ATHENS – The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has gifted a landmark grant of $27,477,000 to support a major initiative that aims to help revitalize one of Greece’s most critical sectors—agriculture—by training and developing a new generation of farmers and inspiring agriculture and food entrepreneurs.

The three-year project is spearheaded by Rutgers University­–New Brunswick in partnership with the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) and American Farm School (AFS). The interdisciplinary team from Rutgers, AUA, and AFS will strive to create job opportunities for youth in agriculture, which is Greece’s second-largest employer; help to prepare young workers for jobs at food-related businesses and family farms; and help them start their own businesses.

The grant is part of SNF’s Recharging the Youth $136 million initiative that unfolded at the height of Greece’s socioeconomic crisis to help create meaningful employment opportunities for thousands of unemployed young people. “The starting point of this landmark initiative was our desire to help as many young people as possible with employment opportunities within Greece’s agricultural and food sectors, that have unlimited growth potential.” said Andreas C. Dracopoulos, SNF Co-President. “But the grant is so much more than just an employment vehicle. It has the potential, we hope, to jump-start one of the country’s most important and strategic assets with unlimited growth potential, agriculture. We are not seeking to reinvent the wheel through this major grant. We are just trying to help boost its chances to become the growth and development engine that it should be.”

“This is a strong collaboration to tackle this complex and critically important project,” said Rutgers–New Brunswick chancellor Debasish Dutta. “It illustrates how our research benefits society, as well as the range of our problem-solving and interdisciplinary skills at home and abroad.”

In 2015, SNF awarded Rutgers and its partners a $2.1 million grant to begin planning a multiyear project. In this first phase, faculty and leadership from AUA and AFS with support from Rutgers conducted 20 studies on a range of sectors, such as alternative fruit crops, incubators, agro-tourism, Greek wine and spirits, technology, and aquaculture. The goal of this first phase was to determine the current state of the sectors, their growth potential, and their overall viability for employing Greek youth.

SNF then asked Rutgers and its Greek partners to prepare a proposal to implement the next phase of the project, called “Recharging the Youth: New Agriculture for a New Generation.” This new $27,477,000 grant is the largest philanthropic foundation gift in Rutgers’ history.

“This historic and benevolent grant brings to light the work that Rutgers researchers do to change lives and improve conditions across the globe,” Rutgers President Robert Barchi said.

“Agriculture has always been an integral part of Greece’s economy,” said Eva Polyzogopoulou, SNF Assistant Director of Programs and Operations. “Nowadays it has also become a gateway for many young Greeks looking to return to the countryside and revive the work and the land of their ancestors. SNF’s grant aims at providing existing and new farmers with the training and tools required in order to assist them in improving their cultivating methods and developing quality products. The talent is already there. What we need to do is to simply connect the dots and offer them the guidance needed in order to excel. It is undoubtedly a complex endeavor that requires the support of all actors in the specific field. Our collaboration with Rutgers University and two of the most renowned academic institutions in the country, the Agricultural University of Athens and the American Farm School, will bring in best practices and guarantee that agriculture in Greece is offered a bright future.”

“As one of the founding partners in this initiative, our collective expertise in cutting edge agricultural research, business-oriented innovative solutions, economics and advisory services will help support the future needs of the agro-food system in Greece,” said Deputy Rector and Professor Maria Kapsokefalou at AUA.

Panos Kanellis, President of AFS/Perrotis College, shared, “Through this collaboration we are committed to creating those new action-learning arenas that will bring Greece to the forefront of European innovation in the agro-food sector and create a fertile, sustainable environment for youth entrepreneurial engagement in the sector – we will make this project a game-changer for Greek youth and a significant development opportunity for rural communities.”

Among other projects, the team plans to lay the groundwork for a Greek advisory and business development extension service in Greece that incorporates elements of the U.S. cooperative extension system of which Rutgers is a part.

“Researchers from the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station bring expertise in a host of fields that are essential to this effort,” said Robert M. Goodman, Executive Dean of agriculture and natural resources at Rutgers. “Our work in Greece draws upon our strengths in many areas.”

This next phase of the project will focus on agricultural and food system sectors that are considered most promising and attractive for developing jobs for youth and that will set the stage for further growth and success—including an emphasis on entrepreneurship and new business development.

“By promoting agriculture as a dynamic and profitable industry, prioritizing workforce development training, and supporting innovative entrepreneurial initiatives in the agro-food industry, the proposed project will target sectors with great growth potential and successfully reduce youth unemployment,” said Kenneth M. Karamichael, youth development expert and project leader at Rutgers.

About one-third of the grant will help develop a network of farm incubators and regional food innovation centers similar to the model followed at Rutgers. The incubators, which are key facilities for training programs, will be supplemented by other training locations, such as existing farms and businesses that could host internships, including those operated by the Greek university partners and the private sector.

“The overall conclusion that emerged from this process is that youth employment in the agro-food sectors is a critical component to the revitalization of the Greek economy, as well as a timely response to the nation’s youth unemployment crisis,” said Effie Lazaridou, Rutgers’ Greece-based managing director of the project.

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BALTIMORE, MD – Prominent Pittsburgh philanthropist and Greek-American John Rangos, Sr. was honored at Johns Hopkins University on May 17-18 to celebrate a decade of progress at the highly successful innovation hub that he was instrumental in initiating. In 2008, city, state, and federal officials celebrated the opening of the John G. Rangos Sr. Life Sciences Building, which was the first building in Johns Hopkins’ Science + Technology Park, a mixed-use redevelopment of 88 acres adjacent to the Johns Hopkins University medical campus and hospital in East Baltimore. Today, more than 40 life science companies and research institutions have located there to partner with Johns Hopkins in commercializing scientific discovery.

An Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, Rangos is also founder and former chairman of International Orthodox Christian Charities, which the Rangos Foundation actively supports, and was a fundraising chairman for UNICEF.

Rangos was unable to attend the events, but family members attended on his behalf, including his son John Rangos Jr., the Honorable Judge Jill Rangos- wife of John, Jr., his daughter, Jenica Rangos Welch, and her husband Jason Welch, and two of the four grandchildren- John Rangos III and Virginia Rangos.

Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, medical consultant, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, a professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and a friend for many years of Mr. Rangos spoke with The National Herald about the events in Baltimore and the remarkable progress that has been made in just a decade since the John G. Rangos Sr. Life Sciences Building opened.

He told TNH, “Johns Hopkins has always been skeptical and somewhat against faculty becoming involved in companies to promote health care discoveries unlike Stanford and MIT where that has gone on for years, but Johns Hopkins as a university has more research funding than any other university in the United States and obviously we’ve done a lot of research that has resulted in improvements in human health but we’ve never had a program to enhance that connection between faculty members doing discovery with practical ideas about human health and the businesses, venture, and practical aspects of developing a product or drug and bring them into human use and that changed 5 years ago with a new dean and a new vision for the university with a change of university president to the point where it was very clear, even 10 years ago that this was going to be something that would be very important for Johns Hopkins to have and succeed. As a symbol of that change in attitude the Rangos Building was conceived of as a building that could have both faculty and start-up companies in the same building so investigators could very easily go from their basic laboratory to the company, the company could come to their scientists and talk with them, there would be an exchange and education of the two groups about each other and this would all be developed for Johns Hopkins within the Rangos Building and the reason why we’re celebrating at ten years is because that has really happened.

“Mr. Rangos has made gifts to many institutions,” Dr. Weisfeldt said, “generally for research purposes. Duchesne University in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, each one has received significant support for research programs. This is a man who made money in waste paper and waste management who has gotten very significant respect for science and the value of science and the value of mating science with American businesses and that was really the intent of the Rangos Building.”
He added, “Within the building in a very prominent location next to the major conference room, there is a plaque with an inscription which reads ‘The John G. Rangos Sr. Family Foundation Building- This building brings together the strength of industry and basic medical science to improve human health.’”

At the event on May 17, Maryland Secretary of Health Robert Neall presented a citation from the Governor Larry Hogan, to honor Rangos. General Ronald Rand- President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation presented a citation to honor Rangos as well. Dr. Weisfeldt presented a poster with pictures of the building and the plaque as a gift from Johns Hopkins.

On May 18, family and friends heard from scientists in the building about their program and their work and met with a company that has its headquarters in the Rangos Building and heard from the leadership of a technology group about the success that these efforts have brought to gain patents, licenses, and revenue, and obviously to improve human health but the business side of the investment that has been made in Johns Hopkins’ ideas on the basis of all of these efforts.

Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDX) which started in the Rangos Building and outgrew it, was profiled in the New York Times, among other publications, for developing liquid biopsies, searching the blood of patients at risk for cancer or with cancer and to diagnose the disease by identifying cancer cells in their blood. “That’s the best example and by far the most direct, right out of the Rangos Building,” Dr. Weisfeldt said of the company.
He told TNH that Rangos is “an enthusiast about Greece,” adding that he had traveled to the homeland with Mr. Rangos and with Greek faculty members of Johns Hopkins to build a program with a medical school in Peloponnesos.

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BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI – James G. Pyrros passed away on May 16. He was born on March 10, 1928 to Helen (Papaioannou) and George Pyrros. He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Betty, his sister, Angeline (KeKe) Pyrros, several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Pyrros was preceded in death by his parents and sister Mary (Pyrros) Karay. James G. “Jim” Pyrros, it is fair to say “was a political animal.”

Born in Detroit, he attended law school, earning his way through working during the day on a vast slum clearance project in the city. He became active politically in 1950, in the campaign of Governor G. Mennen Williams. By 1952, he was deeply involved in Democratic politics, working on many campaigns at the local, state and national levels. In due course, he served in the U.S. Army, 7th Infantry Division, including time with the liaison detached assigned to the Greek Expeditionary Forces in Korea. Returning home, he served as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan 1955-1961.

During the first year of the Kennedy Administration, Congressman Lucien N. Nedzi won a special election in Michigan’s 1st District and asked Jim to become his top aide in Washington. Thus began a twenty year association which lasted until Congressman Nedzi retired in 1981.

Pyrros and his wife moved to Michigan, where he worked as an attorney for the Detroit Edison Company until his retirement. He was a member of the Internal Churchill Society, an avid book collector, and a lover of travel. A diarist of 75 years, Pyrros was also the author of The Cyprus File, Washington, D.C.

The family received friends on May 22 with Trisagion Service at A. J. Desmond & Sons (Vasu, Rodgers & Connell Chapel), 32515 Woodward (btwn 13-14 Mile), Royal Oak, 248-549-0500. The funeral service was held on May 23 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 760 W. Wattles Rd, Troy, 48098. Visitation at the church was held prior to the service. Memorial donations may be made to the Bentley Historical Library, 1150 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 or The American Cancer Society, or the charity of your choosing. (From The Detroit News & Detroit Free Press, May 20).

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Dimitrios Pagourtzis loved violent video games, guns, wore a trench coat in Texas weather and T-shirts emblazoned with killer messages, but officials said still there weren’t any red flags indicating he would come out shooting when he gunned down 10 classmates.

He was a churchgoing ex-football player and honor student who wanted to join the Marines — but instead became a suspected mass killer, the New York Post wrote in a feature.

He hadn’t been arrested nor was on the radar of law enforcement. In 2012, Pagourtzis was named to his middle school honor roll. In 2016 he was a defensive lineman on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team.

He did Greek folk dancing at his church, competed in a national history contest — and once traveled with his family to New York City, happily posing in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

“Unlike Parkland, unlike Sutherland Springs, there were not . . . warning signs,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, referring to two previous mass shootings, after Pagourtzis was arrested
for opening fire in the school. “His slate is pretty clean.”

But secretly, the 17-year-old student was sketching out his massacre in private journals — including an ultimately unfulfilled plan to kill himself at the end of the rampage, Abbott said.

Pagourtzis was known at school as “weird” and a “loner,” other students said — one who had grown only weirder this year, when he began wearing that trench coat every day and posting odd things on social media.

“He never seemed that right,” Alex Neal, a Santa Fe freshman who used to sit next to Pagourtzis in a business class, told The Post.

“This year, what weirded me out was he started wearing a trench coat, and he started being about Communism and stuff, wearing like little pins and stuff. I know earlier in the year he told me he was buying knives off of Amazon.”

He explained in the photo what each pin represented: a hammer and sickle for “rebellion”; a German Iron Cross for “bravery”; a satanic Baphomet goat idol for “evil” and a Japanese rising sun for “kamikaze tactics.” That same day, he also posted a T-shirt with “Born to Kill” emblazoned across it.

It was the same outfit he would wear three weeks later when he stormed the school with a shotgun and a revolver, witnesses said.

On April 24, Pagourtzis posted a photo of a handgun and a knife on Instagram. “Hi f—kers,” he wrote.

And hours before the shooting, he wrote “Dangerous Days” alongside an occult symbol, a law enforcement source told CBS News.

Pagourtzis had discussed buying guns and liked war-based video games — but “he never talked about killing people or anything like that,” said his friend, Tristen Patterson, 16.

Some students said Pagourtzis had been bullied at school, The Post wrote.
“He’s been picked on by coaches before, for smelling bad and stuff like that,” Dustin Severin, 17, told NBC affiliate KPRC.

The post Signs Show “Weird” Pagourtzis, But No Red Flags Raised appeared first on The National Herald.

WASHINGTON, DC – This year, the Heritage America Program will take place in Washington, DC from July 18-21. The National Hellenic Society’s Washington, DC chapter, in collaboration with Manatos & Manatos- a leading public policy firm, has developed the Heritage America Program, a gift from the National Hellenic Society (NHS) to qualifying Greek American college students. This incredible program is in its third year and distills the salient features of the study abroad experience and delivers it on the local/regional level.

This unique and proprietary program reconnects college-aged Greek American students with their roots, heritage, culture and Hellenic identity through the prism of the American experience. Students learn little-known information about the rise of Greeks in America over the last 100 years. This program better enables these students to glean the elements contributed to our amalgamated Greek American culture that came from their Hellenic background and which came from the “American Way.”

The National Hellenic Society (NHS) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and disseminating Hellenic heritage in America, as well as a proud association of Greek American leaders, visionaries, and philanthropists. The NHS is committed to reconnecting the next generation of young Greek Americans to their Hellenic heritage and identity in relevant and meaningful ways to make a difference in their lives.

Candidates selected to participate in the Heritage America Program will benefit from this incredible opportunity to meet a who’s who of Greek American decision makers, business and civic leaders, and luminaries who will serve as future mentors and career guides for Heritage America alumni. Participants will see that the impact of their Heritage, culture, and identity is important to achieving success in life, on many levels.

The application deadline is June 8.More information is available online at: https://www.nationalhellenicsociety.org/heritage-america-2018.html.

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BOSTON – The Order of St. Andrew Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued a strong statement condemning the statements regarding the Ecumenical Patriarchate made in a speech given by Steve Efstathios Valiotis of New York at the Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Commencement ceremony in Brookline, MA. Mr. Valiotis was being awarded an honorary doctorate by the School.

He called for the Church in America “to become autocephalous or the Ecumenical Patriarchate to move to the U.S.” Valiotis also stated that “we can’t be governed by a small group of people from Turkey without any flock and purpose, with no mission and with different agenda.”

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios who is also Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Metropolitans Methodios of Boston, Gerasimos of San Francisco and Savas of Pittsburgh were among those in the audience during Valiotis’ speech. Also present was Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

The statement of the Order of St. Andrew states among other things that “all of the Hierarchy, clergy, and laity of the Holy Archdiocese owe their allegiance to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and we, the Archons, express our deep concern that while one spoke against the Mother Church, no one seems to have spoken for Her.”

The full text follows:

“Statement regarding reported sentiments against the Mother Church during HCHC commencement exercises-

The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, express their concern and disappointment that at the commencement exercises at our beloved Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, the reported public discourse included sentiments against the Mother and Great Church of Christ, as well as inopportune references to ‘autocephaly’ for the Holy Archdiocese of America. As any cleric or layperson should know, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is an Eparchy of the Most Holy Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople — the First Throne of the worldwide Orthodox Christian Church — and as such, has its ecclesial, canonical, and liturgical bases rooted in the Vineyard planted by the Right Hand of the Lord through the First Called Disciple, the Holy Apostle Andrew. All of the Hierarchy, clergy, and laity of the Holy Archdiocese owe their allegiance to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and we, the Archons, express our deep concern that while one spoke against the Mother Church, no one seems to have spoken for Her.

We pray earnestly and with every good intention that such foolishness not afflict the Body of the Church any longer, and that all of us, clergy and laity, remain steadfast to the Mother Church of Constantinople with gladness and gratitude for the blessings She has bestowed, with blood and tears, upon Her children in this great Land of Freedom and Promise.

Anthony J. Limberakis, MD

Archon Aktouarios

National Commander.”

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Two hundred faculty members, joined by upset staff and students, have demanded University of Southern President C.L. Max Nikias resign, protesting he did not remove a school gynecologist accused of molesting patients at the school’s student health center.

The staff members sent a letter demanding Nikias’ resignation to USC’s Board of Trustees, stating that he “lost the moral authority to lead” after the gynecologist was kept on staff, the Los Angeles Times and other media reported, adding that the trustees were standing by him.

The statement came after four former USC students sued the school and Dr. George Tyndall who they claimed frequently made crude comments, took inappropriate photographs and forced them to strip before groping them under the guise of medical treatment for his “sexual gratification,” the civil lawsuit said.

Reports indicated that the behavior had been going on for years, including since Nikias became President in 2010 and while he condemned what Tyndall had allegedly done that wasn’t enough to satisfy critics who said there should have been sterner action before the doctor left and was given a severance package.

“We, the undersigned faculty, write to express our outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of President Nikias’ failure to protect our students, our staff, and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct,” the staff members said in the letter. “In his recent letter to the University community, President Nikias referred to the actions of gynecologist George Tyndall as a ‘breach of trust.’ With all due respect, President Nikias’ own actions and omissions amount to a breach of trust.

“He has lost the moral authority to lead the University, and in addition, to lead the investigation of institutional failures that allowed this misconduct to persist over several decades. President Nikias must step aside to allow new leaders to take the necessary steps to repair the damage.”
In a statement outlining the school’s action plan, Nikias called the matter “profoundly troubling” but didn’t take any responsibility for trying to ferret out the doctor’s behavior nor explained why he wasn’t removed from the position.

He said the plan would overhaul the school’s ethics program and a new presidential commission on improving campus culture. In a statement, Nikias, a Cypriot who was graduated from the National Technical University in Athens and is known for his fundraising abilities, said he understood “the faculty’s anger and disappointment,” adding that: “I am committed to working with them as we implement this wide-reaching plan and to rebuilding their trust,” over the issue.

Tyndall, who worked at a USC clinic for 30 years, denied wrongdoing in interviews with the Los Angeles Times. He didn’t return phone calls, and it wasn’t known if he has an attorney.
“Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and on this basis allege, that defendant USC benefited financially from actively concealing myriad complaints of sexual abuse made by its female students against Tyndall by protecting its own reputation and financial coffers,” according to the lawsuit, the paper said.

Noted feminist anti-discrimination attorney Gloria Allred, representing two former students, read a letter at a news conference from one who asked that her name be withheld. The former student claims Tyndall photographed her during an exam in the early 1990s. She says she complained at the time to the director of the health clinic and notified the university’s advocacy office.

“Assuming these allegations made by witness Jane Doe are true, USC was told as early as 1991 about Dr. Tyndall’s sexual misconduct,” Allred said.

“The recent matter involving a former physician at our student health center has been profoundly troubling for our community, and has disturbed us all very deeply,” Nikias said in the statement.
“This matter has generated a fresh wave of discussions on our campuses, building on those related to one of our former deans. These discussions are imperative in recognizing deficits in our culture. Unacceptable behavior by anyone in our community is a profound breach of trust, and we must change the culture at the university, and instill a higher level of professionalism and ethics. We owe it to our students, to each other, and, indeed, to our entire community to do better.

“I am truly sorry these events happened within our community, and deeply regret how much distress they have caused. From the sorrow comes determination to lead change in our culture.”
The Board of Trustees said it was troubled by the accusations but has “full confidence” in Nikias.
The complaint accuses the university of failing to properly respond to complaints about Tyndall. USC said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit.

“We are focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students and providing support to those affected,” the statement said.

“He should have been removed and referred to the authorities years ago,” he wrote. “Once again, I want to personally apologize to any student who visited our student health center and was made to feel uncomfortable in any way. You deserved better, and we let you down.”

MORE COMPLAINTS

The Los Angeles Times reported USC received about 200 complaints from former patients and that the school is planning to forward some of those reports to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Tyndall continued to examine young women even though he was the subject of complaints that started years ago, according to the newspaper. The complaints against Tyndall include claims of inappropriate remarks about patients’ bodies and inappropriate touching during pelvic exams.

Tyndall was suspended with pay in 2016 and resigned with a confidential financial settlement in 2017, the paper reported.

The lawsuit alleges the school agreed to the settlement to keep quiet the details of an internal investigation that found Tyndall “routinely made sexually and racially inappropriate remarks to patients” and “kept a secret box full of photographs of his patients’ genitals.”

An electrical engineer who received his Master’s and Ph.D from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Nikias has shot up the academic hierarchy ladder and keeps his interest in Athenian drama and democracy.

In 1991, he Nikias left Northeastern University in Boston as a professor to move to USC.Before that, Nikias was on the faculty of the University of Connecticut. He became a U.S. citizen in 1989. He was named USC’s President in 2010.

He is founding director of two national research centers at USC: the NSF-funded Integrated Media Systems Center and the Department of Defense (DoD)-funded Center for Research on Applied Signal Processing. The DoD has adopted a number of his innovations and patents in sonar, radar, and communication systems.

In recognition of his efforts to renew USC’s athletic heritage, The New York Times selected Nikias as one of a small number of national figures “who make sports’ little corner of the world a better place.”

Nikias was awarded the Aristeia medal, the Republic of Cyprus’ highest honor in the letters, arts, and sciences, the USC Black Alumni Association’s Thomas Kilgore Service Award, the Los Angeles Police Museum’s Jack Webb Award, and earned a commendation for cutting-edge research from the governor of California.

The post USC President Max Nikias Under Fire Over Gynecologist Sex Scandal appeared first on The National Herald.

SCARSDALE, NY – Edgemont School held its Festival of Nations on May 18 with children from two elementary schools and the high school participating and their families and friends in attendance. The event included presentations about the various countries, including Greece, highlighted by objects and artifacts. Prizes were also presented to the children.

Dr. Dimitra Robokos told The National Herald, “I must say that Greece was the biggest hit for the children and families. We had all sorts of donations for Greek goods and the children had pretend passports that they were getting stamped that said ‘Admitted to Greece.’ They loved it.”

“We felt very proud to show the community in Scarsdale, NY how important Greece is to us,” she noted, adding that “Bill Livanos from the Molyvos restaurant group was kind enough to donate Greek food for the event.”

Robokos was one of the coordinators for the Greece presentation along with Eleni Angelos.

The National Herald was also featured in the presentation on Greece with copies of the Greek and English editions displayed prominently for attendees to peruse.

Among the 23 countries also presented were Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Georgia, India, Ireland, Israel, and Italy.

The mission statement read: “Our country is built on the strength of its numerous cultures and ethnicities. The Committee’s mission is to promote respect, awareness, and understanding of the many countries in our world. Our goal is to unveil the beauty of how our backgrounds, traditions, and differences unite to form our community and our country at large.”

The Festival Committee Chairs were Yasmin Pacia, Juliet Coulthard, and Winnie Cheng.

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BOSTON, MA – The Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology (HCHC) held its 76th commencement on May 17. Twenty-four students graduated from the College and 35 from the Theological School, of which 19 graduated with a master’s in divinity, the degree for those who wish to become priests. Of the remaining 35 School graduates, seven received a master’s in theology and nine a master’s in theological studies. Also, seven received a certificate in Byzantine music.

The College’s and School’s valedictorians, respectively, were Theofanis Rauch and Jeremy Troy.
John P. Calamos, Sr., Founder, Chairman, and CIO of Calamos Investments, was awarded the doctor of humanities (DHum), which is an honorary degree.

Also awarded a DHum was Efstathios G. Valiotis, Founder and CEO of Alma Realty and Founder of Alma Bank.

Priest and author Fr. Anthony Coniaris was awarded an honorary doctorate in divinity (DD).
In his address, Calamos congratulated all the graduates and said that graduating college for many is taken for granted. But not for me. I’m from a Greek immigrant family that came to the United States and struggled through the years. Our family values and strong work ethic was very valuable to me. We had a grocery store in Chicago where I grew up. Growing up we went to church and Sunday school. I was the first of any of my family and relatives to go to college.

“I lived the American Dream.

“Looking back, that college experience changed my life along with my family values it gave me the foundation for any success I achieved.

“I worked my way through college. A very confused student, I changed my major several times. When I was a student at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), studying architecture and switching to finance, it was all about critical thinking. When I was in college, I gained knowledge about the history of the world through philosophy. Looking back, my education was critical to my success over the years.

“From my experience in Sunday school I became very interested in philosophy and to support that effort I have endowed and donated to IIT a Chair in Philosophy.I have often been asked: ‘why did you endow a Chair in Philosophy?’ My introduction to philosophy inspired me to take many courses in philosophy. It really stimulated critical thinking and how to create new ideas. My introduction to philosophers through my undergraduate coursework taught me how to really think. Philosophy asks what assumptions did you use here and why did you use them?

“I had interest in finance and as a teenager began managing my parents saving by trading stocks. In college I learned that economics is not a math problem. It is economic philosophy: how are we organized as a society? Reading many philosophers from Plato to Socrates and many others, I felt it taught me a great deal about life and gave me a perspective of history going back thousands of years.

“I continue to feel that learning philosophy today is extremely important. Socrates said ‘know thyself.’”

In his address, Valiotis called for the Church in America “to become autocephalous or for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to move to the United States. We cannot be governed by a small group of people from Turkey without any flock and purpose, with no mission and with different agenda. Among others present during those remarks were His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, who is also Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Metropolitans Methodios of Boston, Gerasimos of San Francisco, and Savas of Pittsburgh, and Archdiocesan Chancellor Bishop Andonios of Phasiane.

Valiotis told The National Herald that “the problem of the Church in America is that over the last thirty years it has had two archbishops. One is elected and he is celibate in New York and the other is married and lives somewhere on Long Island”. Valiotis refused to identify the one he labeled the “married archbishop.”

Archbishop Demetrios praised the honorees, stating that “they are extraordinary men. They are successful businessmen, very creative, but they have the characteristic that they are in church on Sundays.”

The archbishop also made reference to the First and Third Chapters of the Book of Revelation and he emphasized the term “be victorious.” He also conveyed the wishes of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

After the ceremony, Demetrios told TNH that “the School is trying, it is going ahead and we always look at the future ahead.” Regarding Valiotis’ statements, Demetrios said “Mr. Valiotis is always impressive”. When asked if he agrees with his statements, the archbishop said “that is another issue.”

The post HCHC Holds 76th Commencement, Honors John Calamos appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK (AP) — The special prosecutor investigating former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has started conducting interviews with the women whose allegations of violent slapping, choking and other abuse led to his resignation this month, The Associated Press has learned.

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas met Wednesday with Michelle Manning Barish, one of the four women whose allegations of abuse were the subject of a New Yorker expose on Schneiderman, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

Both people spoke about the interview on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Singas’ office declined comment, saying it would not do so until the investigation is finished. A lawyer for Manning Barish was traveling and could not be immediately reached.
Manning Barish, a Democratic activist and writer, was romantically involved with Schneiderman from mid-2013 through the end of 2014.

She told The New Yorker that Schneiderman, a Democrat, became controlling and abusive soon after they started dating. She said he slapped her hard across the face and choked her.
“I felt like I was being beaten by a man,” she told the magazine.

Tanya Selvaratnam, who dated Schneiderman in 2016 and 2017, and two women whose names were withheld described similar abuse. Some of the women said Schneiderman was a heavy drinker.
Schneiderman, 63, announced his resignation hours after The New Yorker article appeared online. He implied in a statement that his conduct was either welcomed or was not as the women described.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Singas as a special prosecutor the next day, taking the case away from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest stemming from a probe into movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
Cuomo in March ordered Schneiderman’s office to investigate how Vance’s office handled a 2015 case against Weinstein that resulted in no criminal charges.

Singas, in office since 2015, has assembled a team of top prosecutors from her suburban Long Island office for the Schneiderman investigation and is conducting many of the interviews herself.
The former sex crimes prosecutor, the founder of Nassau’s special victims bureau, is working with authorities in neighboring Suffolk County and New York City to investigate incidents alleged to have occurred in the Hamptons and Manhattan.

Schneiderman’s lawyer, Isabelle Kirshner, has said she is confident Singas “will conduct a fair, thorough and unbiased investigation” that won’t result in any criminal charges.
The allegations tarnished Schneiderman’s reputation as a defender of women at the forefront of the #MeToo movement. Schneiderman launched an investigation last year into movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s studio, and in February filed a lawsuit aimed at securing better compensation for his sexual misconduct accusers.

After the story was published, Manning Barish wrote on Twitter: “After the most difficult month of my life-I spoke up. For my daughter and for all women. I could not remain silent and encourage other women to be brave for me. I could not.”

Early Wednesday morning, she tweeted praise for Cuomo, who is being challenged by “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon in the September primary.

Manning Barish said she was “deeply grateful” for Cuomo’s “swift leadership” in the Scheniderman case.

“Leadership is defined in moments like these, where a statement is made before waiting for public opinion to decide it for you,” she wrote. “He has my vote.”
__
By MICHAEL R. SISAK , Associated Press

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WESTFIELD, NJ – Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey sent an strong message through a special encyclical to the parishes and the entire faithful of the New Jersey Metropolis denouncing Efstathios Valiotis’ speech given during the commencement of Hellenic College & Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) on May 18, where he was honored with a honorary doctorate. Valiotis called for “autocephaly” of the Archdiocese of America and was critical about the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the National Herald reported.

Evangelos’ entire encyclical follows:

“My Beloved in the Lord, this past Saturday, the joyous 2018 Commencement Exercise and celebrations of our beloved Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology were marred when one of the invited speakers, Mr. Efstathios Valiotis, the recipient of an honorary doctorate from our School, took the opportunity to slander our Mother Church, the Holy Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. And this, while he was expressing his ‘gratitude’ for the high honor bestowed upon him by one of the flagship institutions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and, by extension, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate itself. It is here, at this sacred venue, this Greek Orthodox Institution of Higher Learning and the only Greek Orthodox College and School of Theology in the Western Hemisphere, which for almost eight decades has been educating and preparing the Reverend Clergy of the Church at large, that the honoree brazenly declared that our Archdiocese should immediately sever Her ties with the Patriarchate and declare autocephaly.

“I, as the Metropolitan of this sacred Metropolis of New Jersey, an Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, reject and denounce the position and statements of Mr. Valiotis, whose sentiments against the Ecumenical Patriarchate are very well known, as he has vocalized them repeatedly and publicly over the past decades. In addition, I denounce the silence of those present at the graduation, as Mr. Valiotis was allowed to offer this most deplorable speech without interruption or objection.

“We, the Clergy and Laity, of the Sacred Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey affirm our support and our continued devotion to the Mother Church of Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Spiritual Leader of over 300 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world. Our Mother Church is already beleaguered and, in the words of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, lives in a state of martyrdom, yet, it continues to unceasingly offer martyria to the divine and sacred Truths of the Gospel of Christ to the four corners of the world. Unlike Arius, Nestorius and all Heretics, who fought against the teachings and traditions of our Orthodox Faith from within, we the faithful Orthodox Christians of this sacred Metropolis, who have received and felt the motherly embrace and love of our Mother Church of Constantinople, must remain united and vocal in expressing our love, convictions and support for our Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Center of worldwide Orthodoxy. In light of recent developments in the Archdiocese, we should be thankful that we are led and overseen by, and are accountable to, the Ecumenical Throne of Constantinople.

“As a spiritual son of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since birth, as a clergyman for more than thirty years and as your Metropolitan for the past fifteen, I was most disconcerted by Mr. Valiotis’ statement that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a Church ‘without purpose or mission.’ To the contrary, the unceasing labors of our Spiritual Leaders and Patriarchs and the devoted Hierarchy of the Church of Constantinople throughout the centuries, especially during these past 27 years under the Leadership of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to establish Orthodoxy here in America and everywhere are the very enactment of the mission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which has never been simply a local Church in Constantinople, but is rather the focus of Orthodox unity around the globe.

“A Church without purpose would not endeavor to convene the Great and Holy Council of 2016. A Church without mission would not be shepherding the growth of Orthodoxy on five continents and among many nations. A Church without a mission or purpose would not resurrect the holy Metropolises of Smyrna, Prousa, Kydonion, and Selyvria over the past decade, and establish the new Metropolises of Canada, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Spain and Portugal, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea over the past twenty years. Furthermore, Mr. Valiotis’ statement that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a Church “without a flock” is preposterous and false; as the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey, as well as millions of Orthodox Christians in the United States of America and throughout the world, both Greek and non-Greek, consider themselves the sheep of that Ecumenical flock.

“As your Metropolitan and Spiritual Father, I pray that we all remain united in Christ, as one, in our faithfulness and devotion to Christ’s Holy Church and to our Apostolic inheritance which stems from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We as Orthodox Christians living in America must regard our Mother Church with gratitude for She has guided our growth and prosperity thus far, and will continue to do so in the future. We must not follow one’s matricidal feelings or sentiments, but rather as loving children, we must support our Mother, who continues to embrace all of us, keeping us united in the Faith, shining forth the light which illumines our heart and our lives, the light which radiates from the ever-glowing and radiant Phanar in Constantinople.

“As we approach the great feast of Pentecost, when the nations of the world were united through the descent of the Holy Spirit, we must be proud and maintain our allegiance to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for it is truly exactly that, Ecumenical and a loving mother which unites us in Orthodox service to our One Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praying that the All-Holy Spirit continue to be and dwell in and through us as faithful members of the Great and Holy Church of Christ and the Mother Church of Constantinople.”

The post Evangelos Strongly Condemns Valiotis’ Statement about Church Autocephaly appeared first on The National Herald.

CHICAGO – Before the founding of Hellenic Legal Assistance Services (Hel.LAS) clinic two years ago, low-income and older members of Chicago’s Greek community may not have known of anyone to turn to for legal help.

But since its founding two years ago, Hel.LAS, as the clinic is known, has helped about 140 families with legal services when it meets on the second Saturday of each month. On Saturday, May 16, His Eminence, the newly enthroned, Metropolitan Nathanael attended the two-year anniversary celebration of the clinic and blessed 65 attendees, many of whom comprise the 45 volunteer attorneys connected with the legal clinic.

The clinic was founded through a coordination of the Hellenic Foundation, the Hellenic Bar Association, and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS). Peter Valessares, Executive Director of the Hellenic Foundation, first reached out to find legal help for an elderly woman in need and called then Hellenic Bar President Thomas Massouras for assistance. Members from the Hellenic Bar Association jumped in to give assistance to her, and the idea of a legal clinic began. The legal clinic handles many areas of the law such as wills, family law, landlord tenant, and divorce cases, but mainly immigration matters that the clients have.

Although founded only two years ago, the clinic was the first of 24 clinics under the CVLS umbrella to publish its own website.

Founders and Board Members Eleni Kouimelis (President), Judge Tony Kyriakopoulos (Vice President), Eleni Katsoulis (Secretary) and Thomas Massouras (Treasurer) were present at the celebration. President Eleni Kouimelis welcomed the crowd and introduced Metropolitan Nathanael. Metropolitan Nathanael spoke about the need for legal services in the community, and gave support to the clinic. He said that the clinics work is an arm of the church, and that its work is Christian in nature. At the end of his speech, the Metropolitan gave a blessing, and those in attendance had the opportunity to greet His Eminence and wish him well.

More information about Hel.LAS is available online at: https://hel-las.squarespace.com.

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CHRISTOFORIDES, KOSTAS

NORWALK, CT (from The Hour, published on May 9) – Kostas Christoforides, 85, husband of Koula Christoforides of Norwalk, passed away Monday, May 7, 2018 after a long battle with Parkinson’s, with his wife by his side. Born on January 23rd, 1932 in Spelia, Greece, he was the son of Christoforos and Despina Sarvanidou Christoforides. Kostas immigrated to the United States in 1968 where he became a lifelong resident of Norwalk. He worked at Otis and Hick, and as a Baker for Pepperidge Farm for over 30 years. Kostas was a very generous and carefree spirit that truly loved his family. He enjoyed visiting with friends at the Greek Social Club and having a glass of wine and long chats with his son-in-law, Scott Klein. In addition to his wife, Kosta is survived by his son, Christoforos, and his children Kostas and Stefanos of Greece; his stepdaughter Stacie Klein, her husband Scott and their children Jessica, Kristina, Caila, David, and Rachel. His brother, The Reverend Haralambos Christoforides and his wife, and many beloved nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sisters Sophia and Anthe, and his brothers Christ, Anastasios and Yiannis Christoforides. Friends and family may call Thursday, May 10, 2018, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Collins Funeral Home, 92 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Funeral services will take place in Spelia, Greece. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation www.apdaparkinson.org. Visit www.collins-funeral to leave condolences.

DOURVETAKIS, PETER

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (from the Sun-Sentinel, published on May 7) – Peter Dourvetakis passed away Thursday, May 3, 2018. Peter was born in Athens, Greece to Stella and Dimitri Dourvetakis on October 17, 1933. He came to the United States in 1956 to pursue the American Dream, when he met his wife, Lucille Roman Dourvetakis in New York. They shared 48 beautiful years together. Peter owned Tropical Rainbow Hardware store in downtown Hollywood, Florida, and when he wasn’t providing for his three children, Stella DourvetakisCastilla, Janet Dourvetakis Reid (Robert) and Peter Dourvetakis Jr. (Vilma), he would often be found traveling or in the kitchen, cooking up one of his delicious Greek family recipes. His wife, Lucille preceded him on May 25, 2005. In addition to his children, Peter is survived by his grandchildren Jackie (David), Joseph, Jonathan, Christina, Bjorn, Peter Jr., Justin and Sophia and his great-grandchildren Samuel, Lola and Benjamin. He is also survived by his brother, Kyriakos Douvetakis (Frances), his sisters Helen Genadis, Mina Barberis and Anna Tzaneti (Kyriakos) and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his second wife, Christina Goranitis-Bean and her son. Funeral services Monday, May 7, 10 am, St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 425 N. 58th Avenue in Hollywood, FL. Interment following at Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

IATRIDIS, CATHERINE
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (from The Indianapolis Star, published on May 17) – Mrs. Catherine (Nina) Iatridis passed away on May 14, 2018, she was 81 years old. Nina was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1936 where she was a graduate of English Girls College. In 1957 she married the love of her life, Dr. PanayotisIatridis. She and Panayotis moved to Greece in 1962 and then to the United States in 1969. After living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for several years, she and her family moved to Valparaiso, Indiana in 1972. She was a longtime resident of Valparaiso and a distinguished realtor. Dr. Iatridis was a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine for many years, and he became the Assistant Dean of the Indian University Northwest Center for Medical Education in 1979. Both Dr. Iatridis and Nina were very involved in the Northwest Indiana medical community; Nina was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Porter Memorial Hospital in Valparaiso. Nina was also very involved in her church; she was a member of the Philoptochos and the Daughters of Penelope of Constantin and Hellen Greek Orthodox Church in Merrillville. Nina loved the arts, particularly opera, and French antiques. Nina also enjoyed traveling to Europe to see her family. She spoke 6 different languages and tutored many high school students in French, Greek, and Latin.Nina was a beloved wife, mother, sister, and friend. She is survived by her two daughters, YannaKokkas and Mary Pease, and five grandchildren, Katerina Kokkas, Anastasia Kokkas, Nicholas Pease, Naya Pease, George Pease, and her Sister Polly Placotaris. She was preceded in death by her husband, PanayotisIatridis. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the PanayotisIatridis Scholarship at Indiana University School of Medicine or Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Carmel, IN. Visitation will be held Friday from 4-8pm at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 3500 W 106th St, Carmel, IN 46032. A Trisgion service will take place at 7:30pm. Funeral services will be held there Saturday at 11am, with visitation one hour prior. Online condolences may be shared at www.flannerbuchanan.com. Arrangements entrusted to Flanner Buchanan-Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.

KAFKOULAS, NICHOLAS

MANCHESTER, NH (from the Union Leader, published on May 8) – Nicholas V. Kafkoulas, 77, of Manchester, NH, died May 5, 2018, after a brief illness. Born in Vatsounia, Greece, on November 26, 1940, he was the son of Vasilios and Sophia Kafkoulas. He was raised in Greece before immigrating to the United States in 1966. Nicholas served in the Greek Army. In his early years, he was employed with several shoe manufacturing companies. Devoted to his faith, he was a member of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Nicholas was an avid walker who could often be seen walking throughout the Queen City. Well-known for his calm demeanor, affable nature, and gentle ways, he will be deeply missed. Family members include three sons, Vasilios Kafkoulas of Manchester, Steve Kafkoulas of Manchester, and Philip Kafkoulas of Hooksett; three grandchildren; three sisters, Kalliopi Gekas of Manchester, Maria Palangas of Manchester, and Theodora Tsavalos of Greece; many nieces and nephews. SERVICES: A calling hour will be held Thursday from 9 to 10 AM in St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover Street, Manchester. The funeral service will follow at 10 AM in the Cathedral with the Rev. Michael Wilson officiating. Burial will take place in Pine Grove Cemetery, Manchester. Memorial donations may be made to St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH 03104. The Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 537 Union Street, Manchester, NH 03104 is in charge of the arrangements. For more information, please visit: www.connorhealy.com.

KALAMATIANOS, PETER

CHICAGO, IL (from the Chicago Tribune,published on May 17) –Peter Kalamatianos, age 83, born in Gythio, Peloponnese, Greece, passed away on Friday, May 11, 2018. Cherished son of the late Panagiotis and the late Athena Kalamatianos Beloved husband of Helen (nee Cosmakos); loving father of Athina, Kiki (Jim) Saltouros, Mary and Constantine; proud grandfather of Alexis, Michelle and Dimitri; dear brother of the late George and the late Eleni; fond uncle of many and their families. Family and friends will meet on Friday morning, May 18, 2018, for Visitation from 9:30 am – 10:00 am and Funeral service starting at 10:00 am at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 2350 E. Dempster Street in Des Plaines. Interment at Ridgewood Memorial Park. Kindly omit flowers; instead, Memorial donations may be made to St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. Arrangements by John G. Adinamis Funeral Directors, Ltd. For information 847-375-0095.

KORTESIS, HELEN

EAST LYME, CT (from The Day, published on May 10) – Helen Philip (Kiritsis) Kortesis, 87, of Niantic, passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 6, 2018, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. She was born in New London, on Jan. 2, 1931, the daughter of Philip Theodore and Evdoxia (Eva) KurusisKititsis, originally from Epirus, Greece, and established residence in New London. A lifelong resident of New London, she relocated to Ahepa 250 in Niantic shortly after the passing of her beloved husband, Steve. She was married on Jan. 27, 1952 to Efstratios “Steve” K. Kortesis who passed away on Aug. 27, 2007. Helen was a graduate of the Williams Memorial Institute located on the grounds of Connecticut College. She lived her life through simple pleasures; cooking, chatting with friends, keeping in touch with her snowbird friends, snacking and spending time with her visitors. She had an uncanny ability to reach people in a deep and positive way. As a member of St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church, New London she was an active member of the choir, and their school of religious studies where she taught Sunday School for over 22 years. Helen was active with New London School PTA/PTO where she had been a recording secretary, corresponding secretary and a member of the nominating committee. She participated at the C.W. Edgerton School for field trips, school fairs and centennial programs, assisted teachers on school projects, worked with the librarians on bulletin boards at Harbor and New London Junior High School, corrected children’s work papers and assisted students with science projects. From 1975 to 1984 Helen was called upon to set up a program for non-English speaking, especially Greek children. She also worked tirelessly with several Spanish speaking students and with children from Cambodia and the Philippines and tutored at Harbor and Nathan Hale School. Helen always had time for her Alma Mater, WMI and was her class representative for many years, responsible for staying in touch with her classmates and writing classmate notes published in the WMI Ambassador. In recognition of her contributions she was awarded the Tribute to Loyalty Award from the WMI/Williams School. This award honors alumni who have exemplified loyalty and dedication to WMI/Williams School and whose service to the Alumni Association has fostered the traditions and ideals of the school. She is survived by her three sons, Constantine E. Kortesis and his wife, Grazina, of Warren, Mich., Nickolas E. Kortesis and his spouse, Cynthia, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Philip E. Kortesis of Tuscon, Ariz.; a sister, Athena Susi; and a brother, Theodore Kiritsis and his wife, Claire; three grandchildren, Stephanie L., Alyssa C. and Nickolas E. Kortesis II; and three great-grandchildren, Douglas N. Miller, Evy V. Calcutti and Aaron H. Boice. Funeral services and burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London were private. Byles Memorial Home, 99 Huntington St., New London, assisted with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church, 200 Hempstead St., New London, CT 06320. Please visit www.Byles.com to sign the guest book or to share a memory.

TOURNIDIS,JAMES

MANCHESTER, NH (from the Union Leader, published on May 18)– James A. Tournidis, 86, passed away peacefully at Catholic Medical Center on May 15, 2018 after a brief illness. Born May 18, 1931 in Edessa, Greece, he was son of the late Arthur and Virginia Tournidis. He enjoyed 55 years of marriage with his wife, Catherine. Raised in Greece, James moved to Canada as a young man before moving to Manchester in the early 1960s. James worked in many different fields over the years, but was best known as the owner of the Merrimack Restaurant, which he and his wife ran for twelve years. He later worked at Poor Boy’s restaurant in Londonderry. A devoted husband and father, James cherished time spent with his family. He leaves behind his wife, Catherine Tournidis of Manchester; his son, Arthur Tournidis of Manchester; his sister, Freda Peteff of Canada; his sisters-in-law, Shirley Leara of Ohio and VergaTournidis of Canada; nieces and nephews Vicki Ellis, Madelyn Schneider, Sharon Mertz, Robert and PanoTournidis, and Danny Peteff, all of Canada; niece and nephew Cassandra Ellis and Alex Leara of Ohio and nephew William Leara of Texas; as well as several great nieces and nephews, extended family members and friends. Services: Visitation will be on Sunday, May 20th from 5-8pm at Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 243 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH. Funeral service will be on Monday, May 21st at 11:30am, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH. He will be laid to rest at Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in James’s memory to a charity of your choice. For directions or to leave a condolence message for the family, visit www.phaneuf.net.

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LOS ANGELES – On Saturday, May 19, 2018, Professor Demetrios Liappas celebrated his retirement from the directorship of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at Loyola Marymount University.

At an elegant reception in a room with a breath-taking view of the Pacific Ocean and the Los Angeles basin, a gathering of former students, friends, supporters, and colleagues exchanged memories as Lambros Howard played traditional Greek music.

Many of the Center’s strongest, most loyal supporters attended, among them: Peter and Vivi Demopoulos, Cleo Andrews, Hope Berk, Dalia and Kip Miller, George and Tina Kolovos, Eleftheria and Ted Polychronis, Dr. Anatasios Chassiakos, Rosalind Halikis, and Peter and Caroline Caloyeras.  Several of the leading organizations for the Greek community of Southern California were represented by their leadership including the Hellenic University Club by the current President, Dr. Zafiris Gourgouliatos, The Federation of Greek Organizations of Southern California by Dr. Philip Trevezas, President, and the Greek Heritage Society by the current President, Shelly Papadopoulos and board member Anna Gianniotis.  After more than forty years of teaching and administration, Professor Liappas was passing the torch to Professor Christina Bogdanou, the current Director of the Center.

The gathering was blessed by Fr. John Bakas, Dean of St. Sophia Cathedral, who is also an Adjunct Professor of Theology at LMU, teaching courses in Greek Orthodoxy and Greek Orthodox Spirituality for the Center and the Department of Theology.  Fr. Bakas and Presbytera Bakas were joined at the reception by Fr. and Presbytera Michael Courey of St. Katherine’s in Redondo Beach. Another long-time supporter of the Center, the Honorable Andreas Kyprianides, Honorary Consul General of Cyprus, served as Master of Ceremonies.

In his remarks, he reminded the guests of the traumatic conditions under which the Center was born, the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus which galvanized the Greek community of Southern California and which energized Greek studies at LMU.  Demetrios Liappas, with Andreas Kyprianides and three others who were also present at the retirement party—Aris Anagnos, Dr. Jim Dimitriou, and Ted Polychronis—were among the original founders of the Save Cyprus Council which has evolved into the dynamic political action group, the American Hellenic Council.

Also in attendance were some of Professor Liappas’ family members who had flown in from the east coast and from Australia.  They were his sister Katy Christodouleas, her sons Drs. James and John Chrisodouleas, her daughter Dr. Tina Christodouleas Tabakovic, and their nephew, Apostolos Pinakidis.  Dr. James Christodouleas of Price Waterhouse Cooper, Australia, spoke of the family’s love for their brother and uncle.  Basil P. Caloyeras, whose father, Peter, first endowed the Center, added his words of appreciation for Professor Liappas’ achievements and renewed his pledge to support the work of the Center.  The Associate Dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at LMU, Dr. Molly Youngkin, talked about the importance of the instructional program of the Center in the academic mission of the university.

The Center offers a Minor in Modern Greek Studies, one of the very few institutions in the United States to do so, and also supports the mission of the university with a strong and vital summer abroad experience, the Odyssey Program in Greece.  Three former students of the Center, Antigoni Vasilopoulou ’15, Fotis Davlantis ’04, and Gabriel Courey ’09 gave moving tributes to the life-changing opportunities that Professor Liappas and the Center had provided them in their education.  Donna Gray, Director of Development, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, thanked the many donors who were present and reminded us all that philanthropy is a Greek virtue.  The program ended with the Professor Liappas telling us of the history of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies and expressing his gratitude for all the years of support that so many in the Greek community have given the Center.  He was especially touched by the presence of Vasso Fischer, former President of the Hellenic University Club, Zoyë Fidler, founding President of the Greek Heritage Society and Aris Anagnos, one of the founders of the Save Cyprus Council and long-time supporter of social justice and generous supporter of the Center.

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It is a singular moment in Greek-American historiography. The Holy Trinity Cathedral of New Orleans has just released its 150th Anniversary Commemorative Album.

This New Orleans parish has long asserted that it is the first Greek Orthodox church founded in North and South America.

A judicious mixture of narrative text with specific reproductions of original historical documents seen throughout this volume confirms this longstanding claim by serving – not as some kind of feel-good filler-illustrations – but rather as the very source documents and so the fundamental evidence and conclusive proof for this long-standing claim.

Also, this commemorative album follows equally well established conventions seen in other Greek-American parish and fraternal organization publications.

Yet, even in the areas following the historical introduction, which constitutes the majority of this volume of some 212 pages, attention to providing the exact locations of documents, reports and quite literally providing the names of every individual seen in this volume is done with equal care and close attention to detail. We have then, a volume for the ages.

This album is structured that first we find the mandatory Table of Contents, which offers us this mix of the unique as well as the expected. So we find a Preface and Acknowledgments section; (letters of) Greetings (by ecclesiastical and government figures); Cathedral Ministries and Organizations; 150th Anniversary committees; Priests of Holy Trinity; Holy Trinity Parish Council Presidents; the History of Holy Trinity with its subsequent subsections):

The Foundation (of the community); Growth and Challenges; A New Location; Celebrating 150 years and then Benefactors, Sponsors and Supporters and end notes. Presented in such a manner this volume would seem essentially like any of the other Greek Orthodox parish historical volume. The critical difference here is that the history of ‘the Little Greek Church of New Orleans extends a full 150 years.

Each of the sections seen within this volume must be read very carefully. Just flipping through these initial pages and then quickly moving on is a mistake. Each section in this volume, in its own manner, exhibits the extremely hard won local, regional and national standing of this parish. Social, economic, political and ecclesiastical connections established (and carefully maintained) by this parish over literally decades background all the letters of greetings and congratulations by this impressively wide array of ecclesiastical and government figures.

Each Greek Orthodox parish, established outwardly, as the physical expression of Faith are in point of fact far more complex public institutions. The inclusion of these sections within such individual parish commemorative volume charts not just the step by step creation and daily maintenance of any such community but its general social standing within the broader society which in every case was acquired and carefully nurtured over time.

The everyday realities of life in the United States and the expression of faith can be seen in the next few sections of Cathedral Ministries and Organizations. Here we see the ‘family’ of this parish as it is found today. The order offered here again follows a now accepted sequence of individuals and organizations that has developed over a considerable period of time.

First we see and read vignettes on the current priest, next the Cathedral Psaltes; followed by the 2014 Board of Trustees; the 150th Anniversary Celebration Executive Committee; the Acolytes (altar boys); Altar assistant; Choir; Sunday School; Greek School; Greek Orthodox Youth of America (GOYA) chapter; Parent Teacher Association; Ladies Philoptochos Society ‘Elpis’, Cathedral Montessori School; Order of St. Markella of Chios; Real Estate Committee; Cathedral Care Committee; Holy Trinity Archives Committee; then two pages that present the 150th Anniversary Committees, Priests of Holy Trinity and finally Holy Trinity Parish Council Presidents.

Embedded to the point of being nearly invisible are the wide array of historical changes required of each and every member of any church to personally work to not just establish but to maintain a Greek Orthodox parish on American shores. A change in perspective and daily actions required to actually have a church in North America are well and away removed from anything experienced, or often even understood, in Greece.

In the next 50-odd pages of this album, which focus on the history of the Holy Trinity parish we gain some perspective on these issues. Claims to be the first Greek Orthodox parish in North or South America are vindicated by the results of eight years of sustained research in the archives of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ecumenical Patriarchate Library in Constantinople.

These documents are the evidence for the steady and sustained efforts by members of the New Orleans Orthodox community to establish a parish and secure a priest. Complimenting this new evidence are collaborating documents, news accounts and other public records available from New Orleans and Louisiana state sources. As this new material presented itself this inevitably lead to further explorations into the public records of libraries and archives around the United States and England.

But this album is not one stuck in the past. While a judicious selection of these original historical documents are reproduced on the page they are offered in a seamless manner with later historical periods. The transition from historic black and white photographs of the parish and parishioners gradually morphs into colored pictures where everyone seen is individually identified.

All this evidence from the public record says nothing of the oral history memories of parishioners. And here again we move into new areas of historical evidence cited within Greek Orthodox parish histories. While living members of the parish see their recollections joining the other earlier accounts within the pages of this volume, the presence of accounts, photographs and copies of documents held by the descendants of the earliest merchant families also see seamless inclusion.

Yet, even these efforts to establish and retain the history of this parish are in fact nothing new. Since the very establishment of this church individual parishioners have stepped forward to not just contribute funds but to actively aid in the efforts to preserve their collective history. The first church structure and then the two additional parish buildings all required not simply cash but hours of individual efforts by the parishioners themselves to literally keep the church going. The published historical narrative found here is seamlessly woven in the later events of this Orthodox community.

As a case in point an event that could well have meant an end to this parish proved a rallying point. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans resulting in a known 1,400 deaths as a result of the city’s levee failures. As one would expect within the history section photographs and text are offered on how the church and grounds were affected. The cleaning efforts and the restoration of the parish see seamless inclusion in the general history section—and then the story of this parish just moves on undeterred by what was unquestionably the worst natural disaster ever experienced in United States history. Let me stress the point that the ‘history’ section one finds in this commemorative album extends from the mid-1700s to the present. And this recalling of the past to those of us in the present does not just stop cold with the end of this section.

This album closes with an extensive Sponsors and Supporters section. Again, this section demonstrates the transformations from the models of earlier Greek in America fraternal organization and church commemorative volumes of the last century. In many ways this section is a more personalized extension of the general history section. A complex presentation of individuals, families and friends of the parish are all seen and heard on these pages. This section is very much one devoted to individual testimonies, remembrances and photographs not found elsewhere. Pride and honoring those who have come before are mixed with the photographs and best wishes of parishioners. While this entire volume could well be called a ‘people’s history’ this last section extends even the definition of that type of historical account. For while this volume is extremely careful to note and credit individual authors of the various sections found within this album the Sponsors and Supporters section is a place where individuals, families and friends are all given the opportunity to contribute their individual thoughts, remembrances, historical and contemporary photographs as well as very personal observations to this volume.

As something of a capstone to this album are the last three pages of end notes. Bibliographic sources are cited here. Individuals seen in various photographs from the 2014 color section are also identified here. While my emphasizing the inclusion of the citation of source documents related to this parish’ history and the identification of individuals seen in photographs may seem overdone, these different kinds of identification have not always been common in Greek-American publications. Having seen Greek-American publications from the early 1900s down to the present very few are as carefully documented as this specific volume. And for good reasons. This album celebrates a seamless history from mid-1700s down to the present. Virtually a historical point-by-point progression from the appearance of the very first Greeks to reach the Louisiana coast in the mid-1700s down to the present. This fine volume serves not just to recall the baseline history of this one community but by its very existence speaks volumes for the pride and faith by those who compiled this historical account and the manner they discovered to share that experience with all those who are found within its pages.

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THRU MAY 27

MANHATTAN – “Songs for Sabotage,” the fourth New Museum Triennial, questions how individuals and collectives around the world might effectively address the connection of images and culture to the forces that structure our society. The exhibition features a diverse group of international artists, including Greek artists Kernel (founded in 2009, Athens, Greece, by Pegy Zali, Petros Moris, and Theodoros Giannakis; live and work in Athens) and Manolis D. Lemos (Athens, Greece) and runs through May 27 at the New Museum, 235 Bowery in Manhattan’s SoHo. More information is available online at www.newmuseum.org.

THRU JUNE 1

WASHINGTON, DC – The Embassy of Greece and the Hellenic Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala-Thasos invite you to the Opening of the photography exhibition Archaeological Site of Philippi: A Landmark of European Heritage on Thursday, May 3, 6:30-8:30 PM at the Embassy of Greece, 2217 Massachusetts Ave NW in Washington, DC. The Archaeological Site of Philippi is included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Monuments since 2016. The photo exhibition is free and will be on display at the Embassy of Greece until June 1. Visiting Hours: Monday-Friday, 10 AM-3 PM. The exhibition is generously sponsored by Raycap and is part of the European Union Month of Culture in DC. RSVP for the opening on Eventbrite.

THRU JULY 8

NEW YORK – The Onassis Cultural Center New Yorkpresents Birds: A Festival Inspired by Aristophanes,comprising a rich array of events that consider the enduring—and, currently, pressing—central themes of Aristophanes’ ancient satire, The Birds, April 22- July 8. The festival is produced by Onassis Cultural Center New York for the American premiere of Nikos Karathanos’ uproarious and poetic adaptation of the original Aristophanes play, presented by St. Ann’s Warehouseand Onassis Cultural Centre-Athens. More information is available online at: onassisusa.org.

THRU OCTOBER 6

TARPON SPRINGS, FL – The City of Tarpon Springs will present Night in the Islands–a free event on the world famous Sponge Docks (Dodecanese Blvd. between Athens and Roosevelt Streets) on May 19, July 7, August 4, and October 6 this year. Enjoy a Greek panigiri with music, dancing, and dining! And we will offer an hour of free Greek dance lessons by the Levendia Dance Troupe from 6-7 PM. Night in the Islands will feature the engaging music of Odyssey in April and May, and in July, August, and September we will feature Ellada in front of the Sponge Exchange. In April and May, we will also feature Neos Ihos playing Greek music on the block between Hope and Roosevelt Streets. To reserve a table for dinner, please contact participating restaurants Costa’s, Hellas, Mama’s, or Mykonos. This popular event is free, thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tarpon Springs Merchants Association. For more information, contact Tina Bucuvalas at 727-916-0235 or tbucuvalas@ctsfl.us.

MAY 18-JUNE 30

DETROIT, MI – Angeliki’s Dowry Chest, An Exhibition and Estate Sale, opening Friday, May 18, 6-9 PM and running through June 30, presented by Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, MI. Visit Instagram @angelikisdowrychest.

MAY 26

PORTSMOUTH, NH – The 12th Annual Rummage Sale at St. Nicholas Greek Church in 40 Andrew Jarvis Drive in Portsmouth takes place on Saturday, May 26, 8 AM-2 PM. A huge selection of items for sale including household goods, furniture, children’s items- clothes, toys, books, and more. Greek pastries available, while they last. More information is available by phone: 603- 436-2733.

MAY 30

ASTORIA – Ti Na Ftaiei Ti Na Ftaiei? a new musical comedy by Phyto Stratis, featuring Greek popular songs, on Wednesday, May 30, 7:30 PM at Dionysos Restaurant, 23-15 31st Street in Astoria. Starring: Demetris Michael, Penny Tsinias, Louis Panayiotou, Aggeliki Psonis, and Phyto Stratis as the Judge.The 90-minute show is performed with live music as guests enjoy a beverage (wine or soft drink) and cold cuts which are included with the ticket. Post-show food menu is available from Dionysos Restaurant at the guests’ expense. Tickets: $30, available online at: www.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets also available at the venue. Additional information is available by phone: 646-595-7303.

MAY 31-JUNE 3

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Road in Annapolis, holds its annual Greek Festival May 31-June 3. Features include Greek food and delicacies, live music and dancing, children’s area, cash prize raffle, vendors and imported jewelry, and Grocer’s Corner. Hours: Thursday, May 31, 4-10 PM; Friday, Jun. 1, 11 AM-10 PM, Saturday, Jun. 2, 11AM-11 PM, and Sunday,Jun. 3, 11 AM-7 PM. Admission is free!More information is available by phone: 410-573-2072 and online at: www.annapolisgreekfestival.org.

RICHMOND, VA– Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 30 Malvern Avenue in Richmond, holds the 43rd Annual Richmond Greek Festival May 31-June 3. Enjoy delicious food, amazing entertainment, and the diverse Agora Marketplace. Gift certificates are available in $15 increments and can be used on food and drinks (alcoholic beverages excluded). They make excellent gifts and can be purchased easily. Please call the Cathedral office at 804-355-3687 for details. Drive-Thru menu/order form available online. Pro tip: print and fill it out ahead of time to reduce the waiting. Hours: Thursday, May 31, 11 AM- 9 PM; Friday, Jun. 1 and Saturday, Jun. 2, 11 AM-10 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 3, Noon- 7 PM.More information is available by phone: 804-355-3687 and online at: http://www.greekfestival.com.

JUNE 1

MANHATTAN –Health Tourism in Greece – Competition – Advantages conference organized by the Greek Health Tourism Associationand held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism takes place on Friday, Jun. 1, 12:45-5 PM at Jay Suites Grand Central, 1441 Broadway, 6th floor,in Manhattan.Among the speakers scheduled are Konstantinos Tsegas- General Secretary of Greek Tourism Organization,Tasos Filippakos,Panagiotis Koutsikos- Businessman,Presidentof the Conference, and Greek Health Tourism AssociationViceChairman, and Grigoria Kamaterou-Director, Greek National Tourism Organizationfor USA & Canada.More information is available via email: koutsikoshealtht@gmail.com.

JUNE 1-3

SAN JOSE, CA – Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1260 Davis Street in San Jose, holds its 47th Annual San Jose Greek Festival June 1-3.Enjoy food, drink, and friendship; it’s all part of philoxenia. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and free to children under 12. A free admission pass will be posted closer to when the festival arrives. The Festival is wheelchair accessible. Only service animals are allowed. Hours: Friday, Jun. 1, 5-10 PM; Saturday, Jun. 2, 11 AM-10 PM; and Sunday, Jun. 3, 11 AM-9 PM. More information is availableby phone: 408-246-2770 and online at: http://sanjosegreekfestival.org.

BROOKLYN –Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, 1724 Avenue P in Brooklyn, holds its annual Greek Festival June 1-3. Admission is free with authentic Greek cuisine, live entertainment, pastries, loukoumades, raffles, flea market, rides and games for the kids, and much more. Reserve a table online for Friday, Jun. 1to see Yianni Papastefanou perform live or Saturday, Jun. 2 for Cretan Night. Hours: Friday, Jun. 1, 5 PM – Midnight, Saturday, Jun. 2, Noon – Midnight, and Sunday, Jun. 3 Noon – 8 PM. More information is available by phone: 718-339-0280 and online at:http://www.3hcfestival.com.

JUNE 5-9

WILMINGTON, DE – Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 808 North Broom Street in Wilmington, holds its 42nd Annual Greek Festival Tuesday, Jun. 5- Saturday, Jun. 9, 11 AM- 11 PM. Admission is free. Enjoy traditional Greek comfort foods, live music by Philadelphia’s Atlantis, performances by Holy Trinity’s Terpsichorean Youth Folk dance group, church tours, and free lunch shuttle from 9th and Market on Tuesday, Jun. 5 – Friday, Jun. 8, 11 AM – 2 PM, running every 10 minutes. All major credit cards accepted. More information is available by phone:302-654-4446, email: info@greekfestde.com, and online at http://greekfestde.com.

JUNE 6

ASTORIA –Ti Na Ftaiei Ti Na Ftaiei? a new musical comedy by Phyto Stratis, featuring Greek popular songs, on Wednesday, Jun. 6, 7:30 PM at Dionysos Restaurant, 23-15 31st Street in Astoria. Starring: Demetris Michael, Penny Tsinias, Louis Panayiotou, Aggeliki Psonis, and Phyto Stratis as the Judge. The 90-minute show is performed with live music as guests enjoy a beverage (wine or soft drink) and cold cuts which are included with the ticket. Post-show food menu is available from Dionysos Restaurant at the guests’ expense. Tickets: $30, available online at: www.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets also available at the venue. Additional information is available by phone: 646-595-7303.

JUNE 13

MANHATTAN – HABA requests the honor of your presence for our 36th Anniversary and our Executive of the Year Award Dinner 2018, honoring Daniel S. Janis, III, Senior Managing Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, Manulife Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, at the Union League Club of New York on Wednesday, Jun. 13, 6 PM. Please visit https://haba20180613.eventbrite.com for tickets & table sponsorship.

JUNE 16

MANHATTAN – The Greek-American Writers Assn. invites you to celebrate summer on June 16 at the final blockbuster program of the year. World-renowned musician Pericles Kanaris will sing and perform his original compositions at the keyboard. Poet Nicholas Alexiou will debut his fifth poetry collection, The Silver Sphynx. Artist CosmoYannis will share his secrets on how he created the dynamic coloring book, They Were Super-Greeks. Saturday, Jun. 16, Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street in Manhattan, 6-8 PM. $10 includes admission and a drink.

The post Going on in Our Community appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK – Four days after Efstathios Valiotis’ speech at the 76th commencement ceremony of Hellenic College Holy Cross School of Theology (HCHC), Archbishop Demetrios of America issued a statement, on May 23, regarding Valiotis’ comments about an autocephalous Church in America.

In the address, Valiotis called for the Church in America “to become autocephalous or for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to move to the United States. We cannot be governed by a small group of people from Turkey without any flock and purpose, with no mission and with different agenda,” in the presence of Demetrios, who is also Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Metropolitans Methodios of Boston, Gerasimos of San Francisco, and Savas of Pittsburgh, and Archdiocesan Chancellor Bishop Andonios of Phasiane. Demetrios praised the honorees (Valiotis and John P. Calamos Sr., calling them extraordinary men. They are successful businessmen, very creative, but they have the characteristic that they are in church on Sundays.”

After the ceremony, Demetrios told TNH that “the School is trying, it is going ahead and we always look at the future ahead.” Regarding Valiotis’ statements, Demetrios said “Mr. Valiotis is always impressive”. When asked if he agrees with his statements, the archbishop said “that is another issue.”

Valiotis bio as published in the official commencement program states that he is the Founder of Alma Bank, which The National Herald has revealed is the bank from which the Archdiocese plans to undertake a $7 million loan to pay off its debts, using its two office buildings in Manhattan as collateral.

The entire text of the archbishop’s statement has follows:

“The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is addressing concerns regarding comments made and opinions expressed at the 76th commencement of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, May 19, 2018.

“Opinions expressed by speakers and honorees during the commencement ceremony are simply their opinions and do not in any way reflect the sentiments of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios Geron of America, the Holy Eparchial Synod, our School HCHC, or the Archdiocese as a whole.

“Further, we state unequivocally that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as the canonical eparchy, which belongs organically and inseparably to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, honors, respects and loves the Ecumenical Patriarchate and His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.”

The post Demetrios’ Delayed Announcement on Valiotis’ “Autocephaly” Speech appeared first on The National Herald.

John P. Calamos Sr., Founder, Chairman, and CIO of Calamos Investments, was awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities (DHum) by the Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology (HCHC) at those institutions’ 76th commencement ceremonies, on May 17 in Brookline, MA.

His address follows:

Thank you your Eminence and the Board of Trustees. Thank you so much for this honor.

I congratulate all the graduates here today.

Graduating college for many is taken for granted. But not for me.

I’m from a Greek immigrant family that came to the United States and struggled through the years. Our family values and strong work ethic was very valuable to me. We had a grocery store in Chicago where I grew up. Growing up we went to church and Sunday school. I was the first of any of my family and relatives to go to college.

“I lived the American Dream.

“Looking back, that college experience changed my life along with my family values it gave me the foundation for any success I achieved.

“I worked my way through college. A very confused student, I changed my major several times. When I was a student at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), studying architecture and switching to finance, it was all about critical thinking. When I was in college, I gained knowledge about the history of the world through philosophy.

Looking back, my education was critical to my success over the years.

“From my experience in Sunday school I became very interested in philosophy and to support that effort I have endowed and donated to IIT a Chair in Philosophy.

I have often been asked: ‘why did you endow a Chair in Philosophy?’ My introduction to philosophy inspired me to take many courses in philosophy. It really stimulated critical thinking and how to create new ideas.My introduction to philosophers through my undergraduate coursework taught me how to really think. Philosophy asks what assumptions did you use here and why did you use them?

“I had interest in finance and as a teenager began managing my parents saving by trading stocks.In college I learned that economics is not a math problem. It is economic philosophy: how are we organized as a society? Reading many philosophers from Plato to Socratesand many others, I felt it taught me a great deal about life and gave me a perspective of history going back thousands of years.

“I continue to feel that learning philosophy today is extremely important. Socrates said ‘know thyself.’

What it teaches us is not what to think, but how to think.

Also, speaking earlier about the importance of faith and my history in learning about faith in Sunday school was also very important.

As you receive your degree today, what you are doing going forward into the ministry is extremely important. I commend you for doing that and encourage you to teach the younger generation the importance of faith whether you go into the ministry or not.

Teaching our children faith is extremely important.

My experience is that I did not realize at the time going to church and Sunday school growing up how important that would be for me. It created a value for me that became more important over the years. Creating those values for the younger generations is extremely important.

A good example of that importance is my experience.

I joined the Air Force through ROTC and as an Air Force pilot spent five years on active duty and twelve years in the reserves flying B52s and Jet Fighters.

Also as an Air Force Combat pilot in Vietnam I flew hundreds of combat missions as a FAC, Forward Air Controller. Some of them were very dangerous.

As a forward air controller, we were there to support the ground troops by controlling fighters to help them in time of need. The fighters could not drop or fire their guns unless the FAC gave them permission. After communicating with the ground troops that need help we set up the air strike by firing a rocket from our airplane with smoke to direct the air strike. As they came in to fire they could not unless they had the FAC’s permission. Our command was “your cleared in hot.”

Those critical experiences motivated me to remember my faith.Remembering my prayers from Sunday school I began praying every day.

In combat you make many life and death decisions. I still thank the Lord for bringing me home safe and helping me make the right decisions at critical times.

Remember that as you go forward, your teachings of the youth is extremely important. They may not know now how it will impact their lives, but in the future they will be thankful for your teachings and providing them with that foundation.

Again I commend you for your graduating from the Hellenic College and your future in teaching our faith.

Since I was the first in my family to go to college those four years of college, as I have said, my whole mindset changed completely.Anything I could do to help motivate kids and future generations to become educated is worthwhile.

As Chairman of the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, it is important that we remember our heritage and use that to motivate future generations.

That foundation is extremely important to our children today. “You don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you came from.”

Our heritage and faith is important.

I am concerned on how the students are being taught today in many colleges.

Are they learning history, our values and our faith?

As a reminder, as you go forward remember: you are here not to teach them what to think, but how to think. Do not forget that.

Thank you for your devotion to our faith and your work in the future.

Thank you for this honor.

The post Calamos, Awarded Honorary Doctorate by HCHC, Addresses Graduates appeared first on The National Herald.

CHICAGO – The Hellenic Initiative in partnership with the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation are sponsoring an exclusive Mentorship Luncheon on June 16 at The Racquet Club of Chicago.

Mentors representing fields in Business, Medicine, Law, STEM, and Tech, among others will be in attendance. His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago is the keynote speaker for the event.

Mentors include:

Nicholas W. Alexos- EVP, Chief Financial Officer, Dentsply Sorona Board Member, The Hellenic Initiative; Anna Davlantes- Host, WGN 720 Radio, Broadcaster,Documentarian, 7-time Emmy Award Winner; Michael Konidaris- Senior Economic Analyst, Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC; Stephen J. Livaditis- Managing Director, Eastdil Secured LLC; Doretta Mistras- Managing Director, Goldman Sachs; Dr. Tim S. Provias, Cardiologist, Northwestern Hospital;Evonne Sepsis- Managing Director, ESC Advisors;

Dr. Georgia Giakoumis Spear- Chief, Department of Breast Imaging, NorthShore University HealthSystem; Maria Spiropulu, PhD- Experimental Physicist, California Institute of Technology CMS Collaboration, Large Hadron Collider; Gregory Tsonis, Esq.- Litigation Associate, Kirkland & Ellis;Eric Vassilatos- Co-Founder, Vivid Seats; and John Zavitsanos, Esq.- Partner, AZA.

The post THI and Pan Hellenic Scholarship Foundation Mentorship Luncheon appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK – New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides was the keynote speaker for the graduation and scholarship ceremony at the Queens College Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies on May 24. He spoke in honor of the founder of the department, the late Professor Harry J. Psomiades and told the students that achieving their goals requires believing in yourself and hard work.

Constantinides noted that Prof. Psomiades founded the Center 44 years ago and since then it has been supported by thousands of expatriates along the way.

“Forty-four years ago, Harry Psomiades had a vision for this place. Surely, he could not know that in 2018 we would have all these graduates and these achievements. But he believed in it. This is a life lesson for us,” noted Constantinides, who graduated from the Department in 2005, recalling the many socially and professionally successful expatriates who have graduated from the Center.

Video: TNH/Costas Bej

Constantinides spoke about the shared history and immigration experience of all those in Queens, noting his father’s arrival during the era of McCarthyism when being different was not celebrated as it is today. “My father was afraid that if I learned Greek I would have been stigmatized for being different. If the climate had not changed since then, Centers like this would not exist. Today, 160 different languages ​​are spoken in Queens,” said Constantinides.

Architect Amalia Bournias was awarded as the “Graduate of the Year” as she embarks on her career path. She is also known for her active engagement with professional and Greek community organizations.

“The Center is deeply rooted in my heart. When I came from Chios, at my age of 18, it was difficult to adjust. The Center was a home away from my home, my safe harbor. I had the honor to meet the late Prof. Psomiades. He could see so far in the future to create the next generation of leaders for our community,” said Bournias, who encouraged the graduates and current students to participate actively in professional organizations, in Greek-American organizations, and in church.”

Christos P. Ioannides, Director of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, thanked all attendees and noted the fact that the interest in Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies was rooted in the Greek-American community and passed down from generation to generation.

“Today, 44 years after Professor Harry Psomiades, we have a new generation of Greek-American students studying here. We have the parents who studied here before, now seeing their children graduating tonight. We take pride in the achievements of the Greek-American community, especially in New York, in every aspect of our lives. The Center is a vital part of Queens College.”

College President Felix Matos Rodriguez congratulated the graduates and students and pointed out the important role played by the Center for Queens College.

“The end of the semester is a very important moment, we celebrate the achievements of our students. The Center is a family in which there is mutual support. The speech about Harry Psomiades is a gift to graduates.”

The Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras congratulated the students and encouraged them on their course for the future. “Open your wings, the University and the Greek community will be near you and we will be proud of you in the brilliant future that is in front of you.”

The out-going Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus, Ambassador Vasilios Philippou, who was awarded an honorary plaque, also expressed his emotion. In his speech, Amb. Philippou made a special mention of the contributions of Ioannides and the Center’s Assistant Director Effie Lekas whose valuable assistance helped Prof. Psomiades to institutionalize Greek Studies at Queens College.

Also present were Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York President Petros Galatoulas and the former president, Elias Tsekerides, who gave a greeting.

In total, scholarships of $14,500 were awarded to 26 students.

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, who was in Greece and could not attend, was represented by the Very Rev. Archimandrite Vasilios Bassakyros.

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