All these people whose biographies you are going to read set an example for us all as they represent virtues such as selflessness, generosity and magnanimity. These virtues should act as a beacon of light that will lead us to self-improvement and will also help us understand and love our culture and national heritage, they will contribute to our nation’s preservation and will raise our collective national awareness. Taking into consideration the significance of these people’s actions and their beliefs I decided to research their life and work and to spread this knowledge I gained, paying in this way a tribute to their commendable work. In this book you will not find only the officially listed national benefactors but also people who never appeared in this list but who should justifiably belong there. The point is for us to be inspired by their beneficent actions and obtain ideals that they shared. Their unparalleled benevolent deeds may sound incomprehensible today. It is hard to imagine how little they thought of money when nowadays material possessions are everything in life, when money is the ultimate goal that substituted notions such as justice and equality in this system of global capitalism. Without a doubt, these ecumenical ideals suffer today, maybe the most they have ever suffered throughout the centuries.