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He was born in Triglia of Bithynia in 1867.
In 1902 he was elected [[Metropolitan]] of Drama by the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. Drama, located in Eastern Macedonia, had a predominantly Greek population but at the time was part of the [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] Empire and was engulfed in the Balkan Wars. The metropolitan worked to encourage the Greek population to build schools and [[church]]es, take back churches occupied by the Bulgarians, and to build athletic centers, hospitals, and nursery schools.
His actions led to his exile on [[August 30]], 1907, by the Turkish authorities. On [[May 10]], 1910, he was elected Metropolitan of Smyrna. During World War I and the persecution of the Greeks of Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire, he helped members of the Greek population to take refuge in the Greek islands of the Aegean. Additionally, he served as a spokesman for the civilian population to diplomatic officials and the world press. The German ambassador in Constantinople wrote that Chrysostomos "stands to the best of living clerics." His actions resulted in a second exile on [[August 20]], 1914, when he left Smyrna for Constantinople.
