"I swear in the name of truth and justice, before the Supreme Being, to keep secret, even sacrificing my own life, and enduring the harshest tortures, the mystery that will be explained to me, and to answer truthfully whatever I may be asked. I promise to fight until the last drop of my blood, without ever being discouraged by any human circumstance."
The Filiki Etaireia (Society of Friends) was a secret organization formed to prepare the ground for the Greek Fight of Independence in 1821, with the goal to liberate Greeks from the rule of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in Odessa, Russia, by Emmanuil Xanthos, Nikolaos Skoufas, and Athanasios Tsakalov on September 14, 1814, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The purpose of the Filiki Etaireia was the general uprising of the Greeks for the "restoration and liberation of the Greek Nation and our Homeland," while its statutes were written in the common Greek language, "so that even a shepherd could understand it."
Between 1814 and 1817, its members were few, mainly Greeks from Russia and Moldavia. However, from 1818 onwards, mass initiations occurred, and by 1820 the organization had spread across all regions of Greece and most Greek communities abroad. Although only about 1,100 names are known, the number of initiated members likely reached thousands.
The Filiki Etaireia primarily attracted merchants and middle-class members, but also included Phanariots, local elites (kotzabashis), and clerics, figures who would play a significant role in the struggle. Among these were military leaders like Theodoros Kolokotronis, Odysseas Androutsos, Anagnostaras, Archimandrite Grigorios Dikaios (Papaflessas), Phanariots Alexandros Mavrokordatos and Negris, the prominent Hydra shipowners of the Kountouriotis family, powerful kotzabashis like Zaimis, Londos, and Notaras, and Metropolitan Germanos of Old Patras, among others.
In 1818, the Invisible Authority was renamed the "Authority of the Twelve Apostles," with each Apostle taking responsibility for a large region. The Apostles of the Filiki Etaireia were twelve and were appointed by Skoufas when he went to Constantinople in the spring of 1818, amongst them Georgakis Olympios for Serbia, Vatikiotis for Bulgaria and Anagnostaras for the Saronic Islands.
After the death of Skoufas, these Apostles dispersed to their designated regions and began initiating Greeks into the cause of the Filiki Etaireia. Among them were enlightened scholars and scientists of the time, as well as local leaders like Count Ioannis Kefalas from Epirus and other distinguished men.
