On 19 May 1821, the Ottoman governor of Chania, Serif Pasha, arrested and executed the Bishop of Kissamos, Melchizedek Despotakis, along with his deacon, Kallinikos. This brutal event took place in Chania, Crete, during the opening months of the Greek War of Independence. It was a deliberate act of intimidation intended to suppress the looming Cretan rebellion.