{"id":502734,"date":"2024-10-30T11:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T09:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=502734"},"modified":"2024-10-30T11:57:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T09:57:01","slug":"greeces-oxi-day-celebrated-by-greek-community-in-bucharest-honouring-wwii-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/greeces-oxi-day-celebrated-by-greek-community-in-bucharest-honouring-wwii-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece\u2019s OXI Day celebrated by Greek community in Bucharest, honouring WWII heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greece\u2019s OXI Day, considered the second national day of the Greek people, was celebrated on Sunday at the \u201cAnnunciation\u201d Church of the Greek community in Bucharest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On this occasion, Fr. Ioan Moldoveanu, the parish priest, led a Te Deum service and commemorated the heroes who fell defending their homeland in World War II.<\/p>\n

Among those attending the service were Her Excellency Evangelia Grammatika, Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Romania, Mr Efthimios Fokas, Consul of the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Bucharest, Mr Nikolaos Vlahakis, Public Diplomacy Advisor of the Embassy, Mr Ioannis Panagiotou, Military Attach\u00e9, and MP Drago\u0219 Gabriel Zisopol, President of the Union of Greek Communities in Romania, along with senior Embassy officials, representatives from the Greek business sector, and others.<\/p>\n

After the thanksgiving service, Ambassador Evangelia Grammatika delivered a speech, and wreaths were laid at the monument of Rigas Velestinlis located in the church courtyard, as noted in a Facebook post by the Union of Greek Communities in Romania.<\/p>\n

Similar events were held in other Romanian cities with significant Greek communities.<\/p>\n

Historical Background<\/h2>\n

OXI Day is Greece\u2019s second national holiday after March 25, commemorating liberation from Ottoman rule. This day recalls Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas\u2019s refusal in 1940 to allow Italian troops to pass through Greece to unspecified strategic locations within the country.<\/p>\n

In response to Greece\u2019s refusal to meet the ultimatum\u2019s demands, Italian forces stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked Greece at 5:30 a.m., marking the beginning of the Greco-Italian War and Greece\u2019s involvement in World War II.<\/p>\n