However, a humble teacher named Manolis Lionoudakis did progress in the truth. Expelled from his home, he gave up his job as a teacher and joined the pioneer service in Iráklion. He went from house to house, covering the whole city. For this activity, he was brought to court and was sentenced to a year of exile on Amorgos Island of the Cyclades group. He recalls: “After I had been there for six months, suddenly a man named Kokkinakis arrived from Crete. I had spoken the truth to him back there. He had been interested, and now here he was, being exiled for his new convictions! At last I had a companion with whom to study The Watchtower. It was in the sea at Amorgos that this companion of mine was baptized.”

Brother Kokkinakis is now 84 years old and has served Jehovah faithfully for 54 years. Back in 1938 he was the very first of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece to be arrested for violating the law against proselytism. His most recent legal battle was mentioned at the outset of this account. In all, he has been arrested over 60 times for peacefully pursuing his worship.

From such small beginnings, there are now 13 congregations on Crete, a testimony to the endurance and hard work of the brothers and sisters over many difficult years.

Samos

One of the early Witnesses on the island of Samos, Dimitris Makris, recalled how he first learned of the truth: “In January 1926, I heard one of the Bible Students speaking at a shop and introduced myself. The next day Penelope and I were present at a discussion. I asked the brothers how they could give answers from the Bible so readily. ‘You need to study the Bible,’ they told me. They showed me the book The Harp of God and how to study it. So a group of five of us studied the book each night until the early hours of the morning. Toward the end of the year, when a pilgrim, Brother Koukoutianos, visited, we were baptized. In 1927 we held a small assembly in Samos with 40 persons present from the island.

“We decided to visit all the villages on the island with the only publication we had, a booklet entitled Hell, with subtitles that asked ‘What Is It? Who Are There? Can They Get Out?’ In one village after another, we were beaten. In March 1928 a priest brought me and a sister who was from the United States before the court​—although he had beaten us. At the hearing the presiding judge asked the priest: ‘Didn’t you have [a tree] in the village to hang him from?’ I was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment; I celebrated the Memorial alone that year.”

Jehovah has blessed the brothers’ endurance and hard work. There are now three thriving congregations in Samos.

Small Beginnings on the Island of Corfu

In 1923 there were four brothers on Corfu, a beautiful island off the west coast of Greece, opposite the Italian mainland. George Douras and Christos Papakos recalled the work in those years: “We decided to give a public talk in a theater in the capital. At 10 a.m. it was full, with about a thousand present. In the front sat some members of the legal profession. However, the chief of police came and informed us that the talk could not be given. A lawyer in the audience was upset and demanded a reason. Upon learning that the archbishop was responsible, the lawyer shouted: ‘Gentlemen, I am the consul of France. In this theater it is prohibited to hear this talk. Come with me to the French consulate. There it will be allowed.’ The speaker, Brother Douras, was the first to follow the consul; then the whole audience followed them. Just imagine the spectacle as the crowd made its way along the streets of Corfu to the French consulate to hear the talk!”

A colporteur (full-time minister), Charalampos Beratis, also ran into opposition on Corfu about 1923. He related: “In a village named Pagi, all the villagers were gathered in the square. I introduced the Society’s literature, and many accepted the books. Then the village priest appeared, tugged at my coat, and announced: ‘In the name of the law and of the king, I arrest you.’ He tried to call the police by telephone, but it was out of order. I prayed silently to Jehovah to direct me as to what to do. Finally, I just picked up my book bag and shouted: ‘In the name of Jehovah, I take my bag and leave.’ There was complete silence; nobody said a word. I simply left and continued my preaching work!”

There are now some 47 congregations with 2,500 Witnesses located on the scattered islands around Greece.

The Pioneer Work

Even in those difficult early years, some zealous Greeks wanted to make a career of their ministry. Michael Kaminaris, one of the early pioneers, returned to Greece in 1934, overflowing with a desire to preach the good news full-time. Before long he was joined by Michael Triantafilopoulos. These two covered several regions of Greece. Brother Kaminaris recalls: “As the work progressed, the opposition intensified. In the village of Magouliana, we faced a mob, and in the village of Prasino, the local priest led an attack on us. In the prefecture of Messenia together with Aetolia and Acarnania prefecture, we had dozens of court cases on the issue of proselytism.

“To cut down on the number of arrests, the Society advised us to work alone rather than together. It was hard to work alone without someone to talk to, but I went ahead without dwelling on the dangers and the loneliness, putting confidence in Jehovah. Many times people would say: ‘We can imagine how much money you receive to come and reach us as far as here.’ Little did they know that oftentimes I was hungry and didn’t even know if I would have a place to sleep. Sometimes when I was in a hostile area, the safest place to sleep was the local graveyard.” Brother Kaminaris has been a member of the Bethel family since 1945. The number of regular pioneers has soared from 8 in 1938 to about 1,800 in 1993.

Efforts to Silence the Preaching Work

To support the burgeoning preaching work, the Society’s first printery in Greece​—using a secondhand Offenbach flatbed press—​started up on February 19, 1936, in the basement of 51 Lombardou Street, Athens. So in May of that year, this press was used to print The Golden Age (now Awake!). The Watchtower was still produced in the United States.

However, the clergy did not want this new magazine to be circulated. So the August 1936 edition of The Golden Age announced that under clergy influence, the undersecretary of communication and postal services had prohibited the postal distribution of the magazine. It assured subscribers, though, that they would continue to receive the magazine regularly. But worse lay ahead.

On August 4, 1936, there was a change of government. Ioannis Metaxas became the new president of the country, possessing absolute authority. In 1938, when the number of publishers had reached 212, a law prohibiting proselytism was enacted. This law has been one of the toughest obstacles to the preaching work in Greece ever since. In October 1939 at a meeting in Athens, 85 brothers and sisters were arrested. The security police kept the 35 sisters in one room while dispersing the brothers to various police stations for detention.

The next day Brother Karanassios, the branch servant, was arrested at the Society’s offices. The printery was closed, and the Society’s property was confiscated. At the clergy’s instigation, all those arrested brothers faced pressure to sign a declaration saying that they would return to the Greek Orthodox Church. They were threatened with exile to remote islands in the Aegean Sea.

Kostas Christou, one of the 85, recalls a typically devious pressure tactic: “Mr. Christou, your wife has already signed a statement. She will be freed. It would be a pity for her to be alone and you in exile on the island of Seriphos!” But Brother Christou answered: “My wife depends on Jehovah, not me. She is free to decide. But I am sure my wife didn’t sign. And besides, sign what? That it is a bad thing to worship our Creator?”

A man who was on friendly terms with the president was also familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses; he thought the decision to exile them was monstrous. So he told the president: “These people are not our political opposers. What are they doing? They are awaiting God’s Kingdom. It will be good when it comes. We also are expecting it.” Convinced, the dictator ordered that the decision be canceled at once. The brothers were thrilled. All told, only 6 of the 85 arrested had compromised under pressure. After a court hearing, all branch property and money was returned. The branch office and printery began to function freely again. Not for long, though!

The War Years

On October 28, 1940, Italy declared war on Greece, plunging the country into World War II. German and Bulgarian armies invaded Greece, killing many. Nineteen of the brothers lost their lives. Martial law was declared. Among the 225 publishers, many brothers faced court-martial because of their neutral stand. Some received sentences of from 7 to 20 years in prison; others received life sentences. In a few cases, like that of Emmanuel Paterakis of Crete, they were sentenced to death. However, under German occupation, no death sentence was carried out in Greece.

During the occupation, the Society’s books were banned, but some continued to reach the brothers. After April 1941 the spiritual food was supplied via underground means. All communication with the brothers at headquarters was severed; articles from older Watchtower magazines were reproduced on a duplicating machine, as were the books Religion and Salvation and the booklet Refugees. The brothers continued to preach, but informally. They would lend booklets to interested people, inviting those who showed further interest to meet with small groups. Many learned the truth in this way.

Wartime Persecution

At Eleftherohori another long-established congregation was weathering the war years. Elias Panteras reports: “The decade of 1940-50 was a time of fiery test. As the brothers went from house to house, church bells would ring, and the head of the village, along with the priests and rural guards, would arrest the brothers and haul them to court. On two occasions nationalistic groups led by a police officer searched the brothers’ homes and led them to the Orthodox church. They tried to force them to make the sign of the cross and kiss the religious icons. When the brothers refused, they were beaten mercilessly.”

Communist groups and local leaders once arrested the brothers and ordered them to stand as guards. When they refused, they were led to a nearby village and handed over to the authorities, who decided that Nicos Papageorgiou, Costas Christanas, and Costas Papageorgiou should be executed. Of the seven-member committee, only one did not endorse the execution. The brothers were led to a mountainside village. The death sentence was read to them, and they were tied up and beaten. During the beating, Nicos Papageorgiou, who was tied hand and foot, rolled partway down the mountainside, stopping only on a ledge just above a river. The brothers were beaten repeatedly during eight days and then freed.

Nicos Papageorgiou recalls: “The team leader of the National Liberation Front took me to his office and told me that he was sorry to inform me that he had been authorized to execute me. He said that he would try to help me but that I would have to help him too. I reached out and took hold of his right hand, saying: ‘If you love me, then execute me right away. If I deny my beliefs, then you should cry for me.’” Evidently moved, this leader set about freeing Brother Papageorgiou. Interestingly, the war soon claimed the lives of all of those who had ordered this execution.