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.”

“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.