The National Herald

Hellenism and Christianity: Two Halves of a Whole
Christopher Tripoulas • 11:00 AM, February 08, 2010
This past weekend marked the feast of the Three Hierarchs - Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. Greek Letters, that is, Greek language and culture, are also celebrated on this day. Ever since the institution of the holiday honoring these three saints, around the year 1100 by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, Greeks worldwide have celebrated the virtues of Hellenic learning. The Three Hierarchs were the most prominent of many Orthodox clerics who proved instrumental in putti...

Modern-Day Heroics Worth Praising
Christopher Tripoulas • 02:21 AM, February 01, 2010
Two weeks ago, three young men in Greece restored pride and dignity to Hellenism with a single heroic act. While on duty guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside Parliament, two members of the Presidential Guard (Evzones) were informed by their commanding officer that a bomb threat was called in and that an explosion in their immediate surroundings was imminent. He then gave them permission to leave their posts due to the impending danger. The soldiers' refused him with a blink of their ...

The Explosive Dynamic of Feasts
Christopher Tripoulas • 12:31 AM, January 19, 2010
Another year has gone by. Christmas gifts have been exchanged, New Year's resolutions made (and broken), calories were counted, scaled are tipping, bills are arriving...all the makings of an American holiday season. For most, the holidays wrapped up on the evening of January 3rd with the reopening of schools, leaving Epiphany all but an afterthought. Only in Greece will the season extend at least into January 6th – and probably the next day as well, with so many people named John and Joanna. Epi...

Emergency Medicine: The Greek Diaspora’s Lifesaving Gift to the Homeland
Christopher Tripoulas • 07:38 PM, December 23, 2009
Christmas is a time of giving, and Greeks of the Diaspora have always felt very strongly about giving back to society - especially their homeland. Some of modern Greece's greatest benefactors were Greeks living abroad, who wanted to share their wealth with their brethren. That's why Eleni Kostopoulos' article “Doctor Works to Improve ERs in Greece” in last week's TNH (19 Dec. 09) was so pertinent. It outlines a visionary project spearheaded by NY Hospital of Queens Emergency Department Research ...

Modern Day Political Alignments: All Talk, No Substance
Christopher Tripoulas • 07:04 PM, December 01, 2009
One of the biggest anarchronisms in the post-Soviet era is the notion of right and left-wing politicians. The terms, which originally derived their meaning from the seating arrangements in the 18th century French parliament, have become practically useless in today’s world of grand coalition parties, where members of the same party may actually hold opposite views on the same issue. This is true both in the U.S. and Europe. In today’s world, it would make just as much sense voting for an MP bas...

The Threat of Modern-Day European Iconoclasm Rears its Ugly Head
Christopher Tripoulas • 07:03 PM, December 01, 2009
As the European Union prepares to implement the Treaty of Lisbon effective December 1, 2009, the occasion is accompanied by a recent controversial decision from the European Court of Human Rights effectively banning the display of crucifixes in Italian schools. The decision is troubling because it could eventually force review of the use of religious symbols in all state-run European schools. The judgment said that having a crucifix in the classroom was a “violation of the right to parents to e...

Baseball’s Lesson to Greek Foreign Policy: “Nice Guys Finish Last”
Christopher Tripoulas • 07:02 PM, December 01, 2009
There are so many issues I’d like to write about, and FYROM Prime Minister and self-proclaimed long lost cousin to Alexander the Great (sic) Nikola Gruevski won’t let me. His recent abrasive statements during an official visit to Australia, where he touted his famous ideas about ‘Macedonians’ of the Vardar, Aegean and Pirin was not only clearly irredentist, it is ridiculous. When a government leader shows continuous disregard for foreign countries’ territorial integrity and lays claim on their c...

Congress Should Leave the ‘Boys of Piraeus’ Alone
Christopher Tripoulas • 06:29 PM, October 24, 2009
This past month was a pretty popular one for Greek sports. Greece’s (second best) basketball team Olympiakos Piraeus was in several American newspapers and magazines…and not just because they visited the US to play against the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers. It seems that a couple of agents and former players are alleging that the Piraeus-based outfit reneged on its contractual obligations to them and are seeking restitution. One agent even went as far as to ask that the team’s unifor...

Breaking the Cycle of Decay in Greek Politics
Christopher Tripoulas • 07:01 PM, October 05, 2009
Elections in Greece are over. The Socialists mounted a landslide victory, just as the Conservatives did in 2004. Little has changed in the past 5 ½ years. Voters punished a clientele party for corruption in 2004, and did the same again now. A new prime minister rose to power promising an end to corruption, just as his rival did in 2004. In the meanwhile, cadres in both parties continued to show themselves poor stewards of Hellenic history, language, and culture. The previous PASOK regime sent a...

New Acropolis Museum: A Tale of Two Modalities
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:29 AM, October 01, 2009
My relative lack of expertise in the area of archaeology was pretty much evident from the rather indiscreet way I trailed the impassioned guide conducting a tour of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, as I tried to listen in on some useful tidbits of information. Nevertheless, the need to devote a few words to the new museum seems to me a necessity, primarily because it is probably the most important happening in Greece since the 2004 Olympics, and secondly, because one of the characteristics of...

Enculture Greek Fests and the World Will Beat a Path to our Door
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:24 AM, October 01, 2009
A conversation with Queens College’s Director of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Dr. Christos Ioannides is always a wise investment of time. Whether it’s listening to his expertise on Greek studies, discussing the needs of Greek Education and its future here in the United States, or talking about Greek national issues and international affairs, there is always a lot to be gained. One of the very valid points that Dr. Ioannides brought up (see the article “Queens College Greek Studies Center ...

The Diplomatic Potential of Romanity in the 21st Century
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:23 AM, October 01, 2009
In a recent interview with TNH (June 19, 2009), Thea Halo stressed the importance of the Christian genocide that took place in Asia Minor. Ms. Halo called for a concerted effort by all the ethnicities affected by the massacre (Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians) – the first genocide of the 20th century – as opposed to the go-at-it-alone approach presently being undertaken by individual ethnic groups. In doing so, she expresses the characteristic perspective of “Romanity” – which has been overshadowed ...

Discovering a Hellenic Modality of Being in an Astoria Summer Concert
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:20 AM, October 01, 2009
Kudos to the Athenian Society of NY and the Committee for Athens Square in Astoria for the wonderful concert they organized on July 7th featuring singer Grigoris Maninakis and the “Microcosmos” Orchestra, and dance performances by the Greek Folklore Society of New York. Aside from the wonderful performances and promotion of Greece's rich musical heritage, the event gave spectators a “taste” of their Greek homeland, and that’s a nice gift for Greek Americans who won't have the opportunity to vis...

Factions and the Nightmare of Greek Wildfires
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:19 AM, October 01, 2009
As the news of the 80 some-odd wildfires raging throughout Attica and other parts of Greece this past weekend enrages Hellenes living in Greece and abroad, the one question that comes to mind time and time again is “why?” How could someone bring themselves to cause such destruction to the land, personal and state property, and worst of all human life? Sure enough, judging from the disastrous aftermath of the 2007 wildfires that ravaged Western Greece and killed dozens, we’ll have to consider our...

Modern Greek Politics: It doesn’t get more foreign than this
Christopher Tripoulas • 01:18 AM, October 01, 2009
With less than two weeks to go before the Greek people go to the polls to vote for a new government for the third time in five years, it is rather obvious that no matter who wins on October 4th, the real victor is materialism. In fact, for the ruling conservatives, the entire issue in the election – the only issue – boils down to choosing the best economic policy for Greece to follow. The main opposition socialists have not done anything to challenge that notion. Rather, both parties, which pret...

That ever-elusive unity
Evan C. Lambrou • 07:09 AM, June 20, 2009
I welcome your feedback. Please e-mail your responses to english.edition@thenationalherald.com, and please be sure to include your full name, city/state of residence and phone number. 06.20.09. For the last two weeks, I have been busy writing about out-going AHEPA President Ike Gulas’ call for a unity forum at the upcoming AHEPA Convention in San Francisco. Ike started talking to me about this late last fall, and we picked up the subject again in the winter. The problem, as I understood if fr...

Pride in one's heritage
Evan C. Lambrou • 07:29 PM, June 19, 2009
I welcome your feedback. Please e-mail your responses to english.edition@thenationalherald.com, and please be sure to include your full name, city/state of residence and phone number. 06.19.09. Pete Peterson, cofounder of the Blackstone Group, was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this past Tuesday morning, July 16, talking up his new book, “Education of an American Dreamer.” Mr. Peterson spent time discussing his concerns about America’s unfunded liabilities, public debt and over-reliance on fo...

The Fall of Constantinople and the Metaphysical Sanctity of Hellenism’s Ideals
Christopher Tripoulas • 06:09 PM, June 02, 2009
May 29, 2009 marked the 556th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople. The infamous anniversary did not received too much coverage. The Greek media was occupied with the upcoming European Parliament elections on June 7th. Moreover, a protest organized by 1,000-plus Muslims in the center of Athens that same day actually drew greater coverage than the anniversary of the fall of the great city. In fact, the Associated Press merely mentioned the historic occurrence as a side note in its feature s...

A Rubric for Hellenism: Words of Advice from Prof. Christos Yannaras
Christopher Tripoulas • 02:10 PM, May 15, 2009
There was much to be gained in Professor Christos Yannaras' visit to New York this past April. His two lectures, organized courtesy of the Pan-Arcadian Federation of America, the “Geros tou Moria Society” of Arcadians, the New York Society of Athenians, the Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cultural Center, NEO Magazine, and the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York were a tremendous benefit to the public dialogue taking place in the Community. Dr. Yannaras, who is Professor Emeritus at A...

When organizations overcome self-interest the Community is truly served
Christopher Tripoulas • 08:51 AM, April 26, 2009
Academician Christos Yannaras will be in New York on the week of April 26th to give two very important lectures; one on the Greek Orthodox faith as a cultural or religious identity, and the second on the two different visions that collided during the Greek War of Independence. The arrival of such an esteemed guest during is a happy occasion for two reasons: one, because it will give Greek Americans a chance to meet Prof. Yannaras up close, and two because it proves that every once in a while an ...

President Obama's Turkish Tryst Will Inevitably Turn into a Tempest
Christopher Tripoulas • 05:44 PM, April 06, 2009
You've got to hand it to those wily Turks. They certainly know how to play their hand. It would not be unreasonable to equate Turkey to the rather mediocre-looking neighborhood girl, who is always surrounded by suitors, and nobody really knows why. Maybe it's her convenient location or the fact that she can belly dance, but this “plain Jane” always seems to outdo the nicer, prettier girls... And so, Turkey has managed to dupe everyone into thinking she's the Marilyn Monroe of the Mediterranean, ...

Three jeers to New York for not holding the Greek Parade earlier
Christopher Tripoulas • 12:58 AM, March 23, 2009
This week marks the 188th anniversary of Greek Independence. Greeks across the Diaspora will celebrate the double holiday of March 25th – commemorating the feast of the Annunciation and the official commencement of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. And what better day for the glad tidings of Greece’s rebirth from Ottoman rule to be proclaimed than on the feast when the Theotokos received the most joyous of all tidings? In fact, despite that Alexander Ypsilantis crossed the River Prut severa...

Standing on the Shoulders of True Giants
Evan C. Lambrou • 05:10 PM, March 21, 2009
Please e-mail your responses to english.edition@thenationalherald.com. Be sure to include your full name, city/state of residence and phone number. 03.21.09. AHI hosted its 34th annual awards gala at the Capitol Hilton in Washington last Saturday, March 14. It was a splendid affair, and the National Herald published a story about the event, like it does every year, but it was great to actually be in DC for a change, and to have a direct presence at the event. The story gives a rundown of the a...

Reforming university asylum in Greece is the only solution to reigning in hoodlums
Christopher Tripoulas • 03:56 PM, March 18, 2009
After last week’s latest raid on the upscale Athens district of Kolonaki by hooded youths armed with clubs, crowbars, and other weapons, the citizenry of Athens has been in an uproar. Shopkeepers and everyday citizens are up in arms over damages inflicted to their personal property and livelihood by insolent “rebels without a cause” – or clue I might add. The inability to capture and make an example of at least one of these masked marauders has led to widespread criticism against the police forc...

What's on my mind
Antonis H. Diamataris • 11:49 PM, March 17, 2009
Last week, I spent several hours interviewing Eugene Rossides. Eugene is the founder and driving force behind the American Hellenic Institute, and one of the most distinguished Greek Americans in our Community, with a longstanding history contribution to issues involving Greece and the Greek American Community. Aside, however, from this role, which I respect and honor, Eugene played an important role – perhaps even the deciding factor – in my professional life. He was the publisher of The Nat...

Eurovision 09: Greek music will be better represented by Spain and Sweden, than Greece and Cyprus
Christopher Tripoulas • 03:45 PM, March 13, 2009
If I were to tell you that there will be at least one Greek song in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, it would not come as a surprise; both Greece and Cyprus are participating. However, the surprising news is that the song belongs to neither of these countries. This year, Greek music will best be represented by…Spain! (and maybe Sweden, depending on the outcome of the final on March 14). Audiences worldwide will hear Spain’s Soraya Arnelas sing "La noche es para mi" at the 2009 Eur...

Reasonable Discussions and Hellenic Perspectives
Evan C. Lambrou • 03:01 PM, March 13, 2009
Please e-mail your responses to english.edition@thenationalherald.com. Be sure to include your full name, city/state of residence and phone number. 03.13.09. This blog is intended to serve as a forum for reasonable and intelligent discussion with our readers, who are invited to enter into a conversation online. All responders are welcome, though perhaps not all responses will be appropriate for posting on our website. Here, I will invoke my editorial privilege and judgment. If I think a respon...

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