Christian identity, sharia law and voluntary martyrdom in the Ottoman Empire. Issue 2 (3rd July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Russell, Norman
• Is Part Of: International journal for the study of the Christian church. Volume 18:Issue 2/3(2018)
• Page Start: 158
• Page End: 172
• Publication Date: 2018-07-03
• Subjects: Apostasy -- Eleni Gara -- Elizabeth Zachariadou -- kollyvades movement -- martyrdom -- neomartyrs -- Nikodemos the Hagiorite -- Orthodox identity; Church history -- Periodicals; Theology -- Periodicals; 260.9
• DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2018.1483153
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-225X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Among Greek Orthodox living under Ottoman rule, the social pressure to convert from Christianity to Islam was strong, and such conversions were welcomed by the Ottoman authorities. But conversions in the other direction, from Islam to Christianity, were regarded as apostasy from Islam and were punishable, under sharia law, by death.The most significant collection of the lives of such martyrs (known as 'neomartyrs') was the Neon Martyrologion of Nikodemos the Hagiorite, first published in 1799. Modern scholars, notably Elizabeth Zachariadou and Eleni Gara, have tended to see these lives as examples of ecclesiastical propaganda designed to reinforce a collective identity. This essay argues that, on the contrary, the eighteenth-century collections, particularly that of Nikodemos, sought to promote among Greek Orthodox a sense of personal responsibility for salvation and a conviction of the need to witness as individuals to the Christian faith.