A special concert performance was given on Sunday afternoon by the Athens Concert Hall Megaron at the Aghios (St.) Panteleimonas cathedral in downtown Athens. The peformance was part of an initiative by the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece to ease tensions in the same-name inner city district.
President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou, visiting Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios as well as Megaron President Yiannis Manos joined Ieronymos at the event.
The Aghios Panteleimonas district, and in particular the square where the large cathedral stands, has shot to the national limelight over the past two to three years as the site of angry rallies by local residents . The ralies are often infiltrated by extremist nationalist groups against what they charge is an illegal immigrant fueled crime wave and downgrading of the neighbourhood. Rallies and protests by the former groups have been followed by counter-rallies by leftist groups and self-styled “anti-state” activists.
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