Representing the Prime Minister and the Government, the Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos attended the celebration of Saint Nikolaos, Patron Saint of the Hellenic Navy, which took place at the Hellenic Naval Academy in Piraeus.
The celebration was also attended by the Bishop of Neohori Mr. Pavlos, the delegate of the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Ioannis Tragakis, the Minister of Shipping and the Aegean Sea Mr. Kostis Mousouroulis, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Dimitrios Elefsiniotis, the member of the ‘Nea Demokratia’ party and MP in Piraeus and Islands A’ Electoral District Mr. Kostas Katsafados, the MP in Piraeus A’ Electoral District Mr. Theodoros Dritsas, the member of the ‘Panhellenic Socialistic movement’ party and MP in Piraeus and Islands A’ Electoral District Mr. Dimitrios Karidis, the ‘Independent Greeks’ party leader Mr. Panos Kammenos, the member of the ‘Demokratic Left’ party and MP in Attica Electoral District Mr. Vassilios Oikonomou, the member of the ‘Popular Orthodox Rally’ party, former Alternate Minister of National Defence Mr. Georgios Georgiou, the ‘Independent Greeks’ MP in Piraeus and Islands A’ Electoral District Mr. Panagiotis Melas, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Michail Kostarakos, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General (AF) Antonios Tsantirakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Kosmas Christidis, the Army Inspector General and B’ Deputy Chief Lieutenant General Athanassios Koutroubelis, the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Vice Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet Vice Admiral Konstantinos Mazarakis-Ainian, the Commandant of the Hellenic Coast Guard Vice Admiral Dimitrios Bantias, the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Rear Admiral Panagiotis Litsas, senior cadres of the Armed Forces and Security Corps, former Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of the Armed Forces, retired Armed Forces Officers and foreign Embassies’ Attachés.
After the ceremony, Mr. Panagiotopoulos made the following address:
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we celebrate one of the most dear and popular Saints of Greek Orthodox Church; Saint Nicholas and along with him the Hellenic Navy and the entire navy family. How could it be any different, for a people who have sea and its saltiness in their DNA, whose heart is divided between its land and its seas?
The Greek people have a unique characteristic in their course through time, which has a history of thousands of years. It has always been identified with water, and it has always mastered it.
The images we all have from our childhood, from our families, in every Greek family, are numerous. They are the little, miraculous icons of Saint Nikolaos that are in every ship, small or big; every boat, every warship; every merchant ship scouring the seas, being the ambassador, as it was correctly said, of the Hellenic flag and of Hellenism to all four corners of the world.
How many pictures have we recorded in our memory since our childhood? How many times haven’t we heard the Greek seaman say at a hard time “Saint Nikolaos help me!”, make the sign of the cross and pray in front of the Saint’s icon.
Thus, we celebrate today with Christian devotion and deep faith the Saint’s memory which has sealed our Navy’s struggles through time.
At the same time, we express the pride we feel for our seamen; for the people serving in the Hellenic Navy, the Merchant Marine and the Coast Guard who have made naval profession their daily round. They know how to tame the elements of nature, the weather and sea’s roughness. They know how to fight for their principles and ideals.
Currently we all know that our country is experiencing a hard time. It probably is among the most difficult circumstances for our Nation, since the Second War World.
During the times of the crisis, as Greeks, we know very well that what will save us is our coiling up to traditional values and symbols, that kept Hellenism on its feet, when we were sailing between the Devil and the deep blue sea.
Today, we have the optimism to feel that we are going to succeed. During these days we give a struggle, a fight for national salvation and the country’s reformation. This is a battle we all contribute to, despite the disagreements and objections, which are lawful in the context of a democratic life.
However, we would not be able to give this battle if we wouldn’t have ensured the country’s security, national sovereignty and national independence; which are ensured by our country’s Armed Forces, and their powerful arm, the Hellenic Navy.
The people in the Hellenic Navy who have traditionally fought and particularly those who have fallen heroically fighting for our country’s struggles deserve honour and glory. Some of the most glorious pages in our Nation’s historic struggles bear the imprint of the Hellenic Navy’s successes and triumphs.
The Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff successfully made reference to the glorious pages of the Balkan Wars. This year we celebrate the 100th Anniversary since their outbreak; when the small country of Greece at the time, which reached up to Melouna, managed –thanks to its people and its Armed Forces- to double its size.
When the small country of Greece at the time, which reached up to Melouna, managed to heal the wounds of the dishonourable defeat of 1897 and of the bankruptcy that had preceded, and to be reformed and reborn from its ashes, so as to come forward, lead the developments, call for its rights, register them, establish them and implement them solidly.
We bow the knee before the actors of these struggles and we believe that these struggles, these sacrifices, these wins are a permanent heritage and a point of reference for the dissimilar struggles we are fighting today. I will never tire saying that currently our country is fighting an undeclared, financial war. A war imposed on it, not conducted with the traditional military means but in other ways.
However, we must come out of this war as winners. We can do it and we will do it. The Armed Forces today, and the Hellenic Navy among them, have assumed a very hard burden that the entire Hellenic people have assumed. And they do so with dignity and pride, disconnecting any possible problems of a hard everyday life from the devotion to their duty and bto their country.
They have safeguarded the effectiveness, the high deterrent capability and the great operational readiness that are the best factors for preserving peace in our broader region.
The personnel serving in the Hellenic Navy, and in the Hellenic Armed Forces, deserve a public praise; the entire personnel in the Hellenic Armed Forces deserve a public praise for what they have offered, still offer and will carry on offering. They all enjoy the love and respect of the Hellenic people.
I wish that we will all have strength and courage, that we will stand up, that we will be blessed and guided by Saint Nikolaos. Many happy returns to you all and the best of wishes”.
