This week in Christian history: Reginald Pole consecrated; Mother Angelica dies
Archbishop Damaskinos defends Greek Jews – March 23, 1943
This week marks the anniversary of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou signing a public letter demanding an end to the mistreatment of Jews in Nazi-occupied Greece.
Written by poet Angelos Sikelianos and addressed to the Nazi collaborator Prime Minister K. Logothetopoulos, the letter declared that “all the children of Mother Greece are an inseparable unity.”
“Our Holy Religion does not recognize superior or inferior qualities based on race or religion, as it is stated: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek’ (Gal. 3:28) and thus condemns any attempt to discriminate or create racial or religious differences,” continued the document.
“We hope that the Occupation Authorities will realize in due time the futility of the persecution of Greek Jews, who are among the most peaceful and productive elements of the country.”
The letter went on to demand that the Greek government “take a clear stance against these events and let the foreigners bear the full responsibility of committing this obvious injustice.”
According to the Acton Institute, when a German official threatened to shoot Archbishop Damaskinos for signing the letter, the church leader invoked the persecution experienced during the Ottoman Empire, stating “according to the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, our prelates are hung and not shot. Please respect our traditions!”
