The anniversary of the heroic Exodus of Messolonghi was celebrated this year with great success and a large crowd in attendance. The honored country was Switzerland and the great Swiss Philhellene Johann Jakob Meyer, who lost his life along with his family in the Exodus. Meyer, found his purpose in revolutionary Greece. He served as a doctor in the Navy under Miaoulis, converted to Orthodoxy, and married a Greek woman from Messolonghi, where he organized a pharmacy and a hospital. Above all, he was the publisher of the first Greek newspaper, the “Greek Chronicles” and is therefore considered the founder of modern Greek journalism.
For this reason, a very interesting event was organized on Friday, April 7, at the “Diexodos” cultural center, initiated by its founder, Nikos Kordosis, to honor Meyer and his contribution to the Greek Revolution. Among others, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Greece, Stefan Estermann, Mr. Rolf Huber, mayor of Schöfflisdorf, Meyer’s place of origin, the mayor of Messolonghi, Kostas Lyras, and the Regional Governor of Western Greece, Nektarios Farmakis, participated in the event. The celebratory speech was given by Ms. Maria Antoniadou, President of JUOADN (ESIEA), delivered the celebratory speech in which she referred, among other things, to JUOADN’s slogan, “Publication is the soul of justice,” which is attributed to Meyer. The celebratory events continued on Saturday, April 8th with the laying of a wreath at Meyer’s monument, where a memorial prayer was also held. Professor Kostas Papailiou, represented SHP at the event, as member of the advisory committee of the SHP.
Caption of the photo: Meyer’s monument in Messolonghi.
From left: K. Papailiou, Mrs. Papailiou-Parisianou, Mrs. Antoniadou, N. Kordosis (Photo by S. Koutsautis)
