On the evening of Monday, March 27, 2023, a school celebration took place on the hill of Zion in the hall of ceremonies of the Holy Zion Patriarchal School in honor of the national anniversary of 1821.
This ceremony was honored by Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Evangelos Vlioras, the Consul Christina Zacharioudaki and members of the Consulate, the President of the School Board Archbishop Isidoros of Ierapolis, the Holy Fathers and members of the Greek Parish of Jerusalem.
The ceremony included a preface by the School Managing Director Archimandrite Matthaios on the meaning of the Greek uprising of 1821 and the speech of the day by the Greek literature teacher Polymnia Angelonia focusing on the contribution of Thrace and its special homeland Samothrace in the liberation struggle (speech in the Greek version of the website).
The program of the ceremony also included songs under the musical direction of Vassilios Gotsopoulos, a student recital, theatrical events on the theme of Athanasios the Diacos, the Massacre of Chios, and the Exodus of Messolonghi (see link in the Greek version of the website).
Because of all this, the unbearable and unspeakable sufferings of the Greeks under the Ottoman conquerors for four hundred years and the holy struggle of the Greeks against this tyranny, with incomparable bravery, sacrifice, loss of property and lives and failure, but with the final victory after 8 years, after the Battle of Navarino (October 20, 1827), which gave them the free Greek state, with the first Governor, the “Saint of Politics”, Ioannis Kapodistrias.
The Patriarch and Vlioras praised the performance and dedication of the School Managing Director, the teachers, and the students, who contributed to the success of the ceremony, as it evoked feelings of emotion and national pride, necessary for the continuation of the free life of our nation and the fruitfulness of the operation of the School for the benefit of the Patriarchate.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
