Ignatius of Mount Athos was a Bulgarian-born monk of the Holy Mountain who was hanged at Constantinople in October 1814 after openly confessing Christ before an Ottoman judge. Baptized John, he was a native of the village of Eski Zagora in the Trnovo region of Bulgaria; he took the monastic name Ignatius at the Skete of Saint Anna on Athos shortly before seeking voluntary martyrdom.
He is one of three Athonite new-martyrs of the early nineteenth century — together with Euthymius and Acacius — who are commemorated jointly on May 1. The synaxarion records his life in detail, from a Bulgarian monastic apprenticeship and the killing of his father in the unrest surrounding the Serbian revolt, to his confession before the kadi and his execution at the place called Daktyloporta.
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Early lifeBirth and schooling in BulgariaBorn in the village of Eski Zagora in the Trnovo region of Bulgaria and named John in baptism. While he was still a child his parents, George and Maria, moved to Philippopolis and enrolled him in school there.
Young adulthoodMonastic apprenticeship at RilaDrawn to monastic life, on reaching adulthood John entered the Rila monastery in western Bulgaria, where he lived in obedience to an Elder for six years before returning home when the Elder's strictness became unbearable.
c. early 1800sDeath of his fatherAround the time of the Serbian revolt against Ottoman rule, John's father George refused to lead an Ottoman brigade against fellow Orthodox Christians. He was stabbed and beheaded, while John's mother and sisters were taken captive and ultimately agreed to convert to Islam. John fled and was sheltered by an elderly Orthodox woman, who helped him escape to Bucharest.
Before AthosJourney to the Holy MountainAfter meeting Saint Euthymius at Bucharest, John traveled toward Mount Athos. He joined an Athonite monk of the monastery of Grigoriou and settled at the Skete of Saint Anna, where he lived under Father Basil.
Before 1814Tonsure as IgnatiusStirred to seek martyrdom after learning of the deaths of other martyrs, including the New Martyr Euthymius, John was placed under the spiritual direction of the Elder Acacius, who prescribed prayer, prostrations, and reading of the Gospel. He was tonsured a monk and given the name Ignatius.
October 1814Confession and martyrdom at ConstantinopleBlessed by the Elder Acacius, Ignatius traveled to Constantinople with the monk Gregory. He received the Holy Mysteries, then appeared before the kadi, threw down his turban, professed Christ, and denounced Mohammed. Condemned to death, he was hanged at a place called Daktyloporta in October 1814.
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Confession before the kadi
According to the synaxarion, Ignatius presented himself before the kadi dressed in Muslim garb, cast his turban at the judge's feet, and declared that he would never deny Christ. When the kadi offered him gifts and honors to embrace Islam and threatened him with torture and death, Ignatius answered that he had come precisely in order to die for Christ, and went on to call Mohammed a false prophet.
The account relates that when he was questioned a second time and asked who had brought him to Constantinople, he replied that Christ had brought him there. The kadi, declining to behead him so that Christians might not gather his blood as a blessing, ordered instead that he be hanged.
Relics & Shrines
After his execution at Daktyloporta, the synaxarion relates that his body remained hanging for three days, after which pious Christians paid a ransom for it and buried it on the island of Prote. His head is kept at the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos, where the heads of his fellow new-martyrs Euthymius and Acacius are also preserved.
Commemorated With
Ignatius is venerated alongside two other Athonite new-martyrs of the same period, Euthymius and Acacius, the three being commemorated together on May 1. Euthymius, a native of Demitsana in the Peloponnese, was beheaded at Constantinople on March 22, 1814; Acacius, of Bulgarian peasant stock from Neochorion in Macedonia, was beheaded at Constantinople on May 1, 1816. The three were connected through the monastic milieu of Mount Athos and shared spiritual fathers and companions who prepared and accompanied them to martyrdom.
