My Homeland, Little Forgotten One!

By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden

Greece, within and beyond its borders, celebrates a unique double feast. March 25th, 1821, is both the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and the anniversary of our National Rebirth.

From early on, the conscience of the Nation united these two celebrations; the proclamation of the Incarnation of God the Word and the proclamation of our national freedom.

Today’s anniversary is an occasion for joy and, at the same time, for reflection. Do we imitate the heroes/saints whom this day honors? Are we worthy successors of the heritage of our ancestors?

Saint Gregory Palamas writes that human nature was “deified,” so that through it we might be restored to our primordial beauty. This teaching shows that the Incarnation of Christ is not merely a historical moment, but the restoration of our fallen nature.

Saint John Chrysostom, in his homily on the Annunciation, explains that “an angel converses with the Virgin, so that the devil may no longer speak.”

Archangel Gabriel was sent to reveal “the universal salvation of humankind,” and the Virgin Mary became the bridge between God and humanity, the “new Eve,” through whom the “New Adam,” Christ, is born and “a new humanity” is created.

Saint Athanasius teaches that God became man so that we might become “gods” by grace; and the Virgin Mary, with her humble “Let it be to me,” cooperates in the plan of God.

The fighters of 1821 saw their struggle as a continuation of faith and national consciousness. The Revolution erupted under the motto “Freedom or Death,” but also “For the Holy Faith of Christ and the Freedom of the Fatherland.”

The Church preserved language and memory during the Ottoman period, and as Nikolaos Ypsilantis emphasized, the Revolution was associated with the Annunciation, since that day was regarded as “the proclamation of our national redemption.”

Greek poets praised freedom in verses that became national symbols. Dionysios Solomos writes in the Hymn to Liberty: “From the sacred bones of the Greeks arisen.” Freedom is born from the sacrifices of our forebears.

In the same spirit, Andreas Kalvos warns that freedom demands virtue, bravery, and self-sacrifice.