Apokoronas Mayor calls for unity on the eve of the Assumption
With the Feast of the Assumption just hours away, Apokoronas Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis has released a personal message to every family in the municipality — a call not for policy, but for humanity.
A celebration woven into local life
August 15 is one of the most important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, marking the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Across Apokoronas, as in villages throughout Crete, the day is celebrated with church services, family gatherings, and the kind of quiet community spirit that defines life in this part of the island. Chapels that stand quiet for most of the year fill with candles and prayer; families come together from near and far.
It is against this backdrop that Koukianakis has chosen to speak — not about politics, but about the values that hold a community together.
Setting differences aside
"Let us leave aside, on this great day, whatever separates us, and hold on to whatever unites us," he writes. He asks residents to open their hearts, to offer a kind word, to lend a hand, to give a hug.
His prayer to the Virgin Mary is equally direct: that she protect the homes of Apokoronas, keep its children safe, bring health to its people, and give strength to those who are suffering. Above all, he asks that she keep the community bonded in love — and remind everyone that no one is surplus, that everyone has a place under the same shelter.
A blessing for every family
The mayor closes with warm wishes to all families in Apokoronas, asking that the Virgin Mary remain always at their side as "shelter, strength and hope for all."