When I was digitizing the records of marriages from 1835-1935 at the Metropolis of Sparta in 2018, I came across an unusual document. It caught my attention because it was from my ancestral village of Agios Ioannis and there were many signatures. It is a formal request to the Bishop of Sparta for a new priest to be sent to Agios Ioannis. I asked Gregory Kontos of GreekAncestry for a translation.

This was published on my website, Agios Ioannis, Sparta which is dedicated specifically to the families and stories of that village. I am cross-posting here as it is a historic document signed by the majority of the families.

To the Honorable Bishop of Monemvasia and Sparti

Received on April 27^th, 1874

No. 221

April 20^th, 1874

Agios Ioannis

It is known to you, your Eminence, that Agios Ioannis has over two hundred families, which, as follows, cannot be ministered by the current one priest with all the willingness he has, especially as the families are not concentrated, but are dispersed in neighborhoods, which are quite far from each other, about half an hour from where the priest is based. For this reason, we believe that one more priest has to be appointed and that the priest needs to be from this village and of general renown, so that through his position and his estimation from his co-villagers he will command respect and resolve many little disputes.

If you approve, we ask you to ordain our co-villager, Panagiotis Poulimenakos, a good and honest man of letters, valued by everyone, and also virtuous, pious and with ecclesiastical knowledge.

The residents of the village of Agios Ioannis,

1. Panagiotis Papa[…]
   2. D. P. Maltziniotis
   3. P. Th. Ko[…]
   4. Efstr. Charitakos
   5. I. Ch. Tzirgotis
   6. Th. D. Tsirigotis
   7. Ioannis Gianniopoulos
   8. Th.  D. Kopanos
   9. K [?] Haralambakos
   10. Anagnostis V[…]lias
   11. Dimitrios Moustakaros
   12. Dimitrios Vasilakos
   13. Georgios St. Laskaris
   14. Ath. Voulgaris, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Geor. Laskaris.
   15. Andreas Loumakis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Polyzois Loumakis.
   16. Spyros Lampropoulos, illiterate. On his order and behalf, K. Theodosopoulos.
   17. Nikolaos Bougadis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Theodopoulos.
   18. Ilias Kyriazakis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, G. D. […].
   19. Ioan. M[.]ltiad[.]
   20. Nikolaos […]
   21. Konstantis Psyrakis
   22. Sarantos Stamatakos, illiterate. On his order and behalf, D. [?] P. Tsirigotis.
   23. Zois [?] […]
   24. Konstantis Panagianakos. On his behalf, Chatzipetros.
   25. Ioannis Stamatakos, on his order and behalf.
   26. D. Arniotis
   27. Io. Papagiannakos
   28. Ge. Aramel[…]
   29. Io. Karkoulis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Geor. Laskaris.
   30. P. Alevetzovitis
   31. Antonios Mitilinaios
   32. N. A. Roumeliotis
   33. Christos Tagkalos
   34. Ilias Zacharopoulos, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Geor. St. Laskaris.
   35. Kargakos Tzounopoulos, illiterate. On his behalf, Geo. Tzounopoulos.
   36. Efta[…]
   37. Ioannis Kopanos
   38. Petros Gourgouris
   39. Ant. Kritikos, illiterate.On his order, P. N. Liakakos.
   40. Vasileios Karteroulis, illiterate. On his order, D. Kopanos.
   41. Leonidas Sotirakos
   42. D. Arniotis
   43. Dimitrios Panagopoulos, illiterate On his order and behalf, Efstr. Charitakos.
   44. Le. Christou Spirou
   45. Apostolis P. Politis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Efstr. Charitakos.
   46. K. Argyropoulos
   47. Alexandros Kelepouris
   48. Christos Spyrou, illiterate. On his behalf, Dimitrios.
   49. On behalf of D. Gravas [?], G. Kokoris.
   50. On behalf of illiterate Konstas Kontakos, Th. D. Kopanos.
   51. Dimitrios Kontakos, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Anagnostis Vougiouklas.
   52. Anastatios Pantazos, illiterate. On his behalf, his son.
   53. Konstantinos Pantazos, Nikolaos Charalampakos
   54. Sarantos Kourkoulis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Efstr. Charitakos.
   55. Them. Michalopoulos
   56. An. Kokonis
   57. Petros Soumakis, illiterate. On his order, A. Vougiouklis [?]
   [58.] N. Lagchanikas [?]
   [59.] Papasionis [?]
   [60.] Ioannis Kontakos
   [61.] N. N. Maltziniotis
   [62.] Dimitrios Stamatakos
   [63.] M. Arniotis
   [64.] Panagiotis Pantazos, illiterate. On his order, A. Vougiouklis.
   [65.] Pa. Papagiannakos
   [66.] Sarantos Kourkoulis, illiterate. On his order and behalf, Efstr. Charitakos.

[67.] Panagiotis Mourgokefalos, illiterate. On his order and behalf, G. Ch. Tzirgotis.

[68.] S. […]
[69.] Ioannis Pantazos
[70.] Spyros Pantazos
Charifalitza V. Maltziniotou, her son, Efstratios Maltziniotis

Panagiotis Mpolianitis, illiterate. On his behalf, S. Theodopoulos.

The authenticity of the above 70 signatures of all the residents of Agios Ioannis of the Municipality of Sparta is verified.

Sparta, April 12^th, 1874

The Mayor of Sparta,

The Representative of Parori,

G. Ch. Tzirgotis