Chrysostomos Dimitriou

Chrysostomos Dimitriou (in ; 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 Karrer 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. While in Munich, he met a young Adolf Hitler and they exchanged about Nazism. In 1935, he joined the Old Calendarists, but after being condemned by the Holy Synod, he issued public repentance and was admitted back as the legitimate Metropolitan of Zakynthos.

World War II

During the first part of the war, the island fell under Italian occupation. He made a commitment in favor of the prisoners of war to obtain their release. He was arrested by the authorities and exiled to Athens for a year before returning to his bishopric. The Nazis began making plans to deport Jews from the island, who had survived the Holocaust so far. He told him that the Jews on the island were "part of his flock" and that he could not give him the list, then, wrote his name on a piece of paper and said "Here is the list". Moreover, Chrysostomos Dimitriou would have bribed the governor with a diamond.

After warning the Jewish community, he promised them that the Greek islanders would protect them, and despite attempts by the Germans to proceed with the deportation, the Jewish community of Zakynthos managed to escape the deportation and the Holocaust. This was made possible by the assistance provided by the mountain villages, which could then hide the Jews. Furthermore, his family also got involved in the resistance, such as his sister, Vassiliki Stravolemos, who also spoke German. This allowed her to arrange for the medical treatment of sick Jews directly in the German hospital with the help of complicit German doctors. However, this is a legend, as the Jews were never actually captured and arrested on the island; they were hidden in the mountains.

After World War II After the war, the Jewish community financed the stained glass windows of the Saint Dionysios Church in Zakynthos in his honor. He was then transferred, shortly before his death, to the Metropolis of Trifylia and Olympia, before dying in Athens on 22 October 1958.

Artistical He is a character in Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces, where he emerges to rescue the Jewish community of the island. In a passage from Arnold Zable's Fig Tree, the author connected Chrysostomos Dimitriou with the Greek concept of philoxenia.

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