On Saturday, April 9, 2011, before departing from their religious freedom mission to the European Union, the Archon delegation gathered outside the gates of the Phanar where, in solemn observance, they witnessed His All-Holiness commemorate the martyrdom of Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V who was hanged by order of the Sultan 190 years ago on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1821. The gates have been welded-shut ever since.