Announcement of decisions made by the Church of Crete regarding Nazi atrocities and incidents of violence

The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Church of Crete met on Monday, 18 November 2024, in a Regular Session at its Headquarters in Heraklion and, among other things, discussed in detail the executions, horrific destruction, acts of violence and looting, even of places of Sacred Worship, committed by the Nazi Germans throughout Crete.

Among the decisions of the Synod on this issue is the initiative to create a “Centre of Memory” for the complete recording and unified collection of the names of those who sacrificed themselves, clergy and laity, throughout Greece and especially in Crete.

The Eparchial Synod also intends to create a list of clergy and monks who were sacrificed in Greece and specifically in Crete, during the German occupation, to hold a Synodal Memorial for them and to construct a special plaque with the names of the executed and murdered clergy and monks of the Church of Crete.

In addition, the Synod will request from the competent bodies information on German reparations for the Nazi occupation of Greece.

Furthermore, the Synod of the Church of Crete addressed the fact of the increase in incidents of violence and, among other things, announces that it is preparing to take initiatives to contribute to the reduction of these phenomena.

The following is the detailed statement of the Holy Eparchial Synod in Greek: