is published two times per year in print and online. Theolo-
gy & Culture is an international peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated
to publishing high-quality research articles in the field of Theology, Study of
Religion, Education, Literature, Social Sciences and Religious Tourism. All
research articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial
editor screening and anonymous refereeing by at least two anonymous refer-
ees. And also, our reviewers and editorial board members are from different
countries all over the world.
The journal publishes reviews, original papers, conference announcements,
book reviews and research reports trying to provide a platform for experts,
scholars and researchers that has started their career now to exchange their
latest researches and findings. Another goal of the Journal is be the promotion
of case studies that concern religion, history, culture and society in Albania
and the Balkans in general. The official language of the Journal is English and
only in special cases will be printed articles in German, French or Italian.
The journal will be indexed by Google scholar, DOAJ (Directory
of Open Journals) and is hosted to our Issuu page (https://issuu.com/
departamentiitheologjisedhekultures). Also, the journal has its own Academia
(https://independent.academia.edu/AcademicJournalTheologyCulture)
and Researchgate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theology_Culture)
account and every article is accompanied by a Doi number.
For this fourth volume, we are publishing 5 articles that refer to Hagiolo-
gy in Albania, Religious Coexistence, New Testament heremeneutics, History
of Religions, Religious Freedom and the History of the Orthodox Church in
Albania after the Communist Regime. We would like to thank our contribu-
tors for this second edition and especially As. Lecturer Msc. Thoma Çomëni-
“Aspects of the reshaping the parish consciousness in the Orthodox Church
of Albania after the fall of the Communist System”, Lecturer Dr. Thoma Shki-
ra-“Religious Coexistence through the Cult of Saints in Albania: Saints George
and Blaise”, Professors Dr. Thomas Mavromoustakos & Dr. Sotirios Despotis
7
Acknowledgements
with two articles -“Numerology in the Gospel of John I: A contribution to the

understanding of the numbers (2:6)” and “Numerology in the Gospel of John
II: The Jesus’ burial, the resurrection and the significance of the numbers two
and one hundred”, and Lecturer Dr. Georgios Gaitanos-“Religious freedom
and millet during the Tanzimat Reform”.
The Editorial Board
Dr. Georgios Gaitanos
Dr. Georgios Keselopoulos
8
1
Aspects of the reshaping the parish con-
sciousness in the Orthodox Church of Alba-
nia after the fall of the Communist System
Thoma Çomëni
As. Lecturer of Christian Ethics, Department of Theology & Culture,
University College Logos, Tirana
Corespondence:
e-mail: thoma.comeni@kulogos.edu.al
Abstract
The parish is the cell of church life. It’s personal experience in relationship with
the focus of Church life, and as such car- God makes them not merely fossils of
ries a significant weight in church life the past, but an important basis for con-
and activity. As such its absence creates tinuing and enriching the ecclesiastical
emptiness in the life of the Church. The experience. Sermons, catechistic teach-
topic analyzes some aspects of the parish ings, spiritual speeches, the publication
life and the reshaping of its conscious- of books with theological and spiritual
ness in the case of the Autocephalous content, the remembrance of various
Orthodox Church of Albania, after the saints, local or not, who have an impact
fall of the communist system. Coping on the lives of believers and the Church
with the physical absence of parishio- are another attempt to form the parish
ners, the impact on their consciousness consciousness. The analysis is based on
and subconscious of the ideology and facts fixed by reality and daily life, com-
propaganda of the communist system, bining it with the tradition, life and theo-
the fossilization of memory, the accep- logical thought of the Church.
tance and assimilation of divine truths Keywords:
are some aspects that make up the effort parish, parish conscience, temple,
to form the ecclesiastical consciousness. pastoral care, worship life, collectivism,
The challenges of overcoming collectiv- individualism, dialogue, Eucharistic
ization, massification and the power of society.
propaganda, created by the communist
system with the individualism, secular-
Citation:
ism and consumer spirit offered by con- Çomëni T. Aspects of the reshaping the
temporary society are part of the effort parish consciousness in the Orthodox
to form the ecclesiastical consciousness. Church of Albania after the fall of the
Considering the memory and heritage Communist System. Theology & Culture.
of traditions and customs in the faith 2022; 4: 11-26.
is another aspect of forming the parish Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20312.57600
consciousness. Feeding them with new
11
Aspects of the reshaping the parish consciousness ©2022 Çomëni
Introduction
T
he parish is a society in which the faithful, under the ecclesiastical
guidance of the bishop and the priests, participate in a god-human
society centered on Holy Eucharist. Each parish is a community,
whose members are associated with faith in the Triune God, with the Chris-
tian ethos and the worship life, where the Divine Liturgy has an essential
and central role. The parish is a society that is based on faith in Christ and
is formed, becomes felt and strong in a specific area, which surrounds the
parish church (Gregoriati,1993, p. 16). This is a priest-centered thanksgiving
gathering within the boundaries of the episcopal Church. This shows that the
parish has an essential need for the presence of the priest, who operates and
manages the sacraments, the teaching, and the catechism of the flock, with the
aim of guiding the deification of the members of this flock. The presence and
guidance of the priest in the parish includes the whole spectrum of the society,
that is, his ministry includes the whole society with its characteristics, without
losing its characteristic as a divine Eucharistic society.
Starting from this dimension, we understand that its construction or recon-
struction and its continuous functioning is one of its most difficult but blessed
missions. The above thought implies that the inspirer and leader of this mis-
sion, whom God has called to accomplish and who leads the believing people
in spiritual challenges, has significant weight. And in the case of the Orthodox
Church in Albania, the revival of the spiritual life of the parish is connected
with its head, Archbishop Anastasios, who inspired and inspires this mission
in the strong faith in God. The development of the topic will highlight the fact
that the dimension of the resurrection of parish life has the seal of God, but
also the effort, faith, hope and joy of Archbishop Anastasios. It is a resurrec-
tion experience over the absence of churches, clergy, and an ecclesiastical con-
science. Thus, this topic tries to touch not only the events that accompanied
this resurrection of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, under
the leadership of Archbishop Anastasios, but also to present some pastoral
theological elements.
1. The parish church in Albania from death to the
Resurrection
The destruction and conversion of the temples for other uses by the totali-
tarian regime is an act without the will of the Church crew, which interrupted
12
the life of the Church, the close relationship of the parishioners and the close
mutual relationship between the Church and the of the world. The temple
expresses the faith and the life of the generations. These characteristics make
him a place of reference for the continuity of the spiritual and worship life.
Their leveling or conversion interrupted the relationship of people with their
ancestors, but also with their contemporaries and their future, “because man
cannot be understood without his ancestors and contemporaries, in fact he is
often largely determined by them” (Mantzaridis, 2003, p.310). The construc-
tion or restoration of temples contributes to the reconnection of people with
tradition and to the rebirth of tradition. He recalled the reasons, the history,
the motives and the way the temples were built, as well as the relationship
of the community with the church, the role that the parish church played in
the relationship between man and God. Inside this temple the priesthood is
connected with the sacramental life and the preaching of the word of God.
In the holy orthodox temples that are operating again comes the Albanian
society that had suffered deeply atheistic and ideological pressure and now
are the members with a close or loose or indifferent participation in the life of
the Church or do not agree with the church life. The latter are members of the
Church who have been baptized before the ban on religious freedom. Thus in
the life of the sanctuary, the parish meet the characteristics of today’s Albanian
society: the search and the atheistic attitude (Anastasios, 2011, p.58).
The pastoral work of the parish of the Albanian Orthodox Church is con-
fronted with these features of modern Albanian society. To help the spiritual
search of the people, the search emphasized the revival of tradition, because
the older generations still remember the events, the moments from their daily
Christian parish life and that of their ancestors. The presence of the temple
among other things helps in the remembrance of these events. Which means
that for man the decision of today is important, which is based on yesterday.
In this way the memory of yesterday is linked to the identification and refers
to tomorrow (Mantzaridis, 1996, p. 173). Thus, with the restoration of the
church and the formation of the parish and the community of believers in
Christ, the past is utilized, it is experienced today and it is an important ele-
ment of determination for tomorrow. However, the relationship with tradition
must be real, in order to unify tradition itself and make it active in the life of
the Church, keeping it away from any dogmatism and ideological symbolism,
open to any change that comes in the life of the Church (Lialiou, 2000, p. 49).
Tradition becomes real when man or community bases it on faith in Christ.
Faith made the Apostle Paul turn the tradition of his ancestors into a force of
13
“transformation”.
The function of parish life renews the Christian tradition, experiences that
did not exist in the age of atheism. The period when religion was persecuted
was indirectly or directly a big gap in the tradition, because the continuity was
interrupted, but at the same time the spiritual confrontation of the social phe-
nomena that oppress the daily life of the world is absent. The reopening of the
temples in a short period of time is a great effort to bridge the gap created by
the anti-religious and anti-Christian actions of communism. It is an import-
ant impetus for parish life, because it enables the faithful to communicate with
the sanctified place. Free access to the sanctified place, the worship and spiri-
tual life in it reshapes the parish, which finds its three characteristics: “a - the
worship unit, b - the loving relationship and c - the variety of gifts” (Matsouka,
1997, p. 102).
In 1944 the Albanian Orthodox Church had four dioceses, 365 parishes
and 373 priests and 23% of the Albanian population (Beduli, 1992, p. 31).
In 1967, when religious freedom was banned, the parish number was 365,
the clergy 217. At the beginning of the democratic development there was
no parish, while there were 22 clergy left in old age. Today 460 parishes were
reorganized and 146 clergy were ordained (Kalendari Orthodhoks 2012). This
effort encountered many difficulties due to the problems left behind by com-
munism, but also to the challenges of modern society.
With the reopening of the parish life, the church was reconnected with the
priest and the worship life. The function of the parish requires the worship
service of the priest, the appropriate place, the participation of the faithful and
the preaching of the word of God. In the era of communism after 1967 the
first three important factors (priest, temple and people) in some cases exist-
ed, but were cut off from each other. The worship life was missing, the divine
Eucharist, the central sacrament of union of the body of Christ, the function
of the altar but also the function of the speech. In this way the freedom of the
worship of God finds its true dimension, because the freedom of faith is also
connected with the possibility of participation in the sacramental life of the
Church, where each of its actors (priest, temple, people and word of God) has
his position.
14
2. Reopening of temples in Albania as a transition from

collectivism to Eucharistic society
The periods before and after the totalitarian regime have an important and
common element for the tradition. In both periods the function of the parish
is the local living Church, the body of Christ that shapes the Christian tradi-
tion in Christ. This means that the Church in her life shaped the tradition into
“living bodies and innumerable monuments” (Matsouka, 2000, p. 184). This
tradition is shaped in the local Christian communities and becomes the con-
sciousness of the Church, as it is based on the example, on the teaching and
practice of Christ (Acts 1:1 “all that Jesus began to do and teach”), who gave
the disciples a regulatory interpretation of how to interpret the old scriptures
(Matthew 5:20-48), and teach in his name (Matthew 28:20). Jesus Christ also
gave the living example of how to act and do. In the letter to the Philippians,
the Apostle Paul, expressing his ecclesiastical perspective, emphasizes that the
communion between members of the Church must have the humility that
Christ had and showed (Karavidopoulos, 1992, p. 299-300). While in the first
letter to the Corinthians “the example of Christ is generally shown by His empti-
ness and by the reversal of the historical Jesus to all kinds of people” (Agouridis,
1982, p. 175).
The reopening and refunction of parishes after the fall of communism en-
abled Christians to experience the example of Christ, at the same time another
dimension of society, of man’s relationship with fellow man and of man with
God. This other dimension finds itself in opposition to the relations formed by
communism or projected by the new conditions of today’s society. Commu-
nist society is distinguished by the character of collectivism (Berdyaev, 2002,
p. 145-46) and in another form exists today by participating in various politi-
cal and social organizations. The large number of these organizations confirm
to us the fact of existence, as well as in other societies, of individualism and
selfishness, as fear and anxiety are found among the members of this society
(Keselopoulos, 2009, p. 290). The re-function of parish life enables the faithful
to move away from collectivist gatherings of people and to experience com-
munion with one another as the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27) the “commu-
nion of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:13, Philip. 2:1). This means that life flows in
the Church, in it the human experiences of faith find their meaning, because
the Church is “a divine, unchangeable and unshakable foundation, while hu-
man transcendences have transience and often wrong experiences” (Gioultsi,
15
1999, p. 327-328). The young clergy who serve lived a special experience, as
long as they studied during their years of training at the Ecclesiastical Semi-
nary (Theological Academy) by participating in communal life, in the sacra-
ments, and the sacred sacraments (Anastasios, 2011, p. 48) as a small parish.
This special, important and essential difference in the nature and function
of the Church makes it impossible for the Church to identify or submit to so-
ciety. As this distinction of the Church from society made her withstand the
pressures of the caesarean and dictatorial powers and the various groups that
have a negative attitude towards it. In fact, after 1967 there are cases when the
priests and the faithful continued the work of the parish, but in a secret way.
They are parishes that did not have as their center the temple, but the houses
of the faithful. In the houses the Divine Liturgy, the baptisms and other wor-
ship prayers took place, and the chanting in a low voice, which came from the
depths of the soul. The priest without beard and beard, but had deep faith,
hope and love. The believers of this parish were not from the same neighbor-
hood, village or town, as is usually a parish, but they were believers who were
united by the grace of God. One of these cases is that of Father Kosmas from
Bestrova in Vlora (Bulika, 2005, p. 24-25). But also in other cities such as
Korçë, Tiranë, Durrës, etc. (Tushi, 2012, p. 49-53).
This tendency of disobedience to the rulers of this world has continued
in recent years in the Albanian Orthodox Church. The pastoral presence of
the Archbishop and other high priests, the ordination of priests, the worship,
pastoral and spiritual function of the parishes is directed by the ecclesiastical
body and not by various political non-religious actors. In the first 20 years
after 1990 the political power tried hard to enter the life of the parish by pro-
moting national, patriotic ideologies, in order to divide the life of the parish
and the Church (Anastasios, 2011, p. 87, 97). However, the unifying grace of
God confronted the divisive tendency of power, because the Church relies on
the power of authority and not on the power of sovereignty (Karras, 2001, p.
232). The authentic and non-authoritarian attitude of the offering and minis-
try of the Orthodox Christian Church is different from the dominant authori-
tarian attitude of the world. This nature of the Church did not allow the parish
to participate or become a community with a political spectrum, although
members of the parish - Church have the right to vote and to be elected (An-
astasios, “Orthodox must be responsible citizens”, “Ngjallja” 44 (1996), p. 12.
Papapavli, “A happy anniversary for the Orthodox community of Albania”,
“Ngjallja”, Special edition - 2 Αύγουστος 1997, p. 4). This expresses the spirit
16
that the Church is a peaceful authority, based on the acceptance of the Passion
and Resurrection of Christ, passion, humility and patience for the sake of oth-
ers (Anastasios, 2007, p. 103). which is different from the power of commu-
nism and democracy exercised in the 20th century and early 21st century in
Albania. While the former is a dictatorship in its entirety the latter often has
“dictatorial” signs in the years after the fall of communism. As for the Church,
power is liberation from sin and its consequences.
In the post-communist era, Albanian society, lived by church members, is
caught between two different trends, collectivism and individualism. The ide-
ology of the Christian identity of people of Christian origin, but have not been
baptized, although they express a kind of collectivism at the same time they
express an individualism, which in today’s society is a common phenome-
non. Collectivism creates a pseudo-reality, because man does not ask to know
his real situation, but transfers his problems to superhuman and anonymous
organizations (Berdyaev, 2002, p. 147-148). Collectivism shapes individual
relationships, but leaves no room for personal relationships. Today’s life in
large urban centers helps to create relationships between individuals and not
individuals. Participation in the spiritual and worship life of the parish is a
gathering, which contained faith, love and hope. Experiencing these three di-
mensions of the Christian life makes the difference between any ideological
and collectivist identity.
These two tendencies of social life affect the ecclesiastical life, while the
second one finds more ground in recent years. For example, today there is
no tendency for a family religion in contrast to the situation that was until
the beginning of the 20th century when religion was a family affair, while
today it becomes a personal affair. There are many cases of people who are of
Christian origin and declare themselves atheists or hold an attitude of indif-
ference to the faith1. Such as the cases where members of society declare both
tendencies at the same time. That is, they declare that they are Christians of
family origin, but they are not baptized and consequently do not participate
in the sacramental life of the Church, in the communion of persons. This is a
1 Thus, in a study conducted in 2008 by the company Albanian WB Data & Statistics
on 25000 people aged 14-75 years, it appeared that the question: do you believe in God?
29.21% answered Yes, 15.83% answered I do not know and 54.96% No. To the other question:
what religion do you believe in? 70.21% answered None, 10.33% in the Orthodox Church,
8.09% in the Roman Catholic, 9.34% in Islam (Sunni), 1.2% in the Bektashi, 0.7% in the
Protestant Church and and 0.6% in other religions. Another question was Do you go to any
religious places? 81% answered No, 13.62% Sometimes and 5.30% Often. http://www.scribd.
com/doc/15738681/Feja-ne-Shqiperi.
17
trend that manifested itself in former socialist countries, where the end of one
ideology gave impetus to the formation of other ideologies, where Christian
origin became a way of ideology with a national and often racist spectrum
(Mantzaridis, 2001, p. 25). This is because Christian identity begins with bap-
tism into the Triune God, where the believer is born and walks into a new
life. The Christian identity is an identity that has a personal dimension and
demands the voluntary will, faith and actions of man for his salvation (Mat-
souka, 2001, p. 479). In these years in Albanian society an attempt is made
to project the distinction between a true Christian identity and a supposed
Christian identity. Just as a distinction is made between customs and tradi-
tion. Baptism enables the believer to understand, feel and form a personal and
lively relationship with tradition, that is, to become a member of the unbroken
history of the Christian church life, of the Christian tradition.
In this way it is understood that the communion in Christ of a parish is
closely related to the place where it develops. Thus the parish is structured
geographically and not sociologically, as shown by the references of the Apos-
tle Paul in his letters2. The Church is shaped geographically and locally, be-
cause the temple for Christians became not only a symbolic residence of God
and a place of worship and gathering of the community of God (Foundoulis,
1995, p. 41). In fact, in ancient times the sanctuary was a place of reference for
the whole environment, which expressed the close relationship of the wider
environment with the sanctuary. The breaking of this connection of the tem-
ple with the environment creates difficulties in the realization of communion
in Christ. In Albanian society this place of reference, the parish church, was
either destroyed or converted (“The orthodox churches that were demolished
were 600 of the 1600 that the Orthodox Church had in 1944”, (Qiriazi, 2000,
p.171) or “disappeared into the mass of taller buildings or confused in people’s
homes which is a common phenomenon in today’s society” (Boulgarakis, 1993,
p. 33-34).
The function of the parish church expresses the connection of the sanctu-
ary with its surrounding area. The Temple includes the world to sanctify it,
because the world is a creation of God. At the same time, the Church, with its
presence in the world, offers to the culture, to the social, moral and economic
life, that is, to the daily life of the world. The remodeling of parish life in Al-
2 “To the church of the God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified In Christ Jesus,
called to be saint together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ..” (1 Cor. 1:2), “the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Mace-
donia” (2 Cor. 8:1), “the brothers who arë with me. To the churches of Galatia” (Gal 1:2).
18
bania highlighted the Church’s relationship with the world. On the one hand
it is the Church that includes the world, but on the other hand it is the world
that influences the Church.
3. The refunction of the orthodox churches in Albania
and the sanctification of the world
The liturgical life of the parish community includes the prayer and the in-
terest of the Church to sanctify the world (Galani, 2002, p. 80-82). On this
general finding there is a special finding that has to do with the operation
of the Church in various places. The Church as a community of love unites
time, because it has a divine origin. Although it is a minority in the world, it
affects society, its morals, its perspective, as it did in the first centuries (Man-
tzaridis, 1996, p. 94-96). The Celebration of the Despotic feasts (The Holy Na-
tivity of Christ, the Epiphany, the Resurrection), the feasts of the Mother of
God (Dormition of the Mother of God is excluded), the feasts of some saints
(Peter and Paul, Nicholas, Georgios, Demetrios, Blaise in Durrës, Kosmas in
Kolkondas at Fier, Vladimiros in Elbasan, Nikodimos in Berat) are cases in
which not only Orthodox Christians participate, but also members of other
religious communities3. These cases express the impact that the church has
on the world, on people who are not members of it, who live in a society with
many prejudices, which in the communist era took on wider dimensions. The
parish in most villages, towns and cities is a community that is different from
each community, because it has elements that are visible, while it is heavenly, it
lives in the world, but it is not of this world, it is the body of Christ, but it con-
sists of sinful members (Karavidopoulos, 1990, p. 82-83). This participation
of people of other religions in the Orthodox Christian holidays is connected
with the interest and love of the local Church for others (Anastasios, 2011, p.
51, 281-283).
At the same time, this case gives the orthodoxy the willingness of the Or-
thodox Church to go beyond its “repressed limits” in order to offer the Chris-
tian message to people who do not have an orthodox Christian origin. This
open attitude towards these people expresses the meaning of the same term
3 In the newspaper “Ngjallja”, a monthly edition of the Albanian Orthodox Church,
there are many articles that talk about the participation of members of other religious commu-
nities in the Orthodox Christian holidays. “Kremtim i festës së shën Vlashit në Durrës-Cel-
ebration of the feast of St. Vlash in Durrës”, Ngjallja 5 (1993), p. 6, “Kremtim i ndritshëm i
Pashkës - Bright celebration of Easter”, Ngjallja 20 (1994), p. 1, “Festohet dita e Ujit të Bekuar
(Theofany)- Celebrated the day of Blessed Water”, Resu 16 (1994) , p. 1, “Besimi e mundi vdek-
jen - Faith overcame death, Ngjallja 55 (1997), p. 3.
19
Church (I call, call, invite, gather), but also the universal and ecumenical char-
acter given by the Apostle Paul, because the Church belongs indiscriminately
to Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 11:11) since and it is not the external factors that
shape it, but the faith in Christ (Rom. 9:6) (Vassiliadis, 2000, p. 401). In this
theological, real and ecclesiological attitude the nature of the Church is ex-
pressed, which is in and out of time, out and in the world, includes the whole
world, but is not identified with the world. This will say that to the Church
belongs the whole world felt and imagined, as well as man, body and soul
(Matsouka, 2001, p. 356-358). Also in an open attitude towards those who do
not have orthodox origins the Church shows the liveliness of the ecclesiastical
body, because chooses with the energies, actions, desires, faith and sensitivity
of the people. At the same time the Church projects the truth, which had be-
fore the creation of the world and accompanies it throughout her life.
Also this tendency of the Church to choose with the world makes evident
the ability of the Church not to choose, but to understand the world and to
respond to its challenges. For example, before the banning of the Church, the
parish had its geographical boundaries, in fact the Christians generally had
their neighborhoods and their operation was done in traditional ways, while
today things are different, because in Albania as in the rest of the world the
parish service is not done in a traditional way. This means that the demo-
graphic movements brought to the surface a new form of operation of the city,
but also of the parish, “social function affects the way of operation and parish”
(Mantzaridis, 1993, p. 71-71). Within these geographical boundaries of to-
day’s parish are people of other religions, atheists, agnostics, various non-gov-
ernmental organizations. Today, there is a parish in most cities in Albania. The
parish church is located at a great distance from the believer and as a result it is
difficult to participate normally in the worship and spiritual life of the Church.
They are difficulties that are overcome in the life of the same parish. Unlike
the old practice, in which various sacraments were performed in the houses,
now the parish church is the place where all the sacred sacraments and the
sacred services are performed. Equally important are the visits to the families
of the faithful, the revival of the name holidays or the operation of the various
catechism groups. All these parish activities are efforts to overcome the great
distance from the church and the pastor to meet more easily with the parish-
ioners and the world.
The experience of the three components of the Christian life (faith, love and
hope) gave the strength to face two forms of modern collectivism that are now
20
found in Albanian society: socialism, which shadow still affects society and
mass mobilization, in the dwellings (the high-rise apartment buildings), in the
movements (the internal and external movements or migrations), changed
the structure of the neighborhoods and the ways of communication between
people. This situation makes it difficult for the faithful to communicate with
each other, because in large urban centers there is one parish or at most two
parishes. On the one hand the Orthodox are a minority and on the other the
form of modern society constitute this difficulty. However, the strength of
faith does not depend on the percentage of the population and external diffi-
culties, but on devotion to the crucified and risen Christ. In the first letter to
the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-31) the Apostle Paul says that the preaching of
the cross is unacceptable to the messianic traditions of the Jews and foolish for
the pursuits of the Greeks. Jewish eschatology was refuted, as was the attempt
by Greek philosophers to propose a solution to the human search. Through
the mole of the cross the faithful find God and salvation where for others God
is absent (Agouridis, 1982, p. 53-61). The Church in Albania, which is chal-
lenged, operates on such faith and action, which since the apostolic times, in
the 2000 years of its history, has shown its spiritual power, which is based on
faith, worship life and the Christian ethos. The history of the Orthodox faith,
the presence of saints who were sanctified or martyred for the faith in the
region of Albania, the monuments and the offering to the culture, the whole
Orthodox tradition are samples of spiritual power of the Orthodox Chris-
tian faith, of the spiritual and social experience in the her life. These are the
main components that make the Orthodox Church, with its parishes within
the Albanian society “a factor of stability, tolerance and mutual understanding
(Anastasios, 2011, p. 836). This presence of Orthodox parishes in each local
community makes the difference from other governmental and non-govern-
mental organizations.
One of the differences is how women are treated by the parish in relation
to society. In Albania today, perceptions of women who existed as before the
imposition of the regime survive, as well as the exploitation of its role for pro-
paganda purposes, as well as the increase in violence in these post-dictator-
ship years. In this society the Church offers theological wealth and a different
approach. In a society where the woman had no right to property, neither in
her own family, nor in the man’s family (Luarasi, 2001, p. 15). Some progress is
being made in the communist regime with the legal recognition of the rights,
for the education of women and their participation in the social, economic,
educational, administrative life of the Albanian society (Etnografia Shqiptare,
21
1987, p. 107), but did not cultivate a corresponding spirit. This is confirmed by
the existence of the phenomenon of male violence in Albanian society today,
which stems from some cultural prejudices about the role, personality and
bio-social destination of women in society (Tushi, 2006, p. 68).
The ecclesiastical treatment of this reality in Albania is the active partici-
pation of women in its life (Koukoura, 2005, p.84), which had started from
their participation in the Clergy Council in 1991 (“Zgjedhja dhe fronëzimi”,
Ngjallja 233 (2012), p. 10) and 1997 with the opportunity to study at the
Theological Academy (http://www.orthodoxalbania.org/new/index.php?op-
tion=com_content&view=article&id=113%3Athe-theological-academy-res-
urrection-of-c. accessed 12/10/2012). This initiative is based on the theolog-
ical support of the idea of parity, as the Apostle Paul emphasizes “….there is
no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Through
these actions the Church recognizes the particularities of women and the op-
portunity to offer as active members of the parish church life. Through this
energy the Church connects the worship life with their social and spiritual
contribution.
At the same time is the social action of the Church in the organization of
the various educational programs mainly in rural areas by “Diakonia Agapes”
(http: //diakoniagapes.org) with the social contribution of women, a fact that
connects the social contribution with the social ministry. This action leads
the woman to a higher standard of living, while at the same time helping the
parish community to treat women not as a precaution, but as valuable persons
in society. After all, this action is offered not as revenge against the opposite
sex, but as a natural right. In order not to be an ideology and to have the same
results, all social action towards women is connected with the worship life.
With the seriousness and equality of participation in the sacramental life and
especially in the sacrament of marriage that forms the family, which turns into
a place of spiritual meeting of the spouses (Gioultsi, 1999, p. 108).
Conclusion
Building a parish in the context of its physical existence can be easy, as

society has infinitely similar forms as governmental and non-governmental
organizations. But the formation of a parish consciousness is the great chal-
lenge and that similar examples cannot be found in non-church organizations
or organizations. Even when in a society there was an ecclesiastical parish,
pressure was exerted to distort it or it was stopped by law and the members
22
of this parish lived with the memories of the parish existence, but did not
revive it with the daily spiritual life then the difficulty becomes great, but not
hopeless. And exactly the case of the formation of the parish consciousness in
the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania is an attempt to transcend
memories and to make them alive and under the illumination of divine grace.
Building, restoring or rebuilding temples more than a work of building sa-
cred objects, or to foster and enhance human sensitivity is to provide a point
of reference for believers and not just to orient their spiritual and social lives.
Thus memories from fossil elements in the human mind turn into nutrients of
the spiritual life directing human life into other dimensions, anthropological,
social and experiential.
Respect for people’s lives and fostering parish life activity to value human
life is the other element in fostering a parish conscience. Sermons, catechistic
activity, spiritual conversations, and worship life are attempts to shift believ-
ers’ human thought from the influence of human consciousness or subcon-
scious from communist ideology or the tendencies of modern society toward
strengthening divine consciousness, where it becomes part of the transform-
ing power of human life.
It is often the parish itself, which in the pressure of ideology and the pres-
sure of power, and nationalist thoughts encounters difficulties in preserving
its identity. Especially when the period we are talking about comes after the
fall of a power of disbelief, the challenge is great, because in the majority of
them citizens, both believers and non-believers live under the influence of
ideological or nationalist propaganda. And on the other hand is the influence
of opinions and modern attitudes, which exert pressure by highlighting secu-
lar, consumerist, and human rights elements and which tend to elicit enormity
from time and place by considering it utopian and acronymic.
Collectivism, massification on the one hand and individualism on the other
are two elements that undoubtedly challenge the effort of ecclesiastical con-
sciousness, as the insistence on promoting these social phenomena within the
parish and identifying the parish with them is an attempt to alienate the parish
identity. Thus while parish is the local and temporal extension that people
come together to worship God and transform their lives, it is neither a col-
lectivizing unit nor a group of individualists, but a society of persons, where
people retain their uniqueness. The didactic life of the parish and more the
worship life of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania have aimed
towards this society of persons and love. Trying to turn the parish and the
23
temple closely associated with it into a reference point for the development of
the spiritual and social life of the people.
The connection of parish life with the memory, experience and reverence of
various saints who have made an impact on the lives and memory of people is
the next attempt to discover the real dimension of parish, where truth, mem-
ory, place, time, divine values and human, experiential power are together
within it and that make it the guarantee for the transformation of human lives.
Spreading the message of salvation through traditional and contemporary
forms of communication on the one hand and their content on the other are
attempts to provide divine revelation and calling to people, whether believ-
ers or not. It is the effort where the Church and its activity to lead people
to salvation do not remain on the borders of a clash of ideas, thoughts and
perceptions with the world around her, but in a dialogue where obviously the
divine message has supremacy in content but difficulty in acceptance and im-
plementation .
Thus, the re-creation of the parish conscience is a challenge for the Or-
thodox Church of Albania and for an important fact, as over the years new
situations are formed and developed, which mean confrontation and constant
effort. But from this entire parish’s attempt to form its consciousness is guided
by three basic elements: faith, love, and hope.
24
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26
2
Religious Coexistence through the Cult of
Saints in Albania
Saints George and Blaise*1
Thoma Shkira
Lecturer of the History of the Church of Albania,
Department of Theology & Culture,
University College Logos, Tirana
Corespondence:
e-mail: thomashkira@yahoo.com
Abstract
The paper examines the importance of used for this paper. The latter will be an-
the cult of saints in the popular tradi- alyzed according to the case of each saint
tion of our country, which contributed and through their comparison.
over the centuries to the consolidation The purpose of the paper is to show that
of religious coexistence. It mentions the the cult of honoring the saints in our case
forms of reverence of folk traditions es- study of Gjergj Trofeprurësi and Vlashi
pecially dedicated to Saint George and of Sebasta, as two of the most popular
Saint Blaise, relying on historical data saints in Albania, being the final factor
and phenomena before and after the Ot- of religious coexistence which the latter
toman occupation in our country, which is rightly considered and is trumpeted
crystallized religious tolerance and coex- not only as the unique experience of a
istence even when the religious structure people but also as the achieved example
and the social conditions of our people of coexistence for the multicultural and
suffered great disproportions. multiethnic diversity of the whole hu-
The reason that these two saints are con- man society.
sidered is that they are widely honored Keywords:
by the people regardless of religion and Sacred cult, religious tolerance and
are general examples and representative
coexistence, multicultural and multi-
factor for religious harmony and coexis-
religious diversity.
tence in Albania. Yet, it is not an isolated
paper regarding the cases of these two Citation:
saints but also in forms of veneration of Shkira T. Religious Coexistence
other saints. through the Cult of Saints in Albania:
The bibliography from the National Li- Saints George and Blaise. Theology &
brary and the Central State Archive, Ti- Culture. 2022; 4: 27-41.
rana and materials containing data and Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11923.96807
information on the forms of honoring
Saint George and Saint Blaise will be
1* Paper presented at the International Scientific Conference “Integrating Societies
through Religious Harmony And Coexistence. The Albanian Model in Tirana”, Tirana, 8th
May 2019.
27
Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira
Introduction
T
he activity “Religion in Society - The Model of Albania” started on
May 6. It coincides with Europe Week, the anniversary of the birth
date of our National Hero but also with the day of St. George the
Trophy-bearer which in some areas of our country is again celebrated accord-
ing to the Julian calendar1.
In this paper entitled ‘Religious coexistence through the cult of saints in
Albania, the forms of veneration dedicated to Saints George and Blaise are
mentioned, along with the historical data of the Byzantine centuries and the
phenomena of Islamization and crypto-Christianity during the Ottoman cen-
turies. All these together crystallized the religious tolerance and coexistence
among people, which overcame the historical and political intolerance even
when the religious structure and social conditions suffered great dispropor-
tions.
Thus, the unique experience of a people who passed ‘in fire and in water’
shaped through the cult of saints the ‘achieved’ coexistence, which remains
the contribution of today’s Albanian society where diversity and multicultur-
al, as well as multiethnic stratification stand out.
The cult of honoring martyrs initially had a local character (in the place
where he was martyred and where the martyr was known) but then its spread
gained ecumenical character. This also happened in our country which hon-
ored the local martyrs and then other martyrs, the honor to whom came from
the Christian community abroad. The sacrifice of the martyrs became the
concrete example of imitation of Jesus Christ and therefore the honoring of
their sacrifice was done in the name of the sacrifice and love of God. Thus,
their veneration enriched the spiritual life and social conduct, which paci-
fied Christians and established lasting balances in their community and in-
ter-community social life.
Thus we can say that Christians, while maintaining the teaching of the faith
of the founder Christ, with the axis of love for every man “love one another”
(John 13:34) and “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) and freedom of choice
“Whoever wills to come after me” (Mark 8:34), crystallized the “spirit” of
1 The Christians of Shpati, Gollobërda and the Prespa area, in addition to the cele-
brations of the Gregorian calendar used today in the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of
Albania, according to their tradition, also celebrate many celebrations of saints according to
the Julian calendar. (These two calendars are 13 days apart).
28
communion and coexistence within the cult of reverence for the saints, even
for those who had religious differences.
In addition to material spiritual wealth, their cult in the people is evidenced
by all other forms of their reverence as part of intangible spiritual wealth. As
it is known, the fulfillment of spiritual needs for every stage of the life of the
Arbers was directly related to the cult of the saints in the context of life in
and around the ecclesiastical temples. Even after the institutionalization of the
Church, the Christians in the territory of Medieval Arberia, during the Byz-
antine and Ottoman centuries and until today, continued to have the Church
at the center of social and spiritual life.
Thus, the spirit of communion and the coexistence of the cult of saints in
the traditional Arber faith and the influence of later psycho-social factors ob-
served in various phenomena, such as Islamization and crypto-Christianity,
instilled in them tolerance and religious coexistence, which successfully with-
stood the wave of historical and political intolerance. Today, Albanians within
religious pluralism, nurture tolerance and want coexistence with each other,
so much so that their unique experience is worth promoting as an achieved
example of a people who passed ‘on fire and in water’ and became the Alba-
nian model of multi-religious coexistence.
Many saints such as the Apostle Caesar, Asti, Bishop of Durrës, Erazmi An-
tiochus, Flori and Lauri, George, Blaisei, Sergji and Bahu, The Seven, Saint
Kozmai, etc., treaded and testified to the martyrdom in our country, or the
cult of their veneration has been transferred from their country of origin, as
in the case of St. George and St. Blaise of Cappadocia, to our country since
the early Middle Ages. The forms of their reverence are numerous and to this
day, even after the attempt to forcibly liquidate this tradition and every reli-
gious and spiritual tradition in the last century by the Albanian Communist
Regime, are indicators of their great influence on social life and the spirituality
of the people, seen for example in the folk pilgrimages honoring the saints in
our country. One of the values of the influence of these religious factors and
historical phenomena is the coexistence and inter-religious tolerance of our
people.
29
1. The cult of Saints Gjergj and Vlash in the ecclesiastical-

folk tradition
In Albania, two of the most popular saints are Saint George the Trophy-bear-
er and Saint Blaise of Sebastia. The popularity and reverence paid to them is
multifaceted, which is noticed since the early ecclesiastical reverence by all the
Christian people throughout the medieval period.
During this period all material and immaterial spiritual culture, psycholo-
gy and virtues carried by our people, essentially consisted in the cultivation
of spiritual and worshiping life. Albanian academics such as Aleks Buda and
Myzafer Korkuti rightly considered Christianity as the main factor in the for-
mation of the Arber nation. (Bërxholi, 2015, pp. 143-144).
The popularity of the saints in the Medieval Arberia is evidenced by the
construction of numerous churches and monasteries dedicated to them and
by the abundance of toponyms of saints’ names, which have been preserved
until present time even after Islamization. According to some scholars, these
toponyms date back to the 6th century. Linguists Eqerem Çabej and Shaban
Demiraj date their introduction to our language before the 6th century. (Gjerg-
ji, 2001, pp. 10-11). Also, Kolec Topalli, based on the evidence of the Albanian
language, puts in the oldest names that have entered the first centuries of the
spread of Christianity the name of St. George (Topalli, 2000, pp. 407-408).
The centuries-old experience of our people with the saints of the Church,
inherited, cultivated and carried in the ecclesiastical conscience and in its
historical memory, well-known examples of true servants of Christ, among
whom he pays special homage to the great martyrs St. George the Trophy
Bearer, and St. Blaise, through the monuments of the churches, and the icons
dedicated to him, the toponyms of the same name, the folk traditions, folklore
and legends that refer to them.
1.1 Honoring St. George
St. George and his veneration in our country took place in the early Mid-
dle Ages. He with his life, miracles and martyrdom witnessed the preserva-
tion of true faith in the Triadic God and the defeat of the Dragon of idolatry,
otherwise known as the Miracle of the killing of the dragon by St. George in
ecclesiastical iconography, where the Saint is depicted riding on a white horse
killing the black man-eating dragon. The cult of his reverence is noticed in the
30
toponymy of his name, in the dedication of many popular traditions and in his
emergence in the history of the Arbers.
Firstly, one of the four most revered saints with a church name in our coun-
try is St. George. Behind the churches of the Goddess Mary, St. Nicholas and
St. Friday are those of St. George the Trooper. Among others we can mention
many churches2 and toponyms3 that bear the name of St. George (Elsie, 2007,
2 There is a church of St. George in Tivar, (Montenegro), in Prizren (Kosovo), in St.
George on the river Buna, in Sapa of Shkodra, in Drisht of Shkodra (cathedral church), in
Kukël of Shkodra, in Nënshat of Shkodra , in Toplan of Shkodra, in Tërbun of Puka, in Cal-
akë of Laç, in Ndërfanë of Mirdita, registered in 1457, in Macukull of Mat, in Reç of Dibra,
in Bërzhitë of Tirana, in Shëngjergj of Tirana, in Tujan of Tirana, in Todorenj of Tirana, in
Vidhas of Elbasan, in Shëmill of Elbasan, in Bena of Elbasan and in Polis of Librazhd. There
was a church of Saint George in Korca, of the XII century, rebuilt in the XIX century, in Mbo-
rje of Korca. There were two churches of Saint George in Përmet. In Mbrezhan of Berat there
was a monastery of St. George. The name of the village Jergucat in Gjirokastra, took its name
from the church of St. George that was located in its center. Jergucati has today the church of
St. George: There are churches of St. George: in Berat (XIV century), in the Libofsha District
of Fier (1776), in Strum of Fier (1801), in Vithkuq of Korca (year 1767), in Shipska of Korca
(XVIII century) in Boboshtica of Korca, in the village of Gollomboç of Prespa (1937), in
Nokova of Gjirokastra, in the Terihat of Gjirokastra is the main church of the village named
after St. George, in Vllaho Goranxi of Gjirokastra, in Vanisht of Gjirokastra (XVIII century),
in Hoshteva, Zagori, today its ruins are located in the porch of the church of St. Kolli built
later; in Krane of Delvina (rebuilt from the foundations by Archbishop Anastasios), in the
upper Leshnica of Saranda (1525), in Deme of Saranda of the monastery of the same name
(XVII century), in Voloter of Saranda, between Nivica-Bubar and Saranda (XVIII century)
and St. George, a church in Durrës restored in the years of the Church’s resurrection after
persecution by the “power of darkness”. After 1991, the churches of St. George were built with
the funds provided by Archbishop Anastasios, the Cathedral Church of St. George Fier, the
Cathedral Church of St. George Lushnja (restoration), the Church of St. George in Kuqan of
Shpati, Elbasan; in Shkalle of Saranda. Church of St. George in Mborje, Korça, restored in
2018, etc. Mavrogjiro, Gjirokastra. Name of a small church of St. George, Polican Gjirokastra;
Ai-Jorgji, toponym to the south of the village Selio, Gjirokastra; In the same village is the ru-
ined church of St. George. In the same place there is also St. George-water source. Toponym
Saint George in Sopik, Gjirokastra; The toponymy of the iconostasis where it is located and
the condition of St. George by the believers in the village of Sotira, Gjirokastra; In the village
of Sofratik, the toponym and the chapel of Saint George; In Hllomo of Gjirokastra, decades
ago there was Ai-Jorgji conism in the ruins of the old church; In Topovo there is a chapel and
a toponym of St. George. In Konckë there is a chapel (house) of Saint George, there is also a
cypress tree of Saint George. In Hoshteva on the porch of the Church of St. Kolli, is the ruined
church of St. George. The latter is older and smaller than the first that was later built, the porch
of which covers the old church. Ai-Jorgji, toponym in Vanistër Gjirokastër, Raxn Ai-Jorgji, a
new conism was built here, earlier it was located next to the central well in Bodrishta, Gjiro-
kastër, Saint George, the name of the church at the head of the village Glinë and the property
around of this church. In Dhuvjan, the chapel of St. George. Kato Episkopi, (Lower Bishop),
the name of the church of St. George and the place around it, Ai-Jorgji, a very old church in
the old cemetery in Kalogoranxi, Gjirokastra, during the dictatorship turned it into a factory
of military vehicles.
3 Among the toponyms of St. George in the District of Gjirokastra we can mention: In
31
p. 74).
There are also macronims of St. George such as: St. George Village (Sveti
Djordj), on the river Buna, Shëngjergj village in Tirana, etc. St. George Cave
in Dhivër (cultural monument). The city of Korça also keeps St. George the
Trophy-bearer as its protector. All of the above show popular reverence for
the saint.
Secondly, the many centuries experience of our people with the saints of
the church, inherited, cultivated and carried in the ecclesiastical conscience
and in its historical memory the well-known examples of the true servants
of Christ, among whom we emphasize again the special reverence paid to the
great martyr St. George the Trophy-bearer, through folk traditions, folklore
and legends.
The celebration of St. George takes place during spring, on April 23, is very
widespread in our country. People that day put straps on their belts, put green
leaves or branches on their heads. They do the same with cattle and their dish-
es. These along with their weight control want to symbolize health and life.
Also in some northern provinces, fires are lit, as well as lit in other areas for
Evangelism or for summer days, to purify the atmosphere (Sako, 1959, p. 28).
Moreover in the folk tradition, songs dedicated to the summer day were
also sung for St. George and vice versa. So these two festivals from the simi-
larities they had in some rites and ceremonies were equalized with each other.
Songs for this holiday are sung in groups and also performed in churchyards
(Daja, 1987, pp. 351-352).
In the village of Gjinar in the area of Shpat, Elbasan, the first song with
which it is thought that the games of the feast of St. George or Summer Day
started was “Eat, eat, bibishaje”: “Eat, eat, bibishaje/come friends to play,/ be-
cause it is St. George day!/ Come, friend, let us play/ As year after year and this
time! ” (Daja, 1987, p. 353)
Also, in the Albanian folklore, Saint George in the districts of Korça, in Po-
lena, in Drenova, the highland villages of Tirana and elsewhere, big and small
get up early before the sunrise, and take willows and leaves outside the village,
pluck the branches and wrap them around their waists, believing that when
the corns are threshed they will hardly be in pain. They bring branches home
and place them in their objects and at the same time go out and with branches
scare away snakes and worms, so as not to damage the crops. From the village
Klisar of Gjirokastra, old church; There is a chapel and toponym of Saint George in Lovina,
Gjirokastra.
32
of Picalli in Tirana, the following was sung: “O Saint George the White, / O
Shëngjergj mushtullu, / same time next year,find me with a son / As this tree,
let my hair grow. / O Saint George in health, / the Highlanders go in their place”.
(Zheji, 1998, p. 60)
In addition, for St. George at the beginning of May (May 5), the people of
Dibra until the 60s of the last century overcame the fires with juniper and
painted red eggs, an element of Easter4. While to this day many Bektashis on
Summer Day (March 14) wish happy spring and give colorless eggs, cakes or
house beans and boiled corn, which respectively resemble the Easter egg in
spring, the Easter cake and the boiled wheat (koliva) of the Memorials, for the
spirits of the Souls Sabbath which precedes the great forty days of Easter in the
Christian tradition.
Thirdly, St. George in the history of the Arber people has served as a refer-
ence point and their protector. For example, John Kastriot bought the Mon-
astery of Hilandar from the rich, the stack of St. George. This stack was a
monastery which, before the purchase of John, joined to the larger Monastery
of Hilandar, as had happened with other smaller monasteries that were pur-
chased from the same Monastery. Later the Stack of St. George was called the
Stack of Albanians. (Shkira, 2019, pp. 87-88)
Also on a seal of John Kastriot appears an ecclesiastical figure, perhaps that
of St. George (Zeqo, 2000, p. 192). The reverence of the Arbers towards St.
George is also noticed in the Arbëresh of Italy who have built many churches
in his honor; one of them is also known as the Church of Saint George the
Albanian in Porto San Georgio (Marche) ”(Karanxha, 2009, p. 48).
All of these above show hope and reverence for the Saint.
It is worth mentioning the prophetic fulfillment of the “legend” of Vojsava
who, when she was pregnant with George, dreamed that a dragon was born
that had its tail in the Adriatic and its head in Asia. His mouth was open and
swallowed thousands of Ottomans (Noli, 1989, p. 87). The latter were called
the ‘Dragon of Asia’, who was beheaded in the second siege of Kruja. Also St.
George’s Day is associated with great victories of the anti-Ottoman resistance.
On the day of St. George, April 23, 1467, the warrior George Aleksi mortally
wounded the commander Ballaban Pasha, and with the victory against them,
the Second Siege of the Kruja Castle by the Ottomans ends (Biçoku, 1989, p.
500).
4 A story experienced as a child in the city of Peshkëpi by Dr. Stavri Trako, (Narrated
in Tirana on 30.04.2019).
33
It is certain that without the help and example of the one who first killed the
dragon of idolatry, George Kastriot would not have won. Albanologist Evlogj
Kurilla writes that George Kastriot saw Saint George by his side on the battle-
field (Κουρίλας, 1930, pp. 269-270).
Professor Laszlo Veszpremy, in his lecture “The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of
Late Medieval Hungary”, delivered on dt. 08.10. 2018 in the “International
Albanological Conference dedicated to George Kastriot-Skanderbeg, the time
in which he lived and the traces he left in history” when asked by the author of
this paper, what was the role of the order of St. George and the cavalry order
of the Dragon of Zikismund in the Hungarian-Ottoman wars he replied: “The
military order of St. George was founded by Charles I of Anjou in 1320, which
is the same as the Knightly Order of the Dragon of Zikismund.” These military
orders had a significant effect on the anti-Ottoman resistance and served as an
important unifying factor in this war.5” Let us remember that even the folklore
of our people speaks about the knights, the dragons that killed the monster
(Tirta, 1987, pp. 204-207).
Also, Father Shtjefën Gjeçovi in his study: “Sebaste in Arbeni or Sebaste in
Armenia”, mentions that St. Blaise of Cappadocia, at that time small Armenia,
was the patron saint of the Order of Kreshniks which was divided into two
orders, the first to unravel the evangelical truths and the second to defend the
Christian faith with weapons in hand as many times as needed (Gjeçov, 1922,
p. 160).
Other military orders were established in Cappadocia, such as the order
of St. George and the order of the Janissaries. For this last order Christian
children were recruited until the seventeenth century. These last two military
orders were established in Cappadocia. The veneration of Saint George con-
tinued to the Spahis of Epirus who for two centuries until the beginning of the
XVII century held as their flag the image of Saint George the Trophy Bearer
(Παπαδοπούλου, 1949, p. 196).
As protopresbyter Georgios Metalinos mentions - The clash of Christian
Cappadokia and the Arab conquest in the 11th century brought about Bek-
tashism. At the tomb of Haxhi Bektashi in Cappadokia, Christians also came
after claiming that it was the tomb of St. Harallambi or in another case Haji
Bektashi was identified with St. Evstathi (Μεταλλινός, 2004, pp. 55-56)
5 Laszlo Veszpremy, The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of Late Medieval Hungary, lecture
at the “International Albanological Conference dedicated to Gjergj Kastriot-Skanderbeg, the
time in which he lived and the traces he left in history” Tirana, May-November 2018, held on
dt. 08.10.2018.
34
The same phenomenon occurred with the tomb of St. Pandelimon on the
mountain of Prizren (Malcolm, 2001, p. 135) and with St. Spiridhon in Kruja,
for the tomb of Sari Salltik which according to Bektashi tradition has a total
of 7 tombs worldwide. Rightly this phenomenon of placing the later figure
on top of the previous figure within the stratification of cultures Prof. Shaban
Sinani called it ‘palimpsest’. (Sinani, 2012, p. 356)
In the city of Kruja in Albania, Muslims and Christians celebrated St.
George (Clayer 212, p. 446). These celebrations of saints preserved many ele-
ments of saints, such as: The Bektashis held icons of St. Spiridhon, St. George,
etc. Moreover, the awareness of the veneration of the saints was so vivid that
even in 1991, a group of Bektashi believers, following the tradition of their
ancestors, organize and go every year to the Church of St. Spiridhon in Corfu,
where his not rotten body is located and comparatively equalize it with Sari
Salltik. To this day, St. George is the protector of many states, cities and mili-
tary orders of many states in the world.
1.2 Honoring Saint Blaise
The toponyms of the medieval churches of St. Blaise, and its numerous
churches, conclude that in the 15th century, Arberia had dozens of churches
of St. Blaise6 and several centuries-old monasteries that honored his name af-
ter the veneration of St. Blaise Bishop and occupied a special place among the
Christian saints of Albania and not only (Elsie, 2007, pp. 84-85). (Elsie, 2011,
pp. 32-33).
In the Middle Ages, Arberia had three famous and miraculous monaster-
ies of St. Blaise. The first was near the former settlement of Sebasta near Laç,
where later, next to this monastery and the cave that still bears his name, the
Assembly of the Franciscans was built. According to the above albanologist,
St. Blaise, who had in his central church the cave of St. Blaise, was an Ortho-
dox monastery that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1853. For the same
monastery, the scholar Krutan Baki Dollma writes that after the martyrdom
of St. Blaise, the Byzantine monks built their monastery high above the cave
(of St. Blaise), a favorite place for these hermits of Christianity (Dollma, 2006,
p. 36).
6 “... In all this territory, starting from Durrës to Mirditë, there are extremely many
churches dedicated to Saint Blaise. And to be dedicated in such a small territory, over 30 churches
dedicated to this saint means that in this place of honor, the devotion to this saint was extremely
great through the centuries ... ” See: From the interview of Joan Pelushi, Metropolitan of Korça,
in the Documentary on St. Blaise, prepared by the Catechism Office of KOASH. https: //www.
youtube.com/watch? VçR9yYkK2z2kk.
35
The pilgrimage to this monastery of St. Blaise, in Laç, in Sebastë lasted

throughout the year and the characteristic for this monastery was that they
participated in celebrations, Albanians and not only and after Muslimization
continued the same pilgrimage by members of all religions as it continues to
this day (Elsie, 2007, pp. 84-85)7.
Another old monastery of St. Blaise was the Monastery of Saint Blaise of
Durrës, which was destroyed in 1967. Since the importance of this monastery
and at the same time the respect and reverence of the people, made the com-
munist regime hit this object symbol of Orthodox Christianity in Albania, to
then liquidate all religious buildings and institutions and hit the clergy. Eccle-
siastical celebrations and visits to this monastery, as well as to other churches
and monasteries in the country, were struck by the organized regime as re-
ligious practices and backward customs of religions. The forms of this coup
were well thought out and well organized by the communist regime in order
to enlarge this movement against religion in order to vanish the Christian and
the religious heritage in Albania for the younger generations (AQSh. F. 511,
v. 1967, d. 20, pp. 36-37). However, the secret believers constantly visited the
monastery of St. Blaise, endangering their freedom and life.
The new monastery of St. Blaise was built in 1996, with funds provided
by the Archbishop of Tirana and all of Albania, Prof. Dr. Anastasi. Again,
this monastery enjoys a large pilgrimage throughout the year and especially
during some holy days with the participation of all people, regardless of reli-
gion. To this day, at the Monastery Fair on August 15, it is noticed the popu-
lar dress of Mirdita women. Today is the venue of the Theological Academy
and the Department of Theology and Religious Sciences of Logos University
College, where staff is trained to be familiar with the knowledge of different
religions and nurture interfaith harmony in Albania.
The third monastery was built on the northern slope of Tomorr Mountain
and since 1343 is mentioned as Hibernum S. Blasii (Elsie, 2007, p. 85) howev-
er, it is thought to be earlier.
In the city of Vlora there was a former cathedral of the city named after St.
Blaise, which functioned as a church until its destruction in 1967.
The continuous reverence of our people for Saint Blaise is reinforced by the
7 There were churches dedicated in honor of St. Blaise in Shkodra (XIV), in Drisht,
in Skuraj of Mat, in Gjonëm of Lac, in Mazhë of Kruja, in Mëner of Tirana, in Bishqem of
Peqin, in Gjuricaj of Durrës, in Cape Rodoni, in Vlora (St. Vlasi), in Hoshteva of Zagoria,
Gjirokastra (there is already a toponym and its micronyms), there is also a nineteenth century
Orthodox Church in Dhuvjan of Gjirokastra, etc.
36
local tradition of reverence of a local Saint Blaise, whose relics (relics) from
the village of Draç in Durrës were taken and sent to Dubrovnik, so much so
that it is not only considered the patron saint of this city but at the same time
the Republic of Ragusa was otherwise known as the Republic of Saint Blaise.
2. Elements of Crypto-Christianity as a factor of religious
tolerance
The burden of economic hardship, which was mainly borne on the shoul-
ders of the peasantry of the Christian rajah, became the main reason for the
inability to pay the rajah’s obligation to the state and to choose to convert to
the new religion of a good part of its population, an alternative which auto-
matically brought the exemption of the jizya tax (Skëndi, 2010, p.177). With
the escalation of the crisis in the empire in the seventeenth century, the phe-
nomenon of Islamization prevailed, preceded by the phenomenon of Cryp-
to-Christianity in the South and North of the country.
Crypto-Christians in our country were people who accepted and practiced
Islam in the eyes of the world, but in their hearts and consciences practiced
and preserved elements of the Christian faith. Although they claimed to have
become Muslims, in their hearts they did not deny the first religion. This is
mainly evidenced by their secret religious practices. However, the term ‘spot-
ty’ to the two-name crypto-Christians mostly indicates that, the Christian el-
ements in Muslim converts, knowingly or unknowingly, were kept alive for
a long time, as should the fact that the process of Crypto-Christianity until
in acceptance of the Islamization of a part of the Albanian population some-
where lasted longer and somewhere less (Pelushi, 2003, p. 75). However, the
Christian traditions of the ancients as forms of reverence for the saints were
not forgotten by both crypto-Christians and Islamists, which made Albanian
Muslims aware to this day that their ancestors were Christians. This common
popular experience has cultivated mutual respect and inter-religious harmony
among Albanians.
The conversion to Islam of only the chief of the family, as happened in many
Albanian families, proves the embrace of Islam in terms of survival (Skëndi,
2010, p.180). Consequently, Christian women and children continued to be-
have as such outside and inside the home. Since the experience of Christian
elements continued within the home threshold then conversion to Islam took
several generations to happen, as it did. Thus, within these gradual processes,
in most Christian families and tribes, when one or more members whole-
37
heartedly professed Islam, either could be expelled as religious abandoner or

when it was performed just for the sake of justification by their relatives. This
justification on the verge of religious tolerance is triggered by the common
suffering of the Christian members and the newly converted. On one way,
the burden of sacrificing the faith of the ancients to them eased the pressure
of conversion for the rest of the Christian community. Therefore, there were
steady and slow changes in the social and religious structure but which were
significantly accompanied by the practice of elements of the Christian cult,
which still fostered unity in diversity and nurture healthy tolerance.
Finally, during the Albanian National Renaissance Period in the first half of
the 19th century, clergy and laic members of the Orthodox community such
as Andrea Idromeno, Vangjel Meksi, Grigor Gjirokastriti, etc. collaborated to
translate the New Testament into Albanian. Grigor Gjirokastriti translated it
in full into Albanian language, as a representative of the Ecumenical Patri-
archate in collaboration with the British Bible Society. While in the second
half of the XIX century in collaboration with the same Bible Society, Konstan-
din Kristoforidhi, translated the New Testament, in both dialects of the Alba-
nian language and made albanological works, which had a strong impact not
only to the Orthodox community but to all Albanians regardless of religion
(Shkira, 2021, pp. 97-109).
During this century, Albanians nurtured a supernatural nationalism. They
showed uniqueness in interfaith tolerance and coexistence with each other
and cooperated in overcoming religious tensions and conflicts. Although they
could not coexist and take communion as members of a single religious com-
munity they coexisted and cooperated as members of a society of the same
ethnicity.
38
References
Primary Sources
Central State Archive of Albania (Arkivi Qëndror Shtetëror i Shqipërisë)
Fondi i Ministria e Arsimit dhe Kulturës, nr. 511, viti 1967, dosja 20, fl. 1-43
Secondary Sources
Bërxholi Arqile, (2015) Për Lunxhërinë, Shtëpia Botuese Julvin 2, Tiranë.
Biçoku Kasëm, (1989) “Saktësime në Kronologjinë e Disa Ngjarjeve të
Periudhës së Skënderbeut”: Studime për Epokën e Skënderbeut II, Tiranë,
Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Historisë, pp. 497-502.
Clayer Nathalie, (2012) Në fillimet e nacionalizmit shqiptar, botime përpjekja,
Tiranë.
Daja Ferial, (1987) “Vështrim muzikor për këngët rituale të Pranverës, në
Shpati i Sipërm”: Gjurmime rreth kulturës popullore, përmbledhje studimesh,
Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i kulturës Popullore,
Tiranë, pp. 351-366.
Dollma Baki, (2006) Vende dhe ngjarje historike të Krujës e Kurbinit, “Dajti
2000”, Tiranë.
Elsie Robert, (2007) “Shenjtorët e Shqipërisë”, Tempulli, nr. 12,“ Kotti”, Korçë,
pp. 71-91.
Elsie Robert, (2011) “Shenjtorët e Krishterë të Shqipërisë”: Tempulli nr. 16, “
Kotti”, Kor=ë, pp. 15-40.
Gjeçovi Atë Shtjefen, (1922) “Sebaste n’Arbeni apo Sebaste në Armeni” në
Zani i Shna Ndout, vjeti 10 nr. 10, Shkodër, Tetor 1922, pp. 153-168.
Gjergji Andromaqi, (2001) “Reflekse të Krishtërimit në Kulturën Popullore”,
Tempulli, nr. 4,“ Kotti”, Korçë, pp. 10-18.
Karanxha Ilia, (2009) “Kisha në Porto San Giorgio (Marche) e Gjergj
Shqiptarit”: Tempulli, nr. 14, Shtypi “Kotti”, Korçë, pp. 42-55.
Malkolm Noel, (2001) Kosova, një histori e shkurtër, Koha - Prishtinë & Shtëpia
e librit – Tiranë.
Noli S. Fan, (1989) Vepra 4, Shkrime Historike, Akademia e Shkencave e RPS
të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Historisë, Tiranë
Pelushi Joan, (2003) “Kriptokrishtërimi në Shqipëri”, 2000 VJET ART DHE
39
KULTURË KISHTARE NË SHQIPËRI, Tiranë, pp.73-85.

Sinani Shaban, (2012) Tradita gojore si etnotekst, ‘Naimi’, Tiranë.
Skëndi Stavro, (2010) Studime Kulturore Ballkanike, Botimet IDK, Tiranë.
Shkira T. “The Contribution of Konstandin Kristoforidhi to the Albanian
Transcription and the Acquisition of the Biblical Word among the Albanians”.
Theology & Culture. 2021; 2: 97-109.
Shkira Thoma, (2019) “Gjergj Kastriot Skënderbeu dhe Arbërorët Përmes
Burimeve Agjiologjike”, Kërkim, nr. 16, Kisha Orthodhokse Autoqefale e
Shqipërisë, Tiranë, pp. 80-100.
Tirta Mark, (1987) “Shtresime mitologjike në epikën legjendare”, në Çështje
të Folklorit Shqiptar 3, Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i
Kulturës Popullore, Tiranë, pp. 190 -209.
Topalli Kolec, (2000) “Lashtësia e Krishtërimit ndër Shqiptarë sipas dëshmive
të Gjuhës Shqipe”: Krishtërimi ndër Shqiptarë, Shkodër, pp. 403-410.
Zeqo Moikom (2000), Mes Laokontit dhe Krishtit, Onufri II, Medaut, Tiranë.
Zihni Sako, “Folklori Shqiptar”: Historia e Letërsisë Shqipe I, Instituti i Historisë
dhe Gjuhësisë, Tiranë, 1959, pp. 3-136.
Zheji Gjergj, Folklori Shqiptar, Argeta-LMG, Tiranë 1998.
Κουρίλας Λαυριώτης Ευλόγιος, (1930)“Γρηγόριος ο Ἀργυροκαστρίτης”,
Περιοδικό ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑ - Τριμηνιαία Έκδοση της Ιεράς Συνόδου της Εκκλησίας
της Ελλάδος, (Δ΄), Eν Αθήναις, σελ. 253-272.
Μεταλλινός Γεώργιος, (2004) Η χριστιανική Καππαδοκία, του Βασιλείου Παν.
Κέκης: Η ΔΙΚΙΑ ΜΑΣ ΚΑΠΠΑΔΟΚΙΑ, Εκδ. Ακρίτας, Θεσσαλονίκη.
Παπαδοπούλου Χρυσοστόμου Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αθηνών, (1949) “Ἡ ἐξωτερικὴ
κατάστασις τῆς Ἐκκλησίας Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἀπὸ τῆς Ἁλώσεως μέχρι τοῦ
ΙΗ΄ αἰῶνος”, Περιοδικό ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑ - Τριμηνιαία Έκδοση της Ιεράς Συνόδου
της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος (Β΄), Ev Αθήναις σελ. 189-203.
Interviews
Intervistë me Joan Pelushi, Mitropolit i Korçës, në Dokumentarin mbi shën
Blaisein, të përgatitur nga Zyra e Katekizmit të KOASH-https://www.youtube.
com/watch?vçR9yYkK2z2kk.
Veszpremy Laszlo, “The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of Late Medieval Hungary”,
referat në “Konferenca Ndërkombëtare Albanologjike kushtuar Gjergj
40
Kastriotit –Skënderbeut, kohës në të cilën jetoi dhe gjurmët që la në histori”

Tiranë, Maj- Nëntor 2018, mbajtur më dt. 08.10.2018.
Intervistë me Dr. Stavri Trako, Tiranë më dt. 30.04.2019.
41
3
Numerology in the Gospel of John I: A
contribution to the understanding of the
numbers (2:6)
Thomas Mavromoustakos Sotirios Despotis
Professor, Section of Biblical studies and
Professor, Director of the Laboratory of Cultural life of the Mediterranean, Canon
Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Law and Byzantine Theology since the 9th
National and Kapodistrian University Cen. C.E. Faculty of Social Theology and the
of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Zografou Study of Religion, National and Kapodistri-
15171, Athens Greece an University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis,
Zografou 15171, Athens Greece
Corespondence:
e-mail: sotdespo@yahoo.gr
Abstract
For the Fathers the number six ex- Keywords:
presses the completeness and is relat- Number six, measures, synthetic
ed to (re-creation) of the world. For
parallelism, climax scheme.
many contemporary readers the six wa-
ter-pots are a symbol of the imperfect
purification which will be substituted Citation:
by the incarnated and crucified resur- Mavromoustakos T. G. & Despotis
rected Logos through the baptism and S. Christ, Numerology in the Gospel
the blood donation. The Messianic din- of John I: A contribution to the
ner is established between the Jewish in understanding of the numbers (2:6).
Cana of Galilea. The phrase two or three Theology & Culture. 2022; 4: 43-56.
measures express the volume of stone Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18634.85443
water-pots probably not only literally
but also in a poetic way. Therefore, the
abundance/and richness arrive from just
the presence of Jesus as in the first sign
he does not speak or order for the trans-
formation of water to wine. The presence
of two consecutive numbers recalls for a
gradual or climactic scheme to intensify
the content of the sentence. Remarkably
this does not appear only in Bible but
also in Modern Greek poetry and music.
43
Numerology in the Gospel of John I ©2022 Mavromoustakos & Despotis
Introduction
A
s it is well known, numbers in Bible and especially seven are rec-
ognized to have not only an arithmetic value but also a symbolic
meaning1. There is ample evidence that numbers in the time of Je-
sus were not only recognized as tools for routine calculations in their daily
life or scientific work but also as symbolic entities. The understanding of the
symbolic and allegoric meaning of these numbers allows the faithful person to
enjoy and comprehend the scriptures as well as reveal new theological mean-
ings2. Any interpretation that does not deviate from the basic Christian dog-
ma offers new spiritual enjoyment to the faith people. Of course, the existence
of the opposite view does not escape our notice (Davis, 1991). This opposing
view considers the effort to understand the symbolism of numbers as a “waste
of time” and rather a “destructive occupation” (Thompson Allis, 1946; Schim-
mel, 1993). We support the first view as the examples in Bible where the num-
bers are set in purpose to show symbolic meaning are numerous. We cannot
deny for example the often accounting of the number seven in Revelation to
be accidental.
It appears that Jews were borrowed some symbolism from the Babylonian
(Mc Guire, 2002), Egyptian and Greek with which the Jews came in contact
(Gabai, 2002). Greek symbolism of numbers and mathematics was introduced
by Pythagoras3 (c. 570-490 BC), Plato (427-347) and continued with neo-Py-
thagoreans and neo-Platonists (Barry, 1999). In Plutarch (c45-120 AC) works
examples of isopsephy (i.e., On the E of Delphi) and numbers symbolism are
found (i.e., On Isis and Osiris, The Roman and Greek questions). The active
symbolism of the numbers is well understood as Gnosticism a trend of the fol-
lowing second and third centuries introduced extensive numeric symbolism
(Kalvesmaki, 2006). Philo who also lived at the times of Jesus Christ wrote a
1 See for example P.J. Bentley, The books of Numbers, The Secrets of Numbers and how
they changed the world, Cassel Illustrated, 2008, passim.
2 See (a) Robert D. Johnston, Numbers in the Bible, God’s Unique Design in Biblical
Numbers (Michigan: Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501, 1990). (b) Ed Val-
lowe, Biblical Mathematics. Keys to Scripture Numerics. How to count the Bible (Lexington: The
Olive Press, 2014) (c) J. Kalvesmaki, Number Symbolism in Platonism and Early Christiani-
ty, Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University Washington, DC. Distributed
by Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 2013. (d) A.
Schimmel, The mystery of numbers (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press (1993).
3 Pythagoras believed that numbers are of divine feature. John Chrysostom was
against this idea of Pythagoras and expressed the view that “God is superior the numbers”
(Ἀριθμοῡ γάρ τὸ θεῑον ἀνώτερον καὶ χρόνων ἀκολουθίας) (PG. 59.31).
44
lot of works which contain allegory on the numbers (c. 25 BC – c. 50 CE).

In East Church Clemens (150-211-216 AC), Origen (c185-251 AC) and
Saint Cyril from Alexandria (378-444 AC) were the first to introduce heavily
the number symbolism. Saint Gregorius Nazianzenous (329-390 AC), Gre-
gorius Nyssenus (335-395 AC) and John Chrysostom (c 344-407) were also
using a moderate number symbolism. Saint Gregorius Nazianzenous was the
one that urges faithful people to get in the deep understanding of numbers4.
Saint Maximus the Confessor (580-662 AC) was the most systematic and
deepest theologist in providing allegoric meaning to numbers. (PG 90.463).
In the Western Church Saint Augustine (354-430 AC) also systematically
used symbolic way to interpret numbers. Saint Augustine considered num-
bers (mathematics) as the study of divine ideas. Numbers are originating in
God’s minds. The central premise of Saint Augustine approach was widely ap-
plied for one thousand and five hundred years. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-
1274 AC), another very important father of Western Church differed on some
of the details -for example, he viewed mathematical knowledge as abstraction
from experience rather than as a priori knowledge as did Saint Augustine, but
he accepted the central premise. Today, this perspective is largely disappeared
and that is the reason we have difficulty to understanding the symbolism of
numbers in Bible (Bradley, nd). From the above reasons J.N. Sanders and B.A.
Mastin realized that it is a standing temptation to read in allegorical interpre-
tation into all numbers in the Fourth Gospel; many no doubt have a symbolic
significance (Sanders & Mastin, 1968).
In two articles, which refer to the beginning and the end of the action of
the Lord Jesus in John, we will consider the meaning of the numbers in John,
considering the interpretation of the Fathers and the modern Scholars.
The chapter two of the John Gospel starts with the information that “and
the third day was a marriage in Cana of Galilee” and Jesus was bidden with his
disciples. His mother was already there. When the wine failed his mother said
it to him. Although Jesus answered in a peculiar way that “his time is not yet
come” his mother feels the incoming miracle and says to servants “whatsoever
are told do it” (2:1-5). Indeed the “first sign” of Jesus will be performed on the
six water-pots (or pitchers) of stone set there after the Jew’s manner of purify-
ing, containing two or three firkins a piece. These will be filled with water and
Jesus will order them to bear them unto the ruler of the feast who will confirm
4 Καί σύ δ’ ἄν κατά σαὐτόν ἀναλεγόμενος, πολλούς τηρήσαις ἀριθμούς ἔχοντας τὶ
τοῦ φαινομένου βαθύτερον (PG 36.428).
45
the conversion to wine (2:9).

Gibson mentions that these larger than the vessels water pots were placed in
the outer court, away from the guest-chamber. It is natural that an eyewitness
should remember the number and know roughly their size. Mikvaot (= Jewish
ritual baths) and other stone vessels were developed during Christ times as an
explosion for the religion purification and as a passive resistance against the
characteristics of the Roman civilization which were considered unsurpatory
(Gibson, 2010).
In general, the water is often mentioned in John Gospel in various nar-
ratives as a symbol of change-transfiguration that incarnated Logos offers.
Christ being wearied with his journey on Jacob’s well (4:6) appears as a donor
of “living water”, a water that whoever drinks never gets thirsty again as it
becomes a well of water springing up within him for eternal life (4:14). He
substitutes now the sheep gate pool Bethesda (5:2) curing a thirty-eight-year
sick person that he had no man, when the water is troubled by the angel, to
put him into the pool (5:7). In the same place he treated a man who was blind
from his birth. In the last day of Tabernacle feast invites in the Temple, which
was expected to function in the Eschatological Days as a “living fountain” if
any man is thirst, to come unto him and drink (7:37) because from within
him shall flow rivers of living water (7:38). From the side of the crucified new
Adam came out blood and water (19:34) to form the Church.
In this article the interpretation of the meaning of the numbers of John 2:6
will be sought. These numbers include the six stone water-pots that contain
two or three firkins a piece. The interpretation will cover representative Fa-
thers and Ecclesiastical Authors from West and East as well as contemporary
interpreters.
1. The six stone water-pots containing two or three
firkins a piece
The word “μετρητής (firkin)” is met in Josephus (37-c100 A.C.), but not
as a measurement unit5, and not in and Philo (c. 25 BC – c. 50 CE). Accord-
ing to Origen (Principles 4.2.5) the Evangelist mentioning the two or three
“μετρητές” reflects the reception of the scripture word in a (a) psychic and
5 Προϊόντι δὲ εἰς τὴν πολεμίαν Τίτῳ προῆγον μὲν οἱ βασιλικοὶ καὶ πᾶν τὸ συμμαχικόν
ἐφ᾽ οἷς ὁδοποιοὶ καὶ μετρηταὶ στρατοπέδων. ἔπειτα τὰ τῶν ἡγεμόνων σκευοφόρα καὶ μετὰ
τοὺς τούτων ὁπλίτας αὐτὸς τούς τε ἄλλους ἐπιλέκτους καὶ τοὺς λογχοφόρους ἔχων κατόπιν
δ᾽ αὐτῷ τοῦ τάγματος τὸ ἱππικόν (De bello Judaico 5,47).
46
(b) spiritual way thus in two “μετρητές” but also (c) according to the flesh
(σαρκικά) thus in three «μετρητές». The six firkins symbolize the six days of
creation and it is a perfect number (see also Philo, De opificio mundi 1:89). By
perfect number we mean that the sum of its dividends come to the number:
6=1(6:6) +2(6:3) +3 (6:2)=6.
Saint Augustine (354-430 AC) (PL 35.1461) pointed out: “But what means
this: They contained two or three metretæ; apiece? This phrase certainly con-
veys to us a mysterious meaning. For by metretæ he means certain measures,
as if he should say jars, flasks, or something of that sort. Metreta is the name of
a measure and takes its name from the word measure. For μέτρον is the Greek
word for measure, whence the word metretæ is derived. They contained, then,
two or three metretæ; apiece. What are we to say, brethren? If He had simply
said three a piece, our mind would at once have run to the mystery of the
Trinity. And, perhaps, we ought not at once to reject this application of the
meaning, because He said, two or three apiece; for when the Father and Son
are named, the Holy Spirit must necessarily be understood. For the Holy Spirit
is not that of the Father only, nor of the Son only, but the Spirit of the Father
and of the Son. For it is written, if any man loves the world, the Spirit of the Fa-
ther is not in him (1 John 2:15). And again, whose has not the Spirit of Christ
is none of His (Romans 8:9). The same, then, is the Spirit of the Father and of
the Son. Therefore, the Father and the Son being named, the Holy Spirit also
is understood, because He is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. […] That
is the reason why it is not said, some containing two metretæ; apiece, oth-
ers three apiece; but the same six water-pots contained two or three metretæ;
apiece. It is as if he had said, when I say two apieces, I would have the Spirit of
the Father and of the Son to be understood together with them; and when I
say three apiece, I declare the same Trinity more plainly”.
John Chrysostom (349-407 A.C. PG 59.135) does not comment on the
number of the firkins but he is giving a valuable information about their pre-
vious use. “It is not without a reason that the Evangelist says. After the manner
of the purifying of the Jews, but in order that none of the unbelievers might
suspect that lees having been left in the vessels, and water having been poured
upon and mixed with them, a very weak wine had been made. Therefore, he
says, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, to show that those vessels
were never receptacles for wine. For because Palestine is a country with but
little water, and brooks and fountains were not everywhere to be found, they
always used to fill water-pots with water, so that they might not have to has-
47
ten to the rivers if at any time they were defiled but might have the means of
purification at hand. And why was it, that He did not the miracle before they
filled them, which would have been more marvelous by far? For it is one thing
to change given matter to a different quality, and another to create matter out
of nothing. The latter would indeed have been more wonderful but would
not have seemed so credible to the many. And therefore, He often purposely
lessens the greatness of His miracles, that it may be the more readily received.
But why, says one, did not He Himself produce the water which He afterwards
showed to be wine, instead of bidding the servants bring it? For the very same
reason; and also, that He might have those who drew it out to witness that
what had been effected was no delusion since if any had been inclined to be
shameless, those who ministered might have said to them, We drew the water,
we filled the vessels”.
Saint Maximus the Confessor (580-662 AC) provides allegoric interpreta-
tions to the Abbot of Libya Thalassios who asked him several questions on
difficult chapters of Bible. The 40th question of Thalassios was about the mys-
tic meaning of the six firkins. Saint Maximus answered that six firkins rep-
resent the “natural power” which implements the Divine Commandments.
Unfortunately, humans emptied the knowledge of the “natural power” in the
futile materialism. Jesus had come to fill them with good wine. The number
six symbolizes the creative power of the nature for the following reasons: (a)
declares the six creative days by God in the Genesis of the world; (b) it is a
perfect number as it is already explained; It appears that Saint Maximus uses
identical allegoric elements as Origen. (c) Consists of the same parts (3+3);
(d) Jesus as the Logos of love is expressed in six general ways taking care of the
bodies and spirits of: (1) hungry; (2) thirsty; (3) aliens; (4) naked; (5) sick and
(6) prisoners (PG 90.396-403).
Saint Maximus provides an explanation why the water-pots contained two
or three firkins: (a) The natural (physical) theory is the knowledge of body
and spirit “δύο μετρητές”; (b) The feasible in our nature theological mystago-
gy is understood as the knowledge and enlightening of Holy Trinity, thus the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit “τρεις μετρητές”. Finally, Saint Maximus
wishes all faithful people to implement Cana marriage. Very clearly bride-
groom is the human mind that marries the virtue. When Jesus is invited, he
honors this spiritual marriage and makes it concrete in such a way to produce
many spiritual children. Jesus is then visiting us with his mother to return us
back the lost knowledge due to our sins and leads us to “theosis”. The knowl-
48
edge of the nature is forcified and in a way is gingered from theosis to remain
unchanged. Theosis resembles with wine quantity that strengthens the water.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 A.C.) mentions that in the mystical sense, the
six water jars signify the six eras of the Old Testament during which the hearts
of men were prepared and made receptive of God’s Scriptures and put forward
as an example for our lives. He describes the interpretation of Saint Augustine
in more detail way. “The term metretes, according to Augustine, refers to the
Trinity of persons. And they are described as two or three because at times
in Scripture three persons in the Trinity are distinctly mentioned: “Baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt
28:19), and at other times only two, the Father and the Son, in whom the
Holy Spirit, who is the union of the two, is implied: “If anyone loves me, he
will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. Or
they are described as two on account of the two states of mankind from which
the Church arose, that is, Jews and Gentiles. Or three on account of the three
sons of Noah, from whom the human race arose after the deluge” (St Thomas
Aquinas, 2010).
Martin Luther (1483-1546 A.C.) interprets that the six water-pots of stone,
for the purification of the Jews, are the books of the Old Testament which by
law and commandment made the Jewish people only outwardly pious and
pure; for which reason the Evangelist says, they were set there after the Jews’
manner of purifying, as if to say: “This signifies the purification by works
without faith, which never purifies the heart, but only makes it more impure;
which is a Jewish, not a Christian or spiritual purification. There being six
water pots signifies the labor and toil which they who deal in works undergo
in such purification; for the heart finds no rest in them, since the Sabbath, the
seventh day, is wanting, in which we rest from our works and let God work in
us. For there are six workdays, in which God created heaven and earth, and
commanded us to labour. The seventh day is the day of rest, in which we are
not to toil in the works of the Law, but to let God work in us by faith, while we
remain quiet and enjoy a holiday from the labours of the Law. The water in the
pots is the contents and substance of the Law by which conscience is governed
and is graven in letters as in the water-pots of stone. And they are of stone, as
were the tables of Moses, signifying the stiff-necked people of the Jews. For as
their heart is set against the Law, so the Law appears outwardly to be against
them. It seems hard and difficult to them, and therefore it is hard and difficult;
the reason in that their heart is hard and averse to the Law; we all find, feel
49
and discover by experience that we are hard and averse to what is good, and
soft and prone to what is evil. This the wicked do not feel, but those who long
to be pious and labor exceedingly with their works. This is the significance of
the two or three firkins apiece”6.
Calvin (1509-1564 A.C.) is giving the following interpretation. “And there
were there six water-pots of stone. According to the computation of Budaeus,
we infer that these water-pots were very large; [ …] . Christ supplied them,
therefore, with a great abundance of wine, as much as would be sufficient for a
banquet to a hundred and fifty men. Besides, both the number and the size of
the water-pots serve to prove the truth of the miracle. If there had been only
two or three jars, many might have suspected that they had been brought from
some other place. If in one vessel only the water had been changed into wine,
the certainty of the miracle would not have been so obvious, or so well ascer-
tained. It is not, therefore, without a good reason that the Evangelist mentions
the number of the water-pots, and states how much they contained7. It arose
from superstition that vessels so numerous and so large were placed there.
They had the ceremony of washing, indeed, prescribed to them by the Law
of God; but as the world is prone to excess in outward matters, the Jews, not
satisfied with the simplicity which God had enjoined, amused themselves with
continual washings; and as superstition is ambitious, they undoubtedly served
the purpose of display, as we see at the present day in Popery, that everything
which is said to belong to the worship of God is arranged for pure display.
There was, then, a twofold error: that without the command of God, they en-
gaged in a superfluous ceremony of their own invention; and next, that, under
the pretense of religion, ambition reigned amidst that display. Some Popish
scoundrels have manifested an amazing degree of wickedness, when they had
the effrontery to say that they had among their relics those water-pots with
which Christ performed this miracle in Cana, and exhibited some of them,
which, first, are of small size, and, next, are unequal in size. And in the pres-
ent day, when the light of the Gospel shines so clearly around us, they are not
ashamed to practice those tricks, which certainly is not to deceive by enchant-
ments, but daringly to mock men as if they were blind; and the world, which
6 http://www.martinluthersermons.com/ Luther, Sermon for the Second Sunday after

the Epiphany; John 2:1-11.
7 The editor points out that the exact size of the firkin cannot be easily ascertained. If
«μετρητής» be here used by the Evangelist as a purely Greek word, we must conclude it to be
an Attic measure, which was nearly equal to nine English gallons. If, again, it be placed here
as a substitute for the Hebrew word Bath, as the Septuagint has done in 2Chronicles 4:5, it will
probably be rated at seven gallons and a half.
50
does not perceive such gross mockery, is evidently bewitched by Satan”8.

In contrast to the Fathers and Philo, who consider number six as a perfect
number, the contemporary interpreters think that is not a complete number as
it is less by one from the number seven (6=7-1) which is well known to sym-
bolize completeness in the Bible (Morris, 1993). Thus, the Jewish purification
is not complete and needs Jesus Christ as the seventh water-pot to lead in a
complete purification (Moloney, 1998). This interpretation of number six is
especially eminent between 1953-decade of 1970, the time that Second Quest
is predominated and the difference between Jewish and Christianity is accen-
tuated (Gibson & Mckinley, 2015). The presence of the six water-pots impress-
es the high necessity in the Greek-Roman ages for purification. The water-pots
to be easily accessible were laid in the dining room or in a passage near the
yard or atrium where existed an impluvium. In addition, these were made of
the stone to secure the highest possible purity of the vessels and the hands af-
ter washing (Lev 11:33). Thus, John who is aware of the Jewish customs (Keen-
er, 2012), expresses the antithesis between the older Jewish laws regarding the
purification and the “ecstatic wine” of the New Testament referred to those
who will be born from water and spirit. With Cana sign is shown that we have
all received grace for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ. (1:16-17) (Schlatter, 1948). Of course, the Bridegroom
Jesus asseverates that salvation comes from Jewish (4:22) as he is also Jewish
(4:9) (Moody Smith, 1999). As he is the Lamb of God clears the sins of the
world and through his blood cleans the world9.
The number six may interconnect with the number of Jesus’ disciples in-
cluding him. In the marriages people offer gifts. Jesus offers with his five dis-
ciples the best quality wine that people ever sampled. The six water-pots full
of wine is the best reward for the hospitality and attention that Jesus and his
five disciples had.
May be this specific beginning of the signs by Jesus symbolizes his declare
to transfer the spiritual wine in the world through his water-pot-flesh and the
testimony of the other five disciples. It must be noted that in the sign of multi-
8 John Calvin, C John, vol. 1, a new translation from the original Latin by the Rev. Wil-
liam Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI Christian Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org commentary
on the Gospel According to John) pp. 50-51.
9 G. Wheaton in his dissertation entitled The Role of Jewish Feasts in John’s Gospel
[Scotland, University of St. Andrews, 2009] 34) provides references of many interpreters of
six water-pots as symbol of incompleteness. He claims that this conception is for narrative
purposes without blaming the incompleteness of the Jewish Law. He just makes appreciable
the reality that indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness (Joh 1:16).
51
plication of the five loaves and two fishes he is with all twelve disciples and the
five thousand people will not only be satiated but also will result with left over
of twelve baskets (6:13). It may not be accidental that in these two signs, where
Jesus provides the in need by the people as a gift, there is a correspondence
between the materials of the miracle with the presence of the disciples. In his
mission to transfigure the dessert hearts of the gentiles to salvated fountains
with living water nobody is in excess.
If every water-pot contained two or three measures, the total quantity of
the water which is converted into wine nagged to the huge volume of 492-
737 liters, as each measure was equivalent with nine gallons or approximately
forty-one liters. The apothegmatic water-pot which was used for oil, wine and
wheat contained up to fifty liters. This high quantity in water-pots mentioned
by John aims to show the great and exact gratitude of the sign. The richness
of the gift constitutes one of the characteristics of the specific Gospel. It is re-
markable to note that if the Evangelist mentioned the source of the water and
not the water-pot it would not be a way to measure the quantity of the water.
We can compare the six stone water-pots with: (a) twelve baskets that were
left over after the satiation of five thousand people from five loans and two
fishes; (b) the pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious that Mary used
and anointed the feet of Jesus; (12:3) (c) one hundred liters of myrrh and aloes
with which Nicodemus anointed the burial body of Jesus (19:39) and (d) 153
great fishes which his disciples fished after the order of the resurrected Jesus
(21:7).
The magnitude of the oncoming sign appears more intense on the audience
as the question “what has this concern of yours to do with Me, woman? (2:4)
to her mother who notified him “that they have no wine (2:3)” does not point
the extension of the offer of Jesus to the couple. After the water-pots have
been filled with water the transformation of the water into wine is performed
(Karakolis, 1996).
Of course, these quantities are small in relation to corresponding Jewish
and first Christian descriptions of messianic age as these are mentioned in
Ι Enoch (10.19.2), Baruch (29:5) and Hierapolis Papias (cf Ireneos, Against
Heresies 5:33.3-4). This is since Evangelist wishes his data to testify a real his-
tory. It must be noted that Jesus does not create a seventh water-pot (Morris,
1995). In any case Jesus provides Life and offers an abundance of gift more
than the expectation (Joh 10:10) (Ramsey, 2010).
They have been reported also the following extreme allegoric interpreta-
52
tions: (a) the six water-pots express the 6000 cosmic years10; (b) if we multiply
the number of water-pots with their maximum volume (3x6) it comes out the
number eighteen which symbolizes the first letters of word Jesus ΙΗΣΟΥΣ
(IH=10+8)11. This semeiology meets for the first time in Barnavas Epistle
(9:8)12.
2. Two or three firkins as a poetic and a climax scheme
in John Gospel
We have already pointed out that in 2:6 are mentioned the two or three
measures of liquids that water-pots can contain. J.J. Davis studied the rhetori-
cal use numbers and more specifically the formula X/X+1 where X represents
any number and X+1 its greater number by one. This formula is not met only
in the Bible but also in myths of Cananite-Ugaritic mythology like that of the
king Keret13 (Epic of King Keret, is an ancient Ugaritic epic poem, dated to
Late Bronze Age, circa 1500 – 1200 B.C.) (Davis, 1991). This climax scheme
(X/X+1) functions in Semitic text as a synthetic parallelism.
Α chapter from Isaiah supports in our view the climax meaning of the
scheme Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or
three olives on the topmost bough, Four or five on the branches of a fruitful
tree, Declares the LORD, the God of Israel. (Isa 17:6 The New American Stan-
dard Bible (NASB) (Skolnik, 2007). It is the prophesy against Syria and the
king of Israel. The meaning of the chapter is that the destroy will be not total
but some of the population will survive. To express this reality the prophet
uses metaphors and moments from the rural life. During the collection of
olives usually on the high branches are left one or two which cannot be gath-
ered. In Deuteronomy is clearly stated that these remaining oils belong to the
foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless
10 A.D. Delimpasis, (Pascha of our Lord, Creation-Renovation and Apostasy [Athens
1995, 193]) provides references in which is shown that during Jesus’ age the cosmic year was
not the 6000.
11 H.A. Hutmacher, Symbolik der Biblischen Zahlen und Zeiten (München: F. Schon-
ingh 1993) 199. In this book the author provides a plethora of Bible chapters in which the
symbolic meaning of the numbers is explained. The imagination of the author to find ge-
matrias (words that symbolically correspond to numbers) is impressive.
12 Λέγει γάρ «Καὶ περιέτεμεν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ ἄνδρας δεκαοκτὼ καὶ
τριακοσίους». Τίς οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα αὐτῷ γνῶσις μάθετε ὅτι τοὺς δεκαοκτὼ πρώτους καὶ
διάστημα ποιήσας λέγει «τριακοσίους». Τὸ δεκαοκτὼ Ι [δέκα] Η [ὀκτω] ἔχεις Ιησοῦν Ὅτι δὲ
ὁ σταυρὸς ἐν τῷ Τ ἤμελλεν ἔχειν τὴν χάριν λέγει καὶ τοὺς τριακοσίους Δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν
Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν γράμμασιν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν (9,8).
13 http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze33gpz/canaanite-faq.html (therein references).
53
you in all the work of your hands (24:19). The second scene is the use of the
sticks to collect the olives. At the side branches are left four or five olives. In
this climax scheme are used the numbers four and five which are greater than
two and three. As some olives remain on the tree, the same way God cares to
raise from ashes his people through the ages without being destroyed from
an invasion. Thus, the purpose of the author is to show the result through the
progressive increase of the numbers. In reality, this fundamental operation of
this idiom is to strengthen the parallelism in such a way the listener/reader to
imprint in his heart its echo14.
Conclusions
A. For the Fathers the number six expresses the completeness and is re-
lated to (re-creation) of the world. For many contemporary readers the six
water-pots is a symbol of the imperfect purification which will be substituted
by the incarnated and crucified resurrected Logos through the baptism and
the blood donation. The Messianic dinner is established between the Jewish
in Cana of Galilea. Next, in Chapter four participants in the messianic dinner
is Samaritan woman and a gentile nobleman.
B. The phrase two or three measures express the volume of stone water-pots
probably not only literally but also in a poetic way. Therefore, the abundance/
and richness arrive from just the presence of Jesus as in the first sign he does
not speak or order for the transformation of water to wine. The presence of
two consecutive numbers recalls for a gradual or climactic scheme to intensify
the content of the sentence. Remarkably this does not appear only in Bible but
also in modern Greek poetry and music.
14 J. Blenkinsopp, A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary The Anchor

Bible v. 19, Isaiah 1-39 (USA: Doubleday, 2000) 305. This climactic of the meaning remains
alive and is manifested in our days in poetry and music in Greece. An example is the song
awarded the Oscar prize in 1960 called “The children of Piraeus” (The lines and music are
written by Manos Chatzidakis). http://www.stixoi.info/stixoi.php?info=Lyrics&act=de-
tails&song_id=2505
54
References
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they changed the world, Cassel Illustrated, passim.
Blenkinsopp, J. (2000). A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
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Bradley, J. (n.d.). An Augustinian Perspective on the Philosophy of
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Keener, C. S. (2012). The Gospel of John, A Commentary, USA: Baker

Academics.
Mc Guire, M. R. P. (2002). Numerology, New Catholic Encyclopedia, USA:
Thomson.
Moloney, F. J. (1998). The Gospel of John, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.
Moody D. (1999) Smith, John, Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
Publishing.
Ramsey, J. (2010). The Gospel of John, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing.
Sanders, J. N. (1968). A Commentary on the Gospel according to St John, B. A.
Mastin.
Schimmel, A. (1993). The mystery of numbers, New York, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Schlatter, A. (1948). Der Evangelist Johannes, Stuttgart: Calwer.
Skolnik, F. (2007). Numbers, Encycopaedia Judaica, Detroit: Thomson Gale.
St T. Aquinas (2010). Commentary on the Gospel of John. Chapters 1-5.
Translated by Fabian Larcher, James Weishpeif with introduction and notes
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Thompson Allis, O. (1946). Bible Numerics, USA: Moody Press.
Vallowe, E. (2014). Biblical Mathematics. Keys to Scripture Numerics. How to
count the Bible, Lexington: The Olive Press.
56
4
Religious freedom and millet during the
Tanzimat Reform
Georgios Gaitanos
Head of the Department of Theology & Culture, Lecturer of Religious
Studies, University College Logos, Tirana
Corespondence:
e-mail: gaitanosg@yahoo.gr
Abstract
From the end of the last century, a sig- people of the Bible, as stated in the
nificant shift in Ottoman history was Qur’an, and whether the Tanzimat
attempted, as it sought to overthrow reform improved the functioning of
the ideological pattern of decline and the institution and the relations of
focus on renewed trends and con- the Orthodox Church with the Otto-
temporary issues. One of these issues man Porte.
that will concern us in the present
paper is the evolution of the system
of separation of peoples and inhab- Keywords:
itants of the Ottoman Empire based Tanzimat, millet, religious freedom,
on religion. Through the system of nationalism, Ecumenical Patriarchate.
separation and classification of the Citation:
inhabitants of the various regions Gaitanos G. Religious freedom and
millet during the Tanzimat Reform.
occupied by the Ottoman Empire,
Theology & Culture. 2022; 4: 57-79.
religion seems to have played a de-
Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35412.07040
cisive role and was used as a factor
to limit any confrontation with a na-
tional sign. Thus, the Ottoman Em-
pire established the millet system, to
institutionalize its relations with reli-
gious minorities. The work will seek
to show whether this institution re-
spected the religious freedom of the
57
Religious Freedom and millet during the Tanzimat Reform ©2022 Gaitanos
Introduction
O
ne of the first concerns of the present study was the way of ap-
proaching the historical development and socio-political transfor-
mations observed in the Late Ottoman Empire. It is characteristic
that since the beginning of the 21st century the way of perceiving the Ottoman
history has changed significantly, since new trends in research and differenti-
ated representations of the Ottoman past have developed (Gkara, 2008). The
treatment of Ottoman social, political and economic history went through
various stages after the gradual establishment of departments of Ottoman
Studies in the international community. The most important research trends
were concentrated in the Orientalist tradition1, to the contribution of Turkish
historians who cultivated a national Turkish narrative2, and in the historiog-
raphy that formed a specific interpretive scheme of Ottoman history about
the “classical period” (1300-1600) and the “period of decline or post-classi-
cal” (1600-1914)3. The common approach of these research trends was that
they studied exclusively the state structure of the Ottoman state, its tax system
and political developments, without being interested in the developments and
transformations of the society, while in general they agreed with the ideology
that from the 17th century onwards there is a “decline” of the Ottoman state
due to defeats in wars with major European powers (Inalcik, 1978; Quataert,
2003). Overall, a historiography of the Ottoman state and not of the various
1 According to Orientalist tradition, Islam was treated as a timeless substance and Ot-
toman society from the 18th century onwards as a degenerate civilization. In fact, Islam was
presented as the central difference between the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe and a
key factor in the failure to modernize the East (See R. Owen (1976). “The Middle East in the
Eighteenth Century: An Islamic Society in decline? A Critique of Gibband Bowen’s Islamic
Society and the West”, Bulletin of British Society for Middle Eastern Studies 3.2, 110-117).
2 From the 1930s onwards, Turkish historians, using exclusively and systematically
Ottoman archival sources not available to Western scholars, attempted to present Ottoman
history as a continuation of the modern Turkish state and thus cultivate a glorious history in
the past, degrading the Islamic element in many places and establishing an apologetic attitude,
with the aim of restoring the Ottoman Empire (See S. Faroqhi (2006). Προσεγγίζοντας την
Οθωμανική Ιστορία: Εισαγωγή στις Πηγές (transl. in Greek Κ. Καμπουρίδης), Θεσσαλονίκη:
University Studio Press. S. Hanioglu (1999). “Review: Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ot-
tomans and Britain (1877-1924) by Anmi Ozcan”, International Journal of Middle Eastern
Studies 31.1, 145-147. B. Ersanli (2002), “The Ottoman Empire in the Historiography of the
Kemalist Era: A Theory of Fatal Decline”, in F. Adanir & S. Faroqhi (eds.), The Ottomans and
the Balkans: A Discussion of Historiography, Leiden: Brill, 115-154).
3 Typical works of this trend are H. Inalcik & D. Quataert (1994). An Economic and So-
cial History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press and
F. G. Metallinos (2008). Τουρκοκρατία: Οι Έλληνες στην Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Αθήνα:
Εκδόσεις Ακρίτας.
58
Ottoman societies was developed, as if we exclude some studies that tried with
a holistic approach to present the history and society of different cities and
societies4, no attempt was made to give a different perspective (Gkara, 2008).
However, since the end of the last century, a significant shift in Ottoman
history has been attempted, with the aim of overthrowing the ideological
pattern of decline and focusing on renewed trends and contemporary issues.
Thus, several studies have dealt with the transformation of institutions5, the
difference between the societies of the center and the periphery6, the ideolog-
ical framework of power formation7, the question of the coexistence of many
religious and ethnic communities8, the presence of women as a special social
group9, the issue of human rights10.
One of these institutions that will concern us is the evolution of the system
of separation of peoples and inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire, based on re-
4 See, L. Fawaz (1983). Merchants and Migrants in Nineteenth Century Beirut, Cam-
bridge: Harvard University Press. N. Todorov (1986). Η βαλκανική πόλη, 15ος-19ος αιώνας:
κοινωνικο-οικονομική και δημογραφική ανάπτυξη, Αθήνα: Θεμέλιο. A. Marcus (1989). The
Middle East on the Eve of Modernity: Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century, New York: Columbia
University Press. S. Faroqhi (1992). “Political Activity among Ottoman Taxpayers and the
Problem of Sultanic Legitimation (1570-1650)”, Journal of the Economic and Social History of
the Orient 34,1-39; (2000). Κουλτούρα και καθημερινή ζωή στην Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία:
από τον Μεσαίωνα ως τις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα, Αθήνα: Εξάντας.
5 See, A. Salzmann (1993). “An Ancient Regime Revisited: “Privatization” and Political
Economy in the Eighteenth Century Ottoman Empire”, Politics & Society 21.4, 393-423. L.
Darling (1996). Revenue-Raising and Legitimacy: Tax Collection and Finance Administration
in the Ottoman Empire, 1560-1660, Leiden: Brill.
6 See, J. Hathaway (1996). The Politics of Households in Ottoman Egypt: The Rise of Qa-
zdaglis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. D. Douwes (2000). The Ottomans in Syria: A
History of Justice and Oppression, London: I. B. Tauris.
7 See, S. Deringil (1999). The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of
Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909, London: I. B. Tauris.
8 See, B. Braude & B. Lewis (1982). Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire, New
York: Holmes & Meier Publishers. Ε. Gkara (2005). «Χριστιανοί και Μουσουλμάνοι στην
Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία των πρώιμων νεότερων χρόνων: ιστοριογραφικές προσεγγίσεις»,
in M. Greene (ed.), Κρήτη, ένας κόσμος. Χριστιανοί και μουσουλμάνοι στη Μεσόγειο των
πρώιμων νεότερων χρόνων, Αθήνα: Εκδόσεις του Εικοστού Πρώτου, 15-37. N. Doumanis
(2013). Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and its Destruction in Late Ottoman
Anatolia, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
9 See, J. Tucker (1985). Women in the Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press. L. Peirce (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in
the Ottoman Empire, Oxford: Oxford University Press. M. Zilfi (ed.) (1997). Women in the
Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era, Leiden: Brill. I. Agmon
(2004). “Women’s History and Ottoman Sharia Court Records: Shifting Perspective in Social
History”, Hawwa 2.2, 72-209.
10 See, B. Aral (2004). “The idea of Human Rights as Perceived in the Ottoman Empire”,
Human Rights Quarterly, 26.2, 454-482.
59
ligion. As is well known, the Ottoman Empire covered a large area, especially
around the Mediterranean, which meant that it included many different eth-
nic and religious groups in their historic homelands. Through the system of
separation and classification of the inhabitants of the various regions occupied
by the Ottoman Empire, religion seems to have played a decisive role and was
used as a factor to limit any confrontation with a national sign. Thus, the Otto-
man Empire established the millet system, to institutionalize its relations with
religious minorities. The concept of minority in Islam classified religious mi-
norities as “people of the Bible” (Barkey, 2005; Quataret, 2006; Liolios, 2013),
as recognized in the Qur’an as such, Christians, Jews and Sabaeans (Braude
& Lewis, 1985). However, in the millet system (religious community) only
Christians and Jews were recognized as official religious groups. This separa-
tion arose from the Islamic legal tradition, which separated the non-Muslim
population in the Muslim state (Rachieru, 2002; Mpalta, 2006).
1. The Millet system
In general, the millet system was a socio-cultural and community frame-

work, based primarily on religion and secondarily on nationality (Karpat,
1985). Of course, this system was not implemented overnight, but was a con-
tinuous process with constant transformations. In fact, it should be noted that
it covered smaller communities and even neighborhoods. For example, in the
Balkans there were societies organized into groups of urban and rural com-
munities rather than ethnic groups (Karpat, 1985). With this in mind, the Ot-
tomans took advantage of the universality of faith and religion. Of course, al-
though they did not try to destroy the linguistic or ethnic differences of these
groups, at the same time they did not seek to strengthen the national identity
and uniqueness of the different people (Karpat, 1985). In essence, the complex
system of millet arose from the attempt to organize non-Muslim populations
under an Islamic understanding without disregarding religious and cultural
freedoms (Karpat, 1985; Mpalta, 2006). The basic differentiation became more
apparent in the tax system because non-Muslims were required to pay two
special taxes, the haraç (land tax) and the cizye (capital tax) (Karpat, 1985;
Mpalta, 2006). The multi-layered understanding of non-Muslim groups has
allowed many non-Muslims to rise to the highest levels of government and
enjoy social recognition, as the system helped to achieve this goal (Karpat,
1985).
Of course, the fact of the transformation of this system on Tanzimat through
60
the two constitutional changes is of particular interest to our research. Thus,

the Ottoman identity was reconstructed through the recognition of new mil-
let, such as Protestant and Bulgarian, but also the establishment of self-gov-
erning rules for certain millet, such as Armenians and Jews (Rachieru, 2002).
This growing segregation of the populations of the Ottoman Empire led to
the establishment of dichotomous tendencies in Ottoman society, resulting in
the introduction of the concept of “nation” from the West in the 19th century
(Matalas, 2002).
Although historians have developed various theories, such as “push”11 and
“attraction”12, for the rise of nationalist and revolutionary movements in the
19th century Ottoman Empire, most likely the revolutionary movements arose
from class groups seeking more economic privileges than the central govern-
ment, which with the reforms fueled rivalries between groups with conflicting
interests (Quataret, 2006). Gradually, various nationalisms sprang up, culti-
vating a “fantasy ideology” for the pre-existence of nations and the creation of
national identities13. But the reality is that first these states emerged and then
their presence was “strengthened” with the ideology of a nation (Quataret,
2006).
In any case, before the notion of “nation” was more strongly cultivated, the
millet system determined the way non-Muslims were governed. As we men-
tioned, the main injustice of this system was the extra taxation of these pop-
ulations. After all, taxation was a constant source of revenue for the Empire
(Asdrachas, 2003; 1978), especially through the taxation of the agricultural and
livestock sector and commercial activity. In particular, the economic activity
11 According to the “push” theory, the Ottoman state undertook important reforms
that helped equalize Muslims and non-Muslims economically and politically, but as change
proceeded slowly, revolutionary movements emerged out of frustration. In essence, the state
has fallen victim to its own policy. See, H. Inalcik (1976). Application of the Tanzimat and its
social effects, Lisse: Peter de Ridder Press.
12 According to the theory of “attraction”, the Ottoman state pursued an authoritarian
and harsh economic policy to the detriment of its citizens, with the result that local rulers
developed nationalist sentiments and embarked on independence movements. See, L. Stavri-
anos (2000). The Balkans since 1453, New York: New York University Press. Of course, this
theory can be overturned in the case of Bulgaria, as it enjoyed considerable economic pros-
perity during the period of independence due to the economic policies and interventions of
the Ottoman authority (See, D. Quataert (2006). Η Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία. Οι τελευταίοι
αιώνες, 1700-1922, 125-126).
13 The term “imaginary community” was first used by B. Anderson and was a useful
analytical tool for examining objectively the idealistic way of constructing a nation or differ-
ent groups within a nation. (See, B. Anderson (1997). Φαντασιακές Κοινότητες: Στοχασμοί για
τις απαρχές και τη διάδοση του εθνικισμού (transl. in Greek Π. Χατζαρούλα), Αθήνα: Νεφέλη,
12-19).
61
and taxation of the Rum millet, which was the largest and most important of
all (Skendi, 1982), is another important parameter that should be taken into
account, because the gradual granting of privileges to various communities of
today’s Greek territory by the Ottoman center (Kontogiorgis, 1982; Dalègre,
2006; Pylia, 2001; Petmezas, 2005) in conjunction with the international trea-
ties that the Ottoman Porte was obliged to sign, helped the economic prog-
ress of inland and island communities (Asdrachas, 1982; Vakalopoulos, 1973;
Chatziioannou, 2005; Petmezas et al., 2012).
2. The establishment of the Millet
The notion has been established that from the beginning the Ottoman au-
thority recognized three nations, the Rum (Greek Orthodox), the Armenian
(Gregorian) and the Jewish14. The first included the populations of the Balkan
Peninsula and Central Asia and was under the guidance of the Orthodox Pa-
triarch of Constantinople (Inalcik, 1991; Mpalta, 2006; Ribolov, 2013). The
second millet included mainly the Armenians, but also the other Christian
groups and mainly the pre-Chalcedonian Monophysites, such as the Copts of
Egypt, who did not belong to the Orthodox Patriarch (Sugar, 1977). The third
included all the Jews of the Empire, Romans, Ashkenazi, Sfaradites, who were
officially recognized in the mid-19th century because of their decentralized
administrative system, unlike the other two nations who had a hierarchical
administration after the fall of Constantinople (Sugar, 1977).
However, historical research has raised concerns about the historical use
of the term millet and its significance, as depending on the approach of each
historian, the term was sometimes associated with the religious communi-
ty recognized by the Ottoman state and sometimes associated with an eth-
no-religious ensemble, which was the matrix for the production of nationalist
movements of the 19th century15. In essence, there was a difficulty in defining
and understanding the term historically within the Ottoman legal system.
14 Generally on the subject of millet in the Ottoman Empire, see B. Braude & B. Lewis
(eds.) (1985). Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire, New York: Holmes & Meier Publish-
ers. S. Anagnostopoulou (2004). The Passage from the Ottoman Empire to the Nations-States,
Istanbul: Isis, 37-55. S. Shaw (1978). “The Ottoman Census System and Population, 1831-
1914”, International Journal of Middle East Studies 9.3, 325-338. S. Mutlu (2003). “Late Otto-
man Population and its Ethnic Distribution”, Turkish Journal of Population Studies 25, 3-38.
15 For example, the approach of the 16th or 17th century with the rationale of the na-
tionalist tendency, which began to prevail in the 19th century, is an anachronistic conception,
which in no way helps to understand the millet as a religious community. See, I. Hassiotis
(1999). “From the “Refledging” to the “Illumination of the Nation”: Aspects of Political Ideol-
ogy in the Greek Church under Ottoman Domination”, Balkan Studies 40, 41-55.
62
However, studies from the 1980s onwards included the use of the term by
the Ottoman regime in the official granting of privileges, without this mean-
ing that this process began in the first centuries of the Ottoman conquests
(Braude, 1985). Specifically, these studies showed that the performance of
privileges through the introduction of the official status of millet took place
during the increasing demands of the political elites of the national groups in
the 19th and 20th centuries (Braude, 1985). Therefore, the official validity of the
term dates back to the 19th century onwards.
Historical data may prove that the term millet was introduced in the 19th
century, but at least in the case of the Greek Orthodox community it seems to
have been established since the 18th century (Stamatopoulos, 2006; Gkara &
Tzedelopoulos, 2015). Official Ottoman documents from the 16th to the 18th
century used the term taife kafirlerin, meaning group of infidels, to identi-
fy the Orthodox populations under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patri-
archate. Therefore, it was normal for the Orthodox population to be consid-
ered the most important group of unbelievers, as they outnumbered other
non-Muslim religious and ethnic groups, such as the Armenians and the Jews.
Nevertheless, around 1700 a very important change took place. The Patriarch
of Constantinople is no longer officially referred to as the “Patriarch of the
infidels”, but as the “Patriarch of the Romans”, ie the Orthodox subjects of the
Empire, who usually spoke Greek. So the use of this term, especially from the
beginning of the 18th century, paved the way for the introduction of the term
Rum millet or millet-i Rum16, that is, of the religious group of the Romans, as
a replacement for the previous term taife kafirlerin (Konortas, 1999; Zachari-
adou, 1996; Dalègre, 2006).
Over the years, the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople was considered the
leader of the Rum millet, that is, of the Orthodox Christians, who were under
the rule of the sultan. Since religion and nationality were identical concepts
in the perception of the Turks, the Ottoman Porte formed a framework of
16 In Constantinople, the rise of a new social class with great political and cultural
influence, the Phanariotes, was essentially a consequence of the same historical development.
This Greek-speaking aristocracy, ideologically dependent on the Patriarchate and engaged
in commercial and political activities, managed to control the promotion of leaders in the
Danube Hegemony and to hold important positions in the Ottoman administration. We can
therefore assume that the Phanariots, a social group that ensured the maintenance of Otto-
man rule in frontier states vital to the Empire, owe much to the designation of the Orthodox
millet as Rum. See, D. Stamatopoulos (2006). “From Millets to Minorities in the 19th-Centu-
ry Ottoman Empire: an Ambiguous Modernization”, 254-255. S. Anagnostopoulou (1997).
Μικρά Ασία, 19ος αι.-1919. Οι Ελληνορθόδοξες Κοινότητες: Από το Μιλλέτ των Ρωμιών στο
ελληνικό έθνος, Αθήνα: Ελληνικά Γράμματα, 23-37.
63
self-government in the Rum millet under the pretext of religious tolerance

(Cahnmann, 1944; Mpalta, 2006; Liolios, 2013). So when the security of the
Ottoman state was not threatened, then the only thing the officials were inter-
ested in was the collection of taxes, resulting in the introduction of the term
raya (herd), which was used to present the citizens as tax subjects (Gibbons,
1916; Mpalta, 2006).
3. The Orthodox Church during the Ottoman Empire
As we have mentioned, the most important millet was the Rum millet and
therefore it is necessary to investigate the relationship that the Ottomans de-
veloped with the Orthodox Church, its privileges and whether the principle
of religious tolerance was applied or whether it was finally violated and to
what extent. Having mentioned how this relationship was formed and estab-
lished, we will then focus on the 19th century, which is the central interest of
this paper. From the moment Muhammad II conquered Constantinople, he
sought to cut off the danger of the Christians of the East becoming dependent
on the Pope (Archbishop of Athens Papadopoulos, 1934; Liolios, 2013). Thus,
in order to cut off the possibility of any connection between East and West,
he decided to preserve the position of Patriarch of Constantinople by turning
it into an office with an official proclamation. The proclamation of Gennadi-
os Scholarios as Patriarch of Constantinople was accompanied by an official
document of Mohammed II, which forbade any abuse of the Patriarch, while
exempting him from all taxes and any personal violation (Frantzis, 2001).
This document may have been the first berat (distinction, honor, privilege)
(Arnakis, 1952; Liolios, 2013). Since then, similar documents have been is-
sued by the sultans, which confirmed the election of each new Patriarch, while
the pashas in each region used this practice for the respective cases of the
newly elected bishops. Each berat, imperial or regional, secured most of the
rights granted to Gennadios in 1453-54. Now, through historical research, it
is accepted that through the berats the Ottoman state granted privileges to re-
ligious leaders, without this necessarily meaning that it was also a legal recog-
nition of religious communities (Konortas, 1998; Cohen, 1996; Dalègre, 2006;
Myrgioti, 2013). Thus, the official berat document does not mean that it was
also a document of legitimacy of millet.
However, we should note what the privileges were granted to the Church
and to the Orthodox Christians according to the berat, signed by the sultans.
First of all, there was a mention of respect for freedom of conscience. Those
64
who belonged to the Rum millet would not be converted without their will.
So, if a Christian wanted to convert to Islam, then he had to be an adult, and
the religious leader of his community could persuade him in front of his par-
ents and relatives. During the long Ottoman rule, this term was violated many
times, but at least its inclusion in many berats prevented the violent Islam-
ization of thousands of Christians. At the same time, the state undertook not
to engage in the performance of Christian religious duties, while Christians
could keep their holy books and icons in their homes, as well as be allowed to
perform services in churches (Arnakis, 1952).
The administration and the committee of the Church were safe, as long
as the taxes were paid and there were no fears of betrayal. The Patriarchate
and the Holy Synod were free to appoint the clergy, maintained oversight of
churches and monasteries, and investigated complaints against clergy. The of-
ficial state had no right to arrest, dismiss or exile bishops or priests without
the approval of the Patriarchate. Also, the Patriarch could issue a sentence
against clergy without the consent of the Holy Synod. In cases of complaints
against the Patriarch and the higher ranks of the clergy, the trial could only
take place in the capital before imperial judges and officials. The summonses
of criminal cases concerning the lower clergy went either to the Patriarch or to
the bishops, while during the waiting period of the trial the accused remained
confined to the place of the respective governor. After the trial, if he was found
guilty, then he remained confined to either the Patriarchate or the Diocese,
while in the case of serious crimes he was dismissed and imprisoned (Arnakis,
1952; Liolios, 2013).
The ownership of churches, monasteries and institutions belonged to the
Patriarch and the bishops. Abuses of an economic nature were investigated
and punished by the Patriarchal court. In addition, the Church could impose
taxes for its own purposes. Priests and their parishes would have to pay an
annual fee to cover the cost a bishop would have to pay to the state for his
appointment to the Episcopal position. If the payment was made without any
controversy, then the state did not charge for goods charges and tolls during
transportation. The state, by collecting the assistance of the parishioners, for-
malized its support for the bishop. It is therefore easy to assume that the power
of the bishop was a tool of corruption by unscrupulous ecclesiastical circles.
As for the property of an unmarried clergyman, after his death it was trans-
ferred to the Patriarchate and not to the imperial treasury. Any Christian who
wished could bequeath up to 1/3 of his fortune to the church and its institu-
65
tions. This property remained safe and protected, unless an imperial decree
was issued ordering otherwise (Arnakis, 1952; Liolios, 2013; Myrgioti, 2013).
The social status of Orthodox Christians remained under the individual
jurisdiction of the Patriarch, who had the sole right to issue permits for mar-
riages and divorces. Thus, the Church maintained a way of controlling and
preserving the family, matters of inheritance, while giving the right to operate
community courts, which for the most part adjudicated civil cases. Also, vari-
ous cases were trailed in the Patriarchate, as Christians preferred the system of
Christian justice to the verdict of kadi (Arnakis, 1952; Liolios, 2013; Doxiadis,
2011; Metallinos, 2008; Siatras, 1997).
In short, these were some of the most important privileges that established
the framework of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s relationship with the Otto-
man Empire. However, the official documents may have provided privileges
and protection for the Patriarch and the Christian subjects, but the situation
and the relations with the Ottoman authority were not so peaceful. So we
could not miss the problems that the Patriarchate often faced and the lim-
itations it had to overcome in order to survive. The position of the historian
and Metropolitan of Didymoteicho, Filaretos Vafeidis, is typical, that the fate
of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula would be different, if the Ottomans
followed without deviation the policy first implemented by Muhammad II in
1453 (Bishop Vafeidis, 1902).
The reality is that the state recognized the rights of the Church in official
documents, but government officials and Ottoman citizens in many cases vi-
olated the institutional tolerance, as they speculated at the expense of church
property, blackmailed, humiliated and persecuted the clergy, while forcibly
converted Christians to Islam. Of course, this does not mean that the head of
the Church was not attacked, since he was persecuted in periods of fanaticism
on the pretext of suspected treason. Several Patriarchs were exiled or impris-
oned, while some, such as Cyril Loukaris (1638), Cyril II (1639), Parthenios
II (1651), Parthenios III (1657) and Gregory V (1821), died as martyrs. It is
noteworthy that their execution took place after the Ottomans had replaced
them, resulting in their condemnation not as Patriarchs, but as traitors. Thus,
although the Ottoman Porte did not aim to attack the Church as an institu-
tion, it was clear to the Patriarch that he was helpless in times of crisis (Ar-
nakis, 1952).
Also, difficulties and peculiarities arose regarding the performance of the
services in temples. On the spot where there were old churches, the Greeks
66
were allowed to build small and humble buildings with wooden roofs. Of
course, it was quite difficult to get a permit for this construction, as the ulema
had to argue that the new place of worship would not be disgusting to Islam
and the state. At the same time, the bribery of various officials was necessary,
while it turned out that money would have to be distributed to the Muslim
families in the neighborhood where the temple would be built, so that they
would not react during its construction. It is understood that under these
circumstances it was not possible for Christians to have a “normal” church
(Gedeon, 1909). Of course, at the beginning of the 19th century there was
a relaxation in the strictness of the construction of temples, since until 1830
it was possible to build a church without the issuance of an imperial firman.
Many churches were built in Constantinople at that time, to replace those that
were destroyed during the Greek revolution. There was more freedom in the
provinces. For example, monasteries far from the cities were not disturbed,
although their property was often confiscated and monks were required to pay
a capital tax. However, some monasteries near Constantinople were destroyed
for no particular reason (Arnakis, 1952).
In general, the Greek Orthodox population, represented mainly by the
Phanariot elite and the upper Orthodox clergy, gradually gained significant
political and social power, preparing the ground for the establishment of its
own cultural supremacy among the rest of the Orthodox (Sarigiannis, 2011;
Dalègre, 2006; Metallinos, 2008). Also, the result of the Russo-Turkish wars
at the end of the 18th century (1768-1774, 1788-1792) contributed to this de-
velopment, as Catherine the Great set Russia as the protector of the Orthodox
populations of the Ottoman Empire (Muge, 1996; Mpalta, 2006), while giving
the opportunity for a huge economic growth in the rising urban elements of
the Greek territory17.
17 The rise of the Greek bourgeoisie in the 18th century led to the organization of com-
munities with statutes that emphasized the element of self-government that characterized
them. The example of the Aegean islands is typical. The new order consisted of nobles, land-
owners, merchants, ship owners of the islands, military and wealthy immigrants abroad. At
the same time, trade in the Balkans was mainly in the hands of the Greeks. The most im-
portant trade centers were Thessaloniki and Smyrna, where the growth of trade was so great
that it was considered the financial capital of the empire. The Greeks found a way out of the
maritime trade and navigation. Conditions were favorable, as the conclusion of the treaty of
Kyuchuk Kainartzi (1774) allowed them to use the Russian flag and under its auspices all the
orthodox citizens of the empire, to achieve the free movement of their products by sea. It is
characteristic that the Greeks, taking advantage of their abilities, the Napoleonic wars and the
Anglo-French conflicts, succeeded in becoming the second naval power in the Mediterra-
nean after England. See, F. G. Metallinos (2008). Τουρκοκρατία: Οι Έλληνες στην Οθωμανική
Αυτοκρατορία, 141-142, 145-147, 166. A. Delis (2014). “From Lateen to Square Rig: The evo-
67
4. Millet and nations during the Tanzimat Reform
However, it is characteristic that the beginnings of the Tanzimat reforms

coincided with the national revolutions, which affected the character of the
millet, their function and the relations between them. For example, the Greek
revolution marked the collapse of the old Phanariot world. Phanariotic fam-
ilies were forced to seek refuge outside the Empire, as some settled in Mol-
davia (Stamatopoulos, 2006; Dalègre, 2006; Metallinos, 2008). The tolerance
or secret support of the Phanariots in the Greek revolution led the Ottomans
to reconsider the privileged position held by the Rum millet in the political
scene. This automatically contributed to the improvement of the position of
the other millet of the Empire and especially of the Armenians (Artinian,
1970), while for the first time there was recognition of a Catholic millet. How-
ever, in addition to the establishment of the Protestant and Catholic millet, the
dismemberment of the Orthodox millet also emerged through the prevalence
of the ethnocentric tendency (Kamouzis, 2012) and the creation of nation-
al churches, namely the Kingdom of Greece (1850), Serbia (1879), Romania
(1885) and Bulgaria (1945) (Stamatopoulos, 2006; Dalègre, 2006; Clogg, 1996;
Quartaret, 2006).
Although the Patriarchate was limited in size to the remaining provinces
of European Turkey and Central Asia, it was more homogenous in structure
and organization. Under the guidance of wise leaders, it maintained a dis-
tinguished position, moral strength and image among all Orthodox peoples,
with the exception of schismatic Bulgaria. At the same time, the establishment
of national churches as a consequence of the nationalist movement that oc-
cupied the Balkans from the 18th century (Kitromilides, 1998; Stamatopou-
los, 2006) saved the Patriarchate from complicated political situations, which
could hardly be managed. Certainly, the transfer of ecclesiastical power to the
new churches did not take place without great cost and intensity, since with
great delay and political intensity the Autocephaly of the Church of Greece or
the ecclesiastical autonomy of Romania was recognized, let alone the removal
of the schism with Bulgaria (Arnakis, 1952; Matalas, 2002).
In addition to the Balkan nations, the influence of the nationalist move-
ment seems to have influenced the Ottoman leadership, as Ottoman officials
made various attempts to change the mechanism and institutions of the state
with those of the Western states. Thus, after the formalization of the Hatt-i
lution of the Greek-owned merchant fleet and its ships in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-
turies”, The Mariner’s Mirror 100.1, 44-58.
68
Sherif (1839) and in particular of Hatt-i Humayun (1856) a concept of guar-

anteeing and respecting political and religious rights without discrimination
on the basis of race or gender was established, resulting in the establishment
of equal rights and privileges for non-Muslims as well (Quartaret, 2006; Pa-
pastathis, 1984; Nikolaides, 2012; Miller, 1936; Mplata, 2006; Dalègre, 2006;
Myrgioti, 2013).
In addition, the Hatt-i Humayun guaranteed the safety of life, property and
life of all citizens of the Empire. However, it went one level further, aiming at
the homogenization of the population of the Empire through the establish-
ment of new administrative institutions and the construction of a new Ot-
toman identity18, reorganized religious communities. At the same time, the
validity of the privileges granted to the Patriarch of Constantinople by various
sultans of the past was confirmed (Konortas, 1999), while the creation of spe-
cial councils under the supervision of the Ottoman Porte was envisaged. These
councils would discuss the need to reaffirm these privileges and introduce the
necessary changes to upgrade the millet structure (Papastathis, 1984). How-
ever, the imperial decree of 1856 is marked by a remarkable contradiction,
as although it insisted on the establishment of equality among all citizens of
the Ottoman state, at the same time it maintained the millet system as a ba-
sic organizational structure of Ottoman society (Anagnostopoulou, 1997). So
while the religious factor as an element of differentiation between citizens was
theoretically eliminated in the constitution, eventually the millet was given
legal status, thus establishing the differentiation of the population through the
millet (Davison, 1963).
As we have mentioned, the change in the way things are perceived has
brought about significant changes in the recognition, segregation and man-
agement of millets. According to the imperial decree, special councils had to
be formed to formalize the way each millet was governed. As far as the Ortho-
dox millet is concerned, the discussions on the application of the provisions of
Hatt-i Humayun took place in the period 1858-1860 (Bishop Nanakis, 2008;
Stamatopoulos, 2006). The result of the discussions was the composition of
an official text, known as the “General Regulations”. Thus, the meetings be-
tween the Patriarchate and the National Council moved to formalize changes,
among others, regarding the election of the Patriarch19 and the bishops, the
18 Perhaps this was the basic ideological trend of Ottomanism during the Tanzimat
period.
19 An important change in the election of the Patriarch was the imposition of the re-
quirement by the Ottoman Porte to exclude from the electoral process individuals who were
not to its liking.
69
composition and operation of the Holy Synod and the joint council, the rev-
enues of the Patriarchate, the administration of monasteries and institutions,
the management of the finances of the parish through the participation in the
council of laity (Bishop Nanakis, 2008; Stamatopoulos, 2006; Kostakis, 1991).
Essentially, for the Greek Orthodox side, this process of formalization of the
regime and its privileges through institutionalized changes did not differ
much from the regime that had been established with the berats of previous
years (Arnakis, 1952). After talks in 1861-1862, the Ottoman Porte ratified the
final corrections and the agreed text was published by the Patriarchal Printing
Office under the title “General Regulations of the Holy Churches in Constan-
tinople” (Bishop Nanakis, 2008; Stamatopoulos, 2006; Arnakis, 1952).
The law of the General Regulations allowed the permanent intervention of
the representatives of the Neo-Phanariot circles, that is, of the families that re-
placed the old Phanariotes after the end of the Greek revolution, and of the ris-
ing social class of merchants and bankers in terms of financial, management,
educational and social issues of the Patriarchate. It is characteristic that the
Regulations provided for the establishment of a Joint Council, i.e. a body that
would include eight lay people and four clergy, members of the Holy Synod,
with the main responsibility of controlling the financial and administrative
operation of the Patriarchate. At the same time, a new type of Holy Synod was
legislated, according to which all priests and bishops under the service of the
Patriarchate would participate in it in rotation. This development essentially
meant the abolition of the old system of “Gerontism”, which had been estab-
lished in the Patriarchate until the middle of the 19th century, which allowed
the bishops of the Synod (Elders) to coexist with the Patriarch (Papadopoulos,
1952; Bishop Nanakis, 2008; Stamatopoulos, 2006; Gkara & Tzedolopoulos,
2015). In any case, the most important change concerned the participation of
the people in the process of electing the Patriarch, although the final phase,
ie the election of the Patriarch among three candidates, remained under the
control of the Holy Synod (Stamatopoulos, 2003). Essentially, these reforms
increased the influence of the Neo-Phanariots and the new bourgeoisie of
merchants and bankers (Stamatopoulos, 2006).
Although the legislation of the General Regulations helped to form a new
political group, which controlled the Church, the same did not happen with
the intended reorganization of the financial operation of the Patriarchate. One
of the goals of the Ottoman reformers was to change the salaries of the upper
class. The implementation of the Ottoman Porte program aimed at controlling
70
the ecclesiastical property and incomes of the bishops to meet its own finan-
cial needs, at categorizing the Orthodox clergy as civil servants of the Otto-
man state, in order to limit its political activities, but also at satisfying of the
Bulgarian claims, which sought to determine the income of the bishops, in
order to reduce the heavy taxation of the provinces. In the end, both the con-
servative and the reformist circles of the National Council did not implement
the specific salary plan and supported the solution of the donation, in fact a
kind of ecclesiastical tax. The difference from the previous forms of income
of the dioceses was that it was a single monetary fee, which depended on the
population of each province and not on the population of the whole Empire.
This contributed to an imbalance in both the distribution and collection of
this tax (Stamatopoulos, 2006).
The introduction of the new pay system for bishops laid the groundwork for
the smooth expansion of reform efforts from the center to the periphery. Ob-
viously, it was a turning point for this effort, which ultimately led to a total fail-
ure of the new system. The reasons for the failure of this regulation were due
to the inaction shown by the provincial bishops and dignitaries, the unequal
distribution of sums among the population of the provinces, the reactions of
local prominent personalities who contributed to charities and educational
institutions and to national rivalries. In any case, this failure led to the dete-
rioration of the finances of the Patriarchate, with the result that it provoked a
reaction and required the revision of the General Regulations (Stamatopou-
los, 2003).
5. Evaluation of the Reform
Although there was a perception that the introduction of European legis-

lation and the concept of human and equal civil rights during the Tanzimat
period would bring satisfaction, it eventually led to an increase in complaints
against the state (Bishop Nanakis, 2008; Aral, 2004). This observation applies
not only to Muslim citizens but also to non-Muslims. A significant percent-
age of non-Muslim citizens, especially from the Greek Orthodox community,
opposed the reforms for a variety of reasons. One of these reforms was the ab-
olition of full control by religious leaders over members of their communities
(Kamouzis, 2012), as lay members were added to the ecclesiastical council20.
Also, non-Muslims were now obliged to serve in the army, as in the past they
20 This may justify the emergence of competing tendencies between the clergy and the
laity within the various parishes, as they had a different perception of the decisions of the
respective ecclesiastical council.
71
had the right to be excluded from this service. Finally, the Greek commu-
nity, which was hierarchically in second place before the Muslims, after the
reforms they had to share the same rights with the rest of the millet and be
in the same social position with the other non-Muslim communities (Aral,
2004). Perhaps, we could assume that the Tanzimat reforms did not necessar-
ily help the integration and cooperation of the millet with the Muslims, but
ultimately accelerated the process of disintegration among the millet. Thus,
the attempt to restore rights and homogenize brought the opposite results, as
it eventually sparked the process of perceiving differences and the formation
of national identities among nations, which contributed to the loss of territory
and change for the Ottoman Empire.
72
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79
5
Numerology in the Gospel of John II: The
Jesus’ burial, the resurrection and the
significance of the numbers two and one
hundred
Thomas Mavromoustakos Sotirios Despotis
Professor, Section of Biblical studies and
Professor, Director of the Laboratory of Cultural life of the Mediterranean, Canon
Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Law and Byzantine Theology since the 9th
National and Kapodistrian University Cen. C.E. Faculty of Social Theology and the
of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Zografou Study of Religion, National and Kapodistri-
15171, Athens Greece an University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis,
Zografou 15171, Athens Greece
Corespondence:
e-mail: sotdespo@yahoo.gr
Abstract
The huge quantity of one hundred li- rection narrative become martyrs of the
ters is probably mentioned by John to most important event of Christianity.
designate the royal burial. This quantity These martyrs have both Greek and Jew-
proved the resurrection of Jesus as the ish names an indication that represents
absence of his body living untouched the the whole world. If we count another
burial clothing could be explained only three dyads during crucifixion the num-
by a miracle. This huge quantity was sup- ber adds up to seven. This symbolizes the
posed to keep tight the body with linen new week of creation. The establishment
and only by tearing the clothing this of new life that leads to the resurrection
could be released. One hundred might of the soul and eternal life with God. In-
have also symbolical meaning. It may terpretation of one hundred as the dou-
designate that transforms the life from ble witness of jubilee is intriguing.
the left to the right. In old times of Jesus, Keywords:
in counting, one hundred was the num- Royal burial, one hundred, left-right
ber which showed the change from left
hand.
to the right or symbolically the evil to
the right. Thus, Jesus arrived to change Citation:
our life. To transfer our sinful life that Mavromoustakos T. G. & Despotis S.
works between one to ninety-nine to one Numerology in the Gospel of John
hundred. To defeat the dead and lead to II: The Jesus’ burial, the resurrection
the new Christian life. One hundred is and the significance of the numbers
a holy number designating perfect com- two and one hundred. Theology &
pleteness. The one hundred is associated Culture. 2022; 4: 81-94.
with dyad that shows the truth of res- Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15279.41124
urrection. The four dyads in the resur-
81
Numerology in the Gospel of John II ©2022 Mavromoustakos &Despotis
Introduction
A
fter the lifting (ύψωσις) of the incarnated Logos on the cross in
the John Gospel, Joseph from Arimathea dared to ask permission
from Pilate to take away His body and place it in a grave. Along
with Joseph, Nicodemus, another disciple that appears in Chapters 3 and 7 of
John’s Gospel, brings an, about a hundred-pound mixture of myrrh and aloes
(equivalent to ca 44 kgs) (Keener, 2012).
The first to notice is the appearance of two disciples, like the mixture of two
spices. Evangelist wishes to seal the event by two “participants”. According to
Deuteronomy (19:15) the presence of two “martyrs” shows a truly event that
can be claimed in a court. Interestingly, although both are Jewish the one has
a Greek name. Nicodemus name, which means the victory (νίκη) of people
(δῆμος), appears in the Bible only in John. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a
leader of the Jewish people and a member of the Sanhedrin, the high court
in Israel. Thus, that he is called by a Greek name is an enigma. He appears in
Chapter 3 where he visited Jesus during night, seeking to ask questions and
get the truth directly. He also stood up for Jesus when the Pharisees were con-
spiring against him. Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was
one of their own number, asked the Pharisees, “Does our law condemn a man
without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (John 7:50-51).
One can think that Evangelist associates the name with symbolism. However,
in none of the Christian interpreters of John Gospel expressed this question
and of course this view cannot be supported based on fathers or ecclesias-
tical authors. Nonetheless, the idea that this disciple, while initially fearful
of testifying as a follower of Jesus follower, in the end vanquished (νίκησε)
the fear against the Jewish people (δῆμος) is both a legitimate hypothesis and
consistent with the Evangelist spirit. Probably, the use of Jewish and Greek
names indicates that the news of the following events will be spread not only
to Jewish people but also to the gentiles. Thus, Evangelist prepares us to enter a
scenery that would have consequences for the whole world. Again, this is just
a hypothesis that cannot be proved. The name Nicodemus might mean Vic-
tory of The People or, slightly more sinister, Victory Over the People. Spiros
Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) translates the name diplo-
matically with Victor among the People and NOBSE Study Bible Name List
reads Conqueror of the People.”
82
Numerology in the Gospel of John II ©2022 Mavromoustakos & Despotis
1. “Hundred liters of myrrh-and-aloes”
The question we will raise and try to answer throughout this study is: Why
does Nicodemus bring for the burial of Jesus Christ a hundred liters of myrrh-
and-aloes? Does the number one hundred express any possible symbolism?
One first thought is that Evangelist did not count the quantity. He did not
participate in the burial--at least there is no indication in the Gospel that he
did. What is then the reason for giving this number detail?
The quantity of one hundred is very large. We remind you that Mary used
only one liter oil to anoint Jesus. The use of a single liter irritated Judas Iscariot
who claimed that one liter oil could be used for poor (John 12:5). Mary’s liter
cost three hundred denarii which was a common’s man annual wage (Carson,
1991). Imagine that Nicodemus offers for the burial one hundred times more
quantity. Such huge quantities were used to embalm kings. However, it should
be made clear that embalming was not a custom in Israel but in Egypt. To the
Jews, according to Deuteronomy (21:23,) draining a corpse of its blood and
removing inside organs constituted a horrendous desecration of the human
body. For this reason, even the bodies of the executed criminal were treated
with respect (Morris, 1995, p.825)1.
Already Nicodemus and Joseph had taken the body of Jesus and wound it
in linen clothes with the spices, as was the manner of the Jews is to bury (John
19:40). Then, they took the body in the place he was crucified where there was
a garden and, in the garden, a new sepulcher wherein was never man yet laid
(John 19:41). Chr. Karakolis2 provides more evidence for the royal burial of
Jesus: “At the end of the passion narrative of the dead body of Jesus is placed in
another garden, which reminds us of the above-mentioned garden of David’s’
tomb”. Karakolis recalls 18:1-12 where Jesus, who is about to be accused and
condemned as a false king, appears in a garden with even more power and
authority than a real king (18:6 ὡς οὖν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς• ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ
ὀπίσω καὶ ἔπεσαν χαμαί).
The reason for the garden’s anonymity in John (19:41-42)
might be that he intended to theologically associate the first
1 At this page L. Morris in the footnote gives the following information: “SBk cites an
incident in which the proselyte Onkelos burned more than 80 minas of spices at the funeral
of R. Gamaliel the elder. Asked why he did this he drew attention to Jer. 34:5 and went on: Is
not R. Gamaliel better than a hundred kings?”
2 The Death of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. Series: Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologi-
carum Lovaniensium, 200. Editors: Van Belle G., Peeters Publishers, 2007.
83
garden of the passion narrative (where the betrayal and the

arrest of incarnated Logos took place) with the ‘king’s gar-
den’ and the second one with the garden of David’s tomb
and the tradition of the royal tombs in Jerusalem, thus un-
derlining Jesus’ king identity”.
Garden also refers directly to the locked garden (the vir-
gin bride) of the Song of Solomon and the wafting spices
(4: 12.16; see also John 3:29). Fathers of the East Church
Pseudo-Epiphany (PG 43.461C), Cyril from Alexandria
(PG 74.78) and Archbishop Theophylact of Ochrid (PG
124.244D) relate the tomb garden with the garden of par-
adise.
John 19:1-5 also suggests the “royal authority of Jesus”. Morris also notices
that Nicodemus spoke to Jesus about the “kingdom of God (3:3)” and there-
fore, he treated him as a king (Morris, 1995).
The Gospel had already mentioned that the soldiers platted
a crown of thorns, and put it on Jesus’ head, and arrayed
him in a purple garment; and they came unto him, and said,
Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands.
Then, Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the
purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, “Behold, the
man!”
Mary’s anointment of Jesus feet with a pound of fragrant
pure and expensive oil can be considered as king treatment
(12:7). Jesus prophetically announces to the protested Judas
that this is for his burial which indeed was royal.
Jesus was also treated as a king by the great multitude that
had arrived at the feast when they heard that Jesus was com-
ing to Jerusalem. Taking the branches of the palm trees were
crying out, Hosanna and blessed is that cometh in the name
of the Lord, even the king of Israel (12:13)3.
Nicodemus used this huge quantity of oil to demonstrate great respect for
3 The Gospel of Matthew mentions that wise men from east brought after Jesus’ birth
also special and expensive gifts, one of those was myrrh, although the quantity is not men-
tioned (2:11). If the information contained in the two Gospels was complementary, the Evan-
gelist of the fourth Gospel could be aware of the context of the more ancient Matthew Gospel
in which Jesus appears to be born as a King and die as a king.
84
the body of Jesus in contrast to the disrespect shown by the sick souls of Ro-
mans (gentiles) and Pharisee (Jews) who condemned him and crucified him.
The action of Nicodemus and Joseph was intended to counteract the acts of
Pilate and Pharisee. Having this in mind, the words by Calvin4 can be readily
understood: “The money expended on it by Nicodemus and Joseph is very
great, and may be thought by some to be superfluous, but we ought to consid-
er the design of God, who even led them, by his Spirit, to render this honor to
his own Son, that, by the sweet savor of his grave he might take away our dread
of the cross. But those things which are cut of the ordinary course ought not
to be regarded as an example”. In this line are the interpretations of Saint John
Chrysostom’s (349-407 A.C.) (PG 59.464) and Archbishop of Bulgaria The-
ophylact (11th century) (PG 124.286). They claim that it is superfluous to think
that Nicodemus knew about Jesus’ resurrection. He just acted to show dignity
of his master. His intent was to prevent, as much as possible, the corruption
of the body and provide a pleasant smell that counteracted the smell of decay.
All these interpretations clearly support the notion that Nicodemus did not
foresee the resurrection, but rather that he offered the precious and expensive
gifts to stop the corruption and smelling of the crucified body.
Let us concentrate on the three materials that cover Jesus dead body. These
are the linen and the two spices: myrrh and aloe. The aloe was probably not the
medicinal variety but rather the highly scented wood of the Aquilaria agalla-
chum5. The excess quantity of myrrh and aloe, due to their contents of hetero-
polysaccharides and pectins, develop strong interactions with linen and body.
Consequently, the linen becomes inseparable with the body6. Linen cannot be
removed unless is torn. The great number of spices, according to remarkable
saying of Saint John Chrysostom, acts as a glue not less than lead and the linen
clothes could not be separated from the dead body (PG 9.465)7. The physical
4 John Calvin, C John, vol. 1, a new translation from the original latin by the Rev. Wil-
liam Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI Christian Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org commentary
on the Gospel According to) p. 214.
5 Smith’s Bible Dictionary htpp://www.bible-history.com/smiths/. Keener claims that
this is the medicinal aloe vera (C.S. Keener, The Gospel of John, A Commentary (USA: Baker
Academics, 2012) 1185.
6 D. E. Akin, Linen Most Useful: Perspectives on Structure, Chemistry and Enzymes
for Retting Flax. Biotechnology htpp://dx.doi.org//10.5402/2013/186534
7 Οὔτε γὰρ, εἰ μετέθηκάν τινες, τοῦτο ἂν ἐποίησαν τὸ σῶμα γυμνώσαντες• οὔτε, εἰ
ἔκλεψαν, τούτου ἂν ἐφρόντισαν, ὥστε ἆραι τὸ σουδάριον καὶ ἐντυλίξαι, καὶ θεῖναι εἰς ἕνα
τόπον• ἀλλὰ πῶς; ῾Ως εἶχεν, ἔλαβον ἂν τὸ σῶμα.. Translation: For neither, if any persons had
removed the body, would they before doing so have stripped it; nor if any had stolen it, would
they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin, and roll it up, and lay in the place by itself;
but how? they would have taken the body as it was.
85
chemical interactions between the spices and linen were well known, even in
the old times. Today, we have a better understanding of the chemical entities
involved in these interactions. From physical chemical point of view the wrap-
ping with spices created a tight solid covering that would protect the body of
Jesus. This covering could not be pulled away by any human means unless the
cloth was cut from end to end and laid back each side so the body could be
pulled from its wrappings.
Why does John give all these details? Apparently, Evangelist expects us to
understand this issue in order to comprehend whatever follows in the nar-
rative. The continuation is very interesting. Mary Magdalene visits the grave
and realizes that the body of Jesus was no longer in the sepulcher. She an-
nounces this to Peter and John with the conclusion that enemies had stolen
it. Peter and John entered the sepulcher and saw the linen clothes lying about
and the napkin for the head wrapped together in a place by itself. John, when
he entered and saw the arrangement of the grave clothes, believed that Jesus
was raised (Ridderbos, nd). N. Sotiropoulos explained the two critical words
“κείμενα” (20:5,6) and “ἕνα” (20:7) related to our study: “κείμενα” does not
mean that clothing was lying in the ground as Jesus was laid in a tomb covered
by stone but that it was exactly in the same position laid by the two disciples.
The body just miraculously disappeared from the clothing. The beloved disci-
ple was surprised by this fact and did not enter in the tomb, probably because
he respected and admired the miracle. The same word appears in the next
verse when Peter entered the tomb to confirm that clothing was at the same
place. Again, Evangelist uses the same motive of the repetition in order to de-
clare theological truth. The word “ἕνα” here does not mean one but “the same”
(as in the verses Numbers 9:14 and Hebrews 2:11) and expresses basically
again the same meaning as the “κείμενα”. This word once more confirms that
clothing remained in the same place. Because of the paramount importance
of the event Evangelist wishes to make sure that this detail is well understood
(Sotiropoulou, 2013).
The next verse conveys the information that the beloved disciple was un-
aware of the scriptural prophecy that Jesus must rise from the dead (John
20:29). Clearly, John is providing copious details to prove that the grave gar-
ment arrangement immediately provided evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. The
linen clothes were lying precisely as the body had lain in them. The grave
clothes were not moved but instead were in exactly the position the body had
occupied but empty. In the island of Cyprus, and probably in other places,
86
there is a old custom that whoever leaves the table but intends to return should
neatly fold their napkin. We believe that Evangelist symbolizes this return of
Jesus by giving the detail that the napkin had been placed over the face of Jesus
was neatly folded and lying by itself (John 20:7). Indeed, after eight days Jesus
comeback to his disciples and is able to pass through the doors without having
to open them. The resurrected body of Jesus, as with the clothes, does not obey
natural laws and is not blocked by any physical hindrance. Jesus, as easily as he
was able to shed the linen, was able to pass through the closed door.
Interestingly, this event again happened in the presence of two “martyrs”,
the disciples of Jesus, Peter and beloved disciple. Again, the name Peter is
Greek and means “stone” (πέτρα), a heavy supporting stone that fountains the
church. It is very interesting that Jesus converted the Jewish name of Simon
to Syriac Cephas which is interpreted to Peter (John 1:42). This change is in-
tended to show that the greatest event of Christianity was experienced by both
gentiles and Jews. The beginning of Christianity occurs in the presence of two
martyrs that represent all of humanity.
The two not appearing to follow Jesus’ secret disciples Joseph and Nico-
demus, as they are probably afraid of Jewish, provided one hundred liters of
aloe and myrrh to crown the dead body as a king without realizing that they
proved that this crown will be eternal. The physical chemical strong interac-
tions between the connective molecules of linen and one hundred liters of
aloe and myrrh did not block the glory of resurrection but instead they be-
came the reason for the two new martyrs, the two loved disciples of Jesus to
experience the resurrection.
To end up the story Mary Magdalene returns to the grave and sees two an-
gels sitting on the head and foot of the tomb. Could it be that the two martyrs
were sitting as if the tomb were the ark of the covenant? We believe that all the
narrative aims to show that resurrection is true. We are aware that there is an
“apparent contradiction” in the resurrection narratives of the four evangelists
describing what takes place in Jesus’ tomb. Matthew (28:2) and Mark (16:5)
mention the presence of only one angel and Luke (24:4) with John (20:12)
mention the presence of two angels. This “apparent contradiction” can be un-
derstood if we consider the different concerns and time in the description of
the events by the four Evangelists. Probably here, the major theological con-
cern of the Evangelist is the truth of resurrection and therefore in every in-
cident is present dyads of material, people and angels (see Table 1) (Brodie,
1993).
87
Table 1
Remarkable dyads met in the narrative of burial and resurrection of Jesus. It covers all cos-
mos that created by God, material, people and angels
Chapter Dyad
19:40 Myrrh and aloe
19:38-39 Joseph and Nicodemus
20:2-10 Peter and Beloved disciple
20:12 Two angels
2. More on the symbolism of two and one hundred

(μίγμα σμύρνης καὶ ἀλόης ὡς λίτρας ἑκατόν. Joh 19:39)
In the narrative we realized that the four dyads (myrrh-aloe, Nicode-

mus-Joseph, John-Peter and two angels) play an important role. Interestingly,
the crucifixion played a role in another three dyads (father-son, two robbers,
and blood-water). Totally there are seven dyads. This is not exaggerating to
say that this may signify the new creation. The new life the death and resur-
rection of Jesus brings in the faithful Christians.
The number two in John Gospel is expressed also as a repetition to show
theological truth. The most common repetition found are the twenty-five
times of “amen-amen”. Few other representative repetitions are shown in Ta-
ble 2.
Table 2
Representative repetitions in John Gospel
Book-Chapter Repetition
And he confessed, and denied not;
1:20 and he confessed, I am not the
Christ.
19:6 Crucify him, crucify him!
19:15 “Take Him away! Take Him away!
One hundred is a round number and according to Bible 9 software appears
95 times in Bible. We will concentrate only to interpretations of some appear-
ances of the number that might related to our in-study narrative.
M. Parsons (Parsons, 2006) points out the following extraordinarily useful
information: “Both literary writing and archaeological artifacts provide ample
evidence that counting with one’s fingers was a commonplace in the ancient
world, especially during Roman times. Quintilian considered the ability to
88
count accurately on one’s fingers (flexio digitorum) an indispensable skill for

the educated orator (Inst. 1.10.35). On occasion during a sermon, Augustine
exhorted his congregation to count on their fingers and “read” the answer on
their hands (an interesting way to keep one’s audience awake!) Finger cal-
culations were so common that Augustine could comment elsewhere on the
implications for finger counting in Jesus’ prophecy that no one knows the time
or season for his return: “Truly he relaxes the fingers of all who calculate con-
cerning this subject and orders them to be quiet, who says: it is not for you
to know the time which the Father has placed in his own power” (Augustine,
Civitas Dei 18.53).
Of particular interest for our purposes is the fact that in finger counting,
calculations up to ninety-nine were done on the left hand, and triple digit
(and above) calculations were done on the right hand, e.g., “The number one
hundred is transferred from the left hand to the right...” (Joannes Cassianus,
Collationes 24.26.7). In a world that valued “right handedness,” recognition
of the superiority of counting on the right hand is hardly surprising. Among
early Christian writers, reference to counting on the right hand took on theo-
logical significance. Cassiodorus comments on the significance of Psalm One
Hundred: “So that he seems to have rightly obtained this number [100], which
represents the form of a desirable crown by the bending of the fingers of the
right hand” (Cassiodorus, Expositio in Psalmum 100 conci).
Similar observations on the use of the number one hundred are noted in the
New Testament, whether the comments are on the Parable of the Lost Sheep,
in which the recovered sheep restores the original number to one hundred
(Luke 15:3-7 // Matt 18:12-14) or the Parable of the Sewer, in which the good
seed bears fruit “one hundred” fold (Matt 13:8//Mark 4:8//Luke 8:8). Consider
these comments on the parable of the lost sheep: He is the shepherd who left
behind the ninety-nine sheep which were not lost. He went searching for the
one that had gone astray. He rejoiced when he found it, for ninety-nine is a
number that is in the left hand that holds it. But when the one is found, the en-
tire number passes to the right. As that which lacks the one—that is, the entire
right [hand]—draws what was deficient and takes it from the left-hand side
and brings [it] to the right, so too the number becomes one hundred (Gospel
of Truth 31.35-32.16).
What is pertinent to ninety-nine? They are on the left hand, not on the right
hand. For ninety-nine is counted on the left hand: add one, it is transferred
to the right hand (Augustine, Sermones 175.1). Both the Gospel of Truth (ex-
89
plicitly) and Augustine (implicitly) suggest that the return of the lost sheep
had efficacious effects for the ninety-nine to whom it was returned. The orig-
inal number of “one hundred” is now restored, and the community, whose
destiny was inextricably tied to the return of the one, can continue to enjoy
the benefits of being on the “right side.” To put it differently, would it matter
to the interpretation of the parable if the number of sheep restored had been
fifty or seventy-four (or something less than one hundred)? That this kind of
community reading was part of the intentio operis of Matthew (whose com-
munity emphasis in the parable has long been noted) and perhaps also Luke is
at least worthy of further contemplation. Early interpretations of the Parable
of the Sewer make a similar point about the number one hundred. Consider
this interpretation by Jerome: For the left hand is our present life: the right hand
truly is life to come. And rightly by the number one hundred the contemplation
of eternal life is signified, because whenever after thirty and sixty we reach one
hundred by counting, so the number one hundred crosses to the right hand (Je-
rome, Homilía in Ezechialem 17; cf. also Epistulae 48.2, 123.9; and Adversus
Iovinianum 1.3, cited earlier). Once again, this kind of numerological inter-
pretation raises the question as to whether or not the Synoptic writers saw
some symbolic significance that would have made sense in a world in which
the number one hundred held such important place in the prevalent practice
of finger calculations in the Roman world.
Having in mind this interpretation of number one hundred it is tempting to
believe that it fits perfectly to our narrative. The number one hundred will also
play a decisive role in this narrative. It is the number that shows that the world
will change hand. The sin or left hand was defeated and the right and resur-
rection to the new life appeared. It is not awkward to speculate that Evangelist
inserted the number one hundred in the narrative to provide a high theologi-
cal meaning. The resurrection is “the number one-hundred”, is the jump from
ninety-nine that is the end of the left counting to one hundred which is the
starting of the new counting using the right hand. We are embraced with the
resurrection to a new hand, the right hand.
There is strong evidence that John was using the finger system for the mea-
surement as all numbers used in the Gospel are multiplication of number five
(Ifprah, 2000) (Table 3).
90
Table 3
Numbers used for measurement in John Gospel
Chapter Number Measured Object

6:7 200 (5x40) Denarii
6:19 25 (5x5) or 30 (6x5) Miles
11:19 15 (3x5) Stadia
12:5 300 (60x5) dinarii
21:8 200 (5x40) Yards
Interestingly, not only in John Gospel but in the whole Bible, the measure-
ments are multiplications of five. Some representative examples are given in
Table 4.
Table 4
Measurement numbers that are multiplications of number five found in Bible
Book-Chapter Number Measured Object
450 (5x90) feet long, 75
Gen 6:15
(5x15) feet wide, and 45 Ark
(9x5) feet high
700 (140x5) wives who
1Ki 11:1 were princesses and 300 women
(60x5) concubines
2,300 (460x5) evenings
Daniel 8:14 Days
and mornings
Ezekiel 40:14 60 (12x5) posts
Ezekiel 40:15 20 (4x5) cubits
some 100 (20x5), some
60 (12x5), some 30
Matthew 13:23 fruit and yields
(6x5) times what was
sown.
Matthew 26:15 30 pieces silver
We observed the contributions of Augustine and Jerome from the West
Church in this symbolic meaning. Let us examine the contribution of Origen
and Saint Maximus the Confessor from the East Church.
Origen (185-251 A.C) considers one hundred as “holy and complete” be-
cause it consists of ten decades. He claims that for this reason Evangelist Mark
writes that “they sat down in ranks of hundreds and fifties (6:40)”. According
to Origen the faithful soul is a fruitful ground that grows one hundred more
91
(PG 13.29). Does this explanation fit to our story? Of course, one can assume
that the one hundred liters provided as a gift to the dead body of Jesus were re-
turned by the resurrected as one hundred greater blessings. The faithful souls
of the new world grow one hundred more times aromas. One hundred liters
aroma probably gives a nice smell to a small area. However, these one hundred
if they multiplied every time by one hundred can transfer the nice smell to the
whole world.
Saint Maximums the Confessor (580-662 A.C.) is one of the deepest theol-
ogists in Easter Orthodox church. He is very systematic in using allegories to
explain the numbers in the Bible manuscript. He established a simple system
in which he could explain all the numbers in an allegoric way. It is peculiar
that he is almost ignored in the literature for his contribution to establish a
“biblical approach in the semeiology of numbers”. Saint Maximums believes
that one hundred expresses the natural law as it is the decade multiplied by ten
(PG 90.512). He agrees with Origen and probably borrowed him the idea that
one hundred is the number that shows the perfect completion (PG 90:463). It
is basically decade that accepts ten times the decade. The law of nature is tenth
as it consists of the three soul forces, the five senses, the voice energy and the
natural productivity. It is thus, of this perfect completion that the new law of
nature that symbolizes the resurrected Jesus8.
An interesting symbolic meaning for the number one hundred as the dou-
ble witness of jubilee was given in the Abarim Publications online Biblical He-
brew Dictionary. In version 8:57 of John Gospel the number fifty is appeared,
and St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AC) mentions that this is referred to jubi-
lee (St Thomas Aquinas, 2010).
Conclusion
It is apparent from the discussion that the huge quantity of one hundred li-
ters is probably mentioned by John to designate the royal burial. This quantity
proved the resurrection of Jesus as the absence of his body living untouched
the burial clothing could be explained only by a miracle. This huge quanti-
ty was supposed to keep tight the body with linen and only by tearing the
clothing this could be released. The aroma of the one hundred liters was not
restricted in the vicinity of grave region. It was spread through resurrection
to the whole world. One hundred might have also symbolical meaning. It may
8 «῾Η γὰρ δεκὰς δεκαχῶς ἐνεργηθεῖσα ποιεῖ τὴν ἑκατοντάδα. Δεκαδικὸς γὰρ καὶ ὁ τῆς
φύσεως νόμος ἐστίν, ὡς ἐκ δέκα συνεστηκώς, λέγω δὲ τῶν τριῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων καὶ
τῶν πέντε αἰσθήσεων καὶ τῆς φωνητικῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ τῆς φυσικῆς γονιμότητος».
92
designate that transforms the life from the left to the right. In old times of Jesus,
in counting, one hundred was the number which showed the change from left
to the right or symbolically the evil to the right. Thus, Jesus arrived to change
our life. To transfer our sinful life that works between one to ninety-nine to one
hundred. To defeat the dead and lead to the new Christian life. One hundred is
a holy number designating perfect completeness.
The one hundred is associated with dyad that shows the truth of resurrec-
tion. The four dyads in the resurrection narrative become martyrs of the most
important event of Christianity. These martyrs have both Greek and Jewish
names an indication that represents the whole world. If we count another
three dyads during crucifixion the number adds up to seven. This symbolizes
the new week of creation. The establishment of new life that leads to the res-
urrection of the soul and eternal life with God. Interpretation of one hundred
as the double witness of jubilee is intriguing. This interpretation correlates the
numbers two and fifty (100=2x50) and confirms that indeed Pentecost in church
will arrive.
93
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Enzymes for Retting Flax. Hindawi-International Scholarly Research Notices.
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Commentary, New York: Oxford University Press.
Calvin, C. J. (n.d.). Commentary On The Gospel According To John, (W. Pringle,
trans.), Grand Rapids, MI Christian Ethereal Library. Retrieved from https://
ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34/calcom34.i.html.
Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John Pillar New Testament
Commentary (ed.), Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Ifprah, G. (2000). The Universal History of Numbers, New York: The Harvil
Press Ltd.
Keener, C.S. (2012). The Gospel of John: A commentary, USA: Baker Academics.
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John, Revised edition. New
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Parsons, M. C. (2006). “Exegesis by the Numbers Numerology and the New
Testament, Perspectives in Religious Studies”, Journal of NABR 25, 25-43.
Ridderbos, Η. (2018). The Gospel according to John. A Theological Commentary,
(J. Vriend, trans.), Cambridge, U.K: Erdmans Publishing.
Sotiropoulou, N. (2013). Interpretation of difficult Verses of Bible, 4, 120-123.
St Th. Aquinas, (2010). Commentary on the Gospel of John, (6-12), (F. Larcher
& J. Weishpeif, trans.), Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America
Press.
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Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, Peeters Publishers.
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Theology & Culture

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Theology & Culture

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Copyright© 2022 by the Department of Theology & Culture, Univeristy College

with two articles -“Numerology in the Gospel of John I: A contribution to the

2. Reopening of temples in Albania as a transition from

Building a parish in the context of its physical existence can be easy, as

Mantzaridis Georgios I. (2001), Pagkosmiopoiisi and Pagkosmiotita – Chimaira

1. The cult of Saints Gjergj and Vlash in the ecclesiastical-

The pilgrimage to this monastery of St. Blaise, in Laç, in Sebastë lasted

heartedly professed Islam, either could be expelled as religious abandoner or

KULTURË KISHTARE NË SHQIPËRI, Tiranë, pp.73-85.

Kastriotit –Skënderbeut, kohës në të cilën jetoi dhe gjurmët që la në histori”

lot of works which contain allegory on the numbers (c. 25 BC – c. 50 CE).

the conversion to wine (2:9).

6 http://www.martinluthersermons.com/ Luther, Sermon for the Second Sunday after

does not perceive such gross mockery, is evidently bewitched by Satan”8.

14 J. Blenkinsopp, A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary The Anchor

Barry, K. (1999). The Greek Qabalah, Alphabetic Mysticism and Numerology in

Keener, C. S. (2012). The Gospel of John, A Commentary, USA: Baker

In general, the millet system was a socio-cultural and community frame-

the two constitutional changes is of particular interest to our research. Thus,

self-government in the Rum millet under the pretext of religious tolerance

4. Millet and nations during the Tanzimat Reform

However, it is characteristic that the beginnings of the Tanzimat reforms

Sherif (1839) and in particular of Hatt-i Humayun (1856) a concept of guar-

Although there was a perception that the introduction of European legis-

Archbishop of Athens Chrysostomos Papadopoulos. (1934). «Η θέσις της

Empire, New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers.

Faroqhi, S. (1992). “Political Activity among Ottoman Taxpayers and the

Inalcik, H. (1978). “Impact of the Annales School on Ottoman Studies and

Mpalata, Ε. (2006). «Πρόσληψη και χρήση της θρησκευτικής ετερότητας

Πελοποννήσου (1715-1821), Μνήμων 23, 67-98.

Todorov, N. (1986). Η βαλκανική πόλη, 15ος-19ος αιώνας: κοινωνικο-

1. “Hundred liters of myrrh-and-aloes”

garden of the passion narrative (where the betrayal and the

2. More on the symbolism of two and one hundred

In the narrative we realized that the four dyads (myrrh-aloe, Nicode-

count accurately on one’s fingers (flexio digitorum) an indispensable skill for

Chapter Number Measured Object

Akin, D. E. (2012). Linen Most Useful: Perspectives on Structure, Chemistry and

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