Gregory V becomes Ecumenical Patriarch
Gregory V, born in Dimitsana, is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for the first time.
Why it matters
It gives Gregory V’s Dimitsana story institutional weight before the tragedy of 1821.
Gregory V was elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for the first time in 1797. He would serve three patriarchal terms: 1797–1798, 1806–1808 and 1818–1821. His rise from Dimitsana to the Ecumenical Patriarchate is one of the strongest links between the village, Orthodox leadership and the education of the late Ottoman Greek world.