LECTURE SERIES

Wednesday, January 16
Holy Trinity Cathedral Center - 7:00 p.m.
319 East 74th Street, New York, NY
The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Ecumenical Assistant for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, will speak on the “Church Fathers and the Natural Environment”. The lecture will be offered in Greek and amply summarized in English.

Wednesday, January 23
Holy Trinity Cathedral Center - 7:00 p.m.
319 East 74th Street, New York, NY
The Rev. Dr. John A. McGuckin, first professor to occupy the newly inaugurated Nielsen Chair in Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History at Union Theological Seminary of New York will offer a lecture on “The Three Hierarchs and Hellenic Letters”.

Monday, January 28
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
6:30 p.m.
Viewing of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine Art Galleries
8:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Lecture
Professor Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, will lecture on “Manuscripts from Byzantium as Links to the World of Classical Greek Literature.”

The evening will also include a musical performance from the Metropolitan Youth Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Sponsored by Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism.

** Reservations required.  Please contact the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for information 212-570-3512.

Saturday, January 26
Holy Trinity Cathedral - 4:30 p.m.
319 East 74th Street, New York, NY
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese District Office of Education will hold an Awards Ceremony recognizing students who excel on the Comprehensive Examination in Modern Greek. Sixty-two students received a perfect score of 100 in June 2007.  The Hon. Michael Giannaris (NY State Assemblyman) will be the main speaker of the event, which will also include a musical performance by the 5th grade choir of St. Demetrios School, Astoria.   At the conclusion of the event, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America will present to the recipients The Three Hierarchs Award of Excellence along with an icon of the Three Hierarchs.

Wednesday January 30
Holy Trinity Cathedral - 9:00 a.m.
FEAST DAY OF THREE HIERARCHS
319 East 74th Street, New York, NY
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios will celebrate the Divine Liturgy for teachers and students (grades 5-12) of the Greek American Day Schools.  

Celebrated annually throughout the United States by the Archdiocese and its institutions in conjunction with the Feast Day of the Three Hierarchs on January 30th, the event commemorates the fourth century Fathers and great scholars and theologians, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. Three Hierarchs Day was first celebrated in the year 1100 A.D. when the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos proclaimed that January 30th be set aside to honor these great Fathers whose brilliant writings contributed to the creative connection of the Hellenic Classical Paideia to the Orthodox Christian Theology.

Contact: Department of Communications
Tel.: 212.774-0244

The dynamic new site provides users with a comprehensive overview of both schools, including Campus Life, Staff and Student Profiles, Donor Opportunities and Admissions information.  Special features include the ability to apply for either school online, access the course catalogue and for alumni- the opportunity to update your contact information online.

Web developers at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Internet Ministries worked closely with staff and faculty to enhance the site usability while creating a modern look for the school.  Chief Information Officer, Dr. Mugur A. Roz, says in reinventing the school’s web presence there were many goals kept in mind. “The new website is a fundamental component of the school’s strategic plan to improve services to the students and create more efficient communication and stronger relationships between students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. We also wanted to create a new public image for the school, one that truly reflects the major changes which have reshaped our institution during the last years. The new website is also part of a new institutional advancement vision, as an efficient tool for streamlining our fundraising efforts.” Dr. Roz feels the new website captures something significant about what HCHC is and what the school stands for.

In addition, Hellenic College & Holy Cross hopes to increase awareness of the schools through the up-to-date website, as well as keep prospective students, donors, supporters and alumni informed of the many events happening at HCHC. 

Hellenic College, founded in 1968, is the only accredited four-year liberal arts college in the Americas centered upon Orthodox Christian beliefs and enriched by the ideals of a Hellenic classical education.   Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, founded in 1937, is a unique Orthodox Christian institution of higher learning offering graduate programs in Divinity and Theology.  Holy Cross serves as the seminary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas.  Hellenic College & Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology operates under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Contact:
George A. Georgenes
(617) 850-1297
ggeorgenes@hchc.edu

PRESS RELEASE

It has come to the attention of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that a “Greeting Message”, ostensibly signed by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Rev. Protopresbyter Alexander Karloutsos from America, was sent through a mailing list addressing all Greek Orthodox Christians in America.  The e-mail, from the sender “Bartholomew Greetings (Bartholomew_greetings@aboutus.org)”, asked for contributions to support the mission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
 
We categorically state that the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and especially the Ecumenical Patriarch, have no relationship with this counterfeit e-mail, and therefore we flatly denounce this mailing as fraudulent. We ask that any readers of this e-mail take these facts into consideration.

At the Patriarchate, the 7th of January 2008
From the Chief Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod

Reports coming in from all over Kenya are painting a vivid picture of growing unrest and escalating conflict. According to Reuters, over 300 people have already died in the clashes between rival factions and the police.
 
The Kenyan capital city of Nairobi houses the Makarios III Patriarchal Seminary and St. George Orthodox Church lies nearby in the heart of the Kibera slums – the largest in Africa and a flash point for much of the recent violence.
 
In a phone conversation with OCMC Executive Director, Fr. Martin Ritsi, His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Kenya indicated that many homes of Orthodox Christians in Kibera have been burned, and displaced residents in the area are seeking safety and shelter within the confines of the St. George Orthodox Church compound. He states that three churches (not Orthodox) have been razed in Kibera thus far, and similar instances have been seen in Western Kenya as well.
 
The Archbishop went on to report that several Orthodox priests had seen their homes destroyed losing everything to fires set by angry mobs. Some of these priests are now taking refuge at the seminary which has been temporarily closed. Food has become scarce in Nairobi and people are staying home fearing continued troubles.
 
Before hanging up, His Eminence urged calm and encouraged all Orthodox Christians to pray for peace in Kenya. May the people of Kenya, guided by the Holy Spirit, find this peace through unity in a common Father and by the mercies of His only begotten son Jesus Christ.
 
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is a non-profit organization that has been commissioned by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) to proclaim the fullness of the Christian Faith by establishing and nurturing vibrant, Eucharistic communities, which evangelize those around them and minister to the poor.

Orthodox Christian Mission Center
P.O. Box 4319
St. Augustine, FL  32085-4319

Contact: Alex Goodwin,
Communications Director
Phone: (904) 829-5132
E-mail: communications@ocmc.org
Web: www.ocmc.org

His Eminence said: “As we have witnessed events unfold in Kenya, where many citizens have lost their lives and property, including many Orthodox Christians, we grieve with those whose lives have been shattered by the politics of violence. As Chairman of SCOBA, whose own agency, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, has for a long time ministered to and served the needs of the Orthodox Christians of Kenya – assisting church communities and a seminary – and on behalf of the Hierarchs of SCOBA, I call upon all the faithful in America to pray fervently to our Merciful God for the Church in Kenya and for the people of Kenya, that peace may prevail and that those who have lost so much may find some measure of comfort.”

The Archbishop spoke earlier today with Father Martin Ritsi, the Director of OCMC, in order to ascertain the current situation of the Orthodox Church in Kenya.

Contact: SCOBA Secretariat
Tel.:   212.774.0270
Email:  info@scoba.us