The bell rang two hundred times at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in the center of Cairo and the heart of Greek community was beating with the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.
The Patriarchal Vicar of Cairo, Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis, presided over the Divine Liturgy and the Doxology while Archbishop Damianos of Sinai was also present.
Immediately afterwards, the Metropolitan of Memphis read the message of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa to the Parish of Cairo for the Greek Independence Day as reported by ekkairo.org.
“…We express our gratitude to these heroes and send our prayer, May God Almighty rest their souls “in the tents of the righteous.” For these fighters, we are proud to be their descendants and children. The heavy legacy we carry on our shoulders, however, must not allow us to rest. So let us not only be proud of our ancestors but let us do something to make our own children feel proud of us. Let us become worthy successors, always remembering that peoples who forget their history have no future. This is the best tribute,” said the Metropolitan of Memphis, reading the message of Patriarch Theodore.
An emotional moment followed when the Metropolitan of Memphis, the Ambassador of Greece, Nikolaos Garilidis, the Ambassador of Cyprus, Homer Mavromatis, the Consul General of Greece in Cairo, Maria Zisi, and the President of the Greek Community of Cairo, Christos Kavalis, put their signatures in the Gospel to honor the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Greek Revolution in Cairo.