A few minutes before 6pm on Holy Saturday, the Aegean airline plane carrying the Άγιο Φως (Holy Fire) from the church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, arrived at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos.
The Holy Fire was transported to Athens by the Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre, Archimandrite Damianos. He was welcomed in a simple ceremony, without the presence of people, by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Vlasis and the Metropolitan of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki.
The Holy Fire was then transferred to the Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre in Plaka, without being distributed.
"The least we could do as a State was to bring the Holy Light directly from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, to here in our homeland, and this may not reach every church and every home this year, but the Holy Light exists for all of us who believe in the always lit candle," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Vlasis stated.
He also wished the Holy Light and the Resurrection to strengthen the hope for a better tomorrow, conveying the message of the victory of life over death throughout the universe.
