THE INITIAL INFORMATION LETTER
UPDATE OCTOBER 2021

"The Kalomenopoulos Clan"

THE INITIAL INFORMATION LETTER (28 Decembre 2020)

With this letter we want to inform you, our relatives descendants of Pope Manolis Kalomenopoulos and our relatives of the wider Kalomenopoulos family, that in April 2022 an event will be held in Rethymno and Nefs Amari in honor of our ancestor Father who was sacrificed during the Revolution of 1821 for Freedom, Faith, Our Homeland. This event, in fact and at our will, is in honor of all the fighters of the Kalomenopoulos family but also in general of the fighters of the Revolution of '21, since the struggle was united and its purpose was one: the freedom of the Greeks.
The idea of the event was born from the resurgence in recent years of relations between the descendants of Papa Manolis and other Kalomenopoulos of Rethymno, where Papa Manolis fell fighting for freedom, and on the other descendants of the province of Sitia, where children Turks fled, were rescued and uprooted.
The event will take place in Rethymno and Neus Amari, on Saturday, April 30, 2022, which is the 200th anniversary of the sacrifice of Papa Manolis. The event will last one day, Saturday 30 April 2022 and will include.

• Pilgrimage to the place of sacrifice (Rethymnon fortress).
• Trisagio (Sanctus Liturgy)) in Arkadi or in a church in Nefs Amari.
• Speech in Nefs Amari about Papa Manolis, the Kalomenopoulos fighters and the Revolution of 1821 in Crete .
• Artistic tribute to Papa Manolis and all the fighters, in Nefs Amari.
• Lunch in Nefs Amari.

This program will give the opportunity to us, the participants, to fulfill a great duty: To honor our ancestors, fighters and all the fighters of the Revolution of 1821 and in general of all the struggles for freedom. And to live a great emotion, a unique dream: To know up close the hospitable, beautiful and historical place Amari and Rethymno that received many centuries ago (after the fall of the city or even earlier) our ancestors, when the The vortex of history brought them to where they took root, lived, acted, fought and even sacrificed for a better world, a world of freedom and solidarity, culture and dignity. And from there they spread to many parts of Crete, Greece and the world, bringing with them the memories and traditions of the family and serving the values and visions of the place. For a basic first update we send together with this letter the text entitled "The Kalomenopoulos".
The Character of the Event and other Elements, with the title "The Kalomenopoulos".

• The event will be modest and selfless as befits the ethos and history of the honored.
• The messages that the event will present are: The message of freedom, since the purpose of the 21st Revolution was the liberation of the Greeks from the Turkish tyranny and the message of national unity, since the internal disputes, conflicts and sabotage caused tragic losses of pure fighters , as in the battle of Rethymno in April 1822, and serious damage to the moral prestige of the struggle, led to civil wars and finally to the repression and final defeat of the Revolution. After all, the messages of Freedom and National Reconciliation and Unity originate from time immemorial from the entire history of the Greeks.

The event will be a unique opportunity for the participants to get to know each other, which is very important and desirable. This acquaintance will be facilitated long before the event via the internet and in many other ways. The internet will also be used for information and communication about the event but also the publication of data, views and proposals related to it and in general the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Revolution 1821.
Of particular importance is the active participation of children and young people in the event and its stages, ie the actions that will precede the event using the internet and in other ways. But these will be prepared and implemented from the beginning of 2021 until the event. What matters now is the recording of the living descendants of Papa Manolis and the Kalomenopoulos in general.

The registration

Regarding the registration, we ask our relatives who have undertaken this valuable project (each in the circle of relatives and acquaintances of his descendants, Papa Manolis or other Kalomenopoulos) for its rapid promotion and those to whom they will address to register them for their response. The registrars can give or send this letter to the heads of families and they or another member of the family will preferably send them back by e-mail the details of the head of the family and the names or simply the number of family members they wish. in principle to take part in the event. This letter, as is self-evident, will be sent by the registrars and to our individual relatives (single-member families) for their information and participation in the event, if they so wish. The invitation and the detailed program of the event will be sent by the leaders of the organization in time to the heads of the families and will concern all the members of the family. Then the final application will be made with the number of members of each family that will participate. It will be good if the registration is completed as soon as possible.
Necessary elements of the registration are:
Name-Place of Residence-email-Telephone. It is good to give both Occupation and Postal Address and any other information that the enumerator deems useful.
It is also useful for the enumerator to send to the people in charge of the registration the names and emails of their relatives, descendants of the Kalomenopoulos, for their information and invitation.
It goes without saying that participation in the event is optional. However, it is good for our relatives who will not take part in the event to send their contact details (name, email, phone.)
In terms of finances, because we believe that we should neither ask for nor accept financial support from third parties, each of our participants will cover their own costs (ie travel and lunch).
Finally, regarding the organization of the event, we, the signatories, would like to explain that we took the initiative and the main organizational weight of the event since a multi-member organizing committee due to the pandemic and the large dispersion of our relatives would be impossible to meet and operate. However, we tried the program and the actions that will precede the event to serve as best as possible its purposes and in the process to make the necessary and possible improvements.
In closing, we would like to thank our relatives who have undertaken or will undertake the primary work of the recording as well as those who have expressed their willingness to work for the implementation of the event, where necessary.
Finally, we express the hope and the certainty that our event will be worthy of the history and the offer of the honored and will present in the best way the messages of Freedom and National Unity, which are always necessary and valuable and more in difficult times like theirs today.
With our Appreciation and Warm Greetings

Manolis Kalomenopoulos Doctor (Physician)-Rethymno gianaromanolis@gmail.com Tel: +30-6972711882

Nikos Petrakis Former Mayor of Sitia petran81@gmail.com Tel: +30-6972697122

UPDATE OCTOBER 2021        

After our visit to the places where our event will take place and taking into account the time distances and the duration of the days, the program of the event is as follows:
Saturday 30 April 2022
-10.00 Rethymnon Fortress, tour, pilgrimage
-11.30 Arkadi Monastery re-enactment, Trisagio
-13.00 Nefs Amari Main event lunch
The site of the main event in Nefs Amari is the courtyard of the old school
The main event includes:

• -Welcome- greeting
  
• -Speech
  
• -Musical tribute (Rizitika songs, songs inspired by the sacrifice of Pope Manolis and the fighters of 1821
  
• -Social organizations that fight today for the ideals of the fighters of 1821, Freedom, self-determination-Human Rights will be awarded.

The meal, according to the non-negotiable local customs, will be offered by the Kalomenopoulos of Nefs Amari.

Our website kalomenopoulos.net can greatly contribute to the success of the event but also become a bridge of communication Book-Synaxari of history and family traditions as well as a step of ideas for the 21st, today and tomorrow of the place.
That is why we ask once again for everyone to be notified in their relative circle.
Finally, we express our joy for the universal willingness to participate in the event.
We thank those who work for its preparation and we are sure that it will be worthy of its beautiful purpose.