Page 404 - Beholding Liberty!

ΙΙΙ.3
The leaders
of the Peloponnese
Paleon Patron Germanos (1771-1826)
CLERGYMAN, MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS AND POLITICIAN, he was born in Dimitsana, where he com- pleted his circular studies in the acclaimed School of his home city. Soon, he became protosyngelos (chief administrator and church notary) and then bishop of Paleon Patron (Old Patras) (1806). Since 1818 he was initiated in the Society of Friends. In the secret assembly of Vostitsa (26-30 January 1821) he support- ed the postponement of the Revolution, because circumstances were not as yet favourable, disagreeing strongly with Gregorios Dikaios (Papaflessas). On 23 (or 24) March he blessed the flag and the weapons of the fighters in the Agios Georgios square of Patras, while the following day he participated in the formation of the Achaean Directorate. In May of the same year he took part in the meeting of notables and primates in the Kaltetzes monastery, which ended in setting up the Peloponnesian Senate.
During the surrender of Tripolitsa he undertook the role of nego- tiator between Greeks and Turks. By order of the First National Assembly he went together with Georgios Mavromichalis to Italy in a diplomatic mission, to secure the moral and material support of the Pope to the fighting Greek nation, which though was not fruitful. He took part in the works of the Third National Assembly (Epidaurus, 6-16 April 1826) as «president of the committee of the Assembly». On 30 May 1826 he died at the age of 53 after an illness of a few days.
Paleon Patron Germanos is characterized by the French diplomat and historian François Pouqueville as the clergyman-national leader who raised in Agia Lavra the banner of the Revolution.
404 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
ΙΙΙ.3.1
Letter of Paleon Patron Germanos to the Executive about the choice of a suitable monarch
(Ancona, 4 November 1823)
Archives of the Greek Regeneration, vol. 11, no 116 [p. 115] Library of the Hellenic Parliament
PALEON PATRON GERMANOS, commissioned by the Greek Administration, departed for Italy in October 1822, togeth- er with Georgios Mavromichalis, in order to secure the material and moral support of the Pope to the Greek cause. In the end, his mission remained unaccomplished, since he was not even al- lowed to approach Rome from Ancona, where he had first arrived, and returned to the Peloponnese in July 1824, having neverthe- less carried out important contacts with Greeks of the diaspora, aiming at the promotion of the just struggle of the Greeks.
In his letter, he points out the interest of Europe for the Greek Revolution, he deems though as superficial and lightly contem- plated the approach of proposing that Greece should elect and invite anyone of the European monarchs, arguing that the latter should secure the joint consent of the European forces. More- over, he denotes the risks entailed in the involvement of various «systems of liberal companies», which promise contribution to the Struggle, but in fact seek to gain substantial participation in the Greek affairs, as well as political returns, for one more reason that such formations are hostile towards monarchies of any kind.