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== Saintly Status ==
::Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholics consider Constantine XI a [[saint]], but he has not been officially recognized as such. One of the reasons for this was that in the centuries of Ottoman rule, any effort on the part of the Orthodox Church to officially glorify Constantine XI as a saint would have been seen as an act of rebellion, and hence decidedly ill-advised. After the [[w:Greek War of Independence|Greek War of Independence ]] (1821-1831), when the Greek Orthodox Church once again had freedom to act, an official act of glorification was thought to be superfluous, on account of longstanding veneration as a saint and martyr, specifically, a national martyr or ethnomartyr, (Greek: Eθνομάρτυρας). However, the erection of the statue of "Saint Constantine XI the Ethnomartyr" in the square in front of the [[w:Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens|Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens]], with the formal blessing of the Church authorities, appears to be a semi-official act of recognition. His feast falls on [[May 29|29 May]].<ref>[[w:Constantine_XI#Unofficial_saint|Constantine XI: Unofficial Saint]] at Wikipedia.</ref>.
The Russian Menologion indicates commemoration days for the Emperor on [[May 29]] and [[May 30]]. The entry under May 30 is as follows: ''‘On this day we commemorate the suffering of the right-believing Emperor Constantine under the ungodly Turkish King, who himself became ruler.’'' The entry for May 29 reads simply: ''‘Emperor Constantine, who suffered under the Turks.’''<ref>[http://rumkatkilise.org/statusconstantineXI.htm A Special Note Concerning the Status of Blessed Constantine XI]. Society of St. John Chrysostom of Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise.</ref>.
