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19 The Ideological and Cultural Dimensions 151

victory over it: on the contrary, the miracle-working power of John’s relic madę him respectable among the infidels and a model for all the Orthodox {D. Gones, op. cit., pp. 51—53).

30. This message dominated the ideology of subseąuent martyńa, in particular the work of Nicodemos Hagioreites, in which Greek martyrs interchange with other nationalities, all Orthcdox (among them Serbs, Bul-gars, Russians), the majority naturally Greeks. There are, however, some cases of martyrs who attracted the sympathy of the local Latin clergy and people of the place where they were excuted for the Faith: for Markos Kyria-kopoulos the young Cretan who was martyred at Smyrnę on 13 May 1643 and whose Life was included in Nicodemos' Neon Marty rologion (1961 ³, pp. 70—71) following "Meletios o Syrigou” 's original, an Italian Relatione was written on the spot by fra Qiovanni Aretino Foscaro Yicario Apostołico di Smirna (M. Vitti, in Mikrasiatika Ckronika, X, 1962, pp. 89 — 103). But this seems to be rather an exception or a local case in a city famous for symbiosis. The idea of rejecting Islam could be adopted also by Latins, whose behaviour towards the Greek Cyprict Orthodox in 1231 — 1233 and later was not different from that of Moslems. As we have said (par. 17), there is a continuity of phrasing the martyrs' rejection of conversion. We find it in the Synaxary of the Neomartyras Michael Mavroeides ho Adrianoupolites (-\-ca. 1490, Adrianoupole, Anekdota Hagiologika Keimena ton Megalcu Rhetoros Manouel ton Korinthiou k.a., ed. by D.Z. Sophianos, 1984, pp. 16— 17 and in his encomion by M. Kor., pp. 102—103. Though Christians "could live under Ottoman rule and still be good Christians” (El. A. Zachariadou, ‘The Neomartyrs’ Message; Deltio Kentrou Mikrasiatikon Spoudon, 8, 1990— 1991, pp. 51—63, p. 63) and although there are many topoi and a preconcei-ved policy of the Church inserted in the Martyrs’ Lives, this by no means implies that repression was the exception and that the ideology of the Church admonishing martyrdom rather than conversion was striving against phan-toms. This ideology, integrated in hagiography and iconography as well, became necessary by historical reality. The eyewitness scenes of Markos’ martyrdom as described by fra Giovanni do not seem to contain any topoi or motifs. Still they convey the same atmosphere and give similar or identical details as the Martyrs' Vitae.