Greece

ON May 25, 1993, a mighty legal battle finally ended. It began over seven years earlier on a sun-drenched Mediterranean island and reached its climax in the most esteemed court of Europe. In March 1986, an elderly couple named Kokkinakis went from door to door discussing the Bible with their neighbors on the Greek island of Crete. They spoke with one woman whose husband, it turned out, was a cantor in the Greek Orthodox Church. None too pleased with this visit from Jehovah’s Witnesses, he called the police. The couple were arrested.

Minos Kokkinakis fought his subsequent conviction, sentence, and fine all the way to the Court of Cassation, the Supreme Court of Greece, which rejected his appeal. So, in 1988, Kokkinakis appealed to the European Commission of Human Rights. This Commission, made up of 23 jurists representing the member nations of the Council of  Europe, ruled that the European Court of Human Rights should hear the case. It did so in the fall of 1992. On May 25, 1993, by a vote of six to three, the Court delivered its judgment: Greece had indeed committed a violation of human rights​—namely, of the freedom of religion.

But what had led up to this titanic struggle over basic human rights? Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses find themselves fighting such battles in a land long famed for its devotion to exalted ideals? What kind of country is Greece?

The Tides of History

Throughout the ages, tides have washed against the shores of Greece. This land lies at the base of a broad peninsula jutting southward into the Mediterranean Sea and is surrounded by hundreds of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas. So its myriad shores have weathered more tides and more storms than man has counted. Ever since the waters of the Noachian Flood withdrew, Greece has borne the brunt of a greater tide: the ebb and flow of human history. Some even say that Western civilization was born there.

The family of Noah’s grandson Javan formed a tide of humanity that flowed over from the East; Greece attracted many of these settlers. * They evidently brought with them tales of the great Flood and of the world it inundated back in Noah’s day. Some myths of ancient Greece bear all the earmarks of being corrupted and distorted versions of actual events recorded in the Bible.

In fact, the history of ancient Greece is intertwined with Bible history. The Hebrew prophet Daniel foretold in the sixth century B.C.E. that the forces behind the tides of  history would carry Greece to the pinnacle of world power. So accurately did Daniel’s words match Alexander the Great’s stunning conquests, his sudden demise, and the subsequent division of his empire into four inferior parts that some scholars have tried​—unsuccessfully—​to prove that these passages were written after the fact.​—Dan. 7:2; 8:5-8, 20-22.

Although the Bible does not detail the age when Greece dominated Israel, the Christian Greek Scriptures clearly bear the lingering imprint of that era. Many of Jesus’ first-century followers spoke and wrote Greek, the common language of the civilized world at that time. The ideas of such Greek philosophers as Plato and Aristotle were prevalent among the Jews of Jesus’ day. No doubt the apostle Paul had such lofty thinkers in mind when he wrote to the congregation at Corinth that the word of God could ‘overturn strongly entrenched reasonings.’​—2 Cor. 10:4, 5.

Christianity Flourishes and Fades

Greece was the first European land to be visited by an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul landed at the port of Neapolis and visited cities including Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea in the north and Athens and Corinth in the south. With the vigor typical of early Christianity, congregations soon flourished in such cities. Paul’s letters to the Christians in Philippi, Corinth, and Thessalonica, as well as letters to Christians elsewhere, which he wrote while he was in Greece, have strengthened the faith of millions of Christians since then.

Sadly, though, it was not long after the death of the last apostle, John​—who recorded the remarkable revelation given to him while he was exiled on the Greek island of Patmos—​that another tide flooded over Greece. A dark wave of apostasy swept through the Christian congregation and  polluted the faith of the majority. Congregations adopted such unscriptural teachings as the immortality of the soul, hellfire torment, the Trinity, and clergy-laity distinctions.

Centuries of spiritual darkness ensued. During that time, the pope of Rome was accorded primacy over Christendom. However, the patriarch of Constantinople was in charge of the church in Greece and lands to the east. In 1054, years of tension between East and West culminated when a debate over an obscure theological point erupted into the Great Schism, which severed the Eastern Orthodox from the Roman Catholic Church. Greece has maintained its loyalty to the former. To this day, in fact, 98 percent of the ten million inhabitants of Greece belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, a self-governing member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has a long history of political involvement. While the Muslim Ottoman Empire dominated all the European Orthodox countries except Russia from the 1400’s into the 1800’s, the conquerors made the patriarch of Constantinople the secular ruler over all Orthodox “Christians” in the empire.

In the 1820’s, when Greece rebelled against Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church played a major role, promoting Greek nationalism and independence. The clergy have been a dominant force in Greek politics ever since, even being paid by the government. Because of the clergy’s enormous influence in that land, the modern history of Jehovah’s people there has largely been a history of persecution.

The Land and Its People Today

Shortly after the turn of this century, the tide of true Christianity began to sweep across Greece once again. In  many ways, the early 20th-century preachers found the land and its people to be much the same as Paul had found them some 19 centuries earlier.

With its rumpled, deeply indented coastline and numerous islands​—which make up 20 percent of the country—​no part of Greece is far from the sea. So fishing and shipping are still popular trades. The land is rocky and mountainous, with little arable soil, though there are some fertile valley plains in a few coastal and central regions. The climate, with its hot, dry summers, is ideal for cultivating olive groves and vineyards.

What about the people? Greeks are known the world over as vibrant, colorful, and passionate, full of life and generosity. They generally hold strong opinions and do not hesitate to make them known. When Paul first visited Athens, he found that “all Athenians and the foreigners sojourning there would spend their leisure time at nothing but telling something or listening to something new.” (Acts 17:21) To this day, Greeks love to sit in the agora, or marketplace, and hold forth on politics, philosophy, and religion. They are a fiercely loyal people too​—a trait that the Orthodox clergy have sometimes exploited.

The Early 1900’s

The waters of truth returned to Greece as a result of migration. Many Greeks moved to the United States, came in contact with the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known, and began to love Bible truth. Soon they were eager to share with their relatives back home the things they were learning. The letters and tracts they sent proved to be seed that often fell on good soil. However, many realized that just sending tracts back home was not enough; some traveled to Greece to visit, while others returned to settle in their homeland.

 George Kossyfas, a Greek who had learned the truth in 1900 in the United States, was sent to Greece in 1905 by Charles Taze Russell, president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. He took Studies in the Scriptures with him. John Bosdogiannis, a preacher and English professor on the island of Crete, translated the volumes into Greek. They were then printed and distributed to bookshops in Athens and the port of Piraeus​—even displayed at Hestia, the well-known bookstore on Stadium Street in Athens. Brother Kossyfas also did “street work,” setting out the volumes on the low wall around the Greek parliament building and answering questions for pedestrians.

On Crete, John Bosdogiannis found an eager student​—a photographer named Athanassios Karanassios, who embraced the truth in 1910. He even studied ancient Hebrew and Koine, or common Greek, as well as English.

In Athens, one of the first to show interest was a paralyzed man named Ekonomou, who lived in Exarhia. About 1910 he also eagerly accepted the truth and was zealous in sharing it with others. But he was confined to his bed. So he would write Bible verses on pieces of paper and throw them out the window, hoping that some passersby would find them. He would also send tracts and write letters to interested persons. Then Michael Triantafilopoulos, a young man who had just learned the truth, traveled to towns and villages distributing more tracts and helping interested persons to get in touch with one another.

The first meetings were held at Brother Ekonomou’s home. Soon another group was organized in Piraeus at the home of Brother Kossyfas. They used Studies in the Scriptures and other literature of the faithful and discreet slave class for their discussions. (Matt. 24:45-47) No doubt they were thrilled to learn that Brother Russell planned to visit Greece.

 Brother Russell Visits Greece

In the course of his world tour, Brother Russell visited Athens and Corinth in 1912. There were only about 12 publishers in Greece then. He gave a talk at the Businessmen’s Club Hall in Athens, the very city where Paul had been irritated by rampant idolatry some 19 centuries earlier. (Acts 17:16) So many came to hear the talk that a second one had to be arranged. But this time many Greek Orthodox priests attended, interrupted the talk, and raised an uproar. Later, sitting at the bedside of Brother Ekonomou, Brother Russell answered many Bible questions.

By train, Brother Russell made his way to Corinth. Much to Brother Russell’s surprise, it was arranged for him to speak in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Paul! The town’s mayor was there, as well as several priests and army officers. The theme of his talk was “The Great Hereafter.” It was well received, and he was asked to repeat it. Afterward, the mayor took him on a guided tour of that ancient city, where Paul once spent a year and a half building up the congregation of anointed Christians.​—Acts 18:11.

Brother Rutherford Visits

On September 28, 1920, the Simplon-Orient Express pulled into the station at Athens with the Watch Tower Society’s second president, J. F. Rutherford, aboard. The newspaper Athina announced his talk on the theme “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” He also spoke on the Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill, where Paul had given such an effective witness about 50 C.E. (Acts 17:22-34) Later, Brother Rutherford aptly wrote: “Greece is a priest-ridden country, but we believe the people are awakening to the fact that they have been duped and misled by their blind guides. We believe there is a wide field for a witness to the truth there.”

 Brother Rutherford also saw the need for better organization in Greece. Before 1922 there was no official organization. In 1922 a branch of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was established on Lombardou Street in Athens, with Athanassios Karanassios as the branch representative. As the work became organized, traveling speakers were sent to the main cities; others were sent to smaller towns and villages. In all, there were then about 20 tireless workers in the field.

Public Talks Spread the Good News

Public talks played a key role in spreading the good news in those early years. When the talk “All Nations Marching to Armageddon, but Millions Now Living Will Never Die” was to be given, the small Athens Congregation went into action. The Town Council permitted the use of the Athens Municipal Theater free of charge. The newspaper Athina advertised the talk in banner headlines. Brother Karanassios delivered the talk to a packed audience, and it was repeated in the Odeon Hall on Phidiou Street. Many obtained the booklet Millions Now Living Will Never Die.

George Douras, a well-known poet and student of law, learned the truth in 1920 through reading a tract. He served as a pilgrim, or traveling minister, from 1922 to 1925. In November 1923 he gave a public talk in a cinema at the west coast port of Patras. Present was Pavlos Grigoriadis, a well-educated man who later became a Bible Student. His brother Grigoris also learned the truth and is still associated with the Bethel family in Greece.

In that same year, Brother Douras gave a public talk in the town of Kalamata. Dimitris Logiotatos recalled: “The whole community were as startled as I when they saw the advertisements for the talk ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die.’ I decided to go and hear it. When I arrived, the hall was full. I sat behind Mr. Trempela, a theologian and  professor at Athens University, who was known as the ‘nightingale of the Orthodox church.’ I caught every detail of the spiritual fight between the Bible Students and that prominent theologian. It was a triumph for TRUTH! Afterward I obtained a number of booklets with the same title as the talk. I read a copy in just one night. Full of joy, I ran to distribute these wonderful booklets to my friends and relatives.”

“Step Over Into Macedonia and Help Us”

Christians the world over are familiar with the urgent call that the apostle Paul received through God’s spirit to preach in the territory of Macedonia: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9) Whereas Paul’s travels took him to Macedonia first, in this century the good news spread to Macedonia slightly later than to the southern and central parts of Greece.

A public talk gave the preaching work its start in the very town where Paul first arrived in Europe​—Kaválla, ancient Neapolis. Nicolas Kouzounis recalled being there back in 1922: “I had been feeling troubled spiritually. About that time the newspaper Simaia advertised a public talk entitled ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die,’ to be given in a coffee shop. After the talk, I obtained the booklet Can the Living Talk With the Dead?” Deeply moved by what he had learned, Brother Kouzounis soon joined a companion in spending months at a time traveling by car to preach in the villages and towns as far as the Turkish border. The good news spread to Alexandroúpolis in the northeast, as well as to Nea Orestiada, Sakkos, and the Chalcidice prefecture.

Salonika (or, Thessaloníki) is the second-largest city in Greece. It is an ancient city, closely associated with the ministry of the apostle Paul and his companions. As early as 1926, Spyros Zacharopoulos, a former military man, and  Thanasis Tsimperas, a teacher, were preaching in that area. Diogenis Kontaxopoulos carried the good news to the villages in the Serrai prefecture from 1928 to 1933. Eastern Macedonia and western Thrace received the message of the Kingdom through the faithful preaching of Yiannakos Zachariadis.

How did the good news reach those far-flung areas? Some of the brothers who were punished with exile for their irrepressible preaching work were allowed to choose their place of exile. Brother Kouzounis, from Kaválla, was exiled to the Chalcidice prefecture in 1938. After asking Jehovah for guidance, he chose the village of Nea Simantra. When the villagers there asked why he was exiled, he would tell them it was because he was a Christian. This thought-provoking answer led to many discussions​—and he handled the Scriptures quite capably. In time a congregation was established in Nea Simantra. From there the good news spread to Galátista, where another congregation was formed. In Nea Moudania a group of women became believers​—Sisters Mastoraki, Stampouli, and Nteniki. They taught others in Floyita, with the result that a congregation was formed there as well. The truth then spread to Kassándra.

The Early Years in Thessaly

In Thessaly, a region in central Greece, the good news made early progress, most notably in two small villages, Kalamaki of Larissa and Eleftherohori of Trikkala. In November 1922, George Koukoutianos, a schoolteacher who had been fired because he was a Bible Student, was traveling when bad weather led him to spend the night in Kalamaki at the home of Dimitris Pardalos. He witnessed to his hospitable host. The result? Dimitris and two other townsmen, Theodoros Pardalos and Apostolos Vlahavas, came to know Jehovah.

These three began witnessing from house to house in the  surrounding villages. They also spent two or three months every year preaching in outlying territories, returning to their village to renew their strength and to earn enough money to finance future campaigns. They traveled on foot, carrying a load of literature and any produce they were given in return.

Their lives were not without lighter moments, though. One of them related: “Once we had to wade across a river. It was winter, and the water was cold. As I was the larger of us two, I suggested to my companion that I carry him on my back. To save a second trip, I carried our literature bags in one hand and our shoes and socks in the other. At the same time, I clenched my teeth on the handle of a basket full of eggs. But when we came to the middle of the river, I made the mistake of asking my companion on my back if he was all right. Of course, the egg basket fell at once. As I tried to catch it, I dropped our shoes, socks, and literature. Then, as I tried to save these, the brother fell from my back into the river!” They laughed over that memorable crossing for years.

The work in the rural areas was challenging. When they distributed the tract Ecclesiastics Indicted, the Witnesses were sometimes detained in police stations and then brought before the courts. But persecution strengthened their faith and zeal for the Kingdom. The result was that from 1930 onward, the congregation in Kalamaki steadily increased in number.

Some Opposition From Within

In 1931, God’s people adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, not everyone accepted it. Kostas Ekonomou from Larissa recalls: “As soon as I learned of the new name, I ran to convey this joyous news to the brothers in our area. Strangely, though, these brothers said, ‘We cannot be changing names.’ They didn’t want to be called Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 “At our next meeting, I reproved them for their attitude. Their response? All ten brothers there got up and threw me out of the meeting! But the next day I started preaching, believing that Jehovah would give me another congregation. This first group of brothers stopped meeting together and gradually dispersed. Only one or two brothers remained faithful in Larissa.”

Others, too, appeared within Jehovah’s organization who did not readily respond to the direction of the organization. The preaching work was a test for some. In 1928, at the Memorial of Christ’s death, 168 persons partook of the emblems. But in that same year, there were only 97 publishers of the good news in Greece! As the preaching work became more organized, those who refused to take part were gradually sifted out.

Growing Despite Opposition in Eleftherohori

In 1923 the first flash of truth illuminated the village of Eleftherohori in the region of Trikkala. A brother named John Kostarellos returned from America to his native village of Exalofos and started to preach from house to house. His brother Dimitris responded, and the two of them preached regularly in nearby Eleftherohori. In 1924 they met George Papageorgiou, who later related: “At first I was opposed. I said to them: ‘Tell me, please, are you uneducated goat thieves from Exalofos going to teach us the gospel? We have our priests and bishops, educated men! You get on with your own business.’ They left, but they came back later. I approached to listen to what they had to say. And what did I hear? ‘It is written’ in this or that book of the Bible. That made me think.” He soon joined them in the preaching work.

In 1925 all three of these brothers traveled to Athens and were baptized. Together they continued the preaching work, and in 1928, George Papageorgiou’s nephew as well as his son-in-law from nearby Valtino accepted the truth.

 When Nicos Karathanassis accepted the truth, his relatives told him to leave Valtino. His cousins even grabbed him by his hair and were about to throw him to the ground when his father intervened. His brother George began to serve Jehovah as well, and more persecution followed. Fanatical relatives even persuaded George’s wife to try to kill him while he slept. But George awoke just as his wife, ax in hand, was about to strike. He spoke to her so kindly that she put the ax down, seeing the difference between her husband’s conduct and that of his accusers. She progressed in the truth, and so did other relatives​—whole families began to serve Jehovah. One of George’s sons, Kostas Karathanassis, graduated from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in 1975. He and his wife, Maria, serve as missionaries in Cyprus.

Vasilis Avgerinos was a schoolteacher in Eleftherohori when he first met the Bible Students back in September 1927. “As soon as I arrived,” he recalled, “I was told that in the village a ‘Freemason’ named George Papageorgiou was disturbing the community with false teachings. Being a teacher, I was to ‘put him in his place.’” Brother Papageorgiou related: “I had a discussion with this teacher, and the villagers were impressed with the rhetorical way in which he answered me. They laughed and said: ‘We villagers don’t know very much, and you present yourself as an educated man. But now justify yourself in front of the teacher!’” But just a few days later, this teacher asked Brother Papageorgiou for the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures; soon he wanted the whole series. His reaction? He recalls: “Now at last I had found the TRUTH!” Both he and his wife joined in the preaching work.

There were now seven publishers in the area. Persecution came from all sides. Brother Avgerinos related: “We were publicly abused, cursed in the streets, denounced to the police and the Ministry of Education, brought before the  courts and disgraced. But much to our joy, some of these mockers and accusers later became our brothers and joined us in the preaching work.”

The Greek Islands​—Crete

The Greek islands are known the world over for their sun-soaked beauty. The apostle Paul visited some of those rocky limestone shores in the Aegean Sea. He stopped at Mitylene, Chios, and Samos as he returned from his third missionary tour in 56 C.E. (Acts 20:14, 15) Evidently he also spent time in Crete; but whether he visited other Greek islands is unknown. (Titus 1:5) The apostle John was exiled on Patmos, and some other Greek islands have been used for exile in modern times as well.​—Rev. 1:9.

After Brother Rutherford visited Athens in 1920, he also visited the towns of Canea and Iráklion on the island of Crete. Three years later, Nicos Benierakis from the village of Douliana saw the book The Harp of God in a shoe shop. He later got in touch with John Bosdogiannis in Canea, who had translated C. T. Russell’s books. Three brothers grouped together in Douliana. Sadly, though, Professor Bosdogiannis began publishing his own booklets and refused to cooperate with the Society any longer.

However, a humble teacher named Manolis Lionoudakis did progress in the truth. Expelled from his home, he gave up his job as a teacher and joined the pioneer service in Iráklion. He went from house to house, covering the whole city. For this activity, he was brought to court and was sentenced to a year of exile on Amorgos Island of the Cyclades group. He recalls: “After I had been there for six months, suddenly a man named Kokkinakis arrived from Crete. I had spoken the truth to him back there. He had been interested, and now here he was, being exiled for his new convictions! At last I had a companion with whom to study  The Watchtower. It was in the sea at Amorgos that this companion of mine was baptized.”

Brother Kokkinakis is now 84 years old and has served Jehovah faithfully for 54 years. Back in 1938 he was the very first of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece to be arrested for violating the law against proselytism. His most recent legal battle was mentioned at the outset of this account. In all, he has been arrested over 60 times for peacefully pursuing his worship.

From such small beginnings, there are now 13 congregations on Crete, a testimony to the endurance and hard work of the brothers and sisters over many difficult years.

Samos

One of the early Witnesses on the island of Samos, Dimitris Makris, recalled how he first learned of the truth: “In January 1926, I heard one of the Bible Students speaking at a shop and introduced myself. The next day Penelope and I were present at a discussion. I asked the brothers how they could give answers from the Bible so readily. ‘You need to study the Bible,’ they told me. They showed me the book The Harp of God and how to study it. So a group of five of us studied the book each night until the early hours of the morning. Toward the end of the year, when a pilgrim, Brother Koukoutianos, visited, we were baptized. In 1927 we held a small assembly in Samos with 40 persons present from the island.

“We decided to visit all the villages on the island with the only publication we had, a booklet entitled Hell, with subtitles that asked ‘What Is It? Who Are There? Can They Get Out?’ In one village after another, we were beaten. In March 1928 a priest brought me and a sister who was from the United States before the court​—although he had beaten us. At the hearing the presiding judge asked the priest: ‘Didn’t  you have [a tree] in the village to hang him from?’ I was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment; I celebrated the Memorial alone that year.”

Jehovah has blessed the brothers’ endurance and hard work. There are now three thriving congregations in Samos.

Small Beginnings on the Island of Corfu

In 1923 there were four brothers on Corfu, a beautiful island off the west coast of Greece, opposite the Italian mainland. George Douras and Christos Papakos recalled the work in those years: “We decided to give a public talk in a theater in the capital. At 10 a.m. it was full, with about a thousand present. In the front sat some members of the legal profession. However, the chief of police came and informed us that the talk could not be given. A lawyer in the audience was upset and demanded a reason. Upon learning that the archbishop was responsible, the lawyer shouted: ‘Gentlemen, I am the consul of France. In this theater it is prohibited to hear this talk. Come with me to the French consulate. There it will be allowed.’ The speaker, Brother Douras, was the first to follow the consul; then the whole audience followed them. Just imagine the spectacle as the crowd made its way along the streets of Corfu to the French consulate to hear the talk!”

A colporteur (full-time minister), Charalampos Beratis, also ran into opposition on Corfu about 1923. He related: “In a village named Pagi, all the villagers were gathered in the square. I introduced the Society’s literature, and many accepted the books. Then the village priest appeared, tugged at my coat, and announced: ‘In the name of the law and of the king, I arrest you.’ He tried to call the police by telephone, but it was out of order. I prayed silently to Jehovah to direct me as to what to do. Finally, I just picked up my book bag and shouted: ‘In the name of Jehovah, I take my bag and  leave.’ There was complete silence; nobody said a word. I simply left and continued my preaching work!”

There are now some 47 congregations with 2,500 Witnesses located on the scattered islands around Greece.

The Pioneer Work

Even in those difficult early years, some zealous Greeks wanted to make a career of their ministry. Michael Kaminaris, one of the early pioneers, returned to Greece in 1934, overflowing with a desire to preach the good news full-time. Before long he was joined by Michael Triantafilopoulos. These two covered several regions of Greece. Brother Kaminaris recalls: “As the work progressed, the opposition intensified. In the village of Magouliana, we faced a mob, and in the village of Prasino, the local priest led an attack on us. In the prefecture of Messenia together with Aetolia and Acarnania prefecture, we had dozens of court cases on the issue of proselytism.

“To cut down on the number of arrests, the Society advised us to work alone rather than together. It was hard to work alone without someone to talk to, but I went ahead without dwelling on the dangers and the loneliness, putting confidence in Jehovah. Many times people would say: ‘We can imagine how much money you receive to come and reach us as far as here.’ Little did they know that oftentimes I was hungry and didn’t even know if I would have a place to sleep. Sometimes when I was in a hostile area, the safest place to sleep was the local graveyard.” Brother Kaminaris has been a member of the Bethel family since 1945. The number of regular pioneers has soared from 8 in 1938 to about 1,800 in 1993.

Efforts to Silence the Preaching Work

To support the burgeoning preaching work, the Society’s first printery in Greece​—using a secondhand Offenbach  flatbed press—​started up on February 19, 1936, in the basement of 51 Lombardou Street, Athens. So in May of that year, this press was used to print The Golden Age (now Awake!). The Watchtower was still produced in the United States.

However, the clergy did not want this new magazine to be circulated. So the August 1936 edition of The Golden Age announced that under clergy influence, the undersecretary of communication and postal services had prohibited the postal distribution of the magazine. It assured subscribers, though, that they would continue to receive the magazine regularly. But worse lay ahead.

On August 4, 1936, there was a change of government. Ioannis Metaxas became the new president of the country, possessing absolute authority. In 1938, when the number of publishers had reached 212, a law prohibiting proselytism was enacted. This law has been one of the toughest obstacles to the preaching work in Greece ever since. In October 1939 at a meeting in Athens, 85 brothers and sisters were arrested. The security police kept the 35 sisters in one room while dispersing the brothers to various police stations for detention.

The next day Brother Karanassios, the branch servant, was arrested at the Society’s offices. The printery was closed, and the Society’s property was confiscated. At the clergy’s instigation, all those arrested brothers faced pressure to sign a declaration saying that they would return to the Greek Orthodox Church. They were threatened with exile to remote islands in the Aegean Sea.

Kostas Christou, one of the 85, recalls a typically devious pressure tactic: “Mr. Christou, your wife has already signed a statement. She will be freed. It would be a pity for her to be alone and you in exile on the island of Seriphos!” But  Brother Christou answered: “My wife depends on Jehovah, not me. She is free to decide. But I am sure my wife didn’t sign. And besides, sign what? That it is a bad thing to worship our Creator?”

A man who was on friendly terms with the president was also familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses; he thought the decision to exile them was monstrous. So he told the president: “These people are not our political opposers. What are they doing? They are awaiting God’s Kingdom. It will be good when it comes. We also are expecting it.” Convinced, the dictator ordered that the decision be canceled at once. The brothers were thrilled. All told, only 6 of the 85 arrested had compromised under pressure. After a court hearing, all branch property and money was returned. The branch office and printery began to function freely again. Not for long, though!

The War Years

On October 28, 1940, Italy declared war on Greece, plunging the country into World War II. German and Bulgarian armies invaded Greece, killing many. Nineteen of the brothers lost their lives. Martial law was declared. Among the 225 publishers, many brothers faced court-martial because of their neutral stand. Some received sentences of from 7 to 20 years in prison; others received life sentences. In a few cases, like that of Emmanuel Paterakis of Crete, they were sentenced to death. However, under German occupation, no death sentence was carried out in Greece.

During the occupation, the Society’s books were banned, but some continued to reach the brothers. After April 1941 the spiritual food was supplied via underground means. All communication with the brothers at headquarters was severed; articles from older Watchtower magazines were reproduced on a duplicating machine, as were the books Religion  and Salvation and the booklet Refugees. The brothers continued to preach, but informally. They would lend booklets to interested people, inviting those who showed further interest to meet with small groups. Many learned the truth in this way.

Some Narrow Escapes

To fight the German occupying forces, guerrilla groups were formed among the Greek people. On October 18, 1943, the German Army invaded Kalamaki in Thessaly, where a congregation had long been active. The leftist guerrillas, who had a base there, told the villagers that they should flee to the mountains for protection. The brothers, after prayer, decided to stay put. When the Germans arrived, they plundered the houses and set the empty ones on fire. Two thirds of the houses were burned but not those of Jehovah’s people. Among the fewer than 80 families in Kalamaki, 65 people were killed. None of them were Witnesses.

On August 24, 1944, four of our brothers were charged with treason and sentenced to death by the guerrillas at Tourkolekas, a village near the city of Megalópolis. As they were being led to the place of execution, German artillery launched a surprise attack, and the guerrillas scattered. The brothers got away free!

At times German soldiers would encircle an area and kill all the men in retaliation for acts of sabotage. In Kallithéa, a suburb of Athens, German soldiers rounded up all the men for execution. They searched the home of Thanasis Paleologos and were about to arrest him when, suddenly, the officer recognized some books and magazines on the table as the forbidden publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He asked: “Are you a Bible Student?” Brother Paleologos replied: “Yes!” The officer confided: “My mother is a Bible Student in Germany,” and then left and took the soldiers with him!

 Wartime Persecution

At Eleftherohori another long-established congregation was weathering the war years. Elias Panteras reports: “The decade of 1940-50 was a time of fiery test. As the brothers went from house to house, church bells would ring, and the head of the village, along with the priests and rural guards, would arrest the brothers and haul them to court. On two occasions nationalistic groups led by a police officer searched the brothers’ homes and led them to the Orthodox church. They tried to force them to make the sign of the cross and kiss the religious icons. When the brothers refused, they were beaten mercilessly.”

Communist groups and local leaders once arrested the brothers and ordered them to stand as guards. When they refused, they were led to a nearby village and handed over to the authorities, who decided that Nicos Papageorgiou, Costas Christanas, and Costas Papageorgiou should be executed. Of the seven-member committee, only one did not endorse the execution. The brothers were led to a mountainside village. The death sentence was read to them, and they were tied up and beaten. During the beating, Nicos Papageorgiou, who was tied hand and foot, rolled partway down the mountainside, stopping only on a ledge just above a river. The brothers were beaten repeatedly during eight days and then freed.

Nicos Papageorgiou recalls: “The team leader of the National Liberation Front took me to his office and told me that he was sorry to inform me that he had been authorized to execute me. He said that he would try to help me but that I would have to help him too. I reached out and took hold of his right hand, saying: ‘If you love me, then execute me right away. If I deny my beliefs, then you should cry for me.’” Evidently moved, this leader set about freeing Brother Papageorgiou. Interestingly, the war soon claimed the lives of all of those who had ordered this execution.

 Brother Papageorgiou, now 90 years old, is still vigorous in Jehovah’s service. Two congregations thrive in Eleftherohori today. Clearly, Jehovah blessed one faithful brother​—John Kostarellos from Exalofos—​to become hundreds.​—Compare Isaiah 60:22.

A Church Dignitary Learns the Truth

Despite all the clergy-inspired persecution during the war, Helen Kouzioni learned the truth through a priest! She relates: “I was working as a teacher in a high school for girls in Athens. In 1941 an archimandrite [a church dignitary ranking below a bishop] and teacher of theology whom I knew well, Polikarpos Kinigopoulos, was assigned to my school. It so happened that a street bootblack, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, preached to Mr. Kinigopoulos while cleaning his shoes. Interested, he told me about the conversation; together we went to the home of George Douras. That was the first time I heard of God’s purpose to make the earth a paradise. As we left, I said to the theologian, ‘This is the truth. As for me, I am not going to church anymore.’ ‘Don’t be in a hurry,’ he cautioned me, ‘we must study first.’ ‘Sure, we will study,’ I said, ‘but I’ll stay here. You can go where you like.’ In the meantime, he visited all the bishops he knew in the Athens area, but none paid any attention.

“Then a local priest began looking for witnesses to lodge accusations against Mr. Kinigopoulos. I warned my friend of the danger, and he immediately had his beard shaved off, cut his hair, put on a brown suit, and came out looking like a different man. He prepared a written defense, giving the reasons why he had become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and gave it personally to the church authorities.” Toward the end of 1943, he and his fleshly sister Sophia Iasonidou, as well as Helen Kouzioni, were baptized. Now he was no longer “Father Polikarpos” but Brother Kinigopoulos.

 Increase in the Region of Philippi

Near the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi, where the apostle Paul and his companion Silas were beaten and imprisoned in about 50 C.E., lies a village called Kyria. In modern times, when Yiannakos Zachariadis, who had learned the truth in 1926, covered the surrounding area with the good news, a family in the village of Rodholívos accepted the book Government. Years later, in 1940, 19-year-old Timoleon Vasiliou visited that family and found a pile of books on the roof​—Government among them. He recalls: “I spent hours on the roof reading the whole book. I had found the truth!”

This young man began witnessing in the streets, and that was how he found a fellow Witness, a former policeman named Christos Triantafillou. He obtained more books from Christos, and soon a congregation of eight young persons was formed in Rodholívos. Of these brothers, Timoleon Vasiliou, Thanasis Kallos, and Panagiotis and Nikos Zinzopoulos were arrested on October 3, 1945, just because they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were taken to a police station, where they were beaten continually for 24 hours​—particularly on the soles of their feet. The young men were unable to walk for a month.

In 1940 the clergy hired a man to kill Brother Zachariadis, who was then serving as a traveling overseer. They promised this hired killer that he would go unpunished. So it was that during a meeting in Brother Zachariadis’ home, there was an unexpected knock on the door. It was a stranger. He asked to see Brother Zachariadis, who was just then giving a talk. The brothers asked the man to sit down. Brother Zachariadis, noticing a stranger present, adapted his talk accordingly. Afterward, the friends greeted the man, and Brother Zachariadis got acquainted with him. The stranger then asked  Brother Zachariadis to come alone with him into an adjoining room. He took his revolver out of his pocket, along with the money he had been paid, and said: “The bishopric authorized me to come here to find you and kill you. This is the revolver, and this is the money I was paid to commit the crime. But God protected me from shedding innocent blood. He helped me to realize that you are a man of God, contrary to what they told me.”

Because of the faithful efforts of these brothers, congregations were organized in Rodholívos, Dhravískos, Palaeokomi, and Mavrolofos. The work has continued to grow in these northern areas of Greece.

Renewed Contact With Brooklyn

Contact with the organization outside Greece was not restored until 1945, when some literature came in from the brothers in Alexandria, Egypt. When the Greece branch at last regained contact with Brooklyn, they reported: “The truth cannot be bound. Jehovah’s spirit directed his servants for the work of gathering in his sheep.” Between 1940 and 1945, the number of Kingdom publishers had increased nearly tenfold, from 178 to 1,770.

Since the Greece branch was caring for the work in Albania, visits were made there from time to time. The 1938 Yearbook said about the work in that land: “There also Satan through the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has acted against the proclamation of the message of the Kingdom. The books were seized and, notwithstanding the petitions to the Albanian Government, until now they were not given back.” The number of publishers in 1939 was 23. When a brother paid a visit to Albania in 1948, the number preaching was about 35. After that, there was difficulty in keeping in touch with the brothers in that land because of the political situation. What good news when, after decades under ban, the work  in Albania was legally recognized in May 1992, when there were 50 publishers!

Gileadites Arrive

The year 1946 was a milestone. Two Gilead graduates were sent to Greece: Anthony Sideris and James Turpin. Athanassios Karanassios, who had served faithfully as the branch servant for many years but had become ill, was replaced by Brother Sideris. The preaching work, as well as the work of translation, was reorganized.

In June 1946, 152 cartons of literature arrived by ship from Brooklyn. As soon as the clergy learned about the shipment, opposition began. A circular went to the customs authorities stating that ‘the importation of these books should be prevented by any means possible.’ However, the circular was too late; the brothers had already picked up the books. They distributed them among the Witnesses immediately. When agents of the church came to the branch to seize the books, the books were long gone!

Undaunted, the clergy tried new tactics in 1947. The Ministry of Education and Religion issued a circular to all government departments stating that all publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses should bear the words “Heresy of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” As a result, post offices and customs houses refused to let us receive literature from the United States or to mail anything within Greece unless so marked. A highlight of the year was the visit to Greece of N. H. Knorr, the Society’s third president, and M. G. Henschel, who eventually became its fifth. Arrangements were made for new branch premises at 16 Tenedou Street in Athens. Sadly, in November of that same year, the two Gilead graduates were forced to leave Greece. Plato Idreos was appointed the Society’s branch representative.

 Report to Government Regarding Persecution

After government officials declared that there was no religious persecution in Greece, a report was submitted to the government in August 1946 documenting the ill-treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In fact, persecution was reaching ever new heights. In 1946, during just five months, 442 of our brothers were brought before the courts. Some were even executed.

In March 1946, in Phiki, Thessaly, ten Witnesses who refused to violate Christian principles were beaten with clubs and guns, thrown to the ground, and trampled on so brutally that they were disfigured. They were then thrown into a lime pit and rolled in the lime. The villagers stood by and watched. When a fellow believer went to visit them in the evening, he received the same treatment.

Incited by the bishop of Trikkala, similar violence broke out in nearby Eleftherohori the very next day. One brother tried to use the press to protest this maltreatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was taken to an underground room in the police station and beaten unconscious. They threw him, bleeding, into the small street behind the station. Passersby took him to a pharmacy for treatment. For 15 days he remained unconscious, and it was a month before he was able to relate what had happened to him.

Grigoris Karagiorgos, a family man and Witness from Paleokastro, Karditsa, also refused to compromise his religious principles. On August 15, 1946, he fell into the hands of a group of self-appointed vigilantes who put him through a medieval-style inquisition that eventually resulted in his death.

Similar atrocities took place on June 26, 1947, near Sparta. In the village of Vrondamás, a group of armed police found Panagiotis Tsembelis conducting a Bible study with a  newly interested woman. Both were beaten; the police wanted to hang the woman, but some villagers intervened. After torturing the brother and smashing his jaw, they bound him and dragged him a mile [about 1.5 km] outside the village. He was then shot and killed by armed police.

In the same village, a sister had her arm broken because she would not make the sign of the cross. In nearby Goritsá, a sister was confronted in her home by armed police, stripped, hanged upside down, and tortured. George Constantakis, a pioneer, was taken into the nearby woods and executed.

Of course, none of this brutality stopped the preaching work. During the 1949 service year, there was a new peak of 2,808 publishers, even though over 700 brothers and sisters were brought before the courts.

Exile!

Many family heads were exiled to isolated islands, such as Yíaros and Makrónisos. The latter was waterless and desolate and was infamous for the harsh treatment meted out to prisoners detained there. Theodoros Neros remembered: “We were taken to Makrónisos by boat in February 1952. With me were Michalis Garas and George Panagiotoulis, who had already been in prison for five years. They had been released, and now they were being punished again for their Christian neutrality. Both were severely beaten when we arrived.

“After many days of forced labor, some soldiers came into our cell one night and woke me with the words: ‘Stand up! We are going to execute you!’ ‘All right,’ I said and started to put my clothes on. ‘No!’ they said, ‘stay as you are.’ After a while they said to me: ‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ ‘No! What shall I say?’ I answered. ‘We are going to execute you, and you say nothing?’ ‘I have nothing to say.’ ‘Well, are  you not going to write your relatives?’ ‘No!’ I replied, ‘they already know that I might die.’ ‘Then let’s go,’ they said. Outside, an officer shouted: ‘Make him stand by the wall! Turn him around!’ But then a soldier said to me: ‘Don’t you know we cannot execute you unless we court-martial you first?’ The whole thing had been a ploy to break my integrity!”

Brother Neros also related how Jehovah provided spiritual food for the brothers in exile. “One day a box of loukoumia [a Greek sweet] was sent to me. Of course, all parcels were examined. Those who did so were so eager to sample the loukoumia that they overlooked the packing underneath. That turned out to be a complete Watchtower. The brothers commented: ‘The soldiers ate the loukoumia, but we ate The Watchtower!’ Something good did come out of all that suffering. A prison warden, assigned to watch the Witnesses when they studied with other exiles, became a Witness himself 25 years later​—as did many of his family. When we meet, we remember those experiences of bygone years.”

Executions of Integrity-Keepers

The April 8, 1948, Awake! reported on the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece. A special letter was sent to the Greek minister of public order protesting the March 5, 1948, execution by guerrillas of 37-year-old Christos Moulotas, father of four children, for his refusal to render services to them. It also stated that government authorities had executed John Tsoukaris of Karytsa, Larissa, on February 9, 1949.

The brothers in the Larissa Congregation had tried in vain to obtain his release. During the few days before his death, they were able to get some letters through to him. In his final letter, dated February 7, 1949, Brother Tsoukaris wrote:

 “My dear brother, my situation rests in the hands of Jehovah of hosts. This morning . . . they took me to Mizourlo [the place of execution], but they did not execute me, as they said the hour was too late. Still, they saw my courage, and this impressed them. I don’t know if my execution will be tomorrow morning, but let us always have confidence, and let us entreat Him. Do not let us fear man because the Bible says: ‘Trembling at men is what lays a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected.’ Let us have such faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who said quite clearly: ‘O King, if it is so, the God whom we worship can deliver us from the fiery furnace, however, if he does not, then let it be known to you that the image of gold that you have set up we will not worship and your gods we will not worship.’”

On the 9th of February, he was led to Mizourlo and executed. Awake! readers sent thousands of letters to government ministers, embassies, and consulates to protest such executions. But a Greek Orthodox theologian and professor at Athens University supported the execution of Brother Tsoukaris, saying: “To refuse to take up arms because of conscience is a thing entirely unknown and inconceivable among us.” Sadly true, those words!

Military Law Ends

When martial law ended at last, the brothers and sisters had greater freedom of movement to preach the good news. For the first time in many years, they were able to offer a bound book to the public​—“Let God Be True.” The years 1950-51 saw a 26-percent increase in publishers, a 28-percent increase in the pioneer ranks, and a 37-percent increase in Bible studies.

Of course, the persecution did not stop. In 1950 the Greek Orthodox Church resorted to another tactic. They  tried to baptize the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses by force. One 17-year-old youth named Timothy, whose parents had reared him in the truth from infancy, was forcibly baptized and given the name “Demetrius”!

In December 1951, Brothers Knorr and Henschel paid their second visit to Greece. As the police refused to give a permit for an assembly, these brothers spoke to 905 Witnesses in various houses.

With the increase in theocratic activity, it was necessary to build new branch premises. The site selected was in downtown Athens on Kartali Street. Work started in 1953; by October 1954 a new three-story building was ready to house the Bethel family, factory, and offices. That year saw a new peak of 4,931 publishers.

Blessings Continue Despite Attacks

When the Society’s film The New World Society in Action was shown in 1955 in Athens, 80 brothers and sisters were arrested. The film and projector were confiscated. Nine brothers were charged with proselytism. To see what kind of film it was, the authorities showed it to some 200 guests, including priests, professors, and police officers. The film made quite an impression, and a number of newspapers commented on the matter. The film and equipment were returned to the brothers after a favorable court decision.

The Greek Orthodox Church declared 1959 to be an “antiheretic” year. Its goal: the “wiping out of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” according to an Athens newspaper. Far from being wiped out, God’s people were greatly blessed that year.

Brother Knorr visited in May and spoke to 1,915 at a theater and at the Bethel Home in Athens. A week later Brother Henschel visited Salonika and spoke to 1,250 at the Olympion, the city’s largest cinema. Smaller assemblies were held throughout the country. In Macedonia, near ancient  Philippi, 27 brothers and sisters were baptized in the same river near which Paul once preached to people who had met for prayer.​—Acts 16:12-15.

For a one-day assembly on July 30, 1963, the Society rented the “Panathinaikos” stadium in Athens. The police had granted the permit, thousands of visitors from foreign lands had been invited, and hotel rooms had been booked. But suddenly the government collapsed! The new government, under pressure from the Orthodox Church, canceled the assembly.

Some of the disappointment this caused was alleviated in 1965, when the Society announced a five-day Greek-language convention to be held in Vienna, Austria. The joy of the 1,250 brothers and sisters who made the trip was boundless. The 12-car train chartered for the journey became a “moving Kingdom Hall.”

In mid-1966 a young Witness named Christos Kazanis was sentenced to death for his stand on Christian neutrality. This case received widespread publicity and led to a tremendous witness throughout Greece and beyond. The major Athens newspapers commented extensively each day about the sentence and the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Finally the sentence was reduced to four and a half years’ imprisonment. The archbishop, Chrisostomos, came under harsh criticism in the matter, since he gave the impression that he approved of executing a young man who refused to use a gun.

Political Takeover

Suddenly, on the night of April 21, 1967, the military took over the Greek government. Articles of the Constitution protecting freedom of assembly and of the press were suspended. The printing of The Watchtower had to stop. By law, no more than five persons could attend any meeting. The preaching work had to be carried on with caution. As  usual, the Orthodox clergy used the prevailing conditions to cause trouble for the brothers.

The work continued underground. The brothers had to meet in isolated places in the forests. When F. W. Franz, who later became the Society’s fourth president, visited Greece in 1969, he spoke to over a thousand brothers in a forest near Salonika.

Hatred of Jehovah’s Witnesses was especially apparent in a case in 1974. A couple named Polykandritis, whose baby died shortly after birth, were refused a permit to bury the infant. Why? Newspaper reports explained that the parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses, married as such in 1954. But during the previous government, the Ministry of the Interior had sent out a decree saying that all marriages that had been performed by Jehovah’s Witnesses were invalid, and this had the support of the Greek Orthodox Church. So the local registrar insisted that the parents had to state that their child was illegitimate before he would allow a burial. The father refused. He was not prepared to lie, tarnishing his family name and his own conscience. As the dispute dragged on, the child’s body was kept in a refrigerator for four days. General opinion in Greece condemned this bigoted persecution. To Vima, an Athens newspaper, labeled it “The Middle Ages in all their wretchedness.”

Despite the hardships of military rule, the Kingdom-preaching work continued to progress. The number of publishers rose from 10,940 in 1967 to 17,073 in 1974. Bible studies and meeting attendance also soared during that difficult time.

Construction Projects for an Expanding Organization

Jehovah’s Witnesses have many meeting places in Greece, but until recently, they were not allowed to call them Kingdom Halls. Many were therefore simply termed “lecture  halls.” To date, only about 25 meeting places in Greece bear the name “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Yet, some 117 congregations with about 9,500 Witnesses meet just in Athens alone!

However, Jehovah’s people have been able to build in Greece. In 1977 the brothers bought about 13 acres [5 ha] of forest land some 22 miles [35 km] north of Athens. In a most beautiful area of mountains and pine forests, the Malakasa Assembly Hall, with a seating capacity of 1,800, was built. It has a special feature​—the sliding walls can open up to accommodate as many as 3,500 persons. On the adjoining grounds, there is room enough to hold district conventions; as many as 20,000 have attended special gatherings there. And in the Salonika assembly grounds, thousands can enjoy their circuit assemblies and district conventions.

On the island of Crete, some years ago the brothers purchased a piece of land on a hillside amid mountains, valleys, and vineyards. They built an amphitheater and two Kingdom Halls there; today this assembly site is a landmark in the area. The terraced hillside, with its variety of flowers and shrubs, blends in beautifully with the landscape. The tranquil atmosphere is ideal. When the Word of God is being expounded from the platform, the brothers often remark: “This is a touch of paradise.”

For 25 years the branch premises had been located on Kartali Street in Athens. During that time the number of publishers had increased from under 5 thousand to more than 18 thousand; more space was clearly needed. In 1962 a 2.5-acre [1 ha] site was purchased in Marousi, a suburb of Athens. This was now an ideal place to construct new Bethel premises, which would have 27 bedrooms, a factory, offices, and other facilities. The dedication took place on July 16, 1979, and Lyman Swingle represented the Governing Body for the occasion.

 At the new branch, further technological advances enabled the brothers to produce higher-quality magazines and books. Starting in July 1986, The Watchtower and Awake! began to appear simultaneously with the English editions.

A Period of Readjustment

The 1980’s saw a need for readjustments within the branch organization. From 1977 to 1981, there was some stagnation. The number of publishers remained near the 18,500 mark although 2,134 were baptized during that period. What was the problem? Some uncleanness in the congregations needed attention. And a few brothers, it seems, viewed the words “elder” and “ministerial servant” as titles rather than as indicating the responsibility to care for Jehovah’s sheep. Apostasy also raised its ugly head during these years, and the congregations had to be cleansed of this divisive influence as well. Such measures, once taken, resulted in steady increases once again.

Plato Idreos, who had served as the Society’s representative for over 30 years, was now getting along in years and was succeeded by several other Branch Committee coordinators during the following years. This was a difficult period for the Bethel family in Athens. Personality clashes and pride at times got in the way of the work. But with the constant help of the Governing Body and other faithful brothers, the organization was strengthened.

Street Witnessing

In 1983 the clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church received a shock. For the first time, the brothers organized street witnessing in connection with a district convention.

The response was dramatic. Hundreds of Witnesses were arrested and taken to local police stations. The result was 38 court cases, 35 of which the brothers won outright, while 3 went to the court of appeals. The clergy were forced to see  that they were fighting a losing battle. Exasperated, they called a protest rally to demonstrate against Jehovah’s Witnesses. They hired dozens of buses to convey the demonstrators, but as it turned out, not enough people showed up to fill even one bus! God’s people have continued ever since to witness in the streets, and with much success.

Special Convention of 1985

In 1985 the Society chose Greece as a site for one of the special conventions that year. Three sites were selected: the Apollo stadium in Athens; the Assembly Hall and its grounds at Malakasa, outside Athens; and the assembly grounds near Salonika.

Hundreds of delegates came from 17 countries. Two members of the Governing Body, Brothers Gangas and Barry, were present. For the benefit of the visitors, the talks were interpreted into several European languages as well as into Japanese. George Gangas, himself a Greek, spoke to the conventioners in Greek, much to the delight of his audience. The total attendance for the three conventions was 37,367, and 368 were baptized.

The love among the brothers from so many parts of the world was especially evident during the midday breaks. Sitting beneath the shady pine trees of the assembly grounds, one could hear a multitude of voices singing Kingdom songs.

Assemblies Under Attack

The following summer, in June 1986, the newspaper I Larisa reported that a crowd led by priests gathered in front of the Galaxias Cinema where 700 Witnesses had assembled for a circuit assembly. The mob was bent on stopping the assembly, but the police came to disperse them. The newspaper I Alithia of Larissa compared the mood of the mob to that of the crowd who cried out for the death of Jesus, noting: “And unfortunately their ‘leader’ was a raving . . . priest! He threatened and blasphemed. At one point he . . . gave a  five-minute ultimatum for those inside to vacate the hall, otherwise ‘we will come inside and smash their heads.’”

In view of such attacks, the Governing Body decided to publish two articles on the subject. So the October 22, 1986, issue of Awake! carried an article entitled “Religious Persecution in Greece​—Why?” and the December 1, 1986, issue of The Watchtower contained the article “Religious Liberty Under Attack in Greece.” The result? Members of the Greek government were inundated! The newspaper Eleftherotipia announced: “200,000 letters from 208 countries sent by Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The newspaper Avgi mentioned that the Ministry of Justice had to set up a special service to handle the thousands of protest letters received daily.

For the 1988 district convention, the brothers rented the modern Stadium of Peace and Friendship near the port of Piraeus. With the contract signed, Jehovah’s Witnesses spent 6,000 hours cleaning the facility. But despite the stadium’s idealistic name, a prominent clergyman raised a tremendous protest​—even ordering that the bells of the churches be rung, convincing many that some disaster such as war had struck. He went so far as to threaten to take over the stadium if the permit to use the stadium was not revoked. Sadly, under such pressure the legal contract was broken​—although only three days remained before the convention was due to begin. The brothers worked day and night to prepare another area for the four-day program. It turned out well​—to the delight of all 30,000 who were able to follow parts of the program directly or by telephone hookup.

Notable Court Cases and Decisions in Defense of the Good News

When writing to the congregation at Philippi in ancient Macedonia, the apostle Paul mentioned “the defending and legally establishing of the good news.” (Phil. 1:7) The modern organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece has  repeatedly had to resort to the courts in order to preach the good news. The greatest enemy of Jehovah’s people in that land has been and still is the Greek Orthodox Church. By influencing various governmental agencies, the clergy have made God’s people suffer terribly. However, some of the decisions that have been handed down by unprejudiced judges have aided Jehovah’s Witnesses in the preaching work.

For example, during the “antiheretic” year of 1959, Jehovah granted a notable victory. The hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox Church had posed a question to the Supreme Court as to whether Jehovah’s Witnesses are a “known” religion. The opinion of the Supreme Court was that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a known religion and hence are protected by the country’s Constitution.

Satan uses subtle means in his attempts to get the brothers to compromise​—even in connection with the paying of their bills. In the town of Patras, the inhabitants found that a strange item was included in their electric bill. There was an additional charge for “the building of the Church of St. Andrew.” Of course, Witnesses refused to pay this extra charge. The power company threatened to cut off their electricity. The matter went to court, and the obligatory contributions were ruled unconstitutional.

Another tactic the Greek Orthodox Church has often used is to claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Jewish organization supporting world Zionism. The Jewish community in Greece was disturbed by this propaganda, knowing that it could hurt them as well.

In a letter dated September 21, 1976, representatives of the Central Jewish Council in Greece announced to the leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church that such accusations had no foundation whatever. In a court case on Crete, where the Greek Orthodox Church had objected to allowing the  Witnesses to form a corporation, the accusation that we are a Zionist organization had been one of their chief arguments. A legal representative of the Jewish community submitted that Jehovah’s Witnesses have no connection with Judaism. In an appeal court hearing, the judges accepted this statement. Another underhanded tactic of the clergy had been foiled!

Victories Involving Neutrality

The issue of neutrality faces all the brothers who are called for military service. Before 1977 the brothers would be called to serve prison sentences repeatedly; some spent over 12 years in prison! A representative of the Netherlands presented this matter to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on April 25, 1977. The Council’s decision resulted eventually in limiting the duration of imprisonment to one four-year term. Still, on the average, there are 400 brothers in prisons in Greece at any given time.

The Greek military does claim to exempt from military service those “who are religious ministers, monks, and trainee monks of a known religion if they so desire,” according to the official Government Gazette. Nonetheless, between 1988 and 1992, several of the brothers who are recognized as ministers of religion were serving prison sentences for their neutrality.

One of them presented his case to the Council of State. He appealed the order to join the military and appealed his subsequent prison sentence, stating that he was a recognized minister of religion. His appeal was upheld​—a double victory in that it acknowledged Jehovah’s Witnesses as a known religion as well as affirmed that Witnesses who are recognized by the government as ministers are exempt from military service. Three other brothers took similar court actions and were likewise released.

 The Proselytism Law

The law against proselytism has been a formidable obstacle in Greece. First enacted in 1938 and amended in 1939, this law was reaffirmed in the 1975 Constitution.

The most outstanding case involving proselytism is that of Kokkinakis v. Greece. Brother Kokkinakis was fined and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for proselytism. He appealed the case, whereupon his sentence was reduced to three months’ imprisonment and converted to a fine. An appeal for an annulment of the sentence was lodged with the Supreme Court of Greece, the Court of Cassation. In April 1988, the Supreme Court refused to admit the appeal. This gave Brother Kokkinakis the opportunity to lodge an individual appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. On December 7, 1990, the European Commission of Human Rights reviewed the case. It voted unanimously that Greece had committed a serious breach of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which refers to religious freedom. The case was pronounced “admissible” and was referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The result, as noted at the outset of this account, was a resounding victory for religious freedom in Greece. As to how the Greek courts, judges, and juries will respond to the May 25, 1993, judgment of this high court, time alone will tell. However, all lovers of justice can find comfort in knowing that there is a Court far higher than any human court. Its divinely appointed Judge reads all human hearts; he will bring about justice whether man does or not.​—Isa. 11:1-5.

Extreme Physical Abuse

Human Rights Without Frontiers, a journal published in Belgium, recently reported extensively on this proselytism law, calling it “infamous” and adding: “[The law] provided  a ‘legal alibi’ for the unleashing of a pogrom of religious persecution in Greece directed against all those who dared to not be followers of the ‘dominantly prevailing’ religion of the land.” It noted that this law has resulted in “deliberate violations of human rights” ranging from court trials, fines, and exile to “brutal physical abuse, all manner of severe deprivation and torture which, in many cases, has resulted in permanent physical illness and disability of its tormented, innocent victims, as well as agonizing death.”

This same journal quotes extensively from Witness survivors of such persecution. Faithful brothers and sisters speak of extreme abuse: of being punched, slapped, stabbed, beaten black and blue, rendered bloody and senseless; of being whipped, set upon by mobs, spat upon, thrown to the ground and stomped on, stoned, burned, tortured, tied up with ropes and chains, and shot. Savvas Tzezmetzidis recalls: “They stripped my clothing off and they tied my hands and feet together and they dragged me, completely naked, through thorns and thistles on the bare ground, beating and kicking me at the same time.”

In confinement the brothers have suffered terribly. They speak of being wrenched away from family, of spending weeks in prison cells flooded with water, of freezing winter months in unheated cells open to the wind, of slow starvation, of insufficient or nonexistent medical care, of food deliberately contaminated with excrement and other unspeakable filth, and of all manner of psychological and emotional torment.

For instance, the journal quotes one such prisoner as follows: “Once in custody, you begin by descending down into a prison basement. The further down you go, the more you realize that every semblance of human decency and personal dignity becomes submerged and completely lost in that labyrinth. From then on, only a basic sense of survival  at any cost and a need to escape govern everything and everyone . . . On the filthy walls of those basements are written the history, the pain and the misery of men who have had the misfortune to spend some part of their life in there. The squalid grime, the piles of garbage and trash, the rats, the suffocating air, the one pitiful lightbulb that tries so valiantly to brighten the darkness, the clogged and overflowing toilets, the dirty . . . puddles, the used-up needles and syringes, the stains of blood on the floor and the cement benches, the torn-up sponge rubber mattresses which offer a few minutes of instant but troubled sleep, the abject and miserable-looking faces reminding one of the pathetic inmates of the mental asylum of Leros, and lost souls who pitifully ask you, ‘What day is it anyway?’, and the refugees from everywhere who softly moan to themselves sad songs in strange-sounding languages, and the coffee-vendor who slaps everyone around and outrageously charges three hundred drachmas for a plastic bottle of water, and the ‘lifers’ who try behind a screen to release all their sexual repression, and the desperate need you feel swelling up inside you to finally hear the bellowing voice of the Head Guard calling out your name that sounds like a message from heaven calling you out of this ‘hell on earth’ into paradise.”

Similarly, Fotis Lazaridis recounts: “I would sleep on a dirt floor covered with used paper bags . . . The clothing I wore on my back was very lightweight. I couldn’t use the sheet for long either. I had to tear it up into small pieces to stuff up some rat holes in the walls . . . The first nights they were literally crawling all over me when I slept. As far as toilet ‘facilities’ were concerned, all I had to use were the corners of my cell, a tiny cell measuring only 2 x 1 . . . meters [2 x 1 yards]. . . . Humidity [was] dripping from the walls.”

For the period between 1938 (when the proselytism law was passed) and 1992, the journal lists nearly 20,000 arrests  for proselytism; for “conscientious objectors,” it lists 2,269 people tried, 68 exiled, 42 sentenced to death, 2 executed, and 4 tortured to death; finally, it lists 4,828 cases of physical abuse, 2,809 of these perpetrated by military officers, 1,059 by police, and 252 by priests. Regarding this last list, it adds: “Thousands of other persons have been subjected to all kinds of degrading treatment.”

How can human beings endure such harsh treatment? Violent persecution is nothing new to true Christians. The apostle Paul was abused and imprisoned in that very country, and he made it clear that it was not by his own strength that he endured. He wrote: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” (Phil. 4:13) It is just such an abiding faith in Jehovah God that has enabled thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses to endure such suffering.

However, the Greek people have historically been known for their love of justice and freedom. Jehovah’s Witnesses the world over hope that honesthearted ones in the Greek government will soon move to safeguard their country’s international reputation by curtailing the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church and by protecting innocent people from persecution.

Expansion Calls for New Branch Facilities

Despite all the opposition, the preaching work continues to prosper in Greece. In fact, the 1985 service year ended with more than 20,000 publishers. The branch facilities at Marousi were now too small to house the growing Bethel family. At first the branch solved the problem by renting apartments nearby, later by purchasing a small hotel some 2.5 miles [4 km] away. But these measures were only temporary.

With the permission of the Governing Body, a search began for a site on which to build a new branch facility. This was not easy, since strict building laws do not allow for combining a residence building with a factory. Eventually,  40 miles [60 km] north of Athens, 54 acres [22 ha] of land was purchased near the national highway connecting Athens and Salonika. After waiting two and a half years to obtain the permit to build, the brothers were able to start work on the project in 1989.

The site is in Eleona, on a hillside with a view of mountains and well-watered valleys. The branch facility is visible to those passing either by road or by rail. The living quarters consist of 22 houses, each of which accommodates eight people. All the buildings in the complex follow the same pleasing, rustic style.

Of course, the Orthodox clergy opposed the project from the beginning. They even organized a demonstration at the site with some 2,500 persons. However, the authorities sent a squad of 200 riot police to bar the hooligans from trespassing on the property, so the protest fizzled. Priests also led marches through the streets of Athens carrying banners protesting the project.

The new branch was dedicated on April 13, 1991, and the brothers were delighted to have Milton Henschel and Albert Schroeder of the Governing Body with them for that milestone in the history of Jehovah’s people in Greece.  Thousands of brothers and sisters volunteered their time and energy to help with the project. The love and care from Jehovah God and his earthly organization was evident. Even worldly onlookers stood by in amazement as buildings “sprang up like mushrooms.” Despite all the opposition, Jehovah has performed a modern miracle at Eleona. Paul’s words at 2 Corinthians 13:8 come to mind: “We can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.”

A Tide of Truth Advances!

From small beginnings in 1905, the number of praisers of Jehovah has now passed the 25,000 mark. The waters of truth have advanced from a trickle to a veritable flood tide. The activity of Jehovah’s people in that land has resulted in a tremendous witness to the name of Jehovah our God. This report mentions only a few names, but in reality thousands of our brothers and sisters have contributed to it. The flame of truth burns brightly in many Greek hearts, the hearts of humble men and women who have fearlessly spoken the good news throughout Greece and its islands. More than a few have suffered grievously and even given their lives for the sake of Jehovah’s name. Their loyal integrity has made Jehovah’s heart rejoice.​—Prov. 27:11.

The battle against falsehood must continue until the end of this system of things. In this land, where Paul stood on the Areopagus to defend the good news and where John received the Revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos, Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to put up a hard fight for the faith. Despite thousands of court cases and persecution engineered by the clergy, despite even the death of some true worshipers, the light of truth has never been extinguished. Today it shines more brightly than ever. It will shine on! The rising tide of waters of truth will continue to advance until not only the land of Greece but the whole earth will be “filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isa. 11:9.

[Footnotes]

 [Box on page 109]

A BIBLE EASY TO UNDERSTAND

The 1993 “Divine Teaching” District Convention represented another milestone in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece. For decades, preachers of the good news have used the Vamvas translation of the Bible. Prepared in the 19th century, this version uses Katharevusa, a puristic Greek that, although more contemporary than the Koine of the original Christian Scriptures, is nonetheless too outdated for the modern reader. Young people in particular find much in the Vamvas translation difficult to grasp. This has hampered progress in Bible understanding.

So on Sunday, July 18, 1993, the final day of the “Divine Teaching” District Convention, the Greek Witnesses were thrilled when Albert Schroeder, of the Governing Body, announced a new release​—The Christian Scriptures Rendered From the New World Translation. At three convention sites, which were connected by telephone hookup, attendants passed out some 30,000 copies to the conventioners in less than five minutes. All were thus able to follow along as Brother Schroeder noted some of the many improvements in this new publication over the Vamvas version. Most notable among these is the use of the divine name, Jehovah, 237 times in the text. The new rendering also includes 68 pages of indexes, scholarly notes on the text, maps, and Bible Topics for Discussion. Little wonder, then, that this new release was greeted with applause, cheers, and even tears​—in abundance.

[Chart on page 114]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Publishers

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

1938 1950 1960 1970 1980 1992

Arrests (cumulative)

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

1938 1950 1960 1970 1980 1992

 [Map on page 66]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Philippi

Salonika

Larissa

Corinth

Athens

Eleona

THESSALY

CORFU

CRETE

 [Pictures on page 72, 73]

 1. George Koukoutianos in 1927. 2. Nicolas Kouzounis in the notorious Kaválla prison in 1948. 3. Grigoris Grigoriadis at his desk in Bethel, Kartali Street, Athens. 4. Repairing fishing nets in Levkás. 5. George Douras (see arrow) with the Athens Congregation. Background: Kaválla, ancient Neapolis, the port where the apostle Paul first landed in Europe.

 [Pictures on page 88, 89]

 1. Plato Idreos with his wife, Phyllis. 2. Athanassios Karanassios, the Society’s first branch representative in Greece. 3. Fisherman in Molivos, on the island of Mytilene. 4. Michael Kaminaris (second from the left), who is still a member of the Bethel family in Greece. 5. The Corinth canal. Background: Patmos, the island where the apostle John received the Revelation from Jesus Christ in 96 C.E.