Krnov plans to build an Orthodox church for the Greek community

Krnov (Bruntálsko) - In Krnov, an Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Nicholas with approximately one hundred seats may be built within three years. The construction of the church, which will cost several tens of millions of crowns, is expected to be supported by believers as well. This was stated today by Dita Círová, a spokeswoman for the Krnov city hall, following a meeting on Saturday with representatives from Greece, the city management, and the highest representatives of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Republic.
    The shrine will serve the numerous Greek minority living in the Krnov area, as well as people from Volhynia, Transcarpathian Ukraine, and other traditional Orthodox places who reside in the region.
    The initiator of the idea is Christos Bialas, the chairman of the Association of Greek Communities in the Czech Republic. "I have been approached by many people from our area with the wish for an Orthodox church to be built here. The current generation of young Greeks has visited the land of their ancestors many times and is getting to know its culture and mentality. The return to roots is reflected in the great interest in baptisms of children, weddings, and last rites," explained Bialas. However, there is a lack of necessary facilities for followers of the Orthodox Church for these ceremonies and other church holidays.
    The Orthodox Church supports the construction. "We can provide our architect and hold a fundraising campaign," clarified Kryštof, the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The city hall management is also supportive of the plans to build the church, but the entire project must first be approved by the councilors.
    About 700 descendants of Greeks live in Krnov and the surrounding area, who were brought to the region mostly against their will in connection with the civil war in Greece around 1950. In the mid-1950s, historical sources indicate that there were up to 2,500 Greeks in Krnov, and the city was nicknamed "little Athens." Some people gradually returned, but many stayed in the Czech Republic. After 1989, many of them took the opportunity to engage in free enterprise and started their own businesses, primarily travel agencies. Among the most famous Greek entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic are Jannis Samaras and his family, who own the beverage company Kofola in Krnov.
    Ostrava can also boast a new church building, where a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Holy Spirit was opened on Saturday. The largest religious building constructed in the city over the past hundred years cost more than 32 million crowns.