Kissamos: visit of the President of the Republic and unveiling ceremony of the statue of his Eminence the late  Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinos Irineos Galanakis – 9th August

A special moment for Kissamos:
-) proclamation of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, as honorary citizen of Kissamos

AND

-) the unveiling ceremony of the statue of  his Eminence the late  Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinos Irineos Galanakis, designed by the sculptor Yiannis Markantonakis from Chania.
In this way the Municipal Authority of Kissamos demonstrates  the recognition of the great work and contribution of the Archbishop Irineos Galanakis.

WHEN: Friday 9th August, 18.30 ceremony in the event hall of the Town Hall
19.30: the President will unveil the bust of the late Metropolitan  Irineos Galanakis at the Square in front of the Town Hall.
WHERE: Town Hall, Kissamos

About the late Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinos Irineos Galanakis :

Irineos Galanakis was born in 1911, in Nerochori, Apokoronas, obtained his degree in Theology at the University of Athens. As a university graduate, he took courses of Theology and Sociology in the catholic Universities of Lille and Paris, as well as in the University of Frankfurt.
In 1971 he was elected  Metropolitan by the Holy Synod  of the Holy Metropolis of Germany. During his mission, the German Orthodox Church was recognized as the third official church in the country.

I. Galanakis was an outstanding personality and very active man, a visionary and realizer, with the incredible ability of setting up institutions (printing presses, agricultural, technical and housekeeping schools, boarding houses, elderly care facilities and many more) and churches, not just where the headquarters of the Metropolis were but also in the little towns of the region (Voukolies, Kolymbari, Kandanos, Sougia, Paleochora).
During his mission, he envisioned and founded the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymbari.
He founded and built the boarding schools in Kissamos, Kandanos, Paleochora, Kolymbari and Voukoulies   and the Kastelli Technical Schools. He was also the lifelong president of the National Research Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos”

The personal radiance of the distinguished cleric contributed in making his province an international Christian centre visited by clergy and common people of different denominations. All this was done without offending the Christian religious tradition of Crete. His greatest creation was the foundation of the Orthodox Academy, a great contribution to the island  of Crete but also  internationally.

It is true that under the vigilant leadership of the white-haired, respected Archbishop Irineos Galanakis, one of the least populated Metropoles rose to be one of the most active and organised ones.

Source: Press release of Municipality Kissamos  and Neakriti.gr
Photo credit (I. Galanakis): Venizelos Foundation.gr