Body of Mikis Theodorakis at Galata, Chania Crete- The "last goodbye" to the great artist.
Greece on Thursday bids its final farewell to the renowned Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis, who is to be buried in the village of Galata on the island of Crete next to his father and brother, in accordance with his wishes.
The coffin carrying the late composer arrived at Agios Nikolaos Church in Galata, Chania just before 13:00 on Thursday afternoon where a funeral service got underway, led by the Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronos Damaskinos with the participation of clerics throughout Crete.
The funeral service was held in the presence of President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Parliament President Kostas Tasoulas, main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas and members of the late composer's family.
Also in Galata for the funeral were Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos, MPs from all political parties, the regional governor of Crete Stavros Arnaoutakis and local officials on the island.
As a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, most of those gathered for the funeral, including the villagers, were spread outside the Church.
The body of the late composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose music came to define Greece and the Greek identity in the eyes of the world, arrived on the island of Crete early on Thursday morning.
The coffin was first taken to the Chania municipal market and then to the Cathedral of the Presentation of the Virgin in the city, where it lay in state until noon so that members of the public could pay their respects.
It then left the cathedral at noon in a car procession to Agios Nikolaos Church in the village of Galata, for a funeral service and burial at the village cemetery, where Theodorakis' father and brother are also buried.
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