NEW YORK – Ethnikos Kyrix-National Herald, the people with roots in Elia in Peloponnesos and by extension, the whole Greek-American community, Greece, and Cyprus, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper and paid tribute its visionary founder Petros Tatanis on April 2.

The ceremony took place Thursday afternoon in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Flushing and was attended by the Consuls General of Greece and Cyprus, Ambassadors George Iliopoulos and Vasilios Philippou; Manos Koubarakis, the Greek Consul; Anthony Papadopoulos, President, Panelian Federation of USA & Canada; and Sotirios Konstantakopoulos , President of the Paneliakos Society of New York, among others.

Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Dean of St. Demetrios Cathedral of Astoria, who presided over the memorial service for the repose of the soul of Tatanis, spoke about his contributions and said “Our hearts are flooded with gratitude and appreciation to our great countryman who had the wisdom to support free speech, the first freedom enjoyed by man from the first day he comes to life. The man of blessed memory founded the newspaper because he believed in these rights and comprehended the necessity of creating the newspaper for the Diaspora.”

The Herald’s Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris thanked all those who responded to his call to honor Petros Tatanis, who founded the newspaper on April 2, 1915. Tatanis “set aside $100,000 in addition to startup costs and chose good collaborators such as Father Dimitrios Callimachos, a distinguished priest, and he made a good start,” he said.

Diamataris continued to speak about the newspaper’s journey and its present state. “We stand on the shoulders of  Tatanis, Kehages, Poulos, Vlavianos, Marketos, Rossides,” his predecessors as publishers, “and thousands of journalists and workers who served the National Herald with dedication.”

“I feel admiration for them all, but above all for the four generations of immigrants who supported us for a century and are providing the paper the opportunity to live its best days today,” Diamataris said.

Amb. Iliopoulos said, “The 100^th anniversary of a newspaper and an organization such as The National Herald constitutes a major historic event. The National Herald is an integral part of the Greek-American community because it faithfully writes its history and has been its companion and a source of inspiration …it is the second oldest and most important , largest and most vibrant newspaper of Hellenism abroad, which makes us all proud. Continue to make your contribution with the same passion and dedication.”

Amb. Philippou congratulated Diamataris and emphasized that the Herald is an extension of Greeks Abroad which is distinguished for its multifaceted contributions to Hellenism. “

He also congratulated the Herald and the Elias associations for their decision to find Tatanis’ grave and to mark it with a tombstone to perpetuate his memory.

“Greece honored Petros Tatanis turning his house in Amaliada into a museum of the press in the Diaspora,” added Philippou

Papadopoulos referred to the efforts made to locate the tomb of Tatanis and emphasized that Tatanis died poor, and that his grave was donated by one of his associates.

“The Panelian Federation and all of Ilia are proud of Petros Tatanis and The National Herald and we congratulate Mr. Diamataris for 100 years of its contributions to Greeks abroad,” Papadopoulos concluded.

Konstantakopoulos said, “Today is a great day for the National Herald, for the community and for all of us from Elia, because we have the opportunity to pay tribute to Petros Tatanis and to feel joy, pride and admiration for our newspaper. I would like to congratulate Mr. Diamataris for his initiative to erect this tombstone and to honor Petros Tatanis on this day every year.”

Former presidents and executives of the Paneliakos Society told touching stories they had heard about the life of Tatanis and his siblings and said that Amaliada, Elia, and all Greece was celebrating the 100th anniversary and Tatanis’ memory.