At 11:00 a.m., an official doxology service was held at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Pothia in observance of the Remembrance Day of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks. The service was officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Paisios of Kalymnos, Leros, and Astypalaia, while the keynote address of the day was delivered by retired educator Ioannis Belesis.
May 19 has been established by Law 2193/1994 as the official Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks, honoring the memory of the Greeks of Pontus who were displaced, tortured, and exterminated during the early 20th century by the neo-Ottoman regime.
At 11:30 a.m., a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony followed at the War Memorial in the Central Square of Kalymnos, attended by representatives of local authorities and organizations. Honors were rendered by a military detachment of the 5/42 Regiment “DELVINAKI” and the Kalymnos Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra. Wreaths were laid by the Mayor of Kalymnos, Ioannis Mastrokoukos, the Regional Governor of Kalymnos, Manolis Mousellis, and a representative of the Armed Forces.
