PROCLAMATION from Fred Camillo, First Selectman
WHEREAS, with the fall of the Byzantine Empire, in 1453, in 1821 the Greek people had been under Ottoman rule for almost four centuries; and
WHEREAS, in 1814, a secret organization called the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) was founded with the aim of liberating Greece; and
WHEREAS, the Greek people were encouraged by the revolutionary fervor gripping Europe during that time; and
WHEREAS, on March 25, 1821 the Greek War of Independence was declared when Bishop Germanos blessed the fighters at the monastery of Agia Lavra and hoisted the flag of the Greek revolution in Agios Georgios Square at Patras; and
WHEREAS, the cry “Freedom or Death” became the motto of the Greek War of Independence; and
WHEREAS, many leading European intellectuals, including the English poet Lord Byron, promoted the Greek cause and joined the fight alongside them, ultimately giving his life for the Greek cause on April 7, 1824 when he died at Missolonghi; and
WHEREAS, at the Battle of Navarino, the combined British, French and Russian forces assisted the Greek War of Independence by destroying an Ottoman-Egyptian fleet; and
WHEREAS, in 1829 Ottoman rule ended when an independent Greek state was finally established.
NOW, THEREFORE, l, Fred Camillo, FIRST SELECTMAN OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH, do
hereby proclaim March 25, 2021 as
Greek Independence Day
in the Town of Greenwich and encourage all residents to recognize the contributions of Greek Americans to our Town, our State and our Country.