Pantelis Theodoulou Katelaris

Pantelis Theodoulou Katelaris is one of the brave Cypriots who fought to protect their country. Pantelis Katelaris was one of the E.O.K.A. members whose contribution was significant during the English occupation. On January 18th 1958, Pantelis Theodoulou Katelaris was killed by an explosion at his hideout which was located in the community of Agios Ioannis Lefkosias. He was buried in Agios Ioannis Lefkosias by a group of fellow fighters during the same night. A marble plaque dedicated to the hero has been placed on his grave. His death remained a secret until the end of the liberating fight. His remains were transferred on January 24th 1965.   

Following below is an extract from a reprint dedicated to Pantelis Theodoulou Katelari which was published in a magazine in April 1959:

“The sun rose on that dark Saturday, January 18th, 1958. A deafening explosion at 7 o’ clock shook the surrounding area at a 5 mile radius. Pantelis’ hideout had been blown up. The village of Agios Ioannis was in agony. The whole village was heading towards the hideout. Among them were some of our fellow fighters, who of course knew who the victim of the tragedy was. They immediately dissolved the crowds and instructed them to keep the incident a secret and if asked by anybody about the explosion, they were to say that they had heard a loud explosion coming from the mines of Mitsero, only three miles away from the scene. The hideout was located on the bank of river Serrachis. The explosion destroyed everything inside the hideout; gunpowder, dynamites, mines, canons, grenades, blankets, canned food, weighing scales and his beloved Beretta. There was nothing left but debris, while Katelaris was lying dead and threshed in the river…. On that very night a group of E.O.K.A. men accompanied by the priest of the village of Arediou Father Charalambos, took the dead body of Pantelis and buried it in a field approximately one mile away from the village (in particular, one mile from the centre of the village, on the opposite site of the location “Galeftirka”, east of Agios Ioannis Lefkosias). At this point it is worth mentioning that a few months later, by tragic coincidence, Pantelis’ mother, not having heard of her son, went to the neighbouring village of Arediou and asked the priest of the church of Agios Georgios, the same priest who had buried her son, to pray to God to keep her son healthy until his safe return home. As father Charalambos confided in me later on, he had never felt so much grief in his life before as he was forced to pretend that he was praying to God for Pantelis’ well-being while he was in fact performing a memorial service. Thus, Pantelis not only sacrificed his life, but also the honours that he deserved after his death”* (p.13-14).

* The original spelling of the Greek reprint remained unchanged, while new information was added in the brackets by the Community Council.

The burial place of Pantelis Theodoulou Katelaris was beautified by the Community Council with the financial aid of the Deviations Study Council. Additionally, one of the aims of the Community Council is to add a bust of the hero at his new moment, as well as to place a statue of the hero at the centre of the community, next to the Primary School.

 

Source:
Reprint dedicated to Pantelis Theodoulou Katelaris, “Kairoi tis Kyprou” magazine, April 1959 
Agios Ioannis Lefkosias Community Council