Patriarch holds seaside service for victims of Mati fire

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios casts a bouquet of flowers into the sea from the Argyra Akti beach in eastern Attica Thursday, during a service for those who died in the nearby village of Mati in last July’s wildfires. The service was attended by the mayors of Rafina and Marathon, Evangelos Bournous and Ilias Psinakis, as well as victims’ relatives. In a related development Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou pledged 5,000 euros to the closest relative of each victims. The donation from his charity Stelios Philanthropic Foundation is expected to total 500,000 euros. [Intime News]