PITTSBURGH, PA – This December marks 125 years since the arrival and settlement of the first fifty Greek immigrants to the City of Pittsburgh in 1893. Fifteen years later, the first significant wave of Greek women would arrive from the homeland. The American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania (AHFWPA), together with the Greek Room Committee of the Nationality Rooms Program at the University of Pittsburgh is sponsoring three events this December and in January, 2019.

On December 2, AHFWPA with the Byzantine Choir of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh presented a commemorative concert for the 125th Anniversary, which also coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the Choir which is the longest-in-existence Byzantine Choir in the USA. The Foundation will celebrate a Proclamation on the 125th Anniversary issued by the City and the Mayor’s Office on December 9. An exhibit will be featured inside the Main Lobby of City Hall to close out 2018 and begin the New Year, December 29-January 6, 2019.

According to the City of Pittsburgh records, the first Greek immigrants began to arrive in Allegheny County in the 1890s. By December 1893, there were about 50 Greek men in the city of Pittsburgh. Most were sailors from various Greek islands and engaged in manual labor at first. Soon, many entered business for themselves; some were street vendors, others were restaurateurs, coffee shop owners, or confectioners. Men were often employed in restaurants owned by their fathers or brothers until they either assumed the business or opened a new one themselves. The first Greek restaurant in Pittsburgh was located at Diamond Square in the Market District.

The peak of Greek immigration to Allegheny County was 1910-1912. Most immigrants were from the Aegean islands, Asia Minor, and the Greek mainland. The main settlements at the time were North Side, Oakland, Downtown, East Pittsburgh, McKeesport, and Monessen.

The noted lawyer and author Seraphim Canoutas in his book The Immigrant’s Guide in America reported that in 1908 there were approximately 3,500 Greeks living in the wider Allegheny County region. According to Reports of the 13th Census of Pittsburgh, between 1908-1910 there were 816 Greeks from Greece of Greek immigrant parentage, 130 Greeks of mixed immigrant and American parentage, 37 Greek immigrant families were localized inside the tenement population of Greater Pittsburgh (mainly in the Penn Ave. district). The number of Greek students in Pittsburgh was the third largest in the USA, after New York and Chicago, and the largest per capita in terms of Greek parentage. There were 66 Greek students attending public elementary and high schools in December 1908 of which 60 were in the first three grades of elementary.

The first Greek community, as a formal organization was founded in 1905, consisting of 3,000-4,000 individuals residing in and around the city of Pittsburgh. In 1909, the community purchased a building, 97 Fulton Street. This location also served as a house of Greek Orthodox Christian worship. By 1912, there were two organized churches: Evangelismos (Annunciation), 10 Whiteside Road, and St. Nicholas, 547 6th Avenue; the latter also operated a Greek language school. Other organized Greek communities were established in East Pittsburgh, 803 Braddock Ave., Ambridge, Aliquippa, and Verona.

After a merger with Annunciation Church in September, 1918, it was agreed that worshipers would unite under the name “The Greek Community of Allegheny County-St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church”. St. Nicholas is the oldest Greek-Orthodox Christian community and church in Allegheny County (now located at 419 South Dithridge).

The largest, in membership, brotherhood was that of immigrants from the Aegean island of Ikaria and of those from the town of Vlachokerasia, near Tripolis, Peloponnese.

In 1914, a chapter of the Panhellenic Enosis (Union) was organized in Pittsburgh. The Greek-American Progressive Association, focused on preserving Greek traditions, culture, and language was founded in Pittsburgh in 1923.

In the 1910s, a large movie theater together with a billiard hall on Fifth Avenue, between Smithfield and Wood, was owned by Greek-Americans; Mr. Baziotis and Mr. Antonopoulos.

Other areas in Western PA with Greek immigrant presence were Ambridge, Canonsburg, New Castle, McKeesport, Aliquippa, and Monessen.

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HARRISBURG, PA – AHEPA Chapter #64 of Harrisburg welcomed Supreme President George E. Loucas to administer the Rite of Initiation and deliver the Oath to the 12 approved candidates for admission to the fraternity of Ahepa on November 19. Present and participating in this first of its kind formality for Chapter #64 were the Supreme Secretary George Horiates, Supreme Governor George Papaspyrou, District Governor Charles Mackenzie, District Marshal Dr. Michael Billys, District Warden Christ Megoulas, and the Executive Director of the National Order of AHEPA Basil Mossaidis. Over 70 Ahepan Brothers attended this highly auspicious and prestigious Oath and Initiation Ceremony, along with a sit-down first-class dinner-meeting held at the recently remodeled Social Hall of the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Father Michael Varvarelis offered the blessings from the community and welcomed the Supreme President Loucas and all of the visiting dignitaries. Fr. Varvarelis reflected on how valuable the local AHEPA Chapter #64 has been to all the philanthropic endeavors in the community and nationally.

Supreme President Loucas spoke about “Invite One,” the primary initiative during his tenure this year. He also referred to AHEPA as being the primary fraternal organization of brothers to offer philanthropy, educational opportunities, charity, and civic participation all over the world, not just here in the United States.

Chapter #71 of Lancaster, PA President George Georges was also recognized at the event. Loucas praised Chapter #64 as being on the forefront of exhibiting positive change for AHEPA, especially over the past five years. He pointed out that the Scholarship program, the “Rock-Monument” Commemoration for John Prokop and Freda Vladyka Prokop, the Blood Donor program, the “Right Before Your Eyes” movie, the Cooley’s Anemia program, the OPA Card fundraiser for the community, and the Service Dogs program fundraiser were remarkable accomplishments which will undoubtedly continue the success of the chapter well into the future.

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BOSTON – Immediately after the story broke that the 121-year-old historic Holy Trinity Church of Chicago received a judgment of foreclosure by the MB Financial Bank, that same parish filed a lawsuit against Mr. Jim Logothetis, former president of the parish and chairman of the school committee.

The National Herald located Mr. Logothetis in Europe on business trip and requested to provide his side of the story. He sent us a written statement with the request not to publish his photograph or his biographical data. His statement is as follows:

“Statement to The National Herald by Jim Logothetis

My family and I are saddened that the Holy Trinity parish that I served for over 35 years is facing the loss of the church property in Chicago. Many of us realized years ago that due to changing demographics and declines in church attendance and the size of the congregation, the current location in Chicago was not sustainable for the long term. That is why we proposed to move the parish to a new location in the suburbs and extend the life of this historic institution.

The actions that were taken by Holy Trinity, starting back in 2004 with the purchase of the Deerfield property, the transfer of the Socrates School to Deerfield in 2006, and the plans to move Holy Trinity to Deerfield as well, were all undertaken pursuant to a carefully thought-out plan to further the mission of Holy Trinity. Every step of the way, the relevant decisions were approved by the parish council and the general assembly under the leadership of Father George Kaloudis, and the Metropolis. But ultimately, Father Kaloudis decided that he did not want to move Holy Trinity to Deerfield, and an opportunity was lost.

I have not served on the Holy Trinity parish council over the last five years and I was not part of the decisions made, including the reversal of course regarding the transition, that have led to further declines in membership and revenue. It is sad that at the general assembly meeting this past Sunday, even given the most urgent agenda of the possible takeover by the bank, fewer than forty members showed up.

But the act of some, who are apparently now making decisions for Holy Trinity, to file a frivolous lawsuit against me, seeking a scapegoat and a perceived “deep pocket” insurance policy, is simply outrageous. The trumped up theory of the suit is that I had a “conflict of interest” because I was the head of the parish council and also the head of the Academy that acquired the Socrates School and moved it to Deerfield. But there was no conflict of interest. The goals of Holy Trinity and the Academy were the same, as reflected in the Joint Resolution that governed the transfer of the Socrates School to the Academy. Indeed, Father George Kaloudis agreed to have his son Gus Kaloudis, a lawyer, represent both Holy Trinity and the Academy in the various transactions (all fully approved at all levels) associated with the move – which Gus could have not have done had there been a conflict of interest between Holy Trinity and the Academy.

For more than 35 years, I freely gave of my time and money to serve Holy Trinity, contributing thousands of hours and donating or raising millions of dollars. I did so without complaint and without ever taking a dime. It is beyond sad for me personally to be the subject of an ill considered and groundless lawsuit filed by the church I loved and served. I hope that under the leadership of our new Metropolitan Nathanael, the parish will withdraw this frivolous suit and focus on a constructive plan for moving forward to serve the congregation. But if the suit is not withdrawn, I will defend the suit vigorously in court and I expect to prevail and to obtain sanctions because the suit is without any legal merit. I will do what I need to do to defend my reputation and protect my family, for whom the church has been the center of our lives, from baseless attacks.”

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NEW YORK – The art exhibition In More Ways Than One by Eleni Daferera opened at the Consulate General of Greece in New York on December 4. Art lovers from all walks of life enjoyed the dynamic works on display and the opportunity to meet and congratulate the gifted artistat the opening reception.

The exhibition is open to the public Monday-Friday 9 AM-2:30 PM at the Consulate General of Greece, 69 East 79th Street in Manhattan, and runs through December 18.

Among those present, Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras welcomed everyone to the exhibition. Also in attendance Consul of Greece Lana Zochiou, Ambassador Loucas Tsilas and his wife Penelope, Mrs. Popita Pavli, Phytos Stratis, and Nektarios Antoniou who begins his new post as Executive Director of the Axion Estin Foundation in January.

Daferera spoke with The National Herald about the exhibition and noted the significance of identity to her work. She told TNH that having spent time in various cities, New York, Vienna, London, and her native Athens, among them, has certainly influenced her work and identity, navigating through cultures and mythologies.

Born in Athens, Greece, Dafererais a visual artist, architect, and interior designer. A graduate of the National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture and of the London Guildhall University, School of Art, Architecture and Design, she also attended the open studio on graphic arts and printmaking techniques by the renowned Austrian artist Gunter Damisch in the Fine Arts Academy of Vienna (Akademie der bildendenKünste Wien). Her artistic practice –drawing, painting and collage making– has been developing in Athens, London, and Vienna where she also collaborated with Kulturkontakt Austria offering visual arts and architecture workshops. Today, she lives and works in New York and the islandof Paros in Greece, exhibiting her artwork both in solo and group exhibitions, and working on book illustrations.

According to the exhibition’s description, Neraides and Perchta (Frau Perchta or Frau Holle according to the Grimm brothers), change shape and form. Their appearance and visage ranges from ugliness to beauty, from pleasure to fear, from strangeness to familiarity, from hope to despair. These variations are the inspiration behind these works; the fleeting appearances of Neraides and Perchta in the dim light of early autumn and the darkness of the winter forest. Connecting the roaming and dark femininity as seen in the Alpine and Greek folklore with the femininity as seen today, where commercial images of glossy magazines are but an inviting look for sexual fantasizing; the female body as empty of spirit and represented as void of identity – other than the multicolor layers of clothes. The lustful, culturally constructed femininity as it manifests itself on billboard road signs and advertising, against the festive and ambiguous figures of hope or misfortune. Fluid, familiar yet unrecognizable, we wear a form that soon vanishes into thin air, against our will, while we continue to search for identity. Or is fluidity the true nature of our identity, the go-between?

Among Daferera’s recentexhibitions: The Gaze, 2016, Centre for Women Studies & Research, DIOTIMA, Athens, Greece;Perhta, 2016, Experimonde Wien, Vienna, Austria; Different Faces on Their Moments, 2015, Experimonde Wien, Vienna; Now and then, 2014, Archilochos Cultural Association, Paros island, Greece; The Birds, 2013, Fine Arts University of Vienna; The Feminine Now, 2012, Centre for Women Studies & Research, DIOTIMA, Athens;and The Relation Between me and Him, 2011, Archilochos Cultural Association, Paros.

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SAN DIEGO, CA – A new drug can significantly reduce, even at half, the need for blood transfusions to patients with thalassemia.

In seven out of 10 patients, the revolutionary therapy reduced the number of blood units needed over three months by at least 33 percent. Over time, this decline in specific patient groups is over 50 percent.

The findings of the scientists are for adult patients, most of them around the age of 30. “Our great hope is that, at some point, we will free as many patients as possible from [the need for] transfusions. The new data now allows us to be confident that in the future treatment will be possible from childhood,” the head of the study, Ms. D. Cappellini, professor of hematology at the University of Milan, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA).

This is a dream that may become reality in a few years and help many patients improve their quality of life. The results of the international study with Greek participation from hospitals in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras were announced at the 60th Annual Congress of the American Society of Hematology, held in San Diego, USA.

This is the BELIEVE phase III study, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of luspatercept monoclonal antibody for the treatment of adults with Mediterranean anemia (β-thalassemia), a chronic disease requiring regular red blood cell transfusions in a large number of patients (RBC).

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NEW YORK – People with disabilities are an integral part of our society. Most people cannot understand that no one can be considered immune from the possibility of diminishing abilities, and how this has the effect of marginalizing people, especially those with intellectual disabilities.

In Greece, relative progress in social inclusion of people with disabilities in previous years has now been suspended due to the economic crisis that has worsened the lives of those with disabilities.

This update – and raising awareness at the same time – took place on December 3, at Kyma restaurant in Manhattan, provided byELEPAP, the Hellenic Society for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, the first charitable nonprofit in Greece which was founded in 1937.

In its 80 years of operation, ELEPAP has provided services to more than 100,000 children with motor disabilities, brain injuries, and other neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders from birth to adulthood.

ELEPAP President Marianna Moschou and Dr. Lena Skoutelis, pediatrician, particularly moved the guests with their passion and dynamic, purely voluntary, efforts as they arrived from Greece to inaugurate the International Friends of ELEPAP in New York, the international sponsorship and donation division of ELEPAP, and to inform the Greek community about the organization’s efforts and the needfor financial support, which is invaluable in these difficult times in Greece.

Mrs. Moschos spoke to The National Herald and noted that, “I had been working on Citibank’s maritime financing for 33 years. When I left the Bank, I decided to offer my technocratic knowledge to ELEPAP where people had a higher purpose and did their job with the same passion and dedication that Ihad, too.

“In this way I managed to develop ELEPAP, which currently has six centers in Athens, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Volos, Chania, Agrinio and 200 specialized personnel. It organizes, participates in, and leads workshops, conferences, and seminars in Greece and abroad and applies the most modern and innovative, scientific, therapeutic methods to help more than 1,500 disabled children.”

She thanked those who supported this effort, including the Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras, Atlantic BankPresident Nancy Papaioannou, Kyma co-owners Mike Angeliadis and SteveTenedios, Onassis Foundation President Dr. Anthony Papadimitriou, Yehuda Ben Yishay, TNH Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris, the Greek television channel Antenna, and many others, who are the leaders of this effort.

Then Dr. Lena Skoutelis, who has volunteered for 28 years with ELEPAP as a pediatrician, after noting the work of the Organization, ended her speech very emotionally, saying that “the Greek word orizontas (horizon) for romantics, doctors, therapists, and presidents represents hope. We at ELEPAP give our soul and our heart for the dream of rehabilitation for children, even if it seems like a utopia. We want to recruit dreamers. Thank you for being the international friends of ELEPAP.”

Among the guests were many businessmen and parents of children with special needs. TNH asked Dr. Antonios Lazanas, head of Portfolio and Index Research at Bloomberg, how important he considers supporting ELEPAP. He replied, “As a parent with a 22-year-old child with disabilities I will tell you from my experience that the sooner you help the child,the higher the level he will reach when he grows up. It is very important that there is organized help, expert people who will explain to parents that it is not their own fault, which will help them understand the behavior of their child, and remain a united family without blaming each other and feeling guilty. We need to strengthen organizations like ELEPAP because that’s the only way we can avoid the tragedies that can happen.”

Kyma was one of the first sponsors for this important foundation meeting of the International Friends of ELEPAP in New York providing the venue as well as the delicacies.

For those interested in more information about ELEPAP, please contact: + 03210-722-8380, + 03 210-725-1121 or email: epikoinonia@elepap.gr.

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NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America declared in a news releasef that significant steps have been taken towards the completion of the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero, where construction stopped a year ago due to lack of funds.

The National Herald has learned that that government agencies, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have sent letters to Archbishop Demetrios inquiring about the status of St. Nicholas. Demetrios in his reply attempted to pacify them by saying that everything will be fine.

TNH here publishes the news release in its entirety, followed by statements by Michael Psaros, past Treasurer of the Archdiocesan Council. The entire release follows:

“The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has taken additional significant steps towards the resumption of construction and completion of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.

A new Board of Trustees for St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine has been named, and on December 6, 2018, the feast-day of St. Nicholas, a ceremony of Affirmation of Office will take place at the headquarters of the Archdiocese, followed by a meeting to set a course forward and discuss issues of immediate concern. The St. Nicholas Board of Trustees will have the responsibility and care for the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas and the management of the related funds.

The new Board of Trustees will be comprised as follows: seven members will be of the original St. Nicholas parish, seven members are appointed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and six ex-officio members will be the heads of six major organizations i.e.: The President of the National Ladies Philoptochos Society, the President of the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council, the National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew-Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Chairman of Leadership 100, the President of Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, and the President of AHEPA.

Additionally, a new entity, the “Friends of St. Nicholas, Inc.,” has been created and a Certificate of Incorporation has been filed with the State of New York. It is a not-for-profit corporation, which has been created according to the recommendations of the Phase II Report produced by the Special Investigative Committee and PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC (“PwC”) regarding the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.

The Corporation has been formed in order to raise, invest, gift and disburse funds for the construction and improvement of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. The initial directors of the corporation (who shall also be known as “trustees”) are Elaine T. Allen, Olga Pavlakos and Michael Psaros. The number of trustees will be increased up to 15 people and is expected to include individuals from all Metropolises of the Archdiocese. The articles of incorporation provide that the Corporation shall dissolve one year following the consecration of St. Nicholas and all the assets and property of the Corporation shall be distributed to or for the benefit of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.”

Michael Psaros Statements

In exclusive statements to The National Herald Michael Psaros said, “We have to build St. Nicholas. As you know, I have spoken about the need to complete the Church in speeches, interviews and even placed a full page ad in the National Herald on 9/11 (2018) to honor those martyred and to remind our Omogenia of the need to complete the Church. In connection thereto, as I have discussed with The National Herald and with other Hellenic and Orthodox News organizations, Elaine Allen (my successor as Treasurer) worked with a team of very talented lawyers, working pro-bono, to create “THE FRIENDS OF ST. NICHOLAS (“Friends”). Friends will be the vehicle for raising and dispersing funds related to the construction of St. Nicholas.”

Psaros emphasized that “I agreed to be one of the incorporators on the assumption that we would work in support of Father Alexander Karloutsos’ efforts to raise funds to complete St. Nicholas. Father Alex is the only person capable of raising the funds required to complete the construction of the Church. We all understand that a completely independent entity needed to be created, separate from the Archdiocese, in order for our community to have the trust and confidence to contribute the funds required for the construction of St. Nicholas. My personal precondition to committing to this most critical and worthy effort was the independence of Friends, which will be completely transparent and accountable to donors and to our community. All fundraising will be disclosed in real time, along with accompanying expenditures.”

Psaros also said that “To be clear, Friends is not the Board of Directors/Trustees of St. Nicholas. It is the vehicle to raise and dispense capital in an accountable, responsible and transparent manner. Our community must re-commit itself to the completion of St. Nicholas. It will be the most visited Church of any Christian denomination in the U.S. and a beacon of Orthodoxy to the world. I commend The National Herald for continuing to focus on the Church and its efforts to rally our community towards its completion.”

In the meantime, exclusive information has been obtained by The National Herald from informed sources and large donors who say that Michael Psaros had agreed to serve and work for the completion of Nicholas on the assumption that there would be a new Archbishop by now, that Father Alexander Karloutsos would lead the effort, and that the organization The Friends of St. Nicholas is totally independent from the Archdiocese at 79th Street in Manhattan.

The same sources emphasized about the St. Nicholas project that we are “dead in the water” until we have a new Archbishop.”

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BOSTON – The Transfiguration Greek Orthodox parish in Anchorage, AK survived the recent strong earthquake with minimal consequences and damage according to its presiding priest of seven years Fr. Vasili Hillhouse. In a telephone interview with The National Herald Fr. Vasili said, “Thank God everybody is well and safe. We are experiencing aftershocks even as we are talking. We have started to clean up the glass that was broken in homes and stores. The grocery stores and also the convenience stores are opening again as well as the gas stations. Also, the water is safe, so we are on the road to recovery; some roads, however, are damaged and some of the bridges have collapsed.”

During the telephone interview Fr. Vasili said, “I am on my way to the church. We had engineers yesterday inspect the building. There are cracks, but the structure is sound. The church is a new building, four years old, and it is in good shape, but we have a lot of clean up to do.”

Asked if he was going to liturgize on Sunday at the church, he said “absolutely. We are going to have a full service. The building is safe. We are getting the cleanup done and we are going to offer a Service of Thanksgiving now that all of us are safe.”

He also said that “all the parishioners are ok. I am checking on a lot of elderly persons and they are ok, and again we are experiencing the aftershocks.”

He said about spirit among the parishioners, “We have an interesting dynamic up here in Alaska. We are all far away from our families. Either they are from Greece or California and so they are united with one another here, being out on our own.”

He added that “Everyone is upbeat and asking how they can help. People go to the church because they want to clean up, they want to do something, and they are very positive and very thankful.”

According to Fr. Vasili, “The community is comprised of one hundred families in the entire state of Alaska, but in Anchorage there are about eighthly five.”

The earthquake struck as Fr. Vasili returned to his home. He said, “I had pulled into my garage after I drove my children to school; it was 8:29 AM here in Alaska…I experienced a big earthquake in the California Bay area in 1989 and when it started shaking here I realized right away that we were in big trouble, but thanks to Panagia and St. Demetrios we are safe.”

When asked about life in Alaska, he said, “Thank God, it is a unique place,” and noted that serving a parish is the same for every priest. “Your mission is serving your people and trying to be involved in the community, like anywhere else.”

The parish’s website notes that the Greek Orthodox presence in Alaska dates to the early eighteenth century when Greeks accompanied the first Russian Orthodox missionaries. However, it was not until the early 1900s that large numbers of Greeks first arrived to work on the construction of Alaska’s railroad. After its completion, a small number remained in the railroad camp at the head of Cook Inlet, which became the city of Anchorage. For many years, the nearest Orthodox parish was St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Eklutna, a village 35 miles north of Anchorage.

The Orthodox Christian community in Anchorage first met in 1953 in the basement of the Chiamis Apartment Building located on Third Avenue between B and C Streets, where Orthodox families would gather in an effort to preserve their traditions, and Russian priests would come occasionally to give sermons. Several years later Soterios Chiamis, Chris Papademetrios, George Poggas and Goldie Grames began talking about building a small church.

Finally, in 1958, a small group of Greeks built the first Orthodox Church in Anchorage. Chris and Marika Papademetrios donated the land, Goldie Grames supplied the building materials, Soterios Chiamis served as the general contractor, and the church was built entirely by volunteer labor. The church was originally named “Saint Sotirios Greek Orthodox Church.” It was a 1,900 square foot cinder block structure with a metal roof, divided into two sections containing the church and a hall on one-half acre at Arctic Boulevard and Campbell Station Road (now Tudor Road). The little church became the center of religious and social activities for Greek, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Alaskan Native Orthodox. Reverend Michael Oskolkoff was among the visiting Russian Orthodox clergy who conducted liturgy on a regular basis, and Fr. Norman Elliott of All Saints Episcopal Church, assisted when needed with baptisms, weddings and funerals. The new nave was build four years ago.

The post The Priest of Anchorage Alaska’s Transfiguration Parish Speaks to TNH about the Earthquake appeared first on The National Herald.

BOSTON (AP) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who lost to George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election, said Saturday that his former political foe’s legacy was his effort to help end the Cold War.

“Obviously we disagreed pretty strongly on domestic policy and I wasn’t thrilled with the kind of campaign he ran, but I think his greatest contribution was in negotiating the end of the Cold War with (Soviet leader) Mikhail Gorbachev,” Dukakis told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“What’s ironic and so troubling, just as he’s passing on, we’re heading into another stupid Cold War again,” Dukakis noted.

He also credited Bush, who died Friday night at age 94, with working with other countries and the United Nations in the first Gulf War.

“When it came to the international side of things, he was a very wise and thoughtful man,” said Dukakis, adding that he’s read Bush’s memoir, which addresses why his administration didn’t ultimately try to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Dukakis, 85, blames himself for his election loss as the Democratic nominee, saying he didn’t respond aggressively to a Bush campaign ad featuring a convicted murderer named Willie Horton who raped a woman and stabbed her partner while out of prison on a Massachusetts furlough program.

In hindsight, Dukakis said he failed during the campaign to draw attention to the leniency of the federal furlough program that was in place while Bush was vice president.

“Look, it was my fault for not mounting a very strong defense to that and I don’t blame anybody but myself for that,” he said. “I should have done a much, much better job with dealing with that.”

Dukakis said he and Bush never became friends, but met a handful of times after the election, including in the December of 1988 at the vice president’s residence. Dukakis said he never raised the issue of the Willie Horton ad with Bush.

Dukakis praised Bush for being willing to work with Democrats — unlike, he said, fellow Republican President Donald Trump. He recalled how Bush called governors from both parties to the University of Virginia for three days to try to craft a consensus public education program. The chairman of the National Governor’s Association at the time was then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who later defeated Bush in the 1992 presidential election.

“The interplay between Clinton and Bush was really kind of interesting,” Dukakis said. “I think probably most of us knew we were looking at the two candidates in the next presidential election.”

—
By SUSAN HAIGH

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He was for decades after World War II perhaps the best of the greatest of American fashion designers but the brilliance of James Galanos, who died in 2016 at 92, seemed to have faded from memory but is being restored with a show of is work at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he was born.

James Galanos: Design Integrity, on view in the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University, doesn’t answer the question of why Galanos is underrepresented,” The Wall Street Journal said in a feature, noting that it does, however, establish “a baseline for his importance,” that endures.

Two years ago, the university’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC) received more than 700 couture-level ensembles, plus thousands of sketches, swatches, and photographs, from the James G. Galanos Foundation.

That now encompasses the James G. Galanos Archive at Drexel University, with the exhibition the first outing of pieces pulled from the Archive with more set to come, bringing back his work that adorned famous actresses, First Lady Nancy Reagan and customers grateful it was ready-to-wear.

Organized by Clare Sauro, FHCC Director and Chief Curator, with Cara Fry and Monica Stevens Smyth, the show contains approximately 60 pieces, the oldest dating to 1953, two years after Galanos launched his own house at only 27.

He earned his way up in the industry, the only son of Greek-born parents. His mother, Helen Gorgoliatos, and his father, Gregory Galanos, a frustrated artist, ran a restaurant in southern New Jersey, where Galanos said he had his first glimpses of well-dressed women.

He said he grew up shy, learned to work hard from an early age, an ethic typical of Greek parents passed on to their children. Galanos recalled that he was “a loner, surrounded by three sisters. I never sewed; I just sketched. It was simply instinctive. As a young boy I had no fashion influences around me but all the while I was dreaming of Paris and New York.”

Ironically, as his talent became recognized after fitful starts, he disdained the Parisian influence, which endeared him to women looking for something they could actually wear instead of staring at models on a runway with fashion that seemed unattainable.

Impatient and eager to get started in a hands-on way after being educated at New York’s Traphagen School of Fashion, he worked for Hattie Carnegie, the Paris house of Piguet, and Davidow in New York but left because he wanted to create originals.

He headed west to be a sketch artist at Columbia Pictures, where his talent impressed Jean Louis, its chief designer, who lent him $200 to produce his first collection. The label read Galanos Originals, the paper noted.

THE PERFECTIONIST AT WORK

“I’m always trying to invent a seam that is intricate, intelligent, but that works,” Galanos is quoted in wall text.

The exhibition continues through four sections that address the themes of black, drape, tailoring, and textiles. Galanos excelled in each of these, the paper said, and displayed a special mastery over silk chiffon, a fabric of unruly softness that disses all but the most precise designers. “Precision is everywhere on view, from the simple jewel necklines that curve like celestial rings around the throat, to long sleeves that narrow into perfect pools at the wrists,” the review said.

His elegant subtlety may have hindered his legacy, ironically because he wasn’t a showman looking for illustration, but a master designer looking for eternity for his designs.

“His innovations were often hidden within the dress, in sly cut and imperceptible, airtight construction. For this reason one wishes the exhibition had provided more information in its overly-spare labeling—some history about the pieces, some explication of, and insight into, those ‘intricate, intelligent’ Galanos seams,” it added.

A Galanos – and that’s what it was called – often had bold but brought-in textile choices and color combinations. “Galanos took the most scrumptious silks, wools, and velvets Europe had to offer and brought opposites—hard and soft, tight weave and loose, glitter and matte—into connubial bliss,” the review added.

At his passing, fashion icon Iris Apfel, now 97, told Women’s Wear Daily that, “Galanos was one of the most brilliant designers I’ve ever come upon. He should sit in the pantheon. His clothes were American couture. His clothes were made as well as the finest houses in Paris. It was a sensual experience to put on one of his dresses because the inside was so exquisitely made. You could turn them inside out and they were gorgeous. He was very advanced. He walked to his own drummer. He didn’t play around with trends.”

Sonja Caproni, fashion director for I. Magnin in the 1970’s and 1980’s, which carried Galanos’ designs, told WWD that, ““His perfect workmanship and dedication made him so successful and the fact that he never did a second line.”

She added: “He never had licensees or any of that. He did furs and perfume, but his clothes really were a work of art. Every one of them was fit by him and fabricated by him. I don’t think there was any such thing as a hands-on designer like that. Many times it was even better than what we could buy in Paris. It was so close to couture. You really couldn’t make a mistake if you wore Galanos.”

The post Drexel Remembers Galanos, the Quiet King of Fashion appeared first on The National Herald.

ΒΟSΤΟΝ – The historic 121 year-old Greek Orthodox parish of Chicago has somnambulated into bankruptcy. As a result, the MB Financial Bank will take its nave, the school building and the rest of the premises on December 14, 2018 at 10:30 in the morning.

The sad story was broken on November 28, 2018 on Facebook by presiding priest Nicholas Jonas who was appointed to the parish a year and one half ago. Priest emeritus Fr. George Kaloudis has been serving at the parish for 57 years.

The National Herald immediately attempted to communicate with Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago but he was out of the United States because he is a member of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and had to travel to Constantinople.

The Metropolis was closed when we called at 5:45 Boston time and the voice mail of Chancellor Archimandrite Chrysostomos Panos was full and we could not leave any message. Nathanael responded to our e-mail from Constantinople saying that he was abroad, and the following day, November 29, the Metropolis of Chicago issued an official News Release.

The news releases of both Fr. Nicholas Jonas and Metropolitan Nathanael follow.

Fr. Jonas News Release:
“As a result of burdensome economic and legal pressures, Chicago’s historic 121-year-old Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church has received a judgment of foreclosure.
The Church released a statement noting that on December 14, at 10:30 AM, the title of the property on Diversey Avenue must be delivered to MB Financial Bank.
The statement continues: “Our Church, together with the building that until a few years ago was the Socrates School, will unjustly go into the hands of the bank.
Therefore, the evening before, Thursday, December 13, at 7 PM, a Paraclesis (Supplication) Service will be offered for our beloved home, our Holy Trinity at 6041 W. Diversey Ave. in Chicago, IL.
We plead that all of our members, past and present…All of our friends… All of those who were baptized and married here…
Those of you who prayed and attended Divine Services here, especially the Services of Holy Week and Pascha…
Those of you who studied at Socrates School and who took part in our various youth and athletic groups…. All of you…
Please come and offer up prayers to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through His All-Holy Mother…
Pray that the waves that have turned against us be ceased!”

Metropolitan Nathanael’s News Release:

“On November 29, 2018, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago made thefollowing statement:“The Metropolis is aware that Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago will be auctioned on December 14 and finds the situation regrettable anddisappointing.

“Since his enthronement in March, His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael hastreated Holy Trinity’s foreclosure as a top priority. Though it has limited power incivil matters like this one, the Metropolis has and continues to devotesubstantial time and resources in a good faith effort to find the best path forwardfor Holy Trinity.

“Regardless of the outcome of the auction on December 14, the Metropolis willcontinue to work with the parish, and if necessary, find a spiritual home forparishioners so worship, stewardship and the ministries of the Church continue inearnest. We ask the faithful of the Metropolis for their prayers and to remainmindful of the words of the Apostle Paul: “when one member suffers, all suffertogether” (1 Cor. 12:26).”

The post Chicago’s Holy Trinity Church Receives Judgment of Foreclosure appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City taxi regulators approved new pay standards for app-based car services Tuesday that they say will raise drivers’ annual earnings by $10,000 a year, making it the first U.S. city to set such minimum pay standards.

The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the rules that will establish a per-minute and per-mile payment formula for Uber, Lyft, Via and Gett. The formula is supposed to result in drivers earning $17.22 an hour.

“This first-time regulation to form a floor for app driver earnings and give a modest first raise is a long time in the making,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the Taxi Workers Alliance. “It’s the first real attempt anywhere to stop app driver pay cuts, which is an Uber and Lyft business practice at the heart of poverty wages. ”

New York’s City Council authorized the commission to set pay standards in August at the same time that it approved a cap on new vehicle licenses for ride-hail services.

Both yellow cab and ride-hail drivers have complained for years that the surge in app-based cars in New York has driven down pay across the industry, making it impossible for many drivers to earn a living.

The new formula factors in drivers’ total working time and their time spent transporting fares in order to incentivize efficient use of drivers. The rules are intended to cut traffic congestion by reducing the amount of time drivers spend circling around in busy areas without fares, but that could result in longer waits for a ride.

Taxi commission chairwoman Meera Joshi said she believes New Yorkers “are willing to pay a little more and wait a little longer so the people transporting them are able to provide for themselves and their families.”

But Uber, which is pushing for congestion pricing as a way to unclog Manhattan traffic, said in a statement that the new rules “will lead to higher than necessary fare increases for riders while missing an opportunity to deal with congestion in Manhattan’s central business district.”

Lyft said the rules “will undermine competition by allowing certain companies to pay drivers lower wages.” It called the new system “a step backward for New Yorkers.”

—
By KAREN MATTHEWS , Associated Press

The post NYC Taxi Board Sets Minimum Pay for App-Based Drivers appeared first on The National Herald.

BOSTON – Father George Kaloudis is priest emeritus of the Holy Trinity parish in Chicago after pastoring there for more than half a century –since 1961. In a telephone interview with The National Herald he offered his own views of the events unfolding at the parish. Replying to questions about what is going on at Holy Trinity – Presiding Priest Fr. Nicholas Jonas recently announced on Facebook that the nave and other buildings will be foreclosed on December 14, 2018– Fr. Kaloudis said “There is a small problem but I don’t think [foreclosure] is going to happen because we are in negotiations with the bank and we are trying to prevent it.”

Asked why things have progressed to this point, Fr. George said, “The community has become bankrupt. There are problems that will be resolved with discussionsand negotiations; the matter is very complicated.”

When we asked him why the church’s properties went into foreclosure, he said, “Because its members have spread out a lot; they have gone to the suburbs and we don’t have the income that we had in the past.”

According to Fr. Kaloudis the parish consists of between 75 and100 families and added, “It is not blossoming as it did in the past.”

Regarding the time frame of the occurrence of the financial problem, he said it began “two years ago.”

When we asked him if things were going well when he was the presiding priest,he said “Things were good. When I first arrived we did not have much money, but things got to a point where the community didn’t have any financial or ethical problems, I mean, nobody interfered or jumped in the middle of thingsto get the parish tangled in debt. Now the parish is in debt.”

Regarding the extent of the parish’s debt, he said, “I don’t know the amount, only the treasurer knows –it is about $12.0 million dollars.”

To the follow up question about what happened to the money, he said, “You know we had a school whichwas named the Socrates School. They took a lot of moneythat they spent and now they are called the Hellenic American Academy and it is not doing well at all, and we have an issue with them because they spent a lot of money. They scattered money here and there, spending on luxuries, etc.”

When asked who those people are, he said they were part of the wider community. “They are people of the community but most of them are not members of Holy Trinity. The community felt an obligation towards the Academy, so they divided up the chips – that’s what they spent. Spending without any logic, and now the community is a little confused about things, but not so much.”

Asked if the Socrates school, now named Hellenic American Academy– is a separate entity, Fr. George said, “Certainly it is separate.”When he was asked whether the parish is responsible for the loans taken out for the Socrates school, he underscored, “the parish is in debt for those loans.”

When asked if both he and Fr. Nick Jonas are salaried by the parish, he said, “Yes we are, but I don’t get the money that the current presiding priest gets. I get something for my living. But I am a responsible person. I also bring money in – but the money they give me is not as much as Ibring in.”

Regarding the questions whether a parish with 75 families needs two priests and why the parish appointed Fr. Nicholas Jonas, he said “Because we wanted a second priest. I amnow almost 83 years old and there should be a priest to continue after me. He is American born, we work together and we have understanding. I have no differences with Fr. Jonas. He is there for some things and I for others – I am of the old school.”

When we asked him how he feelsabout the community’s property being in foreclosure and that title will have to be deliveredto MB Financial Bank on December 14, Fr. Kaloudis said, “I feel that I have done all I could in my life, not that I failed – but I can’t even tell you how it ended up like this.”

The post Fr. George Kaloudis Priest of 57 Years at Holy Trinity Chicago Speaks to TNH appeared first on The National Herald.

BROOKLYN – Mark-Anthony Turnage’s groundbreaking and profane 1988 two-act opera, Greek, is now a cult classic in the modern chamber opera repertoire. Composed and set in Britain’s Thatcher era, and based on the in-your-face stage play by Steven Berkoff, Greek’s bleak humor and exploration of social and political unrest continue to resonate today. Scottish Opera/Opera Ventures’ acclaimed new production was presented in its New York premiere on December 5, and the engagement which runs through December 9 also marks the New York premiere of the opera as part of the BAM 2018 Next Wave Festival in Brooklyn.

Greek is a retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, set in cockney-accented north London. An aimless young man, Eddy, longs for a better life away from his family. His father tells him of a fortune teller’s prophecy years earlier that Eddy would sleep with his mother and murder his father. Eddy storms off, disgusted, brawling his way across a turbulent city rife with strikes, gas rationing, violence, and plague. Following a row with police, Eddy escapes into a café, where he argues with the café manager and kills him. The distraught café manager’s wife falls in love with Eddy and they make a life together. She tells him of her young son who was lost in the Thames River years ago. Years later, Eddy’s parents find him and finally tell him how they rescued him from the river. Horrified, Eddy realizes the fortune teller’s prophecy has come true.

Greek is presented by Scottish Opera/Opera Ventures with libretto by Steven Berkoff from his play Greek, adapted by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Jonathan Moore, composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, conducted by Stuart Stratford, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins with associate director Daisy Evans, set design by Johannes Schűtz, costume design by Alex Lowde, lighting design by Matthew Richardson, video design by Dick Straker, movement by Jenny Ogilvie, dramaturgy by Caroline Steinbeis, and soloists from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

In English with English titles, Greek is co-produced by Opera Ventures and Scottish Opera, at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave in Brooklyn, December 5, 6 and 8, 7:30 PM; December 9 at 3 PM. Tickets start at $35.

More information is available by phone: 718-636-4100 and online: bam.org.

The post “Greek” Opera Based on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex at BAM appeared first on The National Herald.

MELBOURNE, Australia – A life-changing procedure for a cancer patient was performed by Greek-Australian Dr. George Dimitroulis, a Melbourne-based maxillofacial surgeon, 9News reported. The world’s first ever jaw reconstruction using a 3D printed jaw which features a titanium frame to carry bone grafts to allow for tooth implants has restored the quality of life to a 31-year-old cancer patient.

Melbourne resident Anelia Myburgh noticed an unusual bump above her teeth and made an appointment with her dentist who referred her to specialists. After a series of tests revealed she had jaw cancer, about 80 percent of her upper jaw was surgically removed as well as part of her upper lip and a section beneath her nose, 9News reported.

The disfiguring procedure was difficult to live with, Myburgh, a finance worker, told 9News, “We communicate with our mouths, we eat with our mouths, if you don’t have a mouth we can’t really live in a way a person takes for granted,” adding that her self-consciousness caused her to stay home most of the time and only leave the house wearing a surgical mask.

After being told that nothing could be done, she researched on her own and found Dr. Dimitroulis who said, “Putting the device in is the easy part, the hard part is the healing, we’re not exactly sure how that’s going to go,” 9News reported.

Months of recovery followed with temporary teeth put in so Myburgh could get used to them, 9News reported adding that the permanent teeth were put in for free.

A five hour operation added a skin graft from her forearm to fill out her upper lip and so far the results are a success, 9News reported.

The post Greek-Australian Doctor Reconstructs Jaw for Cancer Patient appeared first on The National Herald.

OXFORD, WI – Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was released from federal prison on Friday morning after serving 12 days of his two-week sentence at the minimum security facility in Oxford, WI, according to CNN.  “Papadopoulos will now have 12 months of supervised release, must serve 200 hours of community service within about one year, and must pay a $9,500 fine,” CNN reported.

The first campaign aide sentenced in Mueller’s investigation, Papadopoulos triggered the Russia investigation two years ago. He was sentenced in September for lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russian intermediaries during the 2016 presidential campaign.

He had sought a postponement of his prison term until an appeals court ruled in a separate case challenging the constitutionality of special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment.

But U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss said Papadopoulos had waited too long to contest his sentence.

The White House has said Papadopoulos, 31, was a low-level volunteer on the campaign. But he’s been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating before Mueller’s May 2017 appointment.

According to an indictment handed up this summer, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was informed by a professor that Russian officials had told him they had “dirt” on Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.”

Papadopoulos later used his connections with the Maltese professor, Joseph Mifsud, and other Russian nationals in an attempt to broker a meeting between then-candidate Donald and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Papadopoulos admitted last year to lying to the FBI about those contacts with Russians and Russian intermediaries.

In recent months, Papadopoulos has spent many nights posting on Twitter, venting anger about the FBI and insisting he was framed by the government. He also has offered to testify before the Senate intelligence committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, if he’s granted immunity or other conditions.

“The truth will all be out. Not even a prison sentence can stop that momentum,” Papadopoulos tweeted November 25. “Looking forward to testifying publicly shortly after. The wool isn’t going to be pulled over America’s eyes forever.”

Papadopoulos’ sentence, issued by Moss on September 7, was far less than the maximum six-month sentence sought by the government but more than the probation that Papadopoulos and his lawyers had asked for. Moss at the time noted that many similar cases resulted in probation but said he imposed a sentence of incarceration partly to send a message to the public that people cannot lie to the FBI. 

Material from the AP was used in this report.

The post Papadopoulos Released from Federal Prison appeared first on The National Herald.

MELBOURNE, Australia – A dinner was held in honor of His Eminence Metropolitan Myron (Ktistakis) of New Zealand and his team hosted by the Pancretan Association of Melbourne at the Cretan Village Members Pavillion. His Eminence was welcomed by the President Ioannis Nikolakakis and members of the Board of Directors, the Women’s Auxiliary, and the Youth. The dinner also honored Fr. George Adamakis, the presiding priest of the Saints Anargiri Parish of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.

During the event, the association members had the opportunity to meet the Metropolitan and exchange stories and best wishes, to get acquainted, and above all to remember mutual friends in Crete.

In his very moving speech, His Eminence thanked the Pancretan Association of Melbourne for the warm and loving hospitality and spoke in detail about the works planned by the Metropolis of New Zealand, referring to his predecessors, about the challenges facing Hellenism in New Zealand, but also the Greek Orthodox Mission in the Pacific Islands, especially in Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, with the construction of new Orthodox churches. Finally, he spoke about the worthy efforts that have been made by the Cretans living abroad and especially the Cretans of Melbourne.

Pancretan Association President Ioannis Nikolakakis thanked the Metropolitan for the honor of his visit, noting that the Pancretan Association of Melbourne has in the past supported the Fiji Islands Missions by donating clothes, books, and gifts after the visit of then-President Antonis Tsourdalakis. He also pointed out that the Association would be a helper in his efforts in the future, and then presented His Eminence with the icon of the Four New Martyrs of Rethymno and some books published by the Pancretan Association.

It is worth mentioning that the His Eminence was accompanied by Fr. George Kanellis, vicar of the Hamilton parish in New Zealand, who is originally from Kalamitsi Alexandrou of Apokoronos, Chania, and His Eminence’s secretary Mr. Evangelos Kambitakis, originally from Heraklion, Crete.

The event concluded with everyone planning to meet again in Greece in the summer of 2019 for the World Congress of Cretans in Heraklion.

The post Pancretan Association of Melbourne Welcomes Metropolitan Myron of New Zealand appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK – The Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance (HABA) held its Members-Only Holiday Soiree on December 6 at the Yale Club in Manhattan. The festive event featured wine and hors d’oeuvres for the members of the organization in celebration of the holiday season. Among those present, the HABA Officers: President Fanny Trataros, Vice President Robert Savage, Treasurer Costas Kellas, and Secretary Sophia Prountzos, as well as HABA Directors Emmanuel Caravanos, James P. Gerkis, and Demetri Papacostas.

HABA Vice President Robert Savage gave the welcoming remarks and introduced President Fanny Trataros who he noted “has been a great leader of this organization for the last three years and I have a lot of respect for what she’s done for this group.” Trataros wished everyone happy holidays and also mentioned that it was St. Nicholas’ feast day and offered her best wishes to those celebrating their name day. She thanked everyone present for attending the event, HABA’s first winter soiree, and then spoke about the organization.

“If we want to walk fast, we walk alone, if we want to walk far, we all walk together, and that has been HABA’s theme through my presidency,” Trataros said, adding that “HABA supports all or most of the Greek organizations, the professional organizations, the philanthropic organizations, we try to help each other out and walk far together.”

She continued, “Together we can support each other and go beyond and even further than we thought we could. I want to thank especially the HABA members for coming and supporting us and being a very strong organization.”

Trataros then thanked the Hellenic Lawyers Association (HLA) and its 2^nd Vice President George Zapantis and former President Peter Metis “for being a very supportive partner with us for many years and hopefully many more years to come.”

She also pointed out the next event for the organization, the upcoming Vasilopita in January with all of the Greek and Cypriot professional organizations participating.

Also present were Hellenic Film Society USA founder James Demetro, Press Attaché for the Press and Communication Office of the Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations Dora Trogadi, and TNH contributor Vasilis Voultsos.

The post HABA’s Members-Only Holiday Soiree in Manhattan appeared first on The National Herald.

NEW YORK – The Executive Director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (“Agency”), Richard Cotton, wrote a letter dated November 6, 2018 to Archbishop Demetrios of America and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressing the Agency’s concern about the status of the St. Nicholas church at Ground Zero, stressing that “I believe we can all agree that the status quo cannot continue as it is a negative for all involved.”   

In his letter, which the National Herald has obtained a copy of,  Mr. Cotton also emphasized that the unfinished nave “affects the totality of the neighborhood.”

Cotton offered to help with the completion of St. Nicholas, and added that “I would like to meet with both of you at your convenience to see how we can conclude this matter.”

Archbishop Demetrios replied to the Port Authority on November 14, 2018, stating, among other things, that “no one is more concerned about the interruption of construction than myself.” He continued, “Since the destruction of this house of worship on September 11, 2001, it has been a priority of the Archdiocese, and myself personally, to see that the church is rebuilt not simply to meet the needs of our faithful who have worshiped there for decades, but also as a symbol of dynamic “rebirth” after the terrorist attack.”

The Archbishop also wrote, “we discovered in 2017 the mismanagement of the finances of the Archdiocese that not only impacted the operation of the national Church but as well the rebuilding of St. Nicholas. Much to our dismay and surprise it was discovered that by the end of December 2017, approximately $8.5 million was owed to contractors and others for work which had been completed on the St. Nicholas project.” The information about the mismanagement of the finances was first revealed by the National Herald.

Archbishop Demetrios informed Mr. Cotton that “in light of this challenge, immediate actions were taken to address what had occurred and thanks be to God, the Archdiocese has stabilized Her finances and fulfilled all past due obligations. To get to this point required dramatic cutbacks, careful controls on spending and a bank loan to address legacy obligations.” He also added that he has appointed a new Board of Trustees as well as that a new independent entity was formed, “The Friends of St. Nicholas,” to raise the necessary funds.

Below we publish both letters – the first is from the Port Authority, and the second is the Archbishop’s reply:

The Port Authority’s Letter:

THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & N J

Richard Cotton

Executive Director

November 6, 2018

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 8 East 79th Street New York, New York 10075

His All-Holiness Bartholomew

Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Rum Patrikligi 342 20 Fener-Hali?

Istanbul, Turkey

Your Eminences,

There is a matter of mutual concern that I would like to discuss and hopefully resolve. As you know, construction of the St. Nicholas Church has been stalled which has caused great hardship to the Greek community, the surrounding neighborhood, and deprived the millions of tourists who visit the 9/11 site the enjoyment and symbolism of a completed St. Nicholas Church and interfaith center.

As you recall, the original St. Nicholas was the only place of worship on the original 9/11 grounds and was completely destroyed. Over the next approximately dozen years, there were various conversations between the Port Authority and the Greek community about rebuilding the church. The Port Authority, under previous leadership, posted a significant number of obstacles to the church’s completion. Upon taking office, Governor Cuomo made the St. Nicholas restoration a top priority. The Port Authority and the Archdiocese agreed to a new, larger, more accessible site central to the new 9/11 complex. After overcoming many challenges, construction began on what we all hoped would be a significant addition to not only the physical location but the symbolism and sanctity of the site. Unfortunately, the Greek Church experienced financial issues that halted construction and have left us with a partially constructed building for what will soon be one year. While we all anticipated the new church would be an asset to the overall development and a symbol of aspiration, it is now incongruous to the complex as it sits dormant and has failed to fulfill its initial inspiration.

My goal and hope is to expedite the completion of the church as it affects the totality of the neighborhood and would like to help close this chapter of confusion and discord for the Greek community.

I am open to a number of options to assist the Greek community in completing the project. The Port Authority could facilitate construction based on appropriate commitments or could assemble a group to take over construction. We could also assist with redesign of the project to make it financially feasible. If completion is not possible, we would assist in any way possible to find an alternative configuration to complete the project. In any event, I believe we can all agree that the status quo cannot continue as it is a negative for all involved.

I spoke to Governor Cuomo, who feels deeply and passionately about the project. We both have hoped that the Greek Church would find a resolution over these past many months but due to the lack of progress, extend this offer to be of assistance.

I would like to meet with both of you at your convenience to see how we can conclude this matter.

Sincerely,

Rick Cotton

Cc: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, State of New York

\

Archbishop Demetrios’ reply:

November 14, 2018

Mr. Richard Cotton

Executive Director

The Port Authority of NY & NJ

4 World Trade Center

150 Greenwich Street, 23rd floor

New York, NY 10007

Dear Mr. Cotton,

I received your letter of November 6th and thank you for sharing your concerns about the current status of our St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. Be assured that no one is more concerned about the interruption of construction than myself. Since the destruction of this house of worship on September 11, 2001, it has been a priority of the Archdiocese, and myself personally, to see that the church is rebuilt not simply to meet the needs of our faithful who have worshiped there for decades, but also as a symbol of dynamic “rebirth” after the terrorist attack.

Moreover, in all of our conversations starting with then Governor Pataki and all the governors up to Governor Cuomo, who has been decisively supportive of the project, we have indicated our desire to open the building for visitors from all over the world to perhaps offer a silent prayer and to reflect on the tragic events of that day. It will as well include a “bereavement center” in which channels of communication between different Faith communities can be strengthened and reconciliation enhanced. We view St. Nicholas as our offering to the greater community and a fitting tribute to all those lost on 9/11!

As Mr. George Tsandikos, Vice President of the Archdiocesan Council, Bishop Andonios, Archdiocese Chancellor and I explained to you at a meeting shortly after your appointment, we discovered in 2017 the mismanagement of the finances of the Archdiocese that not only impacted the operation of the national Church but as well the rebuilding of St. Nicholas. Much to our dismay and surprise it was discovered that by the end of December 2017, approximately $8.5 million was owed to contractors and others for work which had been completed on the St. Nicholas project.

In light of this challenge, immediate actions were taken to address what had occurred and thanks be to God, the Archdiocese has stabilized Her finances and fulfilled all past due obligations. To get to this point required dramatic cutbacks, careful controls on spending and a bank loan to address legacy obligations.

While it appears to you and others outside of the Archdiocese that nothing has been going on as relates to St. Nicholas, please know that nothing can be further from the truth. The Archdiocese returned all borrowed monies to the St. Nicholas fund and by the end of this year we will have a zero outstanding balance to those who have worked on the church to date.

As I write this letter to you, the Archdiocese is appointing a capable Board of Trustees (please see attached Addendum) which will be responsible for overseeing not only the future operation of the church and shrine, but also managing the completion of the edifice. In addition to members from the original parish, ex-officio representatives of the various national organizations of our community and other exemplary members of our Church, I am pleased to share with you that amongst those appointees is Mr. Richard Browne (Sterling Enterprises) who is known to you. Along with his partner, Mr. Jeff Wilpon who has offered the services of his firm to oversee the construction, Mr. Browne brings to the table an impeccable reputation and extensive construction knowledge much needed to complete the project. The involvement of people of his caliber should allay any residual concerns anyone should have regarding their future participation in supporting the reconstruction.

We have also incorporated an independent fund-raising entity, “The Friends of St. Nicholas”, whose sole purpose will be to raise the funds necessary to complete the construction and interior decoration of the building. This entity will be under the oversight of the Board of Trustees and will include distinguished members of our Archdiocese from across the nation. It is our conviction that this new and autonomous arrangement will restore confidence within the community and that they will be most successful in their endeavors.

Throughout all the difficulties this past year and a half, the one recurrent comment heard from the lay and ordained leadership of the Church time-and-time-again is that St. Nicholas must be completed. We believe wholeheartedly that the project is on the right course and that construction will resume in the not too distant future.

We truly regret the delay in completing the church but as Director of the Port Authority you know too well the challenges the Port Authority encountered from 2001 until the recent past. Many projects were delayed in their completion for one reason or another and just as the Port Authority overcame those hurdles, we are confident that the Archdiocese will do the same so that St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine will be a jewel adorning the World Trade Center.

Finally, I am available if you still feel that a meeting would be of benefit.

With high esteem,

+DEMETRIOS Archbishop of America Enc. 1

Cc: His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew-Constantinople Governor Andrew Cuomo-State of New York

ADDENDUM

1. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH AND NATIONAL SHRINE AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTE

Board of Trustees

As delineated by the By-Laws Appointed by the Archbishop from the “wider community”

1. George Tsandikos
2. Richard Browne
3. George Mihaltses
4. Anthoula Katsimatides
5. Stephen Cherpelis
6. Nikiforos Matthews

Pending confirmation for one more appointee

Appointed by the Archbishop and selected from the “original members of the parish”

1. Elizabeth Brody
2. Joan Dimonekas
3. Regina Katopodis
4. Stamatios Lykos
5. Ourania Romanos
6. Olga Pavlakos
7. Peter Zaharatos

Ex-Officio

1. National President of the Ladies Philoptochos Society (Ms. Mary Logus)
2. President of AHEPA (Mr. George E. Loucas)
3. National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Dr. Anthony Limberakis)

4. President of the Archdiocese Presbyter’s Council (Fr. Mark Leondis)
5. President of Leadership 100 Endowment (Mr. Argyris Vassiliou)
6. President of FAITH Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism (Mr. C. Dean Metropoulos)

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Billionaire Aristotelis Mistakidis, the so-called “King of Copper” and head of the Swiss-based Glencore’s copper division, is going to retire as the company has come under a growing number of investigations and legal problems, ending his reign that began as a secretive commodity trader.

Mistakidis, 56, had built the company’s reputation as a giant in the copper business but fell victim to a shakeup and will be replaced by the head of copper marketing and fellow Greek, Nico Paraskevas, media reports said.

With a reported net worth of $2 billion, Mistakidis is a native of Greece, a graduate of Louisiana State University and a citizen of the United Kingdom. He’s known as Telis and owns a 3.2 percent stake in the company which was ordered by the US department of justice in July to hand over documents about its business in the Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria as part of a corruption probe.

Canadian regulators are also investigating accounting irregularities at copper mines where Mistakidis was a director, said the financial news agency Bloomberg. Paraskevas has spent 12 years with Glencore and helped lead the sale of Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.

The roiling at the company have rattled its worth with expectations for a $2.7 billion profit in the trading division, down from as much as $3.2 billion. In a Bloomberg News profile of Mistakidis in October, his current and former colleagues, clients and competitors described him as energetic, cheerful and charming, but a sharp and ruthless negotiator. He speaks five languages.

The move is an unusual setback for Mistakidis who rose to prominence on the back of his drive and skills, but saw the company under fire over its copper business in Congo. Last year he resigned from the board of Katanga Mining, the unit through which Glencore holds its Congolese copper assets, after an internal review found “material weaknesses” in its accounting.

Katanga overstated its copper output and inventories, and in some cases senior management and executive directors were responsible for “overriding the company’s control processes,” the review found, said Bloomberg, leading Katanga to be investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission over whether it misled investors.

The scrutiny has put a spotlight on how Mistakidis came to be so successful and led him to be the talk of the close-knit and powerful industry and ending hopes he would become the Chief Executive to succeed Ivan Glasenberg, who has run the company for 16 years.

“He’s one of the smartest guys in the market,” David Lilley, Managing Director of Drakewood Capital Management, who started his career working with Mistakidis at Cargill in the 1980s told the news agency. “He’s very insightful and incredibly well informed. He also has an amazing ability to buy low and sell high.”

A native of Thessaloniki, Mistakidis spent his early childhood in Rome, where his father worked as a marine biologist for the United Nations. He moved to England to attend a boarding school in Essex, before studying at the London School of Economics, Bloomberg said in a profile.

He was described as a demanding boss obsessed with the secrecy of Glencore’s positions and someone who inspired instead of demanded loyalty, staying close to his traders by having lunch with them daily when London Metal Exchange had finished the morning session.

“He has no time for bootlickers, laziness, stupidity. He would always try to rattle people to get a better deal, or to get more out of you, often confusing people on purpose,” said Sebastien Le Page, a senior copper trader at Glencore until 2015. “We worked hard, but had so much fun all together. Telis made me laugh to tears so many times.”

In 2014, he spent $70 million to buy a luxury flat in London’s Belgravia. He’s still a workaholic with an endless appetite for information, whose first passion is for markets and the political and economic shifts that move them, the profile said.

His drive showed when Glencore expanded in 2013 and took over Xstrata, a London-listed miner that had a reputation for executive inefficiency and a weak worth ethic he couldn’t abide

He squeezed the mines for profit, cutting more than 1,000 jobs from its Australian copper mines. Glencore’s copper assets made more money in 2017, when copper prices averaged $6,200 a ton, than in 2014, when the average was $6,800, but then the light was put on the operation.

Glencore’s links with Dan Gertler, an Israeli who is under U.S. sanctions for allegedly corrupt deals in Congo, have long been a cause of worry and the internal review led Mistakidis to then stop heading the copper assets division.

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