Amidst the reverent anticipation of Greek Orthodox faithful, the ‘Holy Light’ embarked on its annual journey, illuminating the hearts of believers across Greece.
Leaving the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Holy Light arrived in Athens with solemn grandeur shortly after 8pm on Saturday.
Greeted at the Athens International Airport with the reverence reserved for a head of state, the Holy Light was then swiftly dispersed across the country.
Nine Aegean Airlines planes and seven Sky Express planes were entrusted with this sacred mission, transporting the light to various destinations within Greece.
In Athens, the first destination for this divine light was the Church of Agioi Anargyroi in Plaka, the Metochi of the Holy Sepulchre in Greece, where it arrived at 9pm.
The streets filled with the faithful, eager to receive this holy beacon, which symbolises the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of light over darkness.
After receiving the Holy Light at the Athens Metropolitan Church the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou said:
“With the Resurrection of the Lord, hope fills our souls once again. I wish that the Resurrection light becomes a guide for all of us towards a world without wars, conflicts, and hatred, but with love and understanding for our fellow human beings. Christ is Risen! Many years to you all!”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined in his Easter message on Saturday night (Greece time) saying that “As the Holy Week is about to end, the expectation of the Resurrection fills us all with hope, strength and optimism.”
“Tradition dictates that we spend these Holy Easter days together with our loved ones. Our thoughts, however, must be primarily with our weakest fellow citizens, those who more than ever need our support these days, but also to all Greek uniform personnel, those who day and night, and these Holy days, they are fighting so that we all can be safe,” he added.
“Here, from ‘Our Lady of Tinos’, an island so important for our Orthodoxy, I want to wish every Greek woman, every Greek man, wherever they are, Happy Easter,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis concluded.
Meanwhile, Stefanos Kasselakis sent his wishes in a video message from Corfu, where he is for Easter, emphasising the need to transition from the darkness to the light of hope.
“The island of the Phaeacians, where I am for Easter, to celebrate the most important Orthodox holiday, the Resurrection, the transition from darkness to light,” said the president of SYRIZA and continued: “That is exactly what so many people tell me we are together to change our country. We must change from the darkness of incompetence and impunity to the light of hope, meritocracy, justice, democracy, and peace. I wholeheartedly wish all of you, wherever you are in the world, Happy Easter and Christ is Risen!”
In his Easter message, the leader of PASOK-Movement for Change, Nikos Androulakis, wished on Saturday that this year’s Easter “may be the starting point to build a fairer Greece, with more prosperity and security.”
Androulakis pointed out how many families are unable to enjoy a full Easter table due to soaring prices that cannot be controlled.
“Political will and a plan are needed to protect the incomes of the most vulnerable households and the middle class, so that the purchasing power of the Greek people is not any more in the last place of the eurozone,” he added.
The leader of PASOK-KINAL underlined the obligation “to make a national goal Greece’s convergence with the most developed states of Europe. We achieved it in the past, we can achieve it today through another model of governance, which will have more transparency, democratic participation and respect for the rule of law. We can do better, because we can offer hope with the materials we choose.”
