The Holy Martyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople (in the world Georgios Angelopoulos), was born in 1751 in the village of Dimichane in Gortinia (Peloponnese) in a poor family. He graduated with honors from the Dimichansky School, continued his studies at the Evangelical School in Smyrna, and then entered the famous Patmian School on fr.Patmos. There, Georgios finally decided to devote himself to the service of God and took monastic vows with the name Gregory. His ascetic lifestyle, high morals, and great knowledge of secular and theological sciences made the young monk famous among his contemporaries. 
Metropolitan Prokopios of Smyrna ordained Saint Gregory to the deaconate and then to the priesthood. Saint Gregory was the metropolitan's first assistant in the administration of the Smyrna see. In 1875, Saint Gregory was consecrated bishop and succeeded Metropolitan Prokopius. From that time began the great holy ministry of St. Gregory to the Church of Christ and enslaved Greece. St. Gregory successfully fought against various controversial movements of his flock and after a while brought all the believers together under his spiritual guidance.

With his impeccable life, he set an example of Christian morality and purity to people. The good shepherd also took care of the maintenance of the clergy. The love of the people was a response to the diligent labors of St. Gregory for the benefit of the Orthodox Church and the Motherland. In 1798, St. Gregory was unanimously elected Patriarch of Constantinople by the clergy and people's representatives. For four years, Holy Patriarch Gregory V led the Greek Church. However, in such a short period of time, he managed to streamline the inner life of the Church, in which the prolonged Turkish yoke gave rise to various disorders. At the same time, Patriarch Gregory strengthened existing national schools and created new ones. The spread of enlightenment awakened the national feelings of the Greeks. Patriarch Gregory's activities aimed at strengthening the Church and awakening the national consciousness of the people were objectionable to the Turkish government. In 1802, St. Gregory was exiled to Mount Athos. However, the Saint's educational and scientific activities were not interrupted. On Mount Athos, he translated the speeches of St. Peter into spoken Greek. St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom. In 1806, St. Gregory was returned to the patriarchal throne. His activity in the second period of the patriarchate was a continuation of the previous one. In 1808, the saint was again exiled to Mount Athos. For 10 years he led an ascetic ascetic life there, until he was returned to the patriarchate. The Greek patriots found active support from Patriarch Gregory. His authority at the court of the Sultan was often the only means of creating conditions for the spread of the national movement in Greece. When the liberation movement began in the country, the Patriarch's patriotic activity intensified even more. The saint, despite the possibility of flight, did not leave his flock. The Turks began to massacre Greek patriots and Christians. The saint's comforting word was necessary for the suffering people. On Easter Day, 1821, Patriarch Gregory celebrated the last Liturgy. After the service, he was arrested and imprisoned. At the same time, the saint was subjected to severe tortures, and then the holy Patriarch was hanged in front of many clerics and laity between the patriarchal council and the Patriarchate. Before his death, he blessed the people. Three days later, the body of the holy martyr was given over to the Jews, who accompanied the body with ridicule and spitting in Constantinople, and drowned it in the sea. The holy body of St. Gregory in Fomino Resurrection was found by Greek sailors, whose ship was anchored in Galata under the Russian flag. On the same ship, the body of the saint was transported to Odessa. Many Greeks and Russians came to Odessa to worship the Holy Martyr Gregory. The incorruptible body of the saint, dressed in precious robes and a mitre with a cross sent from Moscow, which belonged to His Holiness Patriarch Nikon, was laid in the Odessa Transfiguration Cathedral. By decree of the Holy Synod, on June 19, the archbishop performed the rite of burial.Dimitri of Kishinev and Khotyn. The body of the holy martyr was buried in the northern part of the altar of the Greek Trinity Church in Odessa. In 1848, Archbishop Innocent (Borisov) established an annual commemoration of the Holy Martyr Gregory in Trinity Church on June 19 (July 2, present day). In 1871, the holy relics of Patriarch Gregory V were transferred, at the request of the Greek government, from Odessa to the cathedral in Athens and laid to rest in a marble sarcophagus. In the same year, the saint was canonized by the Greek Orthodox Church.