The Nativity of Christ of the True Orthodox of Greece in 1926 on the Island of Salamina – Held Outside.

In 1926, the True Orthodox of the Island of Salamina were planning to celebrate the Nativity of Christ at the Chapel of St. Paraskevi since the True Orthodox didn’t have temples of their own during those years.
At 4 AM on the morning of the feast, a multitude of True Orthodox dressed in their best festal clothes were making their way to the Chapel of St. Paraskevi. The Chapel, however, had been locked and sealed.
The hierarchal representative of the island, named Papageorgiou, most likely by order of the “Archbishop” of Athens of the state “church”, sealed the Chapel locking out a multitude of Christians not allowing them to celebrate the Holy Nativity of Christ nor giving them the opportunity to receive the Divine Mysteries.
The Priest, the confessor and respected Fr. Christoforos Psillidis, together with the heads of the True Orthodox of the island, decided to hold the liturgy outside of the doors of the sealed chapel even though the cold of December was raging on.
How beautiful was it to see hundreds of faithful with lit candles praying during the cold night outside the chapel! It was like a scene from the days of the early Christians! They were worshipping the Newborn according to the flesh Christ as other shepherds of Bethlehem!
The “ecclesiastical” powers (of the innovating “Orthodox”) of the island, seeing that the sealing of the temple was not effective in stopping the celebration of the True Orthodox, decided to send out a naval guard from the nearby base to stop the service and scatter the faithful.
While the chanters were singing the Great Doxology with compunction, men from the naval base headed by a naval officer had silently surrounded the praying faithful. No one appeared frightened! The faithful continued to pray with godly zeal.
The naval officer seemed to have been moved by the pious scene that was laid out before them and he gathered the naval guard around himself praying and following the Divine Liturgy.
At the moment of the Great Entrance, the officer ordered the guard to raise their weapons in a respectful salutation. As the faithful were communing, the naval guard began to make their way back to their base.
Such was the early celebrations of the Nativity of the True Orthodox of the 20th century!