NEO magazine - April 2019

APR

2019

JOINS NYC’S CATHEDRAL SCHOOL AND MAKES IT THE SCHOOL TO WATCH

GEORGE PAPAYANNI S Sister Nektaria: The Orthodox "Mother Teresa”

Philip Christopher on the Upcoming Hellenic Issues Conference

John Calamos' National and Global Economic Outlook

Spiro Spireas Honored by AHI in Washington

$4.95

The Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance Wishes its Members, Friends and Community Happy Easter - Καλό Πάσχα!

For additional information or questions, please please go to haba.org

FROM THE EDITOR

:: magazine FOUNDED IN 2005 BY Demetrios Rhompotis Dimitri Michalakis Kyprianos Bazenikas Publishing Committee Chairman Demetrios Rhompotis (718) 554-0308 dondemetrio@neomagazine.com Director of Operations Kyprianos Bazenikas info@neomagazine.com

Marketing & Advertising Director Tommy Harmantzis (347) 613-4163 th@radioneo.us ATHENS - GREECE Public Relations & Marketing Director Rita Despotidis rdespotis@gmail.com NEO Magazine is published monthly by Neocorp Media Inc. P.O. Box 560105 College Point, NY 11356 Phone: (718) 554-0308 e-Fax: (718) 878-4448 info@neomagazine.com Check our website neomagazine.com

The community of Holy Week

When I was a kid and we lived in Chicago I remember the highlight of the evening vespers during Holy Week at the great domed cathedral of our church, the Assumption on Central Avenue: it was long hours, but we shared it with the whole community, and when we came out of that week it was like we had been on a pilgrimage together.

I would be wearing my new suit from Robert Hall and my Sunday School perfect attendance wreath. My father would be wearing his customary suit from Hart Schaffner Marx and tie clip. My mother would be wearing her pillbox hat and her gold ring. My sister would be wearing her pillbox hat and her bracelet with the little toy piano. And we would drive to church in our 1960 white Chevy Impala with the whitewall tires and red interior and red stripe on the side.

The church when we got there would be lit up against the sky and look almost like it was floating. You could smell the incense from the sidewalk because the doors were open. You could hear the psalmodia and it would surround you as the usher with the white hair and elastic step would lead us to our pew (and somehow manage to find four seats) and people shuffled to make way for us. Then as a kid with limited view, I would resign myself to stare at the back of the man’s jacket in front of me for the next three hours, and his wife with the glittery belt, or it might be something more interesting like a dead

fox on her shoulders that would snarl at me the whole night.

But just when you got tired of staring and rubbing away the lacquer on the back of the pew and wondering when you would kneel again so you could drop down the padded kneeler before some other kid beat you to it, something dramatic would happen: the last of the 12 Evaggelia had been read and now the whole candelabra was lit!

The cross was being carried with lamentations and shaky steps and you could see the top of the cross shaking and the sallow and shrunken body of Christ. The Epitafio was ready and when you kissed it you saw the same sallow and shrunken body of Christ but now it was smothered with sweet-smelling flowers! The candles were passed out for the Resurrection and when it came the whole church was filled with song and you finally got to light that candle with the red cup that you had been holding for the past three hours and felt like it was melting in your hands and you felt silly lifting it every time you sang but then everybody was doing it and you started singing louder!

And then when you drove home at night holding your lit candles in the car, you might see another car in the night with people holding their lit candles and some kid might be staring at you holding his candle and you would be holding yours and you knew you were both part of God’s community.

Hristos Anesti and Hronia Polla.

DIMITRI C. MICHALAKIS

:: magazine PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN NEW YORK Editor in Chief: Dimitri C. Michalakis info@neomagazine.com Western Region Desk - Los Angeles Alexander Mizan director@americanhellenic.org West Palm Beach, Florida Desk Vassilios Kukorinis skopelitis@hotmail.com Baltimore Desk Georgia Vavas gvavas@comcast.net Photo/Fashion New York: ETA Press fpapagermanos@yahoo.com Los Angeles: Nick Dimitrokalis (951) 764-5737 photobynikos@hotmail.com Graphic Design NEOgraphix.us Adrian Salescu Athens Desk Konstantinos Rhompotis (01130) 210 51 42 446 (01130) 6937 02 39 94 k.rhompotis@neomagazine.com

Annual White House Greek Independence Day Celebration with the President From left, Mike Manatos, Alexsia Vlahakis-Hanks, Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, Vassy Karagiorgos

and Father Kosmas Karavellas, who serves the Greek Orthodox community in Annapolis, Maryland; And he said that “each of these remarkable individuals represent the stories of so many Greek Americans in the room.”

Speaking on behalf of the Greek American community, Archbishop Demetrios remarked that “throughout many years we have been at the White House for the celebration of Greek Independence Day and we have always raised issues of freedom, especially in regards to freedom of religion for our Ecumenical President Trump is holding the proclamation honoring Patriarchate, justice for the island of Cyprus, Greek Independence, accompanied by Archbishop Demetrios and the proper name of a neighboring to For the 33rd consecutive year, our national you are courageous. In every generation, Greece Balkan State. Knowing your personal community has been one out of only two G r e e k A m e r i c a n s h a v e nationalities in America able to meet with the summoned the courage to President of the United States every year to defend our freedom." discuss our concerns. This year too, President Donald Trump celebrated the common bond The President came on stage in between the United States and Greece rooted the East Room of the White in traditions and praised "the countless ways H o u s e t o g e t h e r w i t h Greek Americans strengthen and uplift and Archbishop Demetrios and inspire our nation. You live by the values that said it was a great honor to be are the foundation of America’s greatness. You with many friends to celebrate really do. You honor hard work. You love your Greek Independence Day. families. You enrich your culture. And you Additionally, he recognized Students wearing traditional costumes, their teachers, embrace the American Dream and you keep the Ambassadors of Greece Archbishop Demetrios and George Koumoutsakos, faith in the blessings of Almighty God. and Cyprus to the U.S. Haris New Democracy Shadow Foreign Minister Lalacos and Marios dedication, Mr. President, to the most valuable Lysiotis, and the Ambassador of the issues of justice and freedom for all, we thank European Union to the United you for listening to our voice, and we ask you States, Stavros Lambrinidis. The t o c o n t i n u e y o u r s u p p o r t t o t h e President also recognized the aforementioned issues.” presence of his cabinet members: Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, David Bernhardt, Acting Secretary o f t h e I n t e r i o r a n d U. S .

Representative Chris Pappas (DNH) President Trump also recognized several individuals from the GreekAmerican Community including Senior Airman Gregory Manuel and Major Carl Hollister for their service in the U.S. Military; George Marafatsos, a parish councilmember at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek “As a famous Greek historian wrote, Orthodox Church in Silver Spring, Maryland; 'Happiness depends on being free, and Aphrodite Skeadas, past president of the freedom depends on being courageous.' And Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society; Mike Manatos, Laura Evans Manatos, “The United States — and all of Western civilization — has been profoundly shaped by the extraordinary achievements of the Greek people, stretching all the way back to ancient times.

PHOTOS: GOA/DIMITRIOS PANAGOS 18

APRIL 2019

NEWS & NOTES

Tina Manatos and Andy Manatos

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK During the first quarter, market apprehension receded in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s December pivot to more dovish monetary policy.

Investors set aside—or at least looked past—the anxieties that roiled financial markets in the

by John Calamos Sr. four th quar ter. U.S. economic data remained positive overall, supported by businessfriendly fiscal policy and a healthy consumer.

Although many corporations issued more cautious guidance about future earnings in the first half 2019, markets focused on the string of strong earnings and revenue results being announced for the fourth quarter. Financial conditions improved dramatically after a December squeeze, and credit spreads tightened significantly. (Tighter spreads are a sign that corporate borrowers can issue debt more cheaply.) The global growth outlook improved, helped by a contained U.S. dollar, optimism about an eventual resolution to global trade disputes, and data supporting the view that China’s economy could achieve a soft landing.

Looking forward, we believe: - The U.S. economy will extend its steady expansion through this year and beyond. The global economy is positioned for moderate growth, with a pickup in the second half of the year.

- The relatively weaker earnings season currently underway reflects a high bar in terms of year-over-year earnings growth, and we would not be surprised to see earnings growth pick up in the second half of the year.

- Investors should not grow complacent: Volatility and sideways moving markets will characterize this phase of the economic cycle, due to a wide range of entrenched global uncertainties.

United States

Global and International Strategies

The U.S. economy is positioned for slow and steady expansion. As we have noted in our past commentaries, economic cycles should not be m e a s u re d by t h e i r du r at i on , but by fundamentals—and the fundamentals remain surprisingly compelling this long into an expansion. Energy prices and wages have risen, but inflation overall is benign. We expect healthy consumer activity to drive the economy, helped by wage growth, low unemployment and manageable debt levels.

Broad financial conditions and liquidity have recovered after the fourth quarter’s tailspin.

An accommodative Federal Reserve is likely to buoy U.S. economic growth and markets further, with positive knock-on effects globally.

We believe the slowdown in global conditions over recent months has likely been a soft patch, and we would not be surprised to see stronger economic growth data in the second half of the year. Accommodative monetary policy from global central banks, a contained dollar, and modest growth in the U.S. sets up well for non-U.S. markets. We expect the U.S. and China to reach a trade deal, and while this may not be the deal to end all deals, it would remove a key uncertainty. Regardless, economic conditions in China are improving, with consumer-focused stimulus, deregulation and easing liquidity conditions sowing the field for green shoots.

APRIL 2019

NEWS & NOTES

In Europe, there are still many formidable headwinds—political uncertainty, social discontent and challenging fiscal policy. Even so, conditions are unlikely to get much worse.

Given their close economic relationship, improved growth coming out of China could provide a welcomed boost to Europe, although as we have noted in the past, the impact may be tempered by the domestic bias of China’s consumer focused stimulus.

Even though the initial boost of tax reform is in the rearview mirror, we believe that tax policies will still provide a sustained catalyst for the corporate sector, as will de-regulation.

As we enter earnings season, we share the view that many corporations may be hard pressed to match or beat the earnings growth they posted a year ago. However, improving global conditions and continued steady growth in the U.S. could result in a reacceleration in We expect to see more convergence among earnings growth in the second half of the year, g row t h r ate s g l ob a l ly, an d t h i s “re with positive growth for 2019 overall. synchronization” of global growth should be positive for risk assets, including emerging Although our U.S. economic outlook for these market equities where valuations are n e x t q u a r t e r s i s c o n s t r u c t i v e , t h i s compelling on the whole (Figure 3). From a environment requires selectivity. We expect a regional perspective, we are favoring China, stock picker’s market to prevail, rather than India, and Brazil. In Europe, our positioning is one in which a rising largely in global secular growth opportunities and in some cases, more regional businesses tide will lift all boats. The brief inversion of the w i t h s t a b l e , l e s s - c y c l i c a l g r o w t h yield curve should not be viewed as a characteristics. precursor of imminent recession, but it does indicate building pressure within the Our global and international strategies reflect economy, which we are monitoring closely, a bias toward higher quality growth along with other potential risks such as businesses, which served us in good stead corporate debt levels, shifts in global central during the quarter, as market sentiment bank policies, and indications of tightening in pivoted to a more fundamentally oriented consumer borrowing. Geopolitical and U.S. trading environment. We have emphasized political uncertainties are formidable and will companies that can benefit from consumer fuel periods of short-term volatility; in the activity—the more robust segment of the U.S., these will increase sharply in the run up global economy and the linchpin of many of to the 2020 election. the long-term

- Although we see tailwinds for economic growth and opportunities across asset classes—including in growth equities, c o n v e r t i b l e s a n d h i g h y i e l d At this phase of the cycle, attention to bonds—conditions require a highly selective valuations and company fundamentals will be approach. essential. An improving global economy provides a favorable backdrop for a number of - Given the crosscurrents in the economy and growth companies, including those tied to markets, risk-managed alternative strategies U.S. and global consumer activity. Our teams can provide timely enhancements for both the continue to identify opportunities in the equity and fixed income sides of an asset financial sector, where we see compelling allocation. valuations. We are also looking for companies that are capitalizing on disruptive trends.

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secular growth trends we favor. At the margin, we have been reducing our exposure to more defensive sectors given the strong performance of many of these positions during the past few quarters, which has resulted in less attractive risk/reward profiles.

Philip Christopher on the upcoming Hellenic Issues Conference and the East Mediterranean Partnership

by Alexander Billinis

Philip Christopher is one of those individuals whose contributions more resemble an institution than the force and spirit of one man.

His outside role in seeking justice for Cyprus, that “gold and green leaf in the sea,” has often been a lonely one, as Cyprus was generally relegated to a secondary issue. Philip Christopher is President of the International Coordinating Committee “Justice for Cyprus,” (PSEKA) an international organization founded by the late Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios in 1975. Its North American headquarters are in New York City. Since its founding, the committee’s goal has been Justice for Cyprus and Cypriots—all Cypriots. Besides grass roots work, coordinating and lobbying, PSEKA organizes for the past 35 years a two day conference in the nation's capital where participants meet with top-level Congressional and administration officials who formulate U.S. policy toward Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. Typically, the group meets with over 40 key U.S. Senators and Members of Congress who serve on the pertinent committees and subcommittees, and others, who play a major role in policy. The 35th Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference will be held in June 4-6 at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington D.C. This July will mark 45 years that Cyprus remains partially occupied, and Nicosia has the tragic fortune to be the only divided capital in Europe. There have b e en many fa ls e dawns over four and a half decades yet change may be in the air.

Much of this has to do with the efforts of the Cypriots themselves. Faced with an existential threat they managed not only to survive, but to prosper.

Using both their proximity to the Middle East and their Orthodox connections, the Cypriots were doing business everywhere, and while the tourist gem of Famagusta is still a decaying ghost town with pristine, barbed wired beaches, elsewhere the hospitality and beauty of Cyprus is a massive draw Group photo of the participants in the 34th PSEKA Conference and NEO's for holidaymakers. Cyprus cover in July 2018 was hit hard by the Euro Banking Crisis of the 2013 but took the bull by the horns and bailed itself out by bailing in and is now running along smoothly. Cyprus is a success story against overwhelming odds.

Now, the tectonic plates of geopolitics may be shifting in the ancient island’s favor. Erdogan’s Islamist and xenophobic regime has alienated Israel and increasingly the United States, while at the same time Greece and Cyprus forged links with Israel, and in the Diaspora, Greeks and Jews started to see that their interests coincided.

I had a chance to talk with Philip Christopher about the upcoming 35th Annual PSEKA Conference, and where he feels that things are going.

“Now we have to focus on the EMP (East Mediterranean Partnership) of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel," says Philip Christopher, president of PSEKA

Christopher is refreshingly laconic in his discussions. Like most conversations between Greeks, we both spoke a bit about our backgrounds, and then we quickly moved to the subject, his passion for the cause balanced by the day to day demands of a successful businessman. For the past 44 years, his aims have been consistent and simple: to remove the Turkish occupation forces from Cyprus, to reunite the island, and for refugees (including his own family) to return home.

The damage done by the Turks, he is quick to say is irreparable, with over 500 churches, some of great historic and spiritual antiquity,

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NEWS & NOTES

course] and try to gain concessions, such as dropping Cyprus.” They have done it before, and Christopher emphasizes that it is crucial to build awareness within the Congress as to the true nature of Turkey.

Another key issue for PSEKA is lifting the arms embargo on Cyprus, so that the Cypriots can purchase American weaponry for self-defense. It is astonishing that the arms embargo against Turkey was lifted in 1978 on condition that Turkey withdraw from Cyprus, which it never has, but the victim state, Cyprus, continues to suffer from an American arms embargo. The chairman of the House Foreign Relations Human Rights subcommittee put it simply and correctly, “The United States should end its outdated arms embargo on Cyprus.” Here too, the efforts of PSEKA, other Greek organizations, and American Jewish interests are starting to make an impact.

Nicosia, the last divided capital city in the world

destroyed, and the demographics irretrievably altered by the importation of 500,000 mainland Turkish “colonists.”

While he is a Greek Cypriot with a focus on his own community, he reminds me that the Turkish Cypriot community has been deeply damaged by Cyprus’ division and the mainland Turkish colonization. So many Turkish Cypriots have fled abroad, and “over 100,000 Turkish Cypriots have taken passports issued by the Republic of Cyprus,” an indictment of the Turkish occupation and the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime. “Turkish Cypriot culture was secular, and they got along with their Greek neighbors,” but the Turkish regime has imported fundamentalists at odds with Turkish Cypriot mentality. His words only confirmed what I had heard when I lived in L ondon, home to a huge Cypr iot community (Greek and Turkish). Greek and Turkish Cypriots often live in the same neighborhoods, and they have recreated some of the intercommunal spirit that existed among Cypriots, in spite of tensions.

advocate for Turkey. This is why continued citizen advocacy and working with the American Jewish organizations is absolutely crucial.

While his heart aches for justice for his native island, Christopher emphasized that PSEKA is a movement of and by American citizens.

“The invasion of Cyprus was a violation of American law,” and PSEKA demands that American law be applied, simple as that. “We do not allow [Cypriot] political parties into the discussion.” While he agreed that Cypriots had done a great deal to help themselves—“a good economy is good foreign policy”—he is quick to point out past mistakes or misguided alignments. A strong partnership with Greece and Cyprus is good for America, because both these countries are democracies with values similar to America's. Greece’s record in both World Wars in a perfect example—a staunch American ally. Not so Turkey.

The current regional alignments—Cyprus, Greece, and Israel—and the outreach to Middle Eastern states such as Egypt and Jordan are smart foreign and economic policy for all concerned, and clearly, Washington has taken notice. Strategic, economic, and political forces are combining several Eastern Mediterranean countries into an effective partnership for regional cooperation and containment of Turkey. The United States is clearly seeing the value of such a partnership.

The goal of all Diaspora Greeks here in this country is to continue to work on building such a coalition that is beneficial to American foreign policy and the rule of law. Cyprus lies at the core of this activity, and a just solution to the Cypriot tragedy is key for the success of the entire region.

Despite positive events, the road ahead remains difficult. Turkey has former generals and representatives as paid lobbyists; the Turks know the Washington game quite well.

Christopher is very candid when he says that, “Traditionally, Greece and the Republic of Cyprus have never had an understanding of how the American political system works.”

The Turks know who to hire, and they spend money endowing chairs at universities and donating to institutions. Notwithstanding The conference this year should be interesting, PSEKA has been reminding their fellow Erdogan’s antics, and Turkey’s abysmal record as Cyprus has shifted from the periphery to Greeks and US policymakers that Turkey, an as an ally, there are plenty of very influential the center. Watch this space. ostensible NATO ally, violated US law when people who have been well compensated to using American-purchased weaponry to invade Cyprus in 1974, and has essentially The "ghost town" of Famagusta. blackmailed the NATO ever since by touting The Turkish occupying authorities still don't allow its inhabitants its strategic position, its military strength, and to return to their homes its status as a secular Muslim democracy. “As American citizens, we should all be concerned about this.”

Erdogan’s attacks on Israel, and his increasing fundamentalism, and open challenge of the United States has changed the game. Given the change in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus grew closer to Israel, which Christopher applauds, “it is normal that the three true democracies in the Eastern Mediterranean should be aligned,” and this alignment is growing, in political, economic, military, and energy terms—with the apparent blessing of the United States.

“Now we have to focus on the EMP (East Mediterranean Partnership) of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. [Secretary of State] Pompeo’s attendance at a recent EMP meeting in Jerusalem was crucial,” Christopher adds, though he warns, from his years of experience, that “Turkey may, at the last minute, [shift NEWS & NOTES

APRIL 2019

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THE NATIONAL HELLENIC MUSEUM TO HOLD ANNUAL GALA PROJECTING INTO THE FUTURE The NHM boasts a rich rep ositor y of 20,000+ artifacts, photos, historic newspapers, books and an archive of 450+ recorded histories. The NHM Collections & Archives serve as a central repository of Greek American history, now many generations s t r o n g . T h e Mu s e u m celebrates the mosaic of the Greek diaspora, immigrant journeys, and the breadth of the American experience.

Dr. Laura Calamos, president of the museum PHOTO: ELIOS PHOTOGRAPHY

Individual NHM Gala tickets are $350 and tables of 10 are $3,200. To purchase tickets or inquire about sponsorship opportunities, visit https://one.bidpal.net/nhmgala19 or call 312-655-1234 x28.

Dedicated to collecting, preserving and portraying the legacy of Greek history and culture in America, the National Hellenic Museum (NHM), 333 South Halsted Street, has announced it will hold its Annual Gala, Projecting into the Future, on Saturday, May 11, starting at 5:30 p.m., at The Geraghty, 2520 S. Hoyne Avenue in Chicago. An opportunity for hundreds of Greek Americans and friends from across the country to gather together for a night of philanthropy, the Gala features spectacular auctions, live music, dinner and cocktails, and dancing while celebrating and supporting the legacy of Hellenism.

Philanthropic support from NHM 2019 Gala will benefit the tens of thousands of children and adults who visit the NHM every year through field trips, tours and dynamic cultural and historical programs. The National Hellenic Museum is dedicated to preserving the important memories of the Greek experience in America and the Hellenic legacy.

As the largest collection of its kind in the world, the NHM is honored to protect these significant moments of shared history.

The museum will soon unveil the NHM Collections & Archives Portal, which will allow anyone to access its catalogs online from anywhere by viewing digitized artifacts and archival materials with mapping technology, community-based tagging, educational content, and more.

Founded in Chicago as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center (HMCC) in 1983, the HMCC moved to the city’s Greektown neighborhood in 2004 and opened its current location on Halsted Street as the National Hellenic Museum in 2011. The contemporary four-story building is home to extensive collections, rotating exhibitions, classrooms, and a stunning rooftop view of Chicago. Three floors of galleries explore ancient and modern themes and provide multi-use spaces to host tours, public programs, and private events.

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NEWS & NOTES

A PARADIGM SHIFT

By Endy Zemenides

strategy

στρατηγική

In its review of John Julius Norwich’s “The Eastern Mediterranean as a home. So does the Middles Sea: A History of the Mediterranean” worst peace time economic crisis since Great the Los Angeles Times lauded the historian’s Depression – Greece 25% GDP fall. book as “A sweeping saga of human turmoil. . .”

It is in the context that Senators Bob Turmoil. There is perhaps no better word to Menendez and Marco Rubio introduced the describe the Mediterranean basin even today. Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Just go around the rim of the sea. The southern Partnership Act. This piece of legislation – end has captured newspaper headlines that soon to have a counterpart in the House of Representatives courtesy of Congressmen Ted Deutch, Gus Bilirakis and David Cicilline – brings the shift that has been occurring in U.S. foreign policy in the region over the past few years out into public. There is a paradigm shift in U.S. policy in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece and Cyprus are the epicenter of it.

Senator Marco Rubio

Senator Bob Menendez

The Act provides tools for a comprehensive U.S. strategy in the region, covering energy cooperation, security matters, and countering malign influences in the area. The Act’s provisions will:

operate under the maxim of “if it bleeds, it leads.” Since 2011, the Mediterranean has been home to the Arab uprisings, the worst • Lifts the arms embargo on Cyprus. civil war of this generation (Syria), and states or territories controlled by terrorist groups – • Make the United States a more active Islamic State, Hezbollah, Hamas. Turmoil participant in energy diplomacy in the region. might be a generous classification.

• Increase IMET (International Military Educational Training) program funding and There is not really any more tranquility on the north end of the sea. Economic crises and a reintroduce Foreign Military Assistance for rise in nationalism have put the whole Greece.

European project into question. To watch countries devastated by Nazis and fascists just • Echo recently introduced restrictions on F35 decades ago welcome them back into the transfers to Turkey and monitor Turkey’s use political mainstream is astonishing. The rise of American weapons against U.S. allies and of nationalism is abetted by yet another crisis strategic partners. that links north and south, the migration crisis. Although the Mediterranean has for its • Monitor Russia΄s activity in the area. entire history been a great connector of people and civilizations, we are in the midst of Some analysts in Greece have questioned perhaps the largest migration across the sea in whether this legislation is “solely” a Congressional initiative. Others in Cyprus history. greeted this momentous act lukewarmly, To the east, Turkey – once a paragon of lamenting the decades long lack of a meeting stability and a great hope for many in the West between the President of the Republic of – has gone authoritarian, neo-Ottoman, and Cyprus and the President of the United States. from “zero problems with neighbors” to zero Both points betray a lack of understanding on neighbors without which they have problems. how policy is made in the U.S. and how it is Turkey’s attempts to establish regional p r e s e n t l y s h i f t i n g . F u r t h e r m o r e , i t hegemony in the region has backfired, with reemphasizes the obsession in Athens and balancing coalitions formed against it and Nicosia with photo-op diplomacy – a strategy flashpoints becoming more dangerous by the that for too long relegated Greece and Cyprus to diplomatic backwater status. day.

Endy Zemenides is the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), a national advocacy organization for the Greek American community. To learn more about HALC, visit www.hellenicleaders.com

a beginning and simultaneously launches a new beginning. Think about what came before the Act: (a) a series of trilateral summits between Eastern Mediterranean countries; (b) the formation of the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus; (c) Vice President Biden’s visit to Cyprus; (d) multiple statements of support for Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone from both Congress and the Administration; (e) the inter vention of the Obama Administration during the height of the Greek economic crisis; (f) Congressional legislation forcing the Administration to reconsider the arms embargo on Cyprus; (g) the appointment of Geoffrey Pyatt as Ambassador of Greece; (h) Congressional hearings on energy in the Eastern Mediterranean; (i) President Obama’s trip to Greece; (j) Prime Minister Tsipras’ trip to the White House; (k) the F16 upgrade deal with Greece; (l) Congressional legislation substantially increasing IMET funding to Greece; (m) Congressional legislation restricting the transfer of F35s to Turkey; (n) former Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell’s declaration of intent to formulate an Eastern Mediterranean Strategy; (o) the launch of the Strategic Dialogue between the U.S. and Greece; (p) think tank projects – at CSIS, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the German Marshall Fund – focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean/Greece/Cyprus.

I could go all the way to z, but the point is that the shift in U.S. policy is happening at a deeper level than most notice. If one thinks that previous Menendez legislation on the Cyprus Arms Embargo, or letters to Secretary Kerry on Cyprus’ EEZ haven’t affected (or at least accelerated) Administration policy, they are foolish. The present Act invited multiple comments from the think tank community – all of which noted a tilt towards Greece and Cyprus over Turkey. These same analysts will be noting this shift in their writings, which will reinforce the shift.

Thanks to the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act, Greece, Cyprus, and the Greek-American community are all at the U.S. policymaking table in a big way. This Act can institutionalize the shift in policy that have already occurred and establish a launch pad for even better and more prosperous relations between the U.S., Greece and The Eastern Mediterranean Security and The two longest standing issues before the UN Security Council – the Israeli/Palestinian Energy Partnership Act is an exclamation Cyprus. The next steps should be even more dispute and the Cyprus problem – have point – one that emphatically marks an end to intriguing.

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STRATEGY

“We have a strong visual arts program and we want to grow that,” he says. “As a school our first priority is to offer a great education.”

Mr. George high fives two second graders on his way out of the class.

And part of that, he says, is having kids use digital and analog technologies “to make prototypes of whatever is in their heads.”

Photo: Sotiris Michalatos/TCS

The school board, he says, is open to these innovations, because while The Cathedral School is affiliated with the Archdiocesan Cathedral church, it is independently-funded and can chart its own course.

GEORGE NIS N A Y A PAP JOINS NYC’S The Cathedral School in New York City has been a venerable institution for 70 years, but now it might become the school to watch with the addition of a new Head of School last July who is already an education superstar.

“I’ve lived in New York, I know the environment, so I said let’s serve our church and make The Cathedral School a national model,” says George Papayannis, 42, with a stellar career already as a graduate of Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, as well as years of teaching in Boston and Colorado and leadership roles throughout the country working to improve teacher performance and schools.

And he thinks The Cathedral School can be both a stalwart of classical education and a leader in the breathtaking evolution of handson learning using modern technology—in fact, he calls that the very model of a classical education.

“If you go back 2000 years, there was a lot of hand work,” he calls it. “There was a lot of building. There are ancient structures that still stand today as a testament to the skill of those cultures. And in them there was a balance of head work and hand work to create a balance in building.”

CATHEDRAL SCHOOL AND MAKES IT THE SCHOOL TO WATCH

as ancient and modern Greek and sends its graduates to the top high schools), but to balance the learning with projects using laser cutters, milling machines and 3-D printers that can produce anything the kids can imagine.

At the same time, because the school population has transitioned from entirely Greek when it was founded in 1949, to more inclusive and international today–nearly fiftypercent of students are non-Greek and nonOrthodox–he believes the school has an opportunity to educate the community at large on what it means to be Greek and Orthodox.

Mr. George is measured by a second grader using meter sticks.

Photo: Sotiris Michalatos/TCS

“Half of our kids aren’t Greek or Orthodox,” he says, “and we see that as an opportunity to teach people who we are. Many Americans associate ‘Greek’ with Plato, Socrates, mythology, and if they’ve been paying attention to the news, they know about the financial crisis in Greece. But the 2000 years of Greek history in between the ancient and the modern Greek world is not taught much in U.S. schools: the Byzantines or Asia Minor, for example. As part of fulfilling our priority of offering a great education, we should take the opportunity to teach people who we really are.”

“The kids are not only reading modern Greek literature like Samarakis, but they’re also reading trade books and finding out not only what industry professionals do but doing those things themselves,” he says.

The practical side to his teaching philosophy comes from his years working as a structural He wants students to build a makerspace in the engineer (his degree from Drexel University is In that classical spirit, he says he not only art studio at the school similar to the Fab Lab in architectural engineering) and also wants to maintain and elevate the academic model devised by MIT so students can design volunteering as a mentor to high school standards of the school (it offers Latin as well and create models using digital fabrication students in New York City. Using his tools. background he helped them design buildings 34

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through ACE Mentor Program, which was founded in part by his employers at Thornton Tomassetti.

“Every other week we taught kids how to design buildings,” he explains.

“We paired a team of building design and construction professionals with a team of students and taught them about what it means to be on a building team: with an owner’s representative, an architect, a mechanical engineer, a structural e n g i n e e r, a n d a c on s t r u c t i on manager. We were teaching the kids through a design project how a building gets designed and built. We worked on mixed-use high rises, a firehouse, an aquarium, and we used actual properties for our constraints.”

to eighth grade, and Greek is taught every day to all grades.

Mr. George is measured by a second grader who paces the perimeter around him.

Photo: Sotiris Michalatos/TCS

He liked the mentoring so much that he left his engineering day job to become ACE’s Assistant Executive Director for Greater New York. While doing that, at the age of 26 he also enrolled at Teacher’s College to get his teaching credentials.

And when he got out he started teaching in Colorado.

“I taught in middle school for a couple of years, then came back East when my dad got sick.

The folks in Denver are very warm and I still keep in touch,” he says.

He was also close to the church and over the years had volunteered at various camps here and in Greece, including Ionian Village in the Peloponnese and Thari Monastery in Rhodes, and closer to home at various camps in Pennsylvania, Portland, and Seattle.

H i s o w n f a m i l y c o m e s f r o m Yo r k , Pennsylvania, where he grew up with two brothers, and where his grandfather Yiorgo settled after immigrating from Megali Panagiea, Halkidi, and he started working at the Cole Steel factory. His father Theoharis was trained as a car mechanic in Greece and also worked in factories in York. One of George’s brothers saw his aptitude in math and science and suggested he try architectural engineering.

“I wanted to put myself in more challenging schools and see what it takes to fix them,” he says. “My role was leading teams and coaching teachers. I was part of the administrative team and what I learned is that the kids come from the same place, the teachers are smart, but the difference comes down to processes: the higher-performing schools had layers of processes in place implemented by strong teacher teams: the lower-performing schools were missing those.”

“And I didn’t know any better so I said, sure, it sounds great” he says.

He got into architecture competitions, his mother Anna bought him books about buildings, and then he got a scholarship to study at Drexel. When he graduated, he wanted to work for “the coolest companies that were designing buildings” and landed a

And then with his wife Melissa (who had also attended the Greek summer camps and once worked at the U.S. Embassy in Athens) he moved on to his next challenge: founding his own Orthodox school and bringing to it the lessons he had learned throughout his teaching career.

“My wife and I, we’re both children of Greek immigrants, born and raised in the U.S., but we both lived in Greece, and for the last couple of years we had been researching what it would take to start an Orthodox school,” he says. “We wanted to start a family (they have a young daughter) and were thinking, What kind of environment do we want our daughter After his father died, he moved to Boston to study religious education at the seminary. And to grow up in?” while there an opportunity opened up for him to teach physics in the Boston Public Schools, They got involved with the Orthodox and he went to work at Fenway High School. A Christian School Association and were invited year later he was invited to be an adjunct to join their board. And they had friends who professor of environmental science at Hellenic suggested instead of starting a school from College, which he did for five years, and he co- scratch why not find an existing one and make authored a teacher guide called Of Your it better.

Mystical Supper: The Eucharist.

“So when this opportunity (at The Cathedral He worked eight years in the Boston Public School) came we thought, let’s go do this,” he Schools as a science and engineering teacher at says. “Let’s serve our church and see what we Fenway High School and the Boston Arts can do to help grow it.”

Academy, before getting a scholarship to As Head of the School his duties are Harvard to get his principal credentials. overreaching: he has to do the administering, He then came back to Boston to challenge the recruiting, and the fundraising (it helps himself yet again by going to the city’s lower- that his wife is in fundraising), and report to performing schools and organizing teams to his school board. The school has a faculty of 20 teachers to a ratio of 107 kids from preschool improve them.

“And what I noticed in working at the camps was that there were commonalities,” he says.

“From an educator’s viewpoint I saw areas where we could improve and I saw it as my obligation to support the church and put my talents towards that.”

“We have families who are not Greek and they come to us because they want their child to learn another language and they like the Orthodox side of what we do,” he says. “They like the value system that we share, and even if they’re not Orthodox, they appreciate how we’re treating their children and their family.”

George Papayannis speaks on a panel on innovation on Jan 18, 2019, at the Museum of Science, Boston.

Photo: Eric Workman/MOS

job in New York at Thornton Tomassetti and live just nearby from where he now works at the school.

“It’s great being back in New York,” he says, ”because I get to see all these buildings I was enamored with as a kid and I always get a kick checking out the skyline and which cranes are doing what kind of work.”

He and his wife are also avid hikers, and he is active on several boards including Chair of The Innovators group at the Museum of Science in Boston. He is also in demand t hroug hout t he count r y for professional development workshops.

But, of course, his main focus now is making The Cathedral School the model school he envisioned when he took the job, one that, he says, “in five to seven years will be known across the country and around the world and educators will come to learn from us.”

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The Honorees: from left Ambassador Patrick N. Theros, Spiro Spireas, Ph.D., Eleni D. Bousis, Philanthropist and Nicholas E. Chimicles

AHI Hosts Hellenic Heritage Achievement and National Public Service Awards Gala The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) hosted its 44th Anniversary Hellenic Heritage Achievement and National Public Service Awards Dinner at the Capital Hilton, Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . A H I h o n o r e d a distinguished set of awardees based upon their i mp or t a nt c a re e r a c h i e v e m e nt s a n d contributions to the Greek American community or community at-large. They were: Ÿ

Eleni D. Bousis, Philanthropist;

Ÿ Nicholas E. Chimicles, Founder and Chairman, Chimicles, Schwartz, Kriner, & Donaldson-Smith LLP; Ÿ Spiro Spireas, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SigmaPharm Laboratories, LLC; and Ÿ Ambassador Patrick N. Theros, former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar and Strategic Advisor, Gulf International Forum.

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“Tonight we honor four outstanding members of the Greek American community for setting an example not only of professional excellence but of selfless service to others, which is the ultimate definition of the ideas of Hellenism,” AHI President Nick Larigakis said.

Philanthropist Eleni D. Bousis received the AHI Hellenic Heritage National Public Service Award in recognition of her faithful service to the vulnerable and marginalized populations across the globe. In acceptance, Bousis stated, “I am very humbled, touched, Larry Michael, “Voice of the Redskins,” and and grateful to AHI for recognizing my efforts chief content officer and senior vice president, in making a difference for humanity. It is a Washington Redskins; was the evening’s very gratifying experience. master of ceremonies. AHI Vice President James H. Lagos, Esq., introduced Michael.

Renowned Attorney and Legal Scholar Nicholas E. Chimicles received the AHI The Marines of Headquarters Battalion Hellenic Heritage Achievement Award for his presented the colors and the American and contributions to the legal profession and his Greek national anthems were performed by commitment to justice and the rule of law.

Georgios Theodoridis, master chanter and Receiving the award, Chimicles, who also director of Music Arts, St. Sophia Cathedral, serves on the AHI Board of Directors, stated, Washington, D.C. Reverend Dimitrios J. “I think this is a wonderful organization. AHI Antokas, Saint George Greek Orthodox is a great spokesperson for Hellenism. I am C hu rch , B e t h e s d a , Md. , of fe re d t h e proud to be a part of AHI. Being here today all invocation. Maria Pierce entertained the started with my parents and education. It is audience with a musical interlude. Apollonia simply a privilege to be here.” provided musical entertainment.

AHI presented Entrepreneur and Scientist AHI Foundation President Constantine Spiro Spireas, Ph.D., with the AHI Hellenic Galanis offered greetings and introduced AHI Heritage Achievement Award for his President Nick R. Larigakis, who reviewed the outstanding achievements in the field of Institute’s initiatives and programs that are pharmaceutical science and for his leadership provided to the community. of, and service to, the Greek American

community. “We have to think about Hellenism comprehensively,” Dr. Spireas, who is a former AHI Foundation president, said.

“Hellenism is not just for ethnic Greeks, but also Philhellenes. The Greek community should continue to be selfless in giving to good causes. AHI is a good lobbying group. GreekAmericans need to have effective lobbyists.

We are giving something to a justified organization such as the American Hellenic Institute, and we need professionals to lobby for Greeks.”

Honoree Spiro Spireas during his acceptance speech

Former U.S. Ambassador Patrick Theros received the AHI Hellenic Heritage Public Service Award for his distinguished public service to the United States and for his tireless pursuit of religious freedom. In acceptance, Ambassador Theros said, “We must never underestimate the contribution of the GreekAmerican community in every aspect of life in the United States; we have produced great leaders in science, medicine, politics, finance,

AHI President Nick Larigakis

and academia. We need great organizations like the American Hellenic Institute to make our fellow Americans aware of our presence and importance.”

Special guests attending the event included: Ambassador of Greece to the United States Haris Lalacos, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States Marios Lysiotis, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who attended

AHI Foundation President Constantine Galanis

the reception; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Matthew Palmer; and Deputy Assistant S ecretar y of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs David Short.

Other notable guests attending the dinner were: Art Dimopoulos, executive director, National Hellenic Society; Mike Manatos, executive director, Washington OXI Day Foundation; Christos Papoutsis, former Minister of Greece for Citizens Protection and current advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank; Maria Krithariotis, interim d i r e c t o r, G r e e k N a t i o n a l To u r i s m O r g a n i z at i on , U S A & C a n a d a ; Pau l Kotrotsios, publisher, Hellenic News of America and president, Hermes Expo International; and AHI-Athens Chapter Vice President retired Vice Admiral of the Hellenic Navy Vasilis Kyriazis, and AHI-Athens Chapter Members George Mermelas and Katerina Papathanasiou.

AHI President Nick Larigakis with legislative assistant Elias Gerasoulis, Yola Pakhchanian, communications director (1st from right), Georgea Polizos (3rd from right) and volunteers

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hellenes without borders

Alexander Billinis is a writer and lawyer in Chicago, Illinois. He and his family returned to the US after nearly a decade in Greece, the UK, and Serbia. He writes prolifically on Balkan topics. His books, The Eagle has Two Faces: Journeys through Byzantine Europe, and Hidden Mosaics: An Aegean Tale, are available from Amazon.com.

elsewhere. I told him that when I originated from the nearby village of Falakros, was an exchange student in Chile, though many lived in Neapolis and surrounding in a tiny Greek Orthodox Church in hamlets.

A Grandson’s Visit: Ano Kastania Santiago, I met a fellow whose grandmother’s maiden name was Disappointed, and needing to start back to Billinis. “Yes,” he nodded, “most of Athens, several hours away, we began winding While we lived in Greece, a source of succor from the daily reality of life and work in Athens were our people went away, some to Athens, others back, but then at some turn we saw a sign that pointed right and upwards to Ano Kastania. t r ips out of t he cit y v i a Gre e ce’s ne w further,” as had my father.

Turning to my wife, I said, “shall we?” She said, superhighways. A plethora of alpine and seaside jaunts, along with historical destinations, I had attempted to close the circle, and to “we’ve come this far, find out.” beckoned us and were only a few hours away. On repatriate, but while the poverty that drove my one such trip, just before we moved from Greece, forefathers out had faded, the gap between the It is interesting how a quick decision, a road on a wet November weekend, we pointed our quality of everyday life and particularly career taken rather than not taken, can have a VW Golf southwards toward an uncertain options were sufficiently wide between Greece transformative effect on one’s life. destination. I knew I wanted my wife and son to and the Diaspora that re-emigration made sense I had forgotten much, clearly, and when we see Mistra, where Byzantium lived out its Indian still. entered the hamlet, on a tiny concrete track, we Summer, and Monemvasia, the ByzantineVenetian-Ottoman Gibraltar. There was also “G o t o t h e m o u nt a i n s a n d f i n d y o u r met up with a sturdy, kindly woman in big boots another destination, at the southernmost tip of grandfather,” Billinis said. Obviously he would and a winter jacket pruning a tree. I blurted out “My grandfather was from here, he walked out of the Vatika Peninsula, in the mountains above not let me pay, and he invited us back. this village in the 1920s and went into the Neapolis, where my grandfather, Alexandros, was born, and from where my family name, Nearly thirty years ago, when I was a boy of ten, merchant marine, raised a family in Athens, and my late father took me to Neapolis and into the was torpedoed at sea in 1943 in the Battle of the Billinis, derives. mountains to visit his father’s village, but I had Atlantic.”

A land so dense in forgotten nearly everything “I see,” she said, “and his name history as Greece about the trip, except the name of t h e v i l l a g e , A n o ( Up p e r ) was. . . .” I replied, “Alexandros cannot help but Billinis.” She shook her head, have riddles, and Kastania. The road toward the “no, son, you must be looking l i k e n av i g at i n g village was a vertical stack of switchbacks, ascending nearly a for another village. Where are modern Greek you from?” I told her we lived b u r e a u c r a c y , kilometer into the air. I had in Greece but that we were a s k i n g o n e remembered this road thirty years before, unpaved, but in from America. “Many of our question may well people left, including to Monemvasia from l e a d t o m o r e spite of new asphalt and partial America, some still come back, Ano Kastania. PHOTO: questions, and guardrails, the road still but Billinis is not a name from ANTONIS KOURKOULIS p e r h a p s resembled a goat-track. After this village.” unexpected answers. After a lovely evening in about a half hour of ascent, descent, and turns punctuated by Monemvasia, having enjoyed great food in an Suddenly, I remembered how absolutely lovely pension on the “Rock,” we a warning honk, we arrived at much I had forgotten. “Wait,” drank our coffee before we were to start back for Kato (Lower) Kastania. The they had had another name, Athens. In the café, when I mentioned my last village, possessed of several “Meimetis!” Nodding, she name, Billinis, the proprietress exclaimed, “you dozen houses in various stages of said, “Let’s go.” Getting into the are from these parts, just over the mountains. repair, seemed deserted in mid- My grandfather, back seat of the Golf, next to You know,” she said, “I grew up in Mozambique, day and temperatures just north Alexandros C. Billinis, and knew a Billinis there, before we returned in of freezing, but in passing I saw a born in Ano Kastania in 1894 our son in his car seat, she said, “drive.” On steep inclines that 1975 after the Portuguese left the colony.” It s m a l l m a r b l e p l a q u e occurred to me that my late father had once commemorating some event whose meaning seem deliberately designed to burn tires, we visited this same Billinis relative in Mozambique escaped me, and listing several names, among passed a parked car—with North Carolina when he was in the merchant marine in the them, Tzerefos, the last name of my great uncle, a plates! I had to concentrate on the road so as not 1950s. That settled it. “Go to Neapolis; find your Billinis who borrowed his cousin’s name, to fall into the ravine, and never got a chance to Tzerefos, when passing through Ellis Island. ask about the car or its North Carolina owner. family,” the proprietress said.

Thus, Tzerefos, an assumed name, stuck in “Yes,” I said, “my grandfather, or his father, I do America. not know who, changed his name from Meimetis How could we refuse? to Billinis, his mother’s maiden name, because he The VW Golf is a fine car for Greece, navigating It was not the only case of name change. I felt we felt the name Meimetis sounded too Turkish.” To both the barbaric chaos of Athens traffic, the were “getting warmer” but, since we were nearby, which she replied, “No, the name is not Turkish, sleek autobahns of the countryside, and the a bank colleague in Athens with origins in the it is Albanian, if not Greek, our people were winding hairpin turns of the alpine regions. This region said that we must visit the Grottos of Kato Greeks. Let Auntie explain . . . .” vehicle was the best perk of my banking job in Kastania, a very interesting underground cave Athens. Without any fuss, the Golf took to the complex complete with stalactites, stalagmites, a We stopped at a small, one story “house,” no uneven mountain tracks of the Vatika, and guide, and a number of tourists which included more than two rooms, where we met three old within an hour, we mounted and descended Diaspora Greeks, Chinese, and Germans, and people, half the permanent population of Ano Kastania. My wife, my son, our newfound many microclimates, viewed several rainbows, local Greeks. hostess, and the three old people crammed into negotiated passage among goats, and arrived at Neapolis, a charming seaside town, where a café The cave also boasted a café and gift shop, and I the room heated by our togetherness and an with the name “Billinis” in neon welcomed us. chatted with the employee serving drinks, a antique wood-burning stove. Then one of the We walked in, ordered coffee from the Romanian lady married to a local. I asked her if septuagenarians began: proprietor, and I asked my son, in Greek, to tell she knew of Ano Kastania and the name Billinis. our host his name—“Iannis Billinis.” The owner She asked some local men milling about to talk to At the time of the revolution against the Turks, in smiled, asked us where we were from, I said, me and while they knew the name, Billinis, and 1821, the Turks were driven into the citadel of jokingly, “Athens. No, actually, America.” He they knew the village (“if it could be called that”) Monemvasia, and in the course of massacre of knew of Billinises in America, Australia, and of Ano Kastania, they said that Billinises did not the Turkish population, two children were live in Ano Kastania, never did, and instead targeted, brothers. One was killed in the Greeks’ 40

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rage, the other, jumped into the sea to save himself, saying in Greek, I am Christian, crossing himself. This child, now brotherless, survived, and eventually sired the Meimetis family. His grandson, Kosta, was your grandfather’s father. But they were not Turks, they were fair and decent.

Religion and Politics in Brazil: Orthodox Influences

I had heard a slightly different version, that my grandfather’s great-grandfather was born of a mother taken hostage by the Turks in the course of the Greek revolution, and that when the citadel of Monemvasia was taken by the Greeks, out came a pregnant Greek woman, whose child, Haralambos, received the last name (p arats ou k li) of Meimet is (s on of Mehmet).

The recent elections in Brazil have once again placed religion and politics at the fore of p u b l i c d e b at e s . No t surprisingly, the election of President Jair Bolsonaro has focused Former Mayor of Sao Paulo and presidential attention on the growing candidate Fernando influence of Evangelicals Haddad in Brazilian politics. This factor is now frequently touted alongside the affirmation that Brazil is the largest Roman Catholic country in the world. While Bolsonaro is himself a Roman Catholic, his election campaign played to an alliance of Evangelicals and traditional Roman Catholics.

In the final run-off, the Evangelical vote showed a 2 to 1 split in favor of Bolsonaro, while the Roman Catholic vote was equally distributed between both candidates.

Bolsanaro’s opponent was the Orthodox Christian Fernando Haddad. Added to this, Bolsonaro’s immediate predecessors in the Presidential Office were both influenced by Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christianity is in the political mix in Brazil, although it is frequently misunderstood (in the case of Fernando Haddad) or overlooked (in the case of Presidents’ Michel Temer and Dilma Rousseff).

I would find out later, in fact, that my ancestor was the child of mixed MuslimChristian marriage, who converted to Christianity after the Greek War of Independence. This was the most plausible explanation, backed by his baptismal certificate (shown herein) and by his baptismal name, “Haralambos”—"delight in God’s light,” depicting a newly Christian (enlightened) person, combined with a surname, “Meimetis” which reminds both the bearer and the hearer of more exotic origins.

Back at the samovar, we sipped strong Turkish coffee, and our three-year-old son chattered away in Greek. The old folks smiled, as they imparted to a young family the history of their hamlet, fading, like them, into the ages. We exchanged kisses, no eyes were dry, and went out again to the wind. Our hostess lived in Athens but came down every month or so to check on the old folks and tend her home. I did not know which of the fallen-down houses had belonged to Papou Alexandros; neither did my new-found “Aunt.” It did not matter. I felt I had solved a riddle as to my origins.

We left the village, feeling on our shoulders an almost-nudge of a hand from above, as if someone were bidding us goodbye and thanking us for our visit. Many times, in Greece, when I depart a place of some significance or profundity, either historical or familial, I felt a similar hovering, presence bidding me farewell.

To get down the mountain, we had to go up a few switchbacks. There, below us in the distance, we saw the venerable “island” of Monemvasia, which we had left that very morning, shining in the rain –silver and copper, a citadel of Hellenism which survived and absorbed Slavs, Franks, Venetians, and, yes, Turks. Perhaps Greatgreat-papou Haralambos had Turkish blood in his lineage, or that of all of the others who passed through Monemvasia.

His story is the story of Greece, of the Balkans, and really of humanity. I felt proud to have found in the rocky soil of Kastania, a reference point which rooted me, in the lands of my ancestors. Like others who came from there, it was time to leave again for distant shores, back into the Diaspora, which, like Ano Kastania, was also part of my destiny.

by Graham McGeoch*

Following a campaign television appearance in which he cited the Bible, Fernando Haddad was savaged on social media and from Evangelical pulpits. The phrase Haddad cited isn´t in the Bible, decried the Evangelicals.

The sentiment is, affirmed Haddad. At root is a different hermeneutical approach to the Bible in Orthodoxy and Evangelical churches.

This nuance was lost in the hot-house of campaigning. The Evangelical critique was, “Haddad quotes a non-existent Bible verse.” In an election playing to religious and political alliances, this critique of Haddad pushed Orthodoxy out of the Christian political mix.

Of course, Brazil has a secular Constitution, even if it manifests strong Christian elements in its public life and institutions. Those strong Christian elements appear not to include Orthodox Christianity.

And yet, historically, Orthodox Christians have contributed to politics, economics and culture in Brazil. The strong waves of migration from the Middle East and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century form the basis of this Orthodox presence.

Dilma Rousseff (Brazil’s first woman President, 2011-2016) is the daughter of a Bulgarian Communist who fled to Brazil in the 1920s. Rousseff followed her father’s political leanings. Although both father and daughter reject Christianity, it is the Orthodox Christianity of Bulgaria that is rejected by the father. Rousseff is formed in this diaspora in

Belo Horizonte, one of Brazil’s largest cities.

During her term in office, Rousseff ’s VicePresident was Michel Temer. Temer is from a very different part of the political spectrum.

He was also instrumental to the congressional coup that impeached and deposed Rousseff.

However, Michel Temer has similar, and more explicit, religious roots to Rousseff. He is the son of Lebanese parents who migrated to Brazil in 1925. His parents were Maronite Christians. Temer himself later ‘converted’ to the Roman Catholic Church. The Maronite Church follows the Eastern-rite but is in full communion with the Papal See in Rome. It is an Orthodox Church in full communion with Rome.

While Rousseff and Temer have tangential Orthodox Christian influences, it is the man who lost the most recent Presidential election who embodies Orthodox Christianity in Brazilian politics. Fernando Haddad, like Temer, is the son of Lebanese migrants.

However, Haddad belongs to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. He is an Orthodox Christian.

The Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral in Sao Paulo. Conceived by Paulo Tafic Camasmie and based on the Church of Haghia Sofia in Constantinople, it was inaugurated in 1954

Brazil has had two Protestant Presidents, João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (1954-1955) and Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979). Café Filho was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. Geisel was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil. He governed during the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985).

Brazil has had innumerable Roman Catholic Presidents. Following Haddad’s failure to win the run-off in the recent Presidential election, Brazil still awaits its first Orthodox Christian President. And this begs the wider question, is there space for Orthodox Christianity in the future mix of religion and politics in Brazil?

That will be down to the Orthodox diaspora in Brazil.

This article was first published in publicorthodoxy.org Graham McGeoch teaches Theology & Religious Studies at the Faculdade Unida de Vitória, Brazil.

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Takis Kastanis:

by Athena Efter

Cracking the Yolks at Yolk When dining out, whether it’s breakfast or brunch, eggs are always on the menu, and you can pretty mu ch h ave t h e m a ny w a y y o u l i k e them - scrambled, hard-boiled, poached, fried, sunny side up, or folded in an omelet.

You can even have them for dessert too.

If it’s not egg custard, you can always find them to be the key ingredient in making your pancakes and waffles thick and fluffy or your whipped meringues l i g h t a n d f l u f f y.

There’s no “eggs-it” when it comes to breakfast or b r u n c h , unless you choose to pass on the eggs and go for yogurt with fresh fruit, avocado on toast, a thick juicy burger, or your choice of proteins, legumes, veggies, and varietal greens in a salad.

Eggs will always be on the menu. They are loaded with vitamins, full of protein, and always fulfilling. They are fuel for the day and a symbol of life.

Although not everyone can agree on how they like their eggs or whether they want eggs at all, folks in the Midwest, and now the South, are giving yolk a good run.

It’s been over ten years since Yolk, a breakfast/lunch hot spot (and sweet spot!) opened in Chicago’s South loop in 2006. The owner, Takis Kastanis, is no stranger to the restaurant industry.

His parents owned ten diners in the Chicago area where he helped out after school in between homework assignments, on weekends, and days off. After cracking the eggs, he cracked the books all the way into medical school. He managed to stay there for three years until he decided to follow his food passion. He traded in his lab whites for egg whites and switched to business school, where there is still a science involved in making the dough and making it stick.

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At the ripe age of 22, Takis opened his first breakfast focused restaurant, Yolk, an elevated diner concept, and rolled it out to 16 more restaurants l o c ate d t h rou g hout C h i c ago, Indianapolis, Dallas, and Boca Raton, and he continues to expand with another store in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Louisville, KY, Nashville, TN and Oklahoma City are all possible new location options.

All restaurants serve breakfast and lunch. No dinner plans yet, but with he ar t y d i she s l i ke Pot R o a st Benedict, Chicken and Waffles, Red Velvet French Toast, and Breakfast Mac ‘n’ Cheese, you can probably have a late lunch and skip dinner, or take that baby kale salad with blueberry pomegranate dressing to go for later. These are just some of the menu highlights, which are the same across all restaurants, with some changes twice a year including seasonal and limited time offerings.

While n o t everyon e starts t heir d ay w it h eggs and toast or waffles and g r i d d l e s , mo st people start their day with coffee, so if your appetite is not as big as your bite, there is always a cup of coffee to grab at their coffee bar, or to sit down and enjoy. Coffee is serious business at Yolk, especially at the test kitchen.

They have regular coffee cuppings with small bites where they try out new roasters. A guest roaster comes in and customers get to taste different types of coffee. They have a special focus on espresso based beverages and cold brews where they get to explore more creatively through an elevated coffee program.

If you aren’t feeling the flavor for pecan pie, you can always get your macchiato with a shot of sweet potato pie.

They make their own syrups in house which often get infused in coffee b e ve r a ge s . T h e i r coffee bar, like their breakfast kitchen, is open for business at the crack of dawn.

But you can start your day there at 7am or end it at 3pm.

You won’t find any hens in their backyard, but they support local business as much as p ossible t hroug h local coffee roasters and food suppliers.

At Yolk, coffee is not just coffee and food is not just food. It’s meant to be savored, tasted, and enjoyed.

At their test kitchen at t h e B u c kt ow n location in Chicago, they come up with menu favorites like the popular Breakfast Mac ‘n’ Cheese. It comes with a sunny side up egg, bacon, applewood ham, cheddar and parmesan cheeses, panko bread crumbs, and chives. If you want to start your day off with a kick you can spice things up with Korean Hot Chicken and Waffles. It comes with a sunny side up egg and pickled slaw. But if you really want to rack up those ribs and go the whole hog, why not make a dent in it with a smoked pork belly BLT? You can still keep the lettuce, mayo and tomato, and add a fried egg on top of it too.

Traditionalists and creatures of routine need not worry. There is something sweet and savory for everyone on the regular menu too.

If pot roast is not your grandparents’ cut of meat, you can still get your Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce on your eggs Benedict.

But why would you? I may be from the Northeast, but in the Midwest, I’ll take grandma’s pot roast over my eggs any day, and right this minute please, without forgetting to thank you sir…or ma’am.

I may be partial to salt, but I don’t want to leave out anyone’s sweet tooth. For those who like a more refined blast of sugar in their breakfast, and balancing it out with fresh fruit and bananas, there are always classics like Nutella crepes with strawberries, bananas, walnuts,

and chocolate. I personally wouldn’t mind trying out that shot of banana liqueur, brown sugar, pecans, and whipped cream on their Banana Foster Cakes. I may have to save that for Sunday brunch at the test kitchen in Bucktown.

Not saving the best for last, but I don’t think I could go in and leave without trying their Red Velvet French Toast. If food is your true love and red is the color of love, it’s always going to be Valentine’s Day with this red hot mama on the menu. She sells better than hotcakes! It comes with a cream cheese swirl, strawberries and w h i p p e d c r e a m . It’s a signature menu item in high demand if you want something sweet and a little cheesy.

This item may or may not be kid approved, but Yolk serves up something for everyone. Breakfast Mac ‘N’ Cheese with pipette pasta and white cheddar is kid friendly too, so if you have children don’t forget to visit

t heir Kids Menu. More adventurous children can get their breakfast mac with a chili stack, or they can stick to the basics like chicken fingers and French fries or a healthy side of grapes. I’m betting that two pancakes with Oreo cookies baked into the batter and topped with Oreo cookie crumbles and whipped cream are all-kid approved.

While there is no medical evidence t h at Yo l k R e st au r ant s c an cure a disease, or that an egg a day can keep t he do c tor away, egg yolk can be separated and omitted for those watching their cholesterol levels. Menu items can always be adjusted to meet allergy and dietary restrictions. With a passion for food pumping through

his veins, Takis whips up a menu, not exactly like a doctor or nutritionist, but more like a food therapist that can feed your fever when you’re not starving your cold.

For those of us who d on’t l ive i n t he Midwest or the South, but want a taste of Yolk, we can always visit their online shop at eatyolk.com. You can order specialty items like their signature pancake batter, maple syrup, Habanero hot sauce, craft-roasted coffee beans, or Bloody Ma r y m i x . I’m already thinking of testing out a splash of hot sauce and maple syrup in my home brew, but if Yolk wants to make a run for it at their test kitchen, I’m willing to go out there and try a new brew!

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Happy Easter - Καλό Πάσχα!

BANDING TOGETHER TO MAKE AN IMPACT FOR THOUSANDS From abandoned lifevests to ZOE BANDS

by Dina Pinos Greek-American Zoe and husband Xander are improving the lives of adults and children displaced by conflict in Lesvos Island. Here's what they had to say in an interview with NEO magazine.

You first found out about the refugee crisis in 2015 when scouting the island of Crete as a wedding venue I understand to be the case.

Please tell our readers what you did once you found out about this plight the refugees have encountered and continue to live with on a daily basis?

Our experience with the refugee crisis started like a quiet hum in our ear as we were looking for a wedding venue on the island of Crete. We just kept getting glimpses of it as we went about our exploration - a man holding a newspaper out in the streets... a news report blaring from the local news station at the hotel… As the days passed, that quiet hum became a loud rumble, impossible to ignore.

We saw images of children drowning. There was no escaping the constant flow of misery...

When We Band Together co-founder Zoë Pappis sits with Sophia. Lesvos local Sophia was hired by When We Band Together to sew Zoë Bands.

made a rain jacket using broken umbrellas and a water bottle holder from a mismatched sock.

In Lesvos, the life vest had become the unofficial symbol of the refugee crisis, so I thought to myself, there was a story to tell by creating something from these abandoned life vests. We had four goals with the concept: 1. First and foremost, create a vehicle that could drive moneys towards refugee aid.

2. Clean up the beaches of Lesvos, which had transformed a place that emanated love and Everywhere we turned we read more and beauty into a solemn graveyard. more... The original quest for a wedding venue search started to feel frivolous and irrelevant. 3. Support the local economy, both by Our web searches for information about the employing locals and buying much of the aid crisis turned into searches for how to get from local stores. One of the reasons we chose involved. An island we had never heard -- to make bracelets is because it is so simple to Lesvos. So many organizations were posting make. We could employ someone with no need for assistance, volunteers. We were previous experience as a seamstress. determined it was our turn to become involved also. We went to a local store and 4. Spread awareness to the United States and bought a random assortment of supplies we the world. We wanted to create a tangible thought first responders would have with connection to the crisis and help people wear them and boarded a one way flight to Lesvos. conversation starters.

We had very little idea what role we would be serving once we arrive, yet covering the gamut, we purchased everything we could find - emergency blankets, head lamps, binoculars, tactical backpacks, waterproof boots, weather resistant clothes… Once we arrived on the island and assessed the local conditions, primarily the cold weather, we clearly understood that the rest of our money was then to be spent on tents, blankets and When We Band Together co-founders Xander and jackets for all those that needed them. It was Zoë visiting the Acropolis the month of November and we volunteered in 2015, just before they doing everything - drove people around, embarked on their first cooked warm meals, sorted out donations, trip to Lesvos. handed food to people as they arrived on the shores. We were taxi drivers, babysitters, chefs, What makes your NGO stand out in this maze night shift security guards. of foreig n aid, donations, and other How did the idea of making bracelets to raise international organizations? funds for critical aid using the lifejackets come about and what is the process in making There’s so many wonderful organizations out there. We look at ourselves as a bridge and these bracelets? partner to those organizations, not as While studying at the San Francisco State competition. We’re tr ying to tap into University, I had taken a sustainable fashion consumer culture, where it can be easier to course. The course had a project focusing on find moneys than philanthropy. We use our up-cycling, also known as creative reuse. It is revenue to fund the grassroots NGOs doing the process of transforming a by-product or an work on the ground, and try to share their unwanted product into new material. I had work with our following. We hope to be a platform and funder for other incredible NGOs and the amazing people operating them.

Can you share with us a great personal story of how local families has been able to benefit directly from your kindness and the impact it has had on the refugee camp?

A "Zoë Band" - made from upcycled life vests once worn by a refugee.

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Lesvos local Irene was hired by When We Band Together to sew Zoë Bands.

We’ve partnered with Team Humanity to build out the Hope and Peace Center, a space the children need and deserve. There is also a Women’s Center. Trauma counseling is available via the Humanity Crew. There is already a ball pit, soccer field, theater and bounce house, in addition to a place to find warm clothes. Yet to complete is a school with library facilities, and full curriculum and educational materials. The camp director

Vangelis, as he is also handicapped. We went to a local pharmacy in Molyvos and placed an order for three electric wheelchairs. The pharmacy which had been struggling, received a large order and Stavros told us we had restored dignity to the recipients and the camp as a whole.

When We Band Together co-founder Zoë Pappis stands among the life vest graveyard. The life vest graveyard is situated on the north end of the Greek What do you see as the future regarding this Island of Lesvos. Over world crises and how your your efforts are 1 million refugees have passed through the island moving forward to realize your goals? since 2014.

Stavros Mirigiannis at the Kara Tepe refugee camp, had told our partner, Vangelis Koutalianos, that the manual wheelchairs in the camp were not sufficient for some of the more severely handicapped camp residence.

Stavros said the handicapped people who were being neglected was depressing the entire community. This especially resonated with

When We Band Together co-founder Zoë Pappis purchases bedding at a local store in Lesvos.

WWBT tries to buy aid locally to help the hostcommunity and refugees.

You don’t have to have a master plan to get started . You start to desire to help to change a situation you care about. Our idea is evolving in ways we never anticipated. The first steps are always the hardest. Once the snowball is rolling, you’ll pick up all sorts of opportunities you never dreamed of attaining. This endeavor has brought the larger refugee crisis and our geo-political issues as a species, into focus. We were naive coming into this and still are in numerous ways. We’re currently developing a new direction that will allow us to go far beyond bracelets and aid on Lesvos.

This crisis needs a movement that allows brands and consumers all over the world to come together. This is a moment in history we are excited to step into and lead with compassion, kindness and unity.

Children from the Hope and Peace Center in Lesvos.

The Hope and Peace center is run by Team Humanity.

It is situated across the street from the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos, and acts as a safe space for women to rest and children to play. Team Humanity is the current recipient of When We Band Together proceeds.

For our pop-up, we wanted people to remember the feeling of being a child — recalling how important safe spaces and play are to creating a trusting, loving world-view.

For the event, we bought giant toys: a 10 foot teddy bear and huge versions of familiar games and toys: jenga, connect-four, uno, silly putty, legos, etc. It had the intended effect.

Smiles were everywhere and people were playing with strangers like children in a park.

Building awareness and sharing our work, we asking people to do three things: buy a bracelet, pledge their birthday, and join us in Greece when we lead retreats this coming autumn and next spring in 2020. We were able to raise over $1,000 at the event. More importantly, we built a group of allies that have Tell me more about the pop-up site on Canal invited us to speak at their companies while Street in Manhattan. How much money was others joined us as interns, and plan to travel raised? What else were the outcomes? to Greece with us.

"Lessons from my Grandfather: Wisdom For Success in Business and Life” Marc Demetriou is a nationally recognized mortgage banker, award winning author, and top rated speaker. Marc has spoken at dozens of events including the Mastermind Summit featuring world-renowned motivational speakers Tony Robbins and Barbara Corcoran from ABC Television’s Shark Tank. As an authority on real estate and finance, Demetriou has been quoted in articles in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Reuters, The Associated Press, and many other local and national publications and media outlets.

His grandfather's hard work and success inspired him to write his best-selling book, "Lessons from my Grandfather: Wisdom For Success in Business and Life", and he strongly believes that success is a choice. More information about Marc and his book are available at marcdemetriou.com and grandfatherlessons.com as well as Instagram @marcdemetriou.

fulfillment in life by following 15 timeless principles handed down by Marc Demetriou’s grandfather, Haralambos Georgiou Pistis—or just “Charlie.”

An Ellis Island immigrant, Charlie left his country at just 16 with nothing but a bag full of dreams, his wits, and the desire to succeed – and he transformed his world. Through his steadfast willingness to work hard, and a determination to control life rather than allowing it to control him, Charlie succeeded on his own terms, finding happiness and financial security.

In these pages, Demetriou tells Charlie’s inspirational story, then applies his lessons to today. The result provides both clarity and vision for helping you recognize your unique talents, along with lifelong principles that will allow you to identify and reach your goals in life and business. This book is an essential You are never too young or too old to make blueprint that you can use for today and your dreams come true…to choose to be what tomorrow. As Demetriou likes to call it, you want to be. Lessons From My Grandfather “success made simple.” shows how you can achieve success and

The Last Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia of 1919

by Anthony E. Stivaktakis It is commonly believed that the last Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople took place on May 28, 1453. However, the last Divine Liturgy to really take place in Hagia Sophia was on the 19th of January in 1919, which was officiated by Papa Lefteris Noufrakis (18721941) from Rethymno, Crete. The story of this historic event is below.

struggles of our Nation, from ancient times (Idomeneus, Nearchus etc.) to our days (Macedonian Struggle, Drisko in Epirus, etc.).

We are referring to Papa Lefteris Noufrakis from Alones in Rethymno, who served as a military chaplain in the second Greek Division, one of the two Divisions that participated in the early 1919 "allied" expeditionary force in Ukraine. This Division, on the way to Ukraine, briefly stopped in Constantinople, the City of the dreams of the Greek people, which was then under "allied domination" following the end of World War I.

A group of Greek officers, led by the brave Cretan, together with the Brigadier Frantzis, Major Liaromatis, Captain Stamatios and Lieutenant Nicholas gazed at the City and Hagia Sophia from the ship, hiding deep in their hearts their great secret, their great decision which they made the previous night, after the proposal and strong insistence of the lionhearted Cretan Papa Lefteris Noufrakis. They Once my grandfather told me about a Cretan were to disembark in the City and liturgize in priest, a true lad, who in January 1919 liturgized Hagia Sophia! under the thousand year old domes of Hagia Sophia!

All of them were skeptical when they heard Papa Lefteris propose this great enterprise.

He knew him well, because he was a military They knew that things were very difficult. chaplain of the same Division he was in, the Hagia Sophia was still a mosque, and surely Division that later participated in the Asia some guards would be there, while others Minor Campaign and arrived at the gates of would be going to pray, and it wasn't difficult for Ankara, and drank water from the Sakarya! But it to be filled from one moment to another. And alas! this cool water later turned into a hot fiery then there were their superiors, who would not river of pain and suffering, that burned the be in favor of such an action, and it would cause hearts of all Greeks. a storm among the "allies" for such a "provocation". It would perhaps even create a I did not pay much attention to the words of my diplomatic episode that would embarrass the grandfather at the time. What he told me Greek government and Prime Minister seemed impossible, and I considered them to be Eleftherios Venizelos. But Papa Lefteris had the result of delirium, a remnant of made his decision, and he was those unbearable days, and the decisive and assertive. unimaginable pain my grandfather felt when he recalled the past, and "If all of you don't come, I will go by heard the words Ionia, Smyrna, myself! I only want one chanter. You, Pergamum, AyvalÄąk, Trebizond, Constantine (Liaromatis), will you be Kerasos, Saggarios, Eskisechir, my chanter?"

Afyonkarahisar, The City, Hagia Sophia! These words had a place in "All right, dear Father," the Major my grandfathers mind and heart, replied, who also took the same which he held most sacred and stance, and everything was in order. nostalgic in this life, even more sacred than his children, his Papa Lefteris Noufrakis Eventually, all of them went. grandchildren, his own life!

The ship carrying the Division anchored in the Dozens of times I noticed him with my open sea, so they boarded a boat and a Romios childhood eyes crying - sometimes erupting took them to the City, and they soon landed at into sobs and redemptive laments - offering up the waterfront. Kosmas, the native boatman, these holy names which he identified with the tied the boat and led them along the shortest timeless history and presence of our Nation on path to Hagia Sophia. The door was open as if it earth. At the time I understood nothing, or was waiting for them. The Turkish guard went almost nothing. Only a vague question to say something in his own language, but a dominated my soul from this special stance of fierce and decisive look by Brigadier Frantzis my grandfather. Shortly afterwards I realized put him in his place and left him speechless. All the crucial impact of these tears, these cries, in entered with reverence and made the sign of the my own soul. I understand now, and I will cross. Papa Lefteris whispered with great always feel it prevail throughout my being. emotion: "I will enter into Your house, and I will venerate towards Your Holy Temple with My grandfather certainly was right when he fear...." said that in January 1919 Hagia Sophia liturgized! The protagonist of this shocking fact P r o g r e s s i n g q u i c k l y a n d w i t h o u t of our national life, which unfortunately many procrastinating, he identified the location of the Greeks are ignorant of, was a true lad, a sprout Sanctuary and the Holy Altar. Finding a small from leventi-generating Crete, whose brave table, he put it in place, he opened his bag, and children always were a great presence in the took out everything needed for the Divine Liturgy. Then he put on his stole and began: 54

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"Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages."

"Amen," responded Major Liaromatis, and the Divine Liturgy at Hagia Sophia began.

"I hope God makes us worthy to complete this," everyone thought, crossing themselves with devotion.

The officers seemed to have been at a loss, everything happened so suddenly and it was unbelievable.

Close up of the bust

The Divine Liturgy proceeded as normal. After 466 entire years Hagia Sophia was liturgizing again! Papa Lefteris continued. Everything was done with sacred propriety, according to the rubrics of the Church. One could hear the "peace be with all," the "Lord have mercy," the "O Only-begotten Son and Word of God," which was written by Justinian himself, who ordered and cared for the building of Hagia Sophia. The Small Entrance followed, then the "To you the Champion Leader," the Epistle was read by Brigadier Frantzis and the Gospel Reading was done by Papa Lefteris. The duties of the sacristan were performed by Lieutenant Nicholas.

Meanwhile Hagia Sophia began to be filled with Turks. Papa Noufrakis was not daunted and continued. Others looked bemused at this fearless priest and the Turks, who until that moment were observing with silence, could not believe their eyes, because that which was taking place at that moment was truly unbelievable.

The Gospel was followed by the Cherubic Hymn by Major L i a r o m at i s , w h i l e Pap a Lefteris placed the Monument with the bust of Papa Lefteris antimension on the table, to Noufrakis in Alones do the Proskomidi. The Turks continued to multiply. As time passed it was tough, but also unforgettable and epic. Papa Noufrakis continued. He takes a small Holy Chalice out of his bag, a paten, a knife and a small prosphoron with a small bottle of wine.

With sacred emotion and devotion he does the Proskomidi, while Liaromatis continued chanting the Cherubic Hymn. When the Proskomidi was completed, he turned to Lieutenant Nicholas and told him to light a candle so he could follow him during the Great Entrance. The young Lieutenant went ahead and lit the candle, behind him was the priest crying out: "May the Lord God remember all of us...."

Then the Supplications and the Creed followed, which was said by Frantzis. Meanwhile Hagia Sophia was full of Turks and among them were many Greeks from the City, who happened to be there at the moment the Divine Liturgy was being celebrated, and they followed along with emotion, without daring to externalize their feelings "for fear of the Jews," that is, the Turks.

Only at certain times they could not restrain their tears flowing from their eyes and not betray their care, wiping them away before they became a "fiery" river which they could not hold back.

The Liturgy meanwhile reached its most sacred point - the Anaphora.

With an emotional voice Papa Lefteris said: "Your own of Your own, we offer to You, for all and through all." All the officers knelt and the voice of Major Liaromatis could be heard chanting: "We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord, and we pray to You, our God." After a short while the bloodless sacrifice of our Lord was completed in Hagia Sophia, after 466 entire years! This was followed by the "Axion Estin," the "Our Father," and the "With the fear of God, faith and love draw near," and all the officers approached to commune from the Immaculate Mysteries. Papa Lefteris quickly said the prayers while Liaromatis chanted: "Blessed be the Name of the Lord...," while the rest of the Holy Communion was consumed. Speaking to Lieutenant Nicholas, he said: "Gather everything quickly and put it in the bag," then he did the Dismissal!

The Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia was completed. It was the dream of dozens of generations of Greeks, and it had become a reality. Papa Noufrakis and the four officers were ready to leave and return to the ship. Hagia Sophia however was full of Turks, who began to become enraged and aggressive when they realized what happened. The Greeks were in immediate danger. But they did not hesitate, and approached each other, becoming as "one body," and they proceeded towards the exit.

The Turks were ready to attack them, when a Turkish official presented himself with others following him, saying: "Let them pass." He said it with hatred. He wanted to paint his hands with their blood, but at that moment this is how things had to be, and it was not in the interest of their country nor necessary to kill five Roman officers in Hagia Sophia.

Do not forget that around the City were two embattled Greek Divisions and that Constantinople was essentially under the dominance of the victors of World War I, and this of course did not include the Turks.

On hearing this the Turks retreated. Papa Noufrakis and the other officers exited Hagia Sophia and headed for the waterfront, where a boat waited for them.

A husky Turk followed them, and lifting a piece of wood he rushed to hit Papa Noufrakis. He sensed that this priest was the instigator, the creator of this event. The heroic priest bent to avoid being hit, but the Turk managed to hit him on the shoulder. His body bent from the unbearable pain, but he gathered his strength, got up, and continued on his way. Meanwhile Major Liaromatis and Captain Stamatios disarmed the Turk, who was ready to give his most powerful and probably final blow to the priest.

Finally, they approach the boat. They all enter. Kosmas gathered all the ropes and begins to quickly row. Soon they boarded the Greek warship safe and victorious. Of course there followed a diplomatic incident, and the "allies" strongly protested to Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, who was forced to reprimand Papa Lefteris Noufrakis. But secretly he contacted him and "praised and congratulated the patriot priest, who even for a short time brought Hagia Sophia to life, the most sacred dream of our Nation."

In a few lines this was the history of the Divine Liturgy that took place after 466 years in Hagia Sophia by the heroic Papa Lefteris Noufrakis.

Certainly most modern Greeks are ignorant of this. The name of the lion-hearted Cretan says nothing to our minds and hearts. But this simple priest from Alones in Rethymno lifted on his shoulders and brought to life, even for a short time, one of the most epic, most holy and most sacred dreams of the Nation.

Even though I searched I could not find anything to remind the NeoGreeks of this heoric priest and his daring heroic act. There is no bust in his village, in the city of Rethymno, on the grounds of the Archdiocese of Crete, or in some square of the capital of Greece. No street, even the most insignificant, bears his name. No mention is made of his life and actions in the context of our local or national history. None of this has been done! Not for him!

He paid this debt without any kind of retribution. But this was for us, for us who have need of such heroic models, of powerful supports, to keep and save everything possible of our identity, of the ideals of our Nation, of our own soul.

PHOTO: US EMBASSY ATHENS

THE HELLENIC INITIATIVE ANNOUNCES A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH ACTION FOR WOMEN The Hellenic Initiative (THI) has donated $30,000 to the non-profit organization “Action for Women”. THI funds will cover costs associated with the operations of its “Athena Centre for Women” on the island of Chios that helps refugee women.

The “Athena Center for Women” is the only shelter of that kind on Chios that is dedicated to supporting women over the age of 12. The center offers a wide variety of specialized services to the refugee women arriving on Chios. Through this program, women refugees access legal, medical, and psychological support services in addition to a number of recreational activities that help them live their lives as normally as possible.

Action for Women is an independent non-profit organization founded in Zurich in 2015. The organization operates two programs in Greece: the “Athena Center for Women” on Chios island and “Halcyon Days” in Athens. Action for Women works to provide safety, support, and hope for the women seeking refuge in Greece. Furthermore, the organization aims to give women both the confidence and the appropriate skills to forge new lives in Europe. Since its beginning, it has helped over 17,500 women uprooted by violence and persecution feel safe, supported, and hopeful for their futures.

George Svokos, a THI Board Member, stated: “During World War II my mother fled Nazi occupation on a boat from Chios to Turkey. Today, thousands of women are taking her path in reverse, looking, like she was, for safety and the chance at a better life. In her memory, my family supports the efforts of Action for Women, which my daughters witnessed first-hand visiting the Athena Centre last summer."

According to Michael P r i n t z o s , T H I ’s Program Director, “The past few years Greece experienced a big influx of refugees, which created the need for facilities providing safe and dignified living conditions for the people searching for a better and safer life in the EU. Action for Women’s work both in Chios and Athens is praiseworthy, as it effectively addresses this critical social issue for women refugees. We feel proud to support organizations whose primary goal is to fight for human rights and help people rebuild their lives.”

Gabrielle Tay, Founder of Action for Women, said: “Since our beginnings in September 2015, Action for Women has remained an independent organization. Our projects on Chios and Athens provide safety, support, and hope for women fleeing conflict zones. THI’s funding will help us run this program for 6 months. We are humbled and grateful for this donation and we hope to keep helping all the vulnerable and displaced women we work with.”

Ambassador Michael D. Sotirhos, in Memoriam Michael G. Sotirhos, the first-ever American of Hellenic descent to serve as the United States ambassador to Greece, died on Sunday April 14, in Florida at the age of 91. He was the son of Greek immigrants who entered the US through Ellis Island in New York in 1923.

Michael Sotirhos had served in two ambassadorial positions: in 1985 President Reagan appointed him as Ambassador to Jamaica. In 1989, President George Bush chose Michael Sotirhos to be the United States Ambassador to Greece..

Ambassador Sotirhos was born and raised in New York, New York, where he was graduated, with honors, from Baruch College at the City University. Upon graduation, he and others formed the predecessor to the Ariston Group, which had varied interests in real estate, construction and commercial interior design. He served that company and its other related business interests until he entered government service in 1985.

After his retirement, he held a business Directorship in the Alexander Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.

In recognition of his outstanding service and leadership to the Caribbean nation, the Government of Jamaica bestowed its prestigious award, the "Order of Distinction" with the rank of Commander, to Ambassador Sotirhos. Hellenic College, Deree College and The City College of New York have bestowed honorary doctor of law degrees on Michael Sotirhos.

Community and government service had been at the center of Ambassador Sotirhos' career. He had served as Chairman of the Heritage Groups Council of the Republican National Committee, Chairman of Ethnic Voters '84 for the Reagan Bush Campaign and Chairman of the New York State Republican Heritage Groups Council. President Nixon and later President Ford asked Michael Sotirhos to head a Presidential Commission, the National Advisory Council of Voluntary Service, to evaluate the Peace Corps. He also had been a member of the New York State Council on Architecture and the National Council on Small Business. He had served the Greek Orthodox Church and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

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PHOTO: APOSTOLIS ANASTASOPOULOS

Resurrection time...

Pascha, whether early or late in the year, also marks the beginning of spring: the rebirth of nature. Trees are budding, the grass becomes greener, days are longer, clothing becomes lighter – perhaps too light – and people are looking forward to summer. Otherwise deserted streets fill with smiling people and beautiful Korean girls are gleaming under the bright sun, walking with confidence and grace, balancing on one hand the dog's leash – they are breeding them for next Easter - and the plastic bag with the dog poop on the other.

If you live in the northern hemisphere, that is, because in the south things are the opposite: Easter marks the beginning of ...Fall, it doesn't prepare you for ...resurrection, it is the commencement of a series of cold months! Maybe they should reverse the holidays to apply to their respective seasons: for example, Christmas should be in July which roughly corresponds to our December and Pascha should be around November. This way there will be some kind of balance, equilibrium at least when it comes to holidays and it will contribute to making the gap between north and south smaller! It's a start, isn't it?

Not to forget, many and big thanks to our supporters who made the edition an astounding success!

This project becomes bigger and better year by year as does our community!

Traditionalism meets modernity in ...Astoria!

PHOTO: NEO magazine

And with these ...progressive thoughts I'm saying goodby this time, wishing everyone, even my enemies, especially those, because they offer me real life examples to …avoid, making me thus a better person, Happy Easter, with j o y, l o v e a n d beautiful moments to remember and laugh with later!

P.S. A real comedian was elected president in the Ukraine!

Great news, because fake comedians should not be presidents…

Comedian Mathildi Maggira is Coming to Town!

Matthildi Maggira Is very well known in Greece for her talent as a great performer, comedian, actress, singer, dancer, writer.

We stil remember her from “Deka mikroi Mitsoi” of Lakis Lazopoulos, as Karakaltaka, we keep laughing with Eleonora in “Maria aschimi”, as judge in “Greece’s got talent” 2007 & 2009, “Dancing with the Stars 1” at the finals in 2010, as an inpersonator in 2016 at “Your Face Sounds Familiar 3” with the best Rena Vlahopoulou and many others, including the Eurovision presentations of 2008 & 2009 with her sister Betty, The Maggira sisters.

She left her print in theatre also, creating amazing characters, most recently with the comedy “TOC TOC” and her monologue of “Xantippe,” Sokrates' wife.

Mathildi is coming to New York on on Wendsday May 22, at ANEMOS in Astoria (41-15 34th Avenue) with her new onewoman show “TO KATA MATTHILDIN”, a medley of satire, humor, singing, impersonations, stand up and dancing.

As she said speaking to NEO, “The wind will bring me to ...ANEMOS! Can't wait seeing you there!!!”

For more info and reservations, their phone number is 7182556111.

periXscope

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We do not ask whether someone is an Orthodox, Muslim, or Hindu.

He is a human being who suffers, says Sister Nektaria

Sister Nektaria of Calcutta: The "Mother Teresa" of Orthodoxy

by Kelly Fanarioti The ideals of the Christian Orthodox faith love and self-sacrifice—have been promoted the last 25 years in the heart of one of the toughest places on earth by a Greek nun from Korinthos: Nektaria Paradisi.

Through her missionary work in Calcutta, India, this 66-year-old woman has taken on the heavy load that would otherwise be unbearable: she runs five schools in villages where there are Orthodox churches and communities, five clinics in remote areas, 12 churches, daily cooked food to the disabled and elderly living in the streets, an Orphanage for girls, "Theotokos," which hosts 98 girls, and an Orphanage of boys, "Agios Ignatios," which hosts 50 boys.

It all started in 1993 when the Greek Orthodox Church, and Father Ignatios Senis and Sister Nektaria Paradisi, created the Philanthropic Organization of the Orthodox Church in Calcutta to help all those who were cut off from society: slums dwellers, the illiterate, the orphaned, and the sick. A few years ago, Father Ignatios was ordained Metropolitan of Madagascar, and so all the weight then fell on Sister Nektaria.

nights in cemeteries. "There was much poverty: starving children and teenage mothers with babies in the arms. Τhese images were an everyday phenomenon that I could not overlook. They were not all Christian, but that did not matter. We do not ask whether someone is an Orthodox, Muslim, or Hindu.

He is a human being who suffers. Jesus Christ was crucified for all, regardless of religion," she says.

The images of the defenseless girls were perhaps the ones that shocked her most and led her to the founding of the first orphanage in 1997. She bought a tract of land in an area outside Calcutta that was more affordable, and within two years she had accepted the first girls, who now have grown up and raised families of their own. "By the time I stepped foot here, I wanted to help those homeless girls who were often raped by drunken men in the area. I cannot not save all of India, but I wanted to help somehow."

In the women's orphanage there is an English school with teachers who Sister Nektaria pays herself through donations. "Here in India if young girls are not educated, they have no future. Their weapon is education: otherwise, As she told NEO, when she first came to India they cannot stand on their feet." she was forced to survive under extremely difficult conditions, without electricity or One tragic loss for her last year was the water. She initially started providing disappearance of two underage girls, Ropali assistance to remote villages hours from any and Sonali, who were under her protection city and organized a breakfast room to serve since they had been young, because their homeless children who usually spent their mother had died and their father had 74

APRIL 2019

NEWS & NOTES

disappeared. "It was Sunday, we were drinking our tea, when their father suddenly came and asked me to take them for a day at home. Their mom had a small piece of land, which he and his relatives claimed, and he wanted the children to present them as legitimate heirs. I let him take them on condition that he return them the next day because they had school.

But the days passed and the children did not reappear. I learned from their relatives that one of them had been sold in marriage to an elderly person for a fee. He had sold his daughter. I never found out what was the other girl's fate."

According to Sister Nektaria, the role of women in Calcutta is still lowly and degraded.

From the window of her cell, she sees women every day loaded down with sacks while their men ride the donkeys. There have been several occasions when these women have tried to take refuge in the female orphanage or mission to escape from their abusive husbands. “Recently, a worker asked me not to give her the money she is entitled to, but to keep it, because her husband would take it all from her," she says, pointing out that there is a local mafia in the area. "You should not be afraid of them, because if they sense fear, they will take advantage of you. They want to have control over everything: they give me orders.

But you need to defy them with courage."

Her daily regimen is very strict: she wakes up at two-thirty in the morning and responds to emails from all over the world. At six she goes to school to prepare the children for lessons, which start at eight. “By 11 at night I'm at bed,” she says. “There are times when I even forget to eat. But the smiles of the orphans are my strength."

The new school, accredited by the Greek Ministry of Education, scheduled to open on May 4th

Currently, Sister Nektaria is going through a particularly rewarding period because of the fulfillment of her dream of building a school accredited with the Ministry of Education where students can conduct PanHellenic examinations for their admission to the University. ''Who says that miracles do not happen," she says with a smile. “My miracle was to build this school based solely on the donations and tremendous support of the Greeks from every corner of the globe and now the official opening of the school will take place on May 4th.”