Paperback: 185 pages

An extraordinary narrative of how remote Pontic Greek villages, though outwardly Muslim, secretly practiced their Orthodox faith through centuries of Turkish Ottoman rule. Here, descendants of Black Sea crypto-Christians recount the daily life of these hidden generations and their astonishing relationships with openly Christian and Muslim neighbors. Also highlighted are the Monastery of Panagia Soumela, the jewel of Pontic Asia Minor; the harrowing 1923 Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey; and an eyewitness account of how Istanbul's Orthodox Christians fared under the new Turkish Republic. Finally, we explore the historical dilemma of crypto-Christianity: Were these crypto-Christians confessors or apostates?