Saint Gregory the Theologian 5 Para Grecian Cappadocia Authentic Token Issued by Church of St Gregory (For Jewelry) (Gregorios Theologos)

Saint Gregory the Theologian 5 Para Grecian Cappadocia Authentic Token Issued by Church of St Gregory (Trinitarian Theologian) (Cappadocian Father) (Gregorios Theologos) (Gregory of Nazianzus) (Kelveri) (Gelveri) (Ottoman Empire)

Obverse: Image of Saint Gregory the Theologian, within a beaded cross

Reverse: Incised reverse-image of obverse image.

Features
5 Para Church Token
Late 19th Century
Issued by St. Gregory Theologos Church
Gelveri Town - Cappadocia Province - Ottoman Empire
Metal: Bracteate Brass
Diameter: Oval 22mm - 25mm
Weight/Dimensions: 3 g
Condition: Very Fine

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GREECE: Church Token from Church of St. Gregory Kelveri - Kappadokia (Εκκλησία Αγίου Γρηγορίου, Καρβάλη Καππαδοκίας). 1st issue, 5 para, oval with the figure of Saint Gregory, max height 25mm. (Georgiopoulos G. 2003, page 34).
Source: https://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=5465664&AucID=6196&Lot=6399&Val=17be34d2535ac7548becf2abb4125569

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Comments
Denominated at 5 Paras, which was the price of a prayer candle, this local token coinage was struck by the Cappadocian Greeks of central Anatolia to compensate for a shortage of low value coinage in the late Ottoman Empire.

This ethnic Greek Orthodox population was ultimately expelled from their ancient homeland in the population exchange that followed the Treaty of Lausanne at the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).

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The Cappadocian town of Güzelyurt (Karballa, Gelveri) was populated predominantly by ethnic Greeks from ancient times. Their Church of St Gregory of Nazianzus was first built on this spot in 385.
Source: https://turkeytravelplanner.com/galeri/cappadocia/photopages/013.html

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Hagios Gregorios Theologos church is the one of the most important monuments of Gelveri, a small town in the region of Cappadocia which is one of the first settlement areas in Anatolia, in central Turkey. The church is dedicated to Gregory the Theologian who is the Cappadocian father of the church in the fourth century.
Source: https://www.scientific.net/AMR.133-134.169

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Wikipedia:
Gregory of Nazianzus (Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos; c. 329 – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age. As a classically trained orator and philosopher he infused Hellenism into the early church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials.

Gregory made a significant impact on the shape of Trinitarian theology among both Greek- and Latin-speaking theologians, and he is remembered as the "Trinitarian Theologian". Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians, especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, he is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers.

Gregory of Nazianzus is a saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity. In the Catholic Church he is numbered among the Doctors of the Church; in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. He is considered one of the Great Fathers in both Eastern and Western Christianity. He was considered the patron saint of Kotromanić dynasty and medieval Bosnia during the first half of the 15th century, while Saint George, the Miracle-worker, has been the patron saint since at least mid-13th century, although confirmed by papacy much later, in 1461. St. Gregory the Great was also considered the patron of both, the state and dynasty in the late 15th century.

He is also one of only three men in the life of the Orthodox Church who have been officially designated "Theologian" by epithet, the other two being John the Theologian (the Evangelist), and Symeon the New Theologian.

Relics
Following his death, Gregory was buried at Nazianzus. His relics, consisting of portions of his body and clothing, were transferred to Constantinople in 950, into the Church of the Holy Apostles. Part of the relics were taken from Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade, in 1204, and ended up in Rome. On 27 November 2004, those relics, along with those of John Chrysostom, were returned to Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Pope John Paul II, with the Vatican retaining a small portion of both. The relics are now enshrined in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar.

Feast day
The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate two feast days in Gregory's honor. 25 January is his primary feast; 30 January, known as the feast of the Three Great Hierarchs, commemorates him along with John Chrysostom and Basil of Caesarea. The Catholic Church observes his feast day on 2 January. The Church of England and the US Episcopal Church celebrate St. Gregory's Holy Day, on 2 January, a "Lesser Festival". The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates Gregory, along with Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa (the Cappadocian Fathers) on 10 January. and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates Gregory of Nazianzus together with his friends Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa on 14 June. The Armenian Apostolic Church devotes two days each year to Gregory. He is commemorated together with eleven other doctors of the Church on the Saturday before the feast of the Discovery of the Holy Cross (which is observed on the Sunday closest to October 26. The Armenian Church calendar also has a feast day dedicated solely to Gregory. This falls either on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday of the Transfiguration, or if that day falls during the feast of the Assumption, on the Saturday before the third Sunday after the Nativity.