Chrysostomos Dimitriou

Chrysostomos Dimitriou (in Greek: Χρυσόστομος Δημητρίου ; 1889 – 22 October 1958 died age 69), also known by his episcopal names of Chrysostomos of Zakynthos or Chrysostomos of Trifylia and Olympia, was the Greek Orthodox bishop of the island of Zakynthos during World War II and the bishop of Trifylia and Olympia postwar until his death.

Together with mayor Loukas Carrer and at a lesser extent, Alfred Lüth, Dimitriou saved the Jews of the island from the Holocaust; for this they were awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations.

Biography

Before World War II

Chrysostomos Dimitriou was born in 1889 in the city of the Piraeus, the main port of Athens. He studied theology in the Theological School of Athens and was ordained as a deacon in July 1916 and then priest the 11 March 1917 by Theoklitos I of Athens. He then served as a preacher in the diocese of Demetrias and Thebes before being sent to study theology in Munich, Germany, where he learned German. While in Munich, he met a young Adolf Hitler and they exchanged about Nazism.

After his return to Greece, he was named Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece before being ordained as the Metropolitan of Zakynthos. Since the beginning of his work in Zakynthos, he showed sympathy toward the Jews of the island and for that, was criticized by Orthodox fanatics. In 1935, he joined the Old Calendarist sect, but after being condemned by the Holy Synod, he issued public repentance and was admitted back as the legitimate Metropolitan of Zakynthos. During his episcopacy, he also got involved in the religious issues of his time. He was influential in one of the two religious chant movements in Greece at that time, particularly by supporting Ioannis Sakellaridis.