The Greek Revolution
A long time ago, there was an empire called the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was a rich, Christian empire. Greece and many other countries were part of the Byzantine Empire. The capital, Constantinople, was a beautiful city filled with schools, churches, art, and people. Next to the Byzantine Empire was an empire called the Ottoman Empire. They were also very big and strong, and wanted to become bigger. So, they took Constantinople and, with it, the Byzantine Empire. After the Ottomans took over, they made everyone in Greece their slaves. They did not want them to go to school or go to church. The Greek people did not give up, though! They made secret churches and schools that they snuck to at night. When they were caught, they were punished harshly. But they were brave and knew that being good Christians and learning all they could were very important. Through the help of God, the Greek people kept their traditions and the Christian Faith alive in their country, even though it was very dangerous. They did that for 400 years.
After all that time, the Greek people grew tired of being slaves. They wanted to be free again so, on March 25, 1821, they decided to fight back and start the Greek Revolution. Although they were brave and ready to fight, they knew they could not win without God’s help. They chose to start their fight for freedom on the 25th of March because that is the feast day of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. On this feast we celebrate when an angel came to the Theotokos to tell her that she was going to give birth to the son of God. This feast day gave them the strength to start a revolution. The Greeks organized into armies to begin fighting the Ottomans, even though they knew the Ottomans had more people and weapons than they did. The Greek soldiers were sure to go to church, take communion, and receive a blessing whenever they could because they knew that God would make them strong and brave to fight for their freedom. Through their courage, Faith, and persistence, they were victorious! It took many years, but they started a revolution that led to all of Greece being free. We celebrate Greek Independence Day on March 25th every year and remember the bravery of the Greek heroes and the importance of freedom and Faith.
Long live Greece! Ζήτω η Ελλάς!
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A video honoring 200 years of Greek independence.