Saints on Greece's 1940 resistance: faith and the Theotokos' protection

The post collects words from three Orthodox elders on the Greek resistance to the Italian invasion of October 28, 1940. Blessed Father Athanasios Mytilineos states that the Greeks were not broken by tanks, artillery, or bombs because their souls were strengthened by faith in God and the Motherland. He recounts that soldiers at the front testified the Panagia covered and protected them, and that the soul of the Greek people, both at the front and behind the lines, was filled with faith and life.

Saint Paisios the Athonite is quoted twice: first, that by a handful of brave men the nation was sustained, and that those who die bravely do not die; second, that during the 1940 war Greeks at the front argued among themselves about who would go in the first line. Bishop Augustinos Kantiotis adds that the victory belonged to the Panagia and the honor belongs to her.

The passages present the 1940 conflict as a moment when spiritual strength and the intercession of the Theotokos were seen as decisive, with the elders emphasizing courage, self-sacrifice, and divine protection as the true sources of victory.