The Four New Martyrs of Rethymno

The Four New Martyrs of Rethymno, George, Manuel, Angelis and Nicholas Tetzepes, were four related crypto-⁠Christians of the village of Melambes, beheaded at Rethymno on 28 October 1824. They are honoured as new martyrs, locally since 1837, and a Patriarchal and Synodal act of 29 August 1977 confirmed their sainthood. They are commemorated on 28 October.

Angelis and his brother Manuel, sons of John Tetzepes, were married men with children and some means, who lived at Melambes near Rethymno. Their cousins George and Nicholas, sons of Constantine Tetzepes, lived there too, also married with children. All four were farmers. Since the island was under Turkish rule they were crypto-⁠Christians, like many others: officially they had Turkish names and outwardly followed the customs of Islam, but in reality they remained faithful to the traditions of the Orthodox Church. They fought bravely in the War of Independence of 1821 to 1824, and when the Turks retook Crete with the help of Egyptian troops, they were no longer afraid to declare their faith.

Soon after the Turks returned to power, tax collectors went from village to village to gather the levy imposed on Christians. The four, whom everyone thought Muslims, went to pay the tax with the other Christians. They said that they had been Christians from their youth and had only been waiting for the moment to unite themselves to Christ in martyrdom. They were imprisoned around July 1824.

Mehmet Pasha failed to persuade them to embrace Islam and ordered his town crier to announce: "Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, the four infidels will be executed at the Great Gate. There will be interesting events, with many clowns. The pastry shops and other stores will be closed. Turks and Greeks will come to the spectacle." They were beheaded on 28 October 1824 at the Great Gate in the Venetian wall, with "Lord, have mercy" on their lips to the end. Their relics shone with uncreated light for the three days they were left in contempt where they had been killed. Then Anthony Papadakis, the pasha's interpreter, asked permission to bury them, and pious Christians gathered them and buried them at the Monastery of St Constantine, called Arkadi. A Russian ship's captain in the port took some of the relics to Russia.

Since then the four new martyrs have worked many miracles. Their four skulls are kept in the church that bears their name in Rethymno.