NEW YORK – The Consulate General of Greece in New York hosted the annual Greek Independence Day Open House celebration on March 23 which included the opening of the photography exhibition by Christiana Vasilas, titled Evzones on Fifth.

Greek community members viewed the photographs featuring the Evzones, members of the Presidential Guard of the Hellenic Republic, from their participation in the 2022 Greek Independence Parade in New York City.

Consul General of Greece in New York Dinos Konstantinou gave the welcoming remarks and introduced Philip Christopher, the New York Greek Independence Parade Chairman, who expressed gratitude to the Consul General of Greece for hosting the event, noting that it was one of the many events celebrating Greek Independence Day ahead of the April 30 NYC parade.

“For the past two months we have been working very hard to organize the 2023 parade,” Christopher said. “The parade has a history fo 83 years. The first time I marched in the parade was in 1960, as a student of St. Demetrios in Astoria, 63 years later I am the general chairman of the parade following my good friend Lou Katsos… and many others who have worked over the years.”

He noted that the Parade Grand Marshal is George Logothetis and that the Gala at the New York Hilton on April 29 is going to be a great event, featuring a performance by popular Greek singer George Dalaras. Christopher added the vital importance of everyone participating in the parade and attending the meetings of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York since “it is not the easiest thing to unify the Greek-Americans into collective action,” and “the parade is more than just a parade.” “We’re sending a message to President Biden and the administration that we as Hellenes are demanding that Greece deserves the greatest honor in the United States and the greatest community in the United States,” he said.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in his remarks noted that the New York Greek Independence Parade is unique compared to other parades, for example, in Greece: “The military and students participate in the parade, but here, we don’t just watch others parading, we march in the parade ourselves and this makes the parade stronger and more significant and the participation of everyone is necessary.”

“Everyone must be at the parade and be unified because there is nothing there that would divide us,” Archbishop Elpidophros said. “Two things unify Hellenism, our Orthodox faith under which we are all equal, beloved and unified, and our flag… for which blood was spilled and which means so much for Hellenes and for our homeland.”

Archbishop Elpidophoros mentioned visiting the New York State Capitol of Albany where two events were held, in the Senate and in the Assembly, to honor Greeks, Greek Independence Day and the ideas that inspired it and the shared values that inspired both the American and the Greek Revolutions. He also noted the upcoming Greek Independence event at the White House with the President in honor of March 25th.

Consul General Konstantinou in his remarks said that the event was taking place under the dark shadow of the recent train tragedy at Tempi that cost the lives of our fellow citizens, young people whose loss plunged everyone into mourning and saddened Hellenes around the world. He then spoke about the evening’s celebration of Greek Independence which also celebrated “the rebirth of the nation that led Hellenism into a difficult but righteous struggle for freedom, so the Hellenes could decide their own fate.” “The struggle was hard and the sacrifices many, the lynching of Patriarch Gregory, the massacre in Chios, the Psara catastrophe, and the siege of Messolonghi, we owe eternal honor and eternal respect to those people and to the heroes who sacrificed their lives so that we could be free,” Konstantinou said.

Photographer Christiana Vasilas spoke with The National Herald about her exhibition at the Consulate. “We were not able to celebrate our 200th anniversary of Greek Independence due to the pandemic and so there were no parades for two years,” she said. “Last year, was the resurgence of the parade in full force, there was a real spirit of Hellenism and I got to the parade about two hours before it started, made sure I was in a good spot and I had my three lenses and my phone and I just wanted to capture it.”

“I truly believe that the Evzones really capture the essence of who we are as a people, the struggle for independence, and our continued sense of Hellenism,” Vasilas told TNH.

As noted in the exhibition program, “this collection celebrates our Hellenic spirit, armed forces, and honors the heroes of 1821 whose memory is woven into every stitch of the ‘stoles’ [uniforms].”

Vasilas also told TNH that the exhibition is dedicated to her father, Chris Vasilas, who suddenly passed away at the end of February 2023. A proud Greek-American and amateur photographer, he encouraged his daughter “to always have her camera in hand and to see beyond the frame.”

Among those present were Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN Ambassador Evangelos C. Sekeris, Consul of Greece Dimitris Papageorgiou, Archbishop Demetrios formerly of America, Paulette Poulos, AHEPA Region 3 Supreme Governor Ted Stamas and his wife Irene, Lou Katsos, Nancy Papaioannou, Alexandra Mitsakis, and George Zapantis.