The ancient and annual Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem has made its 2017 appearance.
Watching these videos is one of my earliest memories after first being received into the Orthodox Church.
Join me as we explore some of the latest attestations of this miracle as we together celebrate the miracle of all miracles: Christ Is Risen!!!
Athens, on April 24, will host the first ministerial conference of the member states that comprise the Ancient Civilizations Forum (ACF Forum), with the participation of foreign ministers of ten countries (GC10), namely Greece, China, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Mexico and Peru.
The formation of the GC-10 (Great Civilizations) was an initiative of the Greek Foreign Ministry and involves ten member states with the longest cultural history.
The conference is taking place upon the initiative of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi and will mark the forum’s official launch.
The forum’s main objective is to bring together representatives of countries, which – although in various geographical regions – are considered “cradles of ancient cultures”, a Foreign Ministry announcement said.
Through a broad agenda of joint actions, the forum aims to “transform” culture into a source of power and a fundamental tool for introducing a contemporary, multifaceted foreign policy.
The forum will also highlight the economic prospects of cultural synergies among nations.
Girl with Two Doves by Angelos sold at auction for $132,186 at Bonhams’ Greek Sale in London. Photo courtesy of Irene Vandaraki
The Girl with a Pair of Dovesby Greek painter Angelos Panagiotou, aka Angelos, was auctioned off for the top price of £106,250 including premium in The Greek Sale at the British auction house Bonhams, on April 10.The amount is equal to $132,186.
Angelos was born in Farkadona, Trikala. He studied painting at the Fine Arts School of Athens with teacher Giorgo Mavroidis. He continued his studies making multiple trips to the museums of Europe and especially the Louvre, where he studied Western art.
His works are in many private collections and museums. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in Greece and abroad, mainly in Europe and the United States.
The periods of his career are: Religious (1983-1990), The Shroud (1995-1997), Pigeons (1990-2000), Still Life (1988-2002), Metaphysical Landscapes (2000-2008), and Full Moon Nights (2004-2006).
Angelos said “I want my painting to be an emotional and spiritual retreat. I want to be a serene, peaceful image, opening a path to our inner redemption.”
His representative in New York,Irene Vandaraki, said that she is especially pleased with the result as it justifies the assessments about the painter and his artistic value is provided by the Greek artists who have created large current in the United States and has quite significant private collections.
Angelos’ work was featured in the recent exhibition Phos/Greek Light, held at the Long Island City offices of The National Herald in December.
Bonhams holds two auctions of Greek paintings each year, which include works by Greek and European artists dating from the late 18th century to the present day.
Greek artists whose works have sold well and even made records in the past include Theodore Jaques Ralli, Pericles Pantazis, Theofilios Hadjimichail, Thanos Tsingos, Alecos Condopoulos, and Nicholaos Gysis.
On April 9th, the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes (YSEE), a religious organization working to restore the indigenous religion of Greece, put out a statement saying Greek polytheism has received legal status in Greece.
Prior to this, Greek Pagans did not have religious freedoms such as the ability to buy land to create houses of worship nor could Pagan clergy perform marriage ceremonies.
Yesterday the Secretary of the Supreme council of Ethnic Hellenes (YSEE) announced that after more than twenty years of struggle, the Greek state has finally recognized the Hellenic Religion as a ‘Known Religion’ according to paragraph 17 – the only form of recognition for a religion in Greece. The mentioned paragraph includes the permission to build a temple as well as the right of public exercise of any recognized religion.
The recognition of Hellenic Religion as a ‘Known Religion’ is only the first step towards a general recognition of Hellenism. Now the YSEE at Athens is still waiting for recognition as a religious statutory body in Greece. The Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes will approach the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if the state leaves them no other choice, said its Secretary.
Unlike the United States, Greece does not have a blanket freedom of religion law built into its legal system. It is instead governed by the Organization of the Legal Forms of Religious Communities and their Organizations in Greece.
As of now, only six religions outside the Greek Orthodox faith are recognized as ‘known religions.’ And, even those practices that achieve this status often face an uphill battle in exercising their rights. For example, Muslims in Athens have fought for over 10 years to build a mosque, and have so far been unsuccessful.
The recognition of the Greek religion came after it was rejected in 2015. According to the YSEE, the rejection demonstrated that the Greek government, “…has yet to get rid of its byzantine and medieval whims and […] unable to respect with dignity its own laws.”
“It has rejected by intermediate on of its court of First Instance the motion signed by hundreds of Ethnikoi Hellenes to obtain recognition as a statutory corporation of religious character for their ancestral, indigenous, and historically continuous to our day despite cruel persecutions by Christianity.”
YSEE is currently registered as a non-profit organization and, as explained on its website, has been on the front lines in the on-going battle for religious community recognition.
The Wild Hunt spoke with Mr. Vlassis Rassias, the General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, about what it means for the Ethnic Hellenic Pagans in Greece and what the next steps are in achieving religious right in Greece.
TWH: If this is the first step towards a general recognition of Hellenism, what is the next step?
Vlassis Rassias: This was recognition of our Religion as such, by the official authorities of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Matters. To their credit, they gave us official permission for a place of worship in Athens, thus promoting the Hellenic Ethnic Religion to the status of a “known religion” in Greece, according to article 3 of the Constitution.
The next step for us is the recognition of the official organization of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion (The Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, YSEE) as a statutory corporation of religious character, according to the relatively recent law 4301/2014, something that is so far absurdly rejected by the Greek courts, which resist our very name, and more particularly the term “Ethnic”, although the official authorities of the state have already accepted us under our proper title Hellenic Ethnic Religion. We have a rather strange situation here, exactly what our ancient ancestors were calling “tragelafos” (“τραγέλαφος”).
TWH: How was YSEE informed that the Hellenic religion is now a known religion?
VR: We received the official reply of the official authorities of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Matters, in response to an application of ours that we had submitted together with the requested big number of state documents, certifying the appropriateness of our place of worship, concerning its legality, fire safety, sanitation, and such. The above mentioned reply was also notified to various competent authorities, as the Ministry of Interior, the Registry Office, and such.
TWH: What is gained by being recognized as a religious statutory body?
VR: We are now under the protection of the law, to the same degree as the other 5 – 6 non-christian religions that are already classified as “known religions” in our country. We can henceforth register our children at the Registry Office as belonging to the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, and we shall perform hellenic wedding rituals with full legal value. We still remain though a Non-profit Organization, not a religious statutory body. As a religious statutory body, that is what for the time being is denied to us, we will function more properly in the matters that concern our Religion and, of course, we won’t pay every year the 500 – 1000 euros chargeable since 2011 by the indebted Greek State on all the Non-profit Organizations.
TWH: Was YSEE responsible for this change in status? What did you do to bring this about?
VR: This and all the future attainments of the goals of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, is and will be the outcome of the uninterrupted, strategic, collective and devoted struggle of our organization that this June celebrates the 20 years of its operation under its present name. A decade before YSEE’s foundation we were operating through “Diipetes” (“Διιπετές”), a now defunct quarterly journal for the moral defense and restoration of our Religion.
* * *
Mr. Rassias says YSEE will be celebrating their religion’s legal recognition during their annual celebration of Charisia-Aphrodesia, which is a religious observance in honor of Aphrodite and the Charities, on April 22nd.
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered several mummies, 10 colourful sarcophagi, and more than 1000 funeral statues in an ancient tomb.
The discovery was made on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor, near the Valley of the Kings.
The Antiquities Ministry said the tomb was constructed for Userhat, a judge who lived during the New Kingdom period, from approximately 1500 to 1000 BC.
The tomb contained an open courtyard which lead into two halls, one which held four coffins, and the other housing six.
“There are 10 coffins and eight mummies. The excavation is ongoing,” Mostafa Waziri, the head of the archaeological mission, told AFP.
Waziri said the tomb has been opened to hold more mummies during the 21st Dynasty approximately 3000 years ago, to protect them during a time of tomb-robbing.
Inside one of the rooms, archaeologists found a vast collection of figurines and masks.
“It was a surprise how much was being displayed inside the tomb,” Egypt’s antiquities minister Khaled el-Enany told reporters.
“We found a large number of Ushabti(figurines), more than 1000 of them,” he said.
The coffins were well-preserved, and were found to be painted in red, blue, black, green, and yellow.
Another room inside the ancient tomb was discovered, and is yet to be excavated.
“There is evidence and traces that new mummies could be discovered in the future,” Nevine el-Aref, spokeswoman for the antiquities ministry said.
One of the world’s most important Christian sites came under gun attack. The Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine, built over 1,500 years ago is one of Christianity’s holiest sites.
Gunmen opened fire on an Egyptian police checkpoint near the monastery killing one policeman and wounding four others. The gunmen then retreated and did not reach the monastery compound, which is heavily fortified and guarded by Egyptian police and security forces.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack via its news agency.
The attack on the monastery comes just over a week after suicide bombers attacked two Coptic Christian churches in the Nile Delta city of Tanta and the coastal city of Alexandria, killing 45 people on Palm Sunday.
According to the officials, the gunmen were shooting from an elevated hilltop overlooking the police checkpoint just outside the monastery, which is located in a remote desert and mountainous area in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, where, according to scripture, God spoke to the prophet Moses from a burning bush.
The Greek Orthodox monastery was a popular destination, primarily for Orthodox Christian pilgrims, but was closed to the public for security reasons in 2015, leaving only the monks and clergy inside the compound.
According to Orthodox Christian history, in the early 4th century, St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, built the Chapel of the Burning Bush at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the miracle.
The fortified walls were built around the chapel by the Byzantine emperor Justinian (who also commissioned the Hagia Sophia) starting in 527. The Church of the Transfiguration was completed by Justinian’s workers in the 560s, around the time of his death.
In 2002, the area centering on St. Catherine’s Monastery was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of Mt. Sinai’s importance in three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), the natural environment of the area and St. Catherine’s historic architecture and art.
In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possess a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1,400 years under Muslim protection.
The Promise to St. Catherine:
“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”
Θρίλερ στο φινάλε του show! Τα δεκαδικά ψηφία ανέδειξαν τον νικητή σε μια ψηφοφορία για γερά νεύρα!
Ο Γιάννης Ξανθόπουλος είναι ο μεγάλος νικητής του Rising Star. Ο παίκτης που υπήρξε φαβορί από την αρχή του παιχνιδιού νίκησε στην τελευταία μονομαχία τον Σωτήρη Καρυστινό, σε μια ψηφοφορία πραγματικό θρίλερ! Η νίκη κρίθηκε στον πόντο καθώς το τελικό σκορ ήταν 72,28% για τον Γιάννη Ξανθόπουλο και 72,14% για τον Σωτήρη Καρυστινό!
Rising Star, το πιο πρωτοποριακό και διαδραστικό talent show παγκοσμίως που έχει σπάσει κάθε ρεκόρ ενεργού συμμετοχής των τηλεθεατών στη διαδικασία επιλογής των υποψηφίων, έκανε πρεμιέρα στον ΑΝΤ1!
Τους υποψήφιους αναλαμβάνουν να αξιολογήσουν 4 κορυφαίοι καλλιτέχνες της ελληνικής μουσικής σκηνής. Ο Αντώνης Ρέμος, η Δέσποινα Βανδή, ο Κώστας Μακεδόνας και ο Χρήστος Μάστορας (Frontman του συγκροτήματος ΜΕΛΙSSES) παίρνουν θέσεις και ετοιμάζονται να μας χαρίσουν δυνατές στιγμές.
Την παρουσίαση του Rising Star αναλαμβάνει ο Γιώργος Λιάγκας. Οι auditions του Rising Star που πραγματοποιήθηκαν σε Αθήνα, Γιάννενα, Πάτρα, Θεσσαλονίκη, Ηράκλειο Κρήτης και Κύπρο, σημείωσαν ρεκόρ συμμετοχών. Συνολικά, 3500 άτομα έλαβαν μέρος στις auditions με στόχο να κάνουν το όνειρο τους πραγματικότητα.
Ο μεγάλος νικητής του ελληνικού Rising Star θα λάβει δυο μοναδικά έπαθλα. Ένα πλήρες δισκογραφικό συμβόλαιο με την εταιρία Heaven Music αξίας 35.000€ καθώς και το χρηματικό ποσό των 50.000€. Το Rising Star έχει ανατρέψει τα δεδομένα στα talent shows παγκοσμίως αποτελώντας την απόλυτη καινοτομία στην τηλεοπτική ψυχαγωγία.
Tarpon Springs – Greek-American author Demetra Tsavaris Lecourezos will be releasing her newest children’s book, “Ready, Set, OPA!” It is set in Greece.
In her interview with a local television station, Tsavaris Lecourezos shared that she never thought that she would write a children’s book, let alone two. Her life-changing moment began with her daughter, Katerina, who is featured in the book as one of the characters. “I wanted to teach her as much as I could. That was my main goal,” Tsavaris Lecourezos said.
A resident of Tarpon Springs, Florida, Tsavaris Lecourezos is embarking on a book tour, where she will teach children all over the country about Greece.
In this new book, she takes her readers on a journey to Greece where they explore such iconic structures as the Parthenon and she will take them back to the Olympic Games all thanks to a magical crystal globe that allows her characters to anywhere in the world, as long as they have imagination. This book is a great way to learn more about Greece’s history and its culture.
Ready, Set, OPA! is the follow-up to her first book, the critically-acclaimed Young World Travelers and The Magical Crystal Globe, where she took her readers on a journey to Queens, New York.
For more information on her new book, Ready, Set, OPA!, check out its official Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter.
There was no sign of a headstone for the superstar on the family plot in Highgate Cemetery, North London.
GEORGE Michael’s final resting place can be seen for the first time after a protective barrier was taken down.
But there was no sign of a headstone for the superstar among the fresh white flowers on the family plot in Highgate Cemetery, North London.
The star was buried on his family’s plot in Highgate Cemetery, North London
The star was buried on his family’s plot in Highgate Cemetery, North London
His family have kept private their plans for any markings on the star’s grave
Still in place on the plot was the large white cross headstone for the singer’s beloved mother Lesley – and it is thought he was buried in the same plot alongside her.
His family have kept private their plans for any markings on the star’s grave.
George’s funeral was held on March 29, 94 days after he was found dead in bed on Christmas Day aged 53.
Before then, it was protected with a large green metal barrier to afford privacy
Still in place on the plot was the large white cross headstone for the singer’s beloved mother Lesley
Former NT Minister Peter Toyne and Historian Tom Tsamouras will present a lecture entitled ‘The Missing Australian Soldiers from the Battle of Vevi’, on Thursday 20 April, at 7:00pm, at the Ithacan Philanthropic Society as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
The first action during the Second World War on Greek soil between the German and Hellenic forces was on the little village of Vevi in the municipality of Florina. This began on 11th April 1941 and marked the first of numerous clashes during which Hellenic and ANZAC forces fought side by side! After the “Battle of Vevi”, a small number of soldiers from the two Australian battalions that fought there, were reported missing in action and their bodies have never been found. Information by locals to Australian Brigadier Keith Rossi in 1981 about the possible grave site of these missing men has led to many people from Greece and Australia researching about the possible grave site of their remains. Tom Tsamouras, a school teacher from Newcastle and Peter Toyne, former MP from the NT, are two researches who have spent years trying to locate the resting place of these men.
Tom Tsamouras was born in Karditsa, Greece in 1962 and migrated with his family to Australia in 1969. He was educated at Hamilton Primary and Merewether High school in Newcastle and graduated from the University of Newcastle in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1984 he completed a Graduate Diploma in Education through the University of Sydney and in 1986 graduated from the University of New England with a Master of Letters degree. Between 1987 and 1990 he worked in Greece teaching English as a second language. In 1992 he was appointed at Muswellbrook High School as an English/History teacher and in 1993 he transferred to Maitland High School where he teaches English to this day. In 1997 he also joined the network of Symban World Radio and produced a variety of weekly radio programmes in the Greek language until 2012. Today he lives in Newcastle with his wife Irene and three children Alexandra, George and Madeline.
Peter Toyne was born in Melbourne and early career there included 5 years of scientific research into the origins of breast cancer and then a ten year secondary teaching career. He moved to the Northern Territory in 1980 and took up various educational and community development roles in the Central Australian region over the next 16 years- all this time based in bush communities. Some of the significant projects in which he played a prominent role were the establishment of the Warlpiri Media Association, Warlukurlangu Artists, the Tanami Network, Open learning based secondary education, Indigenous adult education, development of Teaching courses through Bachelor College, and numerous smaller enterprises. In 1996 He was elected to the NT Parliament as the Member for Stuart and served for 10 years as opposition spokesperson for education. When the Labor government assumed power in 2001 he became the Attorney General and Justice Minister and later took on the additional responsibility as Minister for Health and Minister for Central Australia. He retired from politics in 2006 and now balances family life, and an active career as an artist and architectural glass designer.
When: Thursday, 20 April 2017, 7:00pm
Where: Ithacan Philanthropic Society (Level 2, 329 Elizabeth St, Melbourne)
GREEK WORLD MEDIA 