In an atmosphere of deep religious devotion, the first Epitaph procession in Thessaloniki took place on Good Friday afternoon, from the Holy Church of St. Minas in the city centre.
The procession began at 17:00, chaired by Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki, with the faithful singing “O my sweet Ear” accompanied by a philharmonic orchestra. All along the route, on Ionos Dragoumi Street, the praises “Life in the Tomb”, “Axion esti” and “E generations pass” resounded.
Myrrh-bearers garlanded the Epitaph with flowers, while naval officers carried it, accompanied by scouts and members of the Red Cross. Crowds of worshippers followed the procession, with bells ringing mournfully throughout the centre.
The Epitaph of St. Minas, the merchants’ church, has been the first to exit the streets of the city for more than a century, a tradition that has been maintained for more than a century. Merchants and workers in the area temporarily halted their activities by walking out of their shops, and all commercial activity was suspended for several hours.
The procession was attended by, among others, the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas , the Deputy Ministers of Interior (Macedonia-Thrace) Kostas Gioulekas, Development (responsible for Research and Innovation), Stavros Kalafatis, Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Nikos Papaioannou, the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, Members of Parliament, the coordinator of the Prime Minister’s Office in the city, Yannis Papageorgiou, the President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Lazaros Kyrizoglou, Mayor of Ampelokipoi-Menemeni.
