Germanos Dimakos (, 1912–2004) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

, priest, and prominent member of the Greek Resistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, fighting in the ranks of the

Greek People's Liberation Army The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

(ELAS). He is best known by his ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'', Papa-Anypomonos (Παπα-Ανυπόμονος, "

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

Impatient"). He was born Georgios Dimakos in 1912, in the village of Agrydaki in

Gortynia Gortynia () is a municipality in the Arcadia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Dimitsana. The municipality has an area of 1,050.882 km2. Municipality The municipality Gortynia was formed at the 20 ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on 29 July 1934, adopting the name Germanos. In 1940, when Greece entered World War II, he was the ''

hegumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns ...

'' of the

Agathonos Monastery The Agathonos Monastery () is a Greek Orthodox male monastery in Phthiotis, Central Greece. The monastery is located on the northern slopes of Mount Oeta, some 3 km west of the town of Ypati. The monastery's ''katholikon'' dates to the 15th ...

near

Ypati Ypati () is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, central peninsular Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 257.504 ...

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

. After the start of the

Axis Occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

, he became a member of the Communist-sponsored National Liberation Front (EAM), and served as chairman of the community of Dadi. On 14 May 1943 at the village of Koukouvista he met

Aris Velouchiotis Athanasios Klaras (; August 27, 1905 – June 15, 1945), better known by the ''nom de guerre'' Aris Velouchiotis (), was a Greek journalist, politician, member of the Communist Party of Greece, the most prominent leader and chief instigator of th ...

, the chief captain of ELAS, EAM's guerrilla wing. Henceforth Dimakos became a close associate of Velouchiotis, following him in his tours around Greece. His bravery and zeal earned him the sobriquet ''Papa-Anypomonos'' from Velouchiotis himself. Following the

Varkiza agreement The Treaty of Varkiza (, also known as the Varkiza Pact or the Varkiza Peace Agreement) was signed in Varkiza (near Athens) on February 12, 1945, between the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KK ...

of 1945 and the disbandment of ELAS, he returned to the Agathonos Monastery. In 1946, during the "

White Terror White Terror may refer to: Events France * First White Terror (1794–1795), a movement against the Jacobins in the French Revolution * Second White Terror (1815), a movement against the French Revolution Post-Russian Empire * White Terror (Rus ...

" preceding the outbreak of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

, he was kidnapped and tortured by a right-wing band. The

Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

also persecuted him as a communist sympathizer, and sent him before the Synodical Court in 1968, where he was acquitted. Only during the last years of his life was his role in the Resistance acknowledged and honoured by the

Church of Greece The Church of Greece (, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its canonical territory is confined to the borders of Greece prior to th ...

. He was interviewed for the 1986 British documentary '' Greece: The Hidden War''. In 2010 the new park of

Vytina Vytina (, ''Vytína'') is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia (regional unit), Arcadia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. It is considered a List of traditional settlements of Greece, traditional settlement. Since t ...

was named after him.

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimakos, Germanos 1912 births 2004 deaths Greek Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests Greek People's Liberation Army personnel People from Vytina Eastern Orthodox socialists Greek Christian socialists