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Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
The Greek Australian Professionals Association is having their first Meet and Greet for 2008 this Friday night 1st February.
The venue is the Novotel Hotel at Brighton-Le-Sands on Level 3 and it commences from 6:30pm.
Call Mary on 0412 882 338 for more information
Posted in Sydney Greek Cultural Events | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
30 Jan 2008 21:41:00 – By Katerina Ioannidou
Sources: ANA/MPA, AFP
French President Nikolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met in Paris on Wednesday, firmly opposed Turkey’s accession into the EU yet again. The two EU leaders said that Ankara could only benefit from a “privileged partnership.” Stating he wants to be Turkey’s friend, Sarkozy argued that Turkey has no place in Europe, simply because it extends into Asia Minor. However, he continued, Turkey could benefit from a privileged partnership.
Angela Merker, on her part, also championed a privileged partnership instead of a full EU membership. Touching on the plans for a Mediterranean Union, Merkel said it should give all EU member states the possibility to assume their responsibilities. Germany, however, never concealed its scepticism over the Mediterranean Union, noting that it could trigger divisions within the EU. All states can take part in the Mediterranean Union, commented the French President.
Translated by Areti Christou
Posted in Europe News | Tagged: EU, Merkel, Sarkozy, Turkey EU | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
The election of the new Archbishop scheduled for 7 February has prompted feverish talks within the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. Alliances have already been forged, however, it is those Metropolitans who have yet to decide which side to align themselves to that will determine the final result. Although no Metropolitan has officially announced his interest in claiming the post of Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, it seems that five of them will enter the election race.
The Five Probable Candidates
The five Metropolitans that are more likely to claim the post are those of Thessaloniki, Thebes and Levadeia, Sparta, Syros and Demetrias.
Anthimos of Thessaloniki, 74, is known to a much wider public, as a recent poll has suggested. However, he seems to be lacking support from a really powerful group of Hierarchs. His usual interventions regarding national affairs could attract those Hierarchs who believe that the Church should play an active role in society.
Ieronymos of Thebes and Levadeia, 70, also a candidate in 1998, enjoys a concrete group of supporters. Yet, it is uncertain whether his supporters prove enough to earn him the post. He champions spirituality in ecclesiastic administration over secular ideas, and holds excellent ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Bartholomew.
Efstathios of Sparta, 68, is the chairman of the committee handling the Church’s finances. He also addressed the crisis with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in his capacity as the Greek Church’s Press spokesman. Although endorsed by Metropolitans of both the new and the old generation, their rally is not viewed as concrete. He also has good relations with ecclesiastical organizations.
Dorotheos of Syros, 55, has been recently ordained. But his election sparked a fiery conflict between late Archbishop Christodoulos and the so-called Chrysopigi brotherhood. Dorotheos appears to have staunch supporters outside the Church, while it has excellent ties with the Catholics.
Ignatios of Demetrias, 52, is Christodoulos spiritual child. Although a member of the Chrysopigi brotherhood, the exact number of the brotherhood’s member that will finally offer their backing to him is open to discussion.
On 7 February, the Hierarchs will hold a closed session at the Athens Cathedral for as many hours as it will take to elect the new Archbishop
Translated by Areti Christou
Posted in Greek Culture, Greek News | Tagged: Archibishop Christodoulos, Church of Greece | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
January 20, 2008
By Alexandros P. Mallias –
This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. His death on April 4, 1968, found my country in the midst of one of its darkest hours, as the one year anniversary of an oppressive military dictatorship neared.
With my fellow citizens living under military rule and deprived of the very basic freedoms, I was inspired by the people of Birmingham, Ala., of Memphis and Atlanta, who, in a most dignified way, poured into the streets, standing up for what was rightly theirs.
Across the Atlantic, the civil-rights movement reached us in the clarion voice of Martin Luther King Jr., and hope stirred in the hearts of many Greek people like myself that “We”, too, “Shall Overcome.”
Upon my arrival in Washington as Greece’s ambassador, and influenced by what I call the current “Golden Age for the Classics” in the United States, I have gone back to the staples of my education with new appreciation — Sophocles, Plato, Homer, Heraclitus, Thucydides. And I realized that the Rev. King’s speeches and homilies are fraught with references to the Greek classics.
I pored over his writings and speeches and realized his was no simple preaching. I began to sense he had a profound understanding of what we call the “classics.” In his Nobel acceptance speech, he spoke of Greek literature, of Homer and the temptresses Sirens, of Orpheus — not in dry academic fashion, but as part and parcel of his understanding of the world.
As the beneficiary of a classical education, as were most young Greeks of my generation, the words of Dr. King brought to mind great orators of ancient Greece — Demosthenes, for one, who had to overcome his own particular limitations.
In his sermon “Loving Your Enemies,” delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., Nov. 17, 1957, Dr. King expounded on the power and comprehensiveness of the Greek language, explaining how Greek “comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole philosophy of love … for you see the Greek language has three words for love … eros … a sort of aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his dialogues, a sort of yearning of the soul for the realm of the gods. Then the Greek language talks about philia… the intimate affection between personal friends. The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape… the understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return.”
Erudite men and women have researched the education of Dr. King, concluding that he studied the ancient Greek classics at length and drew inspiration not only from the Bible, but also from ancient Greek philosophers, playwrights and political figures.
Dr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” of April 16, 1963, was addressed to his fellow clergymen and expounded upon his own theory of civil disobedience: “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment … is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” brought to mind Antigone, a reluctant but inevitably brave heroine, in Sophocles’ namesake play, who said: “I will not obey an unjust law, and if something happens because of it — so be it.”
This was not wasted on classics professor Lewis Sussman of the University of Florida, who wrote extensively on this connection.
I need no further proof of the inspiration Dr. King imparted from the classics than his own words in the last speech of his life, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” which resounded around the world on April 3, 1968, just one day before his assassination in Memphis: “I would take my mental flight by Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality.”
Dr. King’s words continue to inspire me. And what I impart from him is similar to what I imparted from the ancient Greek tradition that the “good life” is the one in which the individual partakes in the responsibility and concerns of all society.
Alexandros P. Mallias is Greece’s ambassador to the United States and received the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for International Service in January 2007.
Posted in Greek Culture | Tagged: Greek Classics, Martin Luther King | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Mr.Christodoulos, was born at Xanthi, Thrace (Northern Greece) in 1939. In 1962 he graduated from the School of Law and in 1967 from the School of Theology. In 1961 he was ordained a deacon and a priest in 1965. He served as a preacher and senior spiritual father at the parish of Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Palaio Phalero, Athens, for nine years, and, for seven years he served as a Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod.
He was elected Metropolitan of Demetrias in 1974 and Archbishop of Athens and all Greece in 1998.
He is a Doctor of Theology, he has a degree in French and English, and he also speaks Italian and German. He is the author of many scientific and pastoral books.
He has received “Honoris Causa” Doctorates from the University of Craiova and the University of Iasi.
He recently published the book “Proselyte Hellenism – the transition from Αntiquity to Christianity”, where he interprets how the Christian Church managed to prevail and to proselytize the Greek and Roman world. Also his book “The European Psyche” has been recently published in 2nd edition. This is a study on the role of Christianity in the creation of the European world and the future of the European people in case its identity would be eradicated.
His accession to the seat of the Prelate of the Church was for him the beginning of an important pastoral and diaconical work. His Beatitude has been working to create a well-organized and dynamic presence of the Church in modern society.
He reorganized the Synodal Committees in order to have strong and direct intervention in all the crucial issues of modern society. Among them is the foundation of a Synodal Committee on Bioethics.
He encourages the existing services of the Church on social work and he launched new ones to confront social issues such as the welfare of drug-addicts and immigrants, the support for single mothers and abused women, the care for the victims of trafficking, the establishing of a chain of nurseries and infant schools, the assist of poor families and families with many children etc. He has also established Solidarity, a NGO of the Church of Greece, which allowed a humanitarian intervention of the Church on an international level ? in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
As it is often said, “Archbishop Christodoulos has introduced the Church into the digital era” establishing the Cultural Projects and Internet Service. Apart from the sites of religious interest, the Service has launched the first on line cultural center which includes a library, an art gallery, a music gallery, a video gallery, a site on the European spirit and a portal of cultural news.
His concern for European issues is of great significance. He established an ad hoc Synodal Committee and the Representation of the Church of Greece to the European Union in Brussels.
His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Mr. Christodoulos advocates for the dialogue of love between the Church of Greece and the Church of Rome. The visit of Pope John-Paul II in Athens, whose presence touched the hearts of Greek Orthodox people, was a decisive step towards this cause.
Posted in Greek Culture, Greek News | Tagged: Archibishop Christodoulos | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
James Belias
One of Greece’s big three teams could be set to open Melbourne’s new stadium in 2010, according to reports from Greece. Either AEK, Olympiakos or Panathinaikos have been assured, and the Victorian Government is also looking at other European giants such as Real Madrid.
Greece’s Sports Minister Ioannis Ioannidis has given his assurance to Victorian Minister for Major Projects, Theo Theophanous according to sources close to the Minister. The matter was also reported in the Greek press, following Mr Theophanous’ recent trip to Athens, during which he was the guest of Sports Minister Ioannidis at the Athenian derby between Panathinaikos v AEK.
The two also met several days later to discuss the proposal in further detail and Neos Kosmos understands that Mr Ioannidis welcomed a proposal put forward by Mr Theophanous, to have one of the “big three” in Melbourne for the launch of the new stadium which would coincide with the completion of next season’s Greek Super League.
In the 2007 off-season, AEK travelled to New York for a high profile friendly match against Portuguese side Benfica, following a visit to New York by AEK’s President, Demis Nikolaidis. It is understood that Mr Nikolaidis is keen to travel to Melbourne to potentially pursue developments with the proposed tour.
Reports in Greece’s main sports newspapers also suggest that representatives of Panathinaikos and AEK Athens may also travel to Victoria this year to take a closer look at the construction and plans of Melbourne’s new stadium as they prepare to build new stadiums of their own in Athens.
Mr Theophanous examined the possibility of Real Madrid visiting Melbourne, during his trip to Spain in 2007, with Victorian Government officials keen to pursue the matter with representatives of the Spanish super club.
The official football launch of the new stadium is expected to take place in June of 2010, with talk of a four-team, pre-season style tournament that will feature either the Australian national team or Melbourne Victory against three visiting international club teams.
Grocon has commenced early works at the site of the State Government’s new rectangular stadium at Edwin Flack Field in Punt Road. The new purpose built stadium will host football, rugby union and rugby league matches and will have a capacity of 31,000 and a cutting-edge Bioframe design with a geodesic dome roof which will substantially cover the seating area.
The $268 million stadium will be completed by the end of 2009. Neos Kosmos will be speaking with the Minister for next week’s edition regarding the proposed stadium launch.
Posted in Australian News, Greek Culture, Greek Sport | Tagged: AEK, Melbourne, Olympiakos, Panathinaikos | 1 Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 31, 2008
by Harry Nicolaides
The Australia Day honours list for 2008 contains nine Greek Australians recognised for excellence in their contribution to their communities. Dr Spiro Moraitis CBE from Victoria was made an Officer of the Order of Australia with a citation for service to the Greek community through a range of executive roles with migrant assistance and aged welfare organisations, and to medicine as a general practitioner. Theo Steven Maras from South Australia was made a Member of the Order of Australia with a citation for service to the building and construction industry in South Australia, and to the Greek community through a range of administrative roles and the promotion of Hellenic culture and tradition in Australia. Marilynne Pamela Paspaley from the Northern Territory was made a Member of the Order of Australia with a citation for service to business and commerce through the marketing and promotion of pearls and Australian designed jewellery, and to the community. Maria Bouzanis from NSW was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia with a citation for service to the community through diabetes public awareness and fundraising activities, particularly in association with the Greek community. Tasha Vanos from NSW was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia with a citation for service to the Greek community, particularly through the Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and through the promotion of Hellenic culture and traditions in Australia. Peter Constantine Coombes from NSW was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the community and the construction industry and as supporter of a range of charitable organisations. Sofia Mastoris from Victoria was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the Greek community in Victoria particularly through the Pan Hellenic Women’s Federation. Stephen Paul Williams from Victoria was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to football and to the Greek community. Arthur Athans (Athanasiou) from Western Australia was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the Greek community of Western Australia through a range of cultural, charitable and media organisations.
Posted in Australian News, Greek Culture | Tagged: Australia Day Honours, Greek Australians | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 28, 2008
The world is changing at an unprecedented speed, bringing a plethora of new opportunities and challenges, but also threats, the most worrisome of which was, perhaps, the blatant abuse of political power, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said Thursday, delivering an address at Ankara’s Bilkent University, one of the leading research universities in Turkey.
Speaking during the second day of his groundbreaking official visit to the neighbouring country, Karamanlis said Greeks and Turks, as neighbours, faced with challenges.
“In this new world, Greeks and Turks, as neighbours, face common challenges. Issues which geography and modern-day reality demand that we face jointly. This requires frankness, confidence and commitment,” Karamanlis said, and cited the EU as an example, and particularly France’s and Germany’s course after World War II.
Karamanlis also referred to Turkey’s European prospect, reaffirming Greece’s support, and stressing that “the European family is defined by our collective desire for democracy and respect, and full adoption of the fundamental principles and values, which are: human rights, such as freedom of speech and religion; minority rights; peaceful resolution of differences, denouncement of the use, or threat of use of violence; respect of the territorial integrity of states, and devotion to International Law and International Treaties”.
The Greek premier explained that the target was “to give Turkey the opportunity to prove its volition and preparedness to adopt and fully apply the European principles and values, the European way”, because “we are convinced that a European Turkey will prove to be to the benefit of its own people, first of all, of the region, and of the entire continent”.
Greek-Turkish economic relations have improved, Karamanlis said, noting that the total volume of trade between the two countries was rising steadily, reaching 2.3 billion dollars in the first nine months of 2007 alone.
Problems in the relations between the two countries, however, remain, he continued, “problems that we cannot underestimate” but “which are up to us to resolve”.
“In that direction, and wanting to believe that both countries manifest true volition to turn to the future, we have a powerful ally, which is the only means that the modern-day peaceful societies employ: International Law,” Karamanlis said.
On the Cyprus issue, Karamanlis stressed that “the time has come to tear down, in Nicosia, the last remaining wall of division in Europe”.
“Greece and Turkey have the duty to try, together with the people of Cyprus, to restore its (Cyprus’) independence, sovereignty and unity. To reach a solution that is just, viable and functional, founded on the Resolutions of the UN Security Council and the acquis of the European Union, of which Cyprus is a member,” the Greek premier stressed.
“We have a difficult past behind us. A past known to all of us. History, however, cannot be rewritten. But that which can be written from here on are the pages of the future. And inspired leadership is needed to draw lessons from the past and forge a brighter future,” he said.
“I know very well that the road ahead of us is long and difficult. But the cost of not moving forward, and the lost benefit from not forging ahead, will be immense. And this, precisely, is the strongest incentive for keeping our eyes turned to the future,” Karamanlis continued.
“Greece and Turkey are at a strategic crossroad. We have much to gain from moving forward, together. But we have even more to lose by following the path of tension and enmity,” he said.
As for Greece, the prime minister said, “I can assure you that our commitment is to move forward”.
History, he concluded, “has taught us that everything depends on the choices. On our choices. Now is the time to turn the words into action”.
“Peace requires the strength to endure it,” Karamanlis said, citing a verse by Greek Nobel laureate poet Odysseas Elytis from his celebrated “Axion Esti”.
“This is the peace that is worth fighting for,” the Greek prime minister concluded.
Source: ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved.
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Posted by evdomada on January 28, 2008
Procedures are underway for the operation of a Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC) Centre in Melbourne, Australia, following a decision by the foundation’s board, which is chaired by Athens University former rector, Professor George Babiniotis.
The HFC Centre will be housed in the Hellenic Museum premises, located in downtown Melbourne, and all facilities used, namely, office spaces, conference rooms and exhibition hall, as well as the services offered by the La Trobe University’s National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research (NCHSR) will be provided for free.
The Foundation’s objective is culturally oriented, directed at the Australian community with the purpose of projecting Greek culture elements through sophisticated events that will highlight the timeless quality of Greek culture and its contribution to the shaping of European culture.
The HFC falls under the authority of the Greek ministry of culture and operates in close cooperation with the foreign ministry, aspiring to promote the Greek culture in Europe, the United States and Australia.
According to HFC chairman Babiniotis, the foundation’s goal is to organize high level cultural events that will convey cultural messages to Australians regarding Greece, its history and contribution to the world. Future plans include the hosting of an exhibition with books referring to the work of Homer, whose writings constitute the oldest text of the European culture. Homer’s verses will be recited in the English language, performed by famous Australian actors, while a luxurious and impressive publication on Homer will also be available.
More related links:
The Hellenic Foundation for Culture
La Trobe University’s National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research
Posted in Greek Culture, Greek News | Tagged: Hellenic Foundation for Culture, La Trobe University | Leave a Comment »
Posted by evdomada on January 28, 2008
Sources: ΝΕΤ, ΝΕΤ 105,8, ΑNA-ΜPA
Greek people are deeply moved at the death of Archbishop Christodoulos whose life countdown began on Saturday, June, 9, 2007 and passed away at 05:15 on Monday, January, 28, 2008 at the age of 69 after a tough eight month fight against cancer. His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Christodoulos, was born in the northern Greek city of Xanthi in 1939. He was a Doctor of Theology and holder of Law and Theology university degrees. He had a degree in French and English, while he also had a great command of Italian and German. He was ordained deacon in 1961 and priest in 1965. He served as preacher and senior spiritual father at the parish of Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Palaio Phalero, Athens, for nine years. He also served as a Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod for seven years. He was elected Metropolitan of Demetrias in 1974. Christodoulos took part in several missions abroad.
He is the author of a plethora of scientific and constructive articles and texts. He also wrote for the ecclesiastical press and various papers. In 1998, he was elected Archbishop of Athens and all Greece. Of his most recent publications, his books “Converted Hellenism – the Transition from Antiquity to Christianity,” which elaborates on how the Christian Church succeeded in prevailing and converting both the Greeks and Romans, and “The European Psyche,” which touches on Christianity’s role in the creation of the European world and the prospects of the Europeans in case they uproot their identity, were the ones that stood out.
His accession to the seat of the Prelate of the Church signalled the upgrading of the Church’s role in modern reality. His term witnessed the reorganisation of the Synodical Committees and the foundation of new ones, which enabled the Church of Greece to monitor and intervene whenever and wherever it was deemed necessary.
Under his leadership, the Church’s social work was also given a boost.
The existing bodies were strengthened, while new ones were established to offer their services to drug-addicts, immigrants, abused women, single mothers and trafficking victims. A network of daycares was also launched, with a view to supporting working mothers, poor and families and families with many children.
The establishment of Solidarity, a non-government organization of the Church of Greece, allowed the Church’s humanitarian intervention in Greece and beyond – in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Under his rule, a new day dawned on the Church’s communication. Archbishop Christodoulos ushered the Church of Greece into the digital era, favouring the creation of Internet services, as well as an online cultural centre, including a digital library, an art and music gallery and a portal of cultural news in Greek and English.
Christodoulos’ interest and contribution to issues pertaining to European affairs was also pivotal. While being at the helm of the Church of Greece, he supervised the launch of an ad hoc Synodical Committee, established the Church’s representation in the EU in Brussels and a site aiming to cement the elements that make up the European spirit.
Posted in Greek News | Tagged: Archibishop Christodoulos | Leave a Comment »
