Armen Kouptsios - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Armen Kouptsios was born in Volakas (municipality of Kato Nevrokopi

Kato Nevrokopi

Kato Nevrokopi is a municipality and town within that municipality in the northwest section of the Drama peripheral unit, Greece. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was the largest municipality in all of Greece, covering an area of 873.552 km² . The 2001 census reported a population...

, Drama

Drama Prefecture

Drama is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its capital is the town of Drama. The regional unit is the northernmost within the geographical region of Macedonia and the westernmost in the administrative region of East Macedonia and Thrace...

), in 1885.
He met the Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

Macedonian fighter Capetan Dais, when Dais, as a teacher in Prosotsani

Prosotsani

Prosotsani is a municipality and town within the municipality located in the western part of the Drama peripheral unit in Greece. The 2001 census reported a population of 11,215 inhabitants for the municipal unit, and 3,937 for the town. A local attraction is the cave at the source of the Aggitis...

, was organizing, in secret the Macedonian Struggle

Greek Struggle for Macedonia

The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908...

in Drama region

Drama Prefecture

. To him, Kouptsios revealed his will to fight for mother Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, until death.

The archdeacon of Bishop of Drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

, Chrysostomos

Chrysostomos of Smyrna

Chrysostomos Kalafatis , known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox bishop of Smyrna between 1910 and 1914, and again from 1919 to his death in 1922...

, Themistoklis Chatzistavrou (known later as Archbishop of Athens and all over Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Chrysostomos II), in the Macedonian Diary of 1965, writes "The Organization that was initiated the Greeks

Greeks

was completely secret. We were trying to keep Bishop Chrysostomos

Chrysostomos of Smyrna

away from the danger. We wanted to protect him from the danger, that his surging character and his fiery patriotism, were leading him. Ion Dragoumis

Ion Dragoumis

Ion Dragoumis was a Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary.Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The family originated in Vogatsiko in Kastoria...

was the general leader of the Organization. I was in charge to adjure the initiated members in Drama

Drama Prefecture

. I was the one to adjure Armen from Volakas and Valavanis from Petroussa. We were giving them guns."

Armen Kouptsios became one of the most trusted men of Chrysostomos

Chrysostomos of Smyrna

and he was incorporated in the revolting troops, that were acting in Drama region

Drama Prefecture

. The revolting troops of Drama fought many times the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), well-armed troops, and caused many losses to them.

Armen Kouptsios' death is connected with the arrival of IMRO voivod, Plachev, June 1905. Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n IMRO sent him to organize the murder of Greeks leaders and fighters, that caused problems to the Bulgarian regime. Kouptsios' troop received the command to exterminate Plachev.

Armen Kouptsios with Nakos Vogiatzis and Petros Mantzas uppended Plachev in Tsobanka, in Laurentian Abbey in Drama. Plachev got trapped and Kouptsios asked him to surrender. Plachev shot and Kouptsios retaliated, killing PLachev. By that time, Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

guard in horseback, came, under the commands of caretaker of Kalos Agros. Kouptsios started shooting in order to gice the chance to his companions to escape, as the actually did. He chose to be arrested in order to save his companions. He didn't try to kill any Turk soldier in order not to cause problems to bishop Chrysostomos

Chrysostomos of Smyrna

. Ottomans always were accusing Chrysostomos, in every death of a Turk soldier.

Drama broke down when news spread because Armen Kouptsios was famous. Chrysostomos and Drama people made a lot of attempts to free Kouptsios, with no result. Armen Kouptsios was tortured in order to reveal names of the Organization. As he didn't reveal anything he stood on trial in special court martial in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

. He was condemned to execution by hanging. He was transferred back to Drama for the hanging.

Chrysostomos and the "Greek centre" organized plan for Armen Kouptsios' escape. Turks learned about the plan of escape and changed the way back. So, the plan of escape abandoned. On 14 September, 1905, Armen Kouptsios executed in the great plane tree, in the square of Drama.

Armen Kouptsios' father watched the scene of his execution. Chrysostomos invited Armen's father in the episcopate in order to comfort him. Armen's father said to bishop "I am not crying for losing my son. I am crying for you, because you lost your henchman." In World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, in 1916, when Bulgarians came back to Drama, they arrested Armen's father, they tortured him and then they let him die inside a well. Bulgarians also, cut the plane tree, to leave no memories of the sacrifice to the younger Dramins.

Sources

Diary 2007, edition and diligence by Holy Bishop of Drama

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