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People
Greek War Of Independence (1821-1829)
Society Of Friends
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Society Of Friends {Filiki Eteria ~ Φιλική Εταιρεία} (September 14th, 1814) [Flags] [Administration Of Samos] [Theodoros Kolokotronis] [Kiprianos] [Aleksandros Mavrokordatos] [Paleon Patron Germanos] [Ioannis Makrigiannis] [Petrombeis Mavromihalis] [Nikitaras] [Georgakis Olimbios]. Before the Society Of Friends was formed, a number of other societies had been founded to promote the national cause. The "Rigas Society" [People], which was based in Bucharest and which later moved to Vienna, is regarded as having been the first. The second was the "Patriotic Society" {Patriotiki Eteria ~ Πατριωτική Εταιρεία}, which was founded on Corfu {Kerkira ~ Κέρκυρα}. Then came the "Society Of the Greek-Speaking Hall" {Eteria Tou Ellinoglossou Ksenodohiou ~ Εταιρεία Τού Ελληνογλώσσου Ξενοδοχείου}, founded in Paris in 1809, followed by the "Phoenix Society" {Eteria Tou Finikos ~ Εταιρεία Τού Φοίνικος}, founded in Moscow in 1812. The "Philomuses Society" {Filomousos Eteria ~ Φιλόμουσος Εταιρεία} was founded in Athens [Place Names] that same year by lovers of antiquity. But the "Society Of Friends" outshone them all.
When Rigas died no other Christian Patriot came forward to organize the peoples of the Balkans into a united force for an uprising. Those Serbs who rebelled in 1804 relied solely on their own forces.
At the beginning of 19th century the subjugated Greek Nation was ripe for a Panhellenic Uprising. Previous attempts, the pressure exerted by the Ottomans and the sermons of the Teachers of the Nation, had instilled in the people the qualities that the mighty enterprise required. All that remained was for the nation to organize its own forces and to be ready when the call to arms came.
This difficult task fell to the "Society Of Friends", which had been founded on September 14th, 1814, in Odessa, by three Greek merchants; Nikolaos Skoufas [People] from Komboti {Κομπότι} near Arta {Άρτα}, Athanasios Tsakalof [People] from Ioannina {Ιωάννινα}, and Emmanouil Ksanthos [People] from Patmos {Πάτμος}.
As the founders had organized the Society conspiratorially, all those who wanted to become members were sworn to secrecy. The main aim in founding the Society was to bring unity and discipline to those forces required for the uprising and place them under one command. This is why it took on a panhellenic nature and spread all over Greece as well as abroad. The most effective phase in its activities started in 1818 when the brave Skoufas moved the Society's headquarters to Constantinople {Konstandinoupolis ~ Κωνσταντινούπολις} and took on Anthimos Gazis {Άνθιμος Γαζής}, Anagnostopoulos {Αναγνωστόπουλος} and Papaflessas [People] as his assistants.
In their correspondence they used a secret alphabet and a cryptic code. The code was extensive and included a lot of key words, like thorn = enemy, still = imprisoned, indifferent = sultan, beneficial = Kapodistrias, celebration = month, footwear = money, and so on.
To gain the trust of the Greek people, the Friends did not elect a leader for the first few years. They let people think that they were the front for a powerful leader and that this leader was the Czar of Russia.
When the Friends realized that the right fighting spirit had been kindled, they decided to elect a leader. With this in mind they sent Ksanthos to St. Petersburgh in Russia, late in 1819, to offer the leadership to Ioannis Kapodistrias [People], who was the Czar's Foreign Minister. But as Kapodistrias knew that conditions were not favourable thanks to the power of the Sainte Alliance {Iera Symmahia ~ Ιερά Συμμαχία}, and also because he was of the opinion that the uprising would need a military person at its head, he declined the leadership. Ksanthos then turned to Aleksandros Ipsilandis [People], who was both a general and adjutant to the Czar of Russia.
Ipsilandis accepted leadership of the Society Of Friends (June 1820) and started working zealously for the success of its sacred goals.
The Seal Of The "Society Of Friends"
04-23-2004