The Greater Athens Crematorium scheduled to be built in Markopoulos region, Athens, was finally abandoned after persistent negative reactions from citizens and environmentalists opposing the municipality plan.
The plenary decision of the city council on Wednesday evening against the building of a crematorium in Markopoulos was met amidst tension. 19 of the councilors voted against the construction of the crematorium after examining all details of construction and function.
The council hall was somewhat reminiscent of a people’s court, with an audience of average age between 65 and 70 years old, and the 84-year-old Nikitas Vlahos, the man in charge of the opposing mobilization group, submitting a document of 2,500 signatures opposing the crematorium construction plan.
Booing and verbal attacks from the opposition against the scientists supporting the plan led the latter to exit the hall within the first half hour of the meeting.
The main reason behind the strong opposition to the crematorium construction is attributed to the Metropolitan of Mesogaia, Nikolaos, who issued a paper last Decemebr condemning the “doubtful investments” and “the disregard of Greek Orthodox Church traditions” underlying the construction of the crematorium. Moreover, the priests have refused to perform a funeral service to anyone choosing to be cremated.
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