The PtD at the commemoration events for the 160th anniversary of the Holocaust of the Holy Monastery of Arkadioutranslated

The President of the Republic Konstantinos A. Tasoulas attended the commemoration events of the Municipality of Rethymno for the 160th anniversary of the Holocaust of the Holy Monastery of Arkadiou. After the parade, the doxology at the Holy Monastery of Arkadius, patron of the Most Reverend Archbishop of Crete Mr. Eugenios, as well as the laying of a wreath at the Mausoleum of the Monastery, Mr. Tasoulas made the following statement:

"Here, in Arkadi of Rethymno, 160 years ago, in November 1866, one of the greatest pages of Greek history was written. Those who came and took refuge here, in the monastery, chose death over slavery. They chose freedom over slavery. They chose self-determination and the right to determine their own destiny, rather than submit to the Turk.

Arkadi is an inexhaustible source of messages for us today, 160 years later. The dominant of these is that unconditional life does not exist for the Greek. Life for the Greek has certain basic conditions. The most basic of these is the free life: to define oneself, one's life and one's possessions. Such a life they dreamed of, for such a life they fought and for such a life they died...