Two years after the tragic railway accident in the Tempi area
Two years after the tragic railway accident in the Tempi area
Two years after the tragic railway accident
in the Tempi area
On Friday, February 28, 2025, two years will have passed since the tragic railway accident in the Tempi area, which caused the sudden and unjust death of fifty-seven (57) Greek citizens, most of whom were young people.
This sorrowful anniversary, like every anniversary of a national tragedy, brings to mind the losses we have experienced collectively and individually, as a nation and as citizens. Regardless of whether this tragedy is a war, an uprooting of people, a natural disaster, or a terrible accident, the losses constitute a calamity and cause profound pain and grief. It brings to the surface the reality of death and human weakness in the face of it; the human inadequacy in controlling everything in life.
When a tragedy involves the death of a child, the mourning is grave. It is inconceivable and unbearable to think that a child could stand before the gates of death, especially due to an accident caused by human negligence, such as the one in Tempi. It provokes anger, distrust, insecurity, and a void that cannot be filled. Every legal, philosophical, or even religious explanation seems insufficient. While these attempts at explanation try to rationalize evil, they do not provide a solution to the problem of death, particularly when it concerns the death of a young person, because, in reality, we cannot come to terms with the event of death.
God does not want death, nor does He take pleasure in the destruction of the living. Christ, through His Resurrection, revolts against those who believe that man must accept death or even justify it. In God's justice, death has no authority. God's justice is a source of eternal life (Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15).
The anniversary of the national tragedy of Tempi gives us the opportunity to reaffirm our faith in eternity—that the souls of the victims have found rest in the bosom of the Father and are among the Saints. Furthermore, it reminds us that we have a collective responsibility to contribute to the improvement of the society we live in; that it is safe and functions in harmony; that the dignity of each person becomes an expression of the divine glory of our Creator and God.
February 28, 2025
From the Press Release of the Holy Metropolis of Rhodes