The congregation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saints Peter & Paul in Easton remembered ‘OXI’ Day

The congregation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saints Peter & Paul in Easton remembered ‘OXI’ Day in the presence of the Lord-Lieutenant of Bristol Mrs Peaches Golding OBE, the High Sheriff Mr Roger Opie, Lord Mayor Cllr Ms Cleo Lake and President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Dimitrios Syllouris.  The Remembrance Day service was led by the Very Reverend f. George Nicolaou.  The Divine Liturgy was read in both Ancient and Modern Greek and the fallen were remembered.  Around 70 children and young people from the Greek community recited poems and other readings learned in the school funded by the Embassy of Greece and members of the community whose works helped the community in the past were honoured.  The good works of Mrs Aglaia Hill, the founder of the Greek Community and pictured second left, were recognised.  On this day in 1940, the Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas said “No”, or OXI, to an ultimatum made by Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini to allow Italian forces to occupy strategic locations in Greece or otherwise face war.  Mussolini expected to be able to easily defeat the Greeks and impress Hitler.  Instead the Italians were defeated and the Greeks went on to fight in Egypt and other Mediterranean locations.