Ahmet the Calligrapher
{{Short description|Turkish martyr (died 1682)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = Saint
|name=Ahmet the Calligrapher
|image= Saint Ahmet the Calligrapher.jpg
|image_upright=
|caption=Icon of Saint Ahmet the Calligrapher
|birth_date=
|birth_name =
|death_date=3 May 1682
|feast_day=24 December (Julian calendar), 3 May[http://www.synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/2881/sxsaintinfo.aspx Ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀχμὲτ ὁ Νεομάρτυρας ὁ Κάλφας]. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
|venerated_in=Eastern Orthodox Church
|imagesize=
|birth_place=Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
|death_place=
|titles=
|canonized_date=
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}}
Ahmet the Calligrapher ({{langx|tr|Hattat Ahmet}}; died 3 May 1682) was an Ottoman Turkish official venerated as a Christian saint. According to Christian sources, he converted to Christianity and was martyred on 3 May 1682; thus, he is commemorated as a martyr on this day. The only mentions of him are in Christian hagiographies.{{cite web|url=http://modeoflife.org/saint-ahmed-the-calligrapher-commemorated-on-3rd-may-and-the-24th-december-2/|title=SAINT AHMED THE CALLIGRAPHER - ModeOfLife|website=modeoflife.org|access-date=23 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217002529/http://modeoflife.org/saint-ahmed-the-calligrapher-commemorated-on-3rd-may-and-the-24th-december-2/|archive-date=17 February 2016|url-status=dead}}
Life
Ahmet lived in Constantinople during the 1600s and was an official in the Ottoman Turkish government before his conversion.[https://www.greekboston.com/religion/saint-ahmet-calligrapher/ "About Saint Ahmet (Ahmed)", Greek Boston]
Ahmet owned two Russian slaves, a concubine and an old woman, whom he allowed to attend one of the Greek Orthodox churches in Constantinople.{{cite web|url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/12/24/saint-ahmet-the-calligrapher-ottoman-convert-and-christian-orthodox-martyr/|title=Saint Ahmet the Calligrapher, Ottoman convert and Christian Orthodox martyr|date=24 December 2022|website=GreekCityTimes.com|publisher=Athens Bureau|access-date=23 September 2023}} In time Ahmet began to notice that when his pious Russian slaves returned from church they were far more gracious and loving than they were before going. Intrigued by this, Ahmet obtained permission to attend the Ecumenical Patriarch's celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Constantinople. Due to his status and identity, his request was not refused, and he was given a discreet place at the Church.
During the Divine Liturgy, Ahmet saw that when the Ecumenical Patriarch blessed the faithful with his trikiri and dikiri his fingers 'beamed' light onto the heads of the faithful Christians, but not his own. Amazed by this miracle, Ahmet requested and received Holy Baptism.
Whatever happened during this period, one day a group of arguing officials asked Ahmet for his opinion of their dispute, to which he replied that there is nothing better than the Christian faith.[https://pemptousia.com/2016/12/saint-ahmed/ "Saint Ahmed the Calligrapher", Pemptousia, 24 December 2016]
For this he was put before the Sultan, Mehmed IV, and qadi. After torture and a few chances to return to Islam he was subsequently beheaded on 3 May 1682.
He is celebrated on 24 December/6 January in Eastern Orthodoxy under the name of Christódoulos (Greek: Χριστόδουλος).{{cite web|url=https://svetosavlje.org/zitija-svetih-13/25/|title=ЖИТИЈА СВЕТИХ ЗА ДЕЦЕМБАР – Страна 25 – Светосавље|website=svetosavlje.org}}
Sources
- {{Free-content attribution|
| title = Ahmed the Calligrapher
| author = Orthodox Wiki
| publisher = Orthodox Wiki
| source=
| documentURL = https://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Ahmed_the_Calligrapher&oldid=111926
| License statement URL =
| license = CC-SA 2.5
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Yurij Maximov, "Svjatye Pravoslavnoj Tcerkvi, obrativshiesja iz islama." Moscow, 2002
- [https://svetosavlje.org/zitija-svetih-13/25/ "Hagiographies of the Saints"], 24 December, Justin Popović
- [https://svetosavlje.org/zitija-svetih-6/4/ "Hagiographies of the Saints"], 3 May, Justin Popović
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204345/http://www.pigizois.net/agiologio/axmet.htm Ahmed the Calligrapher (ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΒΙΟ ΤΟΥ AΓΙΟΥ ΑΧΜΕΤ ΤΟΥ ΝΕΟΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΣ.)] {{in lang|el}}
- [https://saint.gr/870/saint.aspx Saint Ahmed the Calphas the Neomartyr (Άγιος Αχμέτ ο Κάλφας ο Νεομάρτυρας)] {{in lang|el}}
Category:Calligraphers from the Ottoman Empire
Category:Christian saints killed by Muslims
Category:People executed for apostasy from Islam
Category:17th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire
Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Sunni Islam
Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Turkey
Category:Turkish former Sunni Muslims
Category:People executed by the Ottoman Empire by decapitation