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Georgios Sifakis

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Georgios Sifakis
Γεώργιος Σηφάκης (Greek)
Born1870
Died1942
Gazi, Heraklion
Cause of deathExecution
NationalityGreek
Occupation(s)Priest, Teacher

Georgios Sifakis (Greek: Γεώργιος Σηφάκης; 1870 – 1942) was a Greek priest, teacher, a member of the resistance during the Second World War, and one of the 62 Martyrs of Crete.

Biography

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He was born in Agia Varvara, Heraklion, in 1870[1] and was a member of the Sifakis family, which was a significant contributor to the resistance in general.

As a parish priest he served Agia Varvara from 1905 until his execution in 1942. He was the first teacher who taught in the Primary School of Panasos during the years 1921 – 1922.[2] He was part of the local group of the Greek Resistance against the German Occupation and was arrested three times by the Germans.[3]

Participation in the Greek Resistance

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He was executed on 14 June 1942 in Gazi, together with 49 more people, after he was abducted from Agia Varvara, where he was residing.[1]

His son Evangelos Sifakis was executed the same day. Before his execution he ministered in the prison courtyard, where there was only a high altar, with German permission. He gave communion to his co-prisoners, and after being chosen they were loaded up to cars and driven to the execution area. During the transportation he was singing the Eastern Orthodox requiem.[4]

His brother Michail Sifakis was executed on 3 June 1942.

Every year there is a memorial service in All Saints' church in Ammoudare in Gazi being performed in honour of the executed, in the presence of local officials and the armed forces.[5][6]

In his native village of Agia Varvara, he is commemorated with a bust in the village's square.[7] He was granted a medal and a diploma from the Ministry of National Defence as a member of the resistance group of Emmanouil Bantouvas, and an honorary diploma by "Dominikos Theotokopoulos", the Association of Primary Education Teachers of the Heraklion prefecture.[8]

His grandson Konstantinos Sifakis, was a longtime secretary of the community of Agia Vervara, while his nephew Grigoris Sifakis is a professor of Ancient Greek philology in the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.

References

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  1. ^ "Γ. Καλογεράκης: Δάσκαλοι στο απόσπασμα". ΠΑΤΡΙΣ (in Greek). 2018-02-05. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  2. ^ "Δημοτικό Σχολείο Πανασού".
  3. ^ "Γ. Καλογεράκης: Δάσκαλοι στο απόσπασμα". ΠΑΤΡΙΣ (in Greek). 2018-02-05. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  4. ^ "Γ. Καλογεράκης: Δάσκαλοι στο απόσπασμα". ΠΑΤΡΙΣ (in Greek). 2018-02-05. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  5. ^ "Εφημερίδα Νέα Κρήτη". Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  6. ^ "Πολιτιστικός και Εξωραϊστικός Σύλλογος Αγίας Βαρβάρας(Το κέντρο της Κρήτης)". Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
  7. ^ "Αγία Βαρβάρα". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
  8. ^ "Γ. Καλογεράκης: Δάσκαλοι στο απόσπασμα". ΠΑΤΡΙΣ (in Greek). 2018-02-05. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2020-03-05.