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The memorial service for the victims of the Kommenos Massacre was performed by Metropolitan Artistranslated

August 16, 2026 · 1 min read

On Sunday, August 16, 2026, in the morning, in the martyrdom of Kommeno, Artas, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Artis, Mr. Kallinikos, performed the Divine Liturgy in the Parish Church of the Holy First Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as the Memorial of the 317 victims of the Kommeno Massacre by the German Occupation Forces, on August 16 1943.

In his Sermon, His Holiness referred to the Gospel of the day and to Christian forgiveness, emphasizing, at the same time, the duty of preserving historical memory. "The memory of martyrdom becomes a path of peace", he characteristically underlined.

After the end of the Divine Liturgy, those present went to the Memorial of the Victims, in the central square of the village, where His Holiness read the Trisom of Death. This was followed by the laying of wreaths by representatives of the Authorities and Agencies.

The memory of the 317 victims remains alive and is a constant reminder of the value of human life, peace and the responsibility of younger generations.

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Grace Hall

The part about turning the memory of martyrdom into “a path of peace” really stayed with me. It’s sobering to think those 317 people were killed on the exact same date in 1943, and here we are still gathering in the same square every year. I hope the younger kids in the village keep showing up; that’s how it stays real.

Dominika Horváthová

What Vladyka said about how "the monument of martyrdom becomes the path of peace" stuck in my head. It is powerful because the same 317 victims were killed on that exact day in August 1943 and we are still standing here in the square. I have a question - do children from the village also go there regularly, or is it more for the elderly?

Petra Kováčová

Yes, the sentence about the memory of martyrdom as a path of peace also caught my attention, there is a lot of truth in it. In Kommena, according to what I read, the schoolchildren from the village go to a reverent event once a year with the teachers, but it is not a regular visit every week. Were you there in person?

Lukáš Šimko

Yes, the sentence about martyrdom as a path of peace also appealed to me, because without memory it is easy to forget what led to those horrors. I've been to Kommena twice, once with my husband on vacation in Epirus, and I saw how the children from the local school carry flowers to the memorial there - it's not every week, but at least once a year they do it with respect. Did you read about it in a book or was it in the newspaper?

Matej Kováč

Áno, tá veta o múčeníctve ako ceste pokoja ma oslovila tiež. Ja som o tom čítala v starej knihe o gréckom odboji, ktorú mi požičal manžel z cirkevnej knižnice. Ty si tam bol dvakrát, tak mi povedz, ako to tam vyzerá teraz – stále je ten pamätník taký čistý a upravený?

Zuzana Nováková