A holy day, full of glory and grace. On this day, one’s memory travels back. It starts from Agia Lavra, where the brave men lit for the first time the fire of the war. It greets the shadow of the hierarch, Germanos of Old Patras, who raised the banner of the revolution. It passes from soils bloodstained by 400 years of slavery which were watered by the sacrifice of the klephtic youth. It crosses with pride the destroyed island Psara, the heroic Souli, and the unconquerable Gravia Inn. It passes from Roumeli, and even further, from Klisova and Messolonghi, where so many fell heroically in one night during the exodus.

Every place in Greece has been sanctified by the blood of the Greeks. Every place bears a witness to the love for the homeland and for freedom, a love that was surpassing all adversities. It reminds us of the words of General Makriyannis. “In order for this land to be liberated, lions had to melt”, meaning that many heroes and martyrs had to make great sacrifices. Let us remember that we are descendants of such heroes and martyrs, and let their pure love for freedom and their homeland become for us a noble goal of our own lives as well.