On October 27, students at the A. Fantis School of Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Brooklyn commemorated “OXI” day with a special evening program.
Students from kindergarten to eighth grade performed songs and poetry, accompanied by Music Director Theodore Alvanos on piano, while family and friends cheered them on in the audience. Guests also included Archbishop Elpidophoros and Dean of the Cathedral Rev. Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Fr. Evagoras Constantinides.
Like so many Greek and Greek Orthodox day and afternoon schools in the United States, Fantis commemorated the courage of Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas, who, on behalf of the Greek People, issued a resounding “OXI,” or “NO,” when Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini presented him with an ultimatum: assist Axis forces and allow their occupation of key territories in the nation or face war.
“Greece paid a heavy price for standing up to tyranny – a price that many of your families might have paid,” said Archbishop Elpidophoros as he addressed students. “The period known as the Κατοχή – the occupation of Greece by armies of Nazi Germany – was the result of that ‘OXI,’ and many died as a result. But what never died was the love of freedom and the love of democracy – the rule ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ to employ the phrase of President Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Gettysburg Address.”
Celebrated by Greeks around the world, OXI Day still represents the bravery, solidarity, and heroism of those who resisted fascism and oppression during the war— and those who continue to do so today.
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Photos: GOARCH / @Dimitrios S. Panagos
