The Venerable Martyr Dionysius of Vatopedi was a monk who suffered in 1822 for refusing to accept Islam. He was a monk of the Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy Mountain of Athos in Greece.
In 1822, a terrible epidemic was raging on the island of Crete, and Dionysius was sent there to accompany the Precious Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos. At that time, the uprising against the Turkish yoke, which had spread throughout Greece, had also reached Crete. The Turks took Dionysius captive, trying to force him to renounce the faith and accept Islam. The venerable saint refused, after which the Turks subjected him to terrible tortures, driving red-hot iron stakes into his temples. In 1822, on Clean Monday, Dionysius was sentenced to be hanged.
The glorification of Dionysius of Vatopedi was carried out by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 2007, his name was included in the calendar of saints by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
