General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
FT LAUDERDALE, FL – Rev Fr Panagiotis (Peter) Zougras is celebrating a decade in the priesthood. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and baptized at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He is the son of Dionysios and Vasiliki Zougras. When the family relocated they became members of Holy Trinity- St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Staten Island.
Fr. Zougras attended SUNY Albany where he received a BA degree in Political Science in 1997. His education continued at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology where he received his Master’s in Divinity in 2001.
Fr. Zougras took on his first parish assignment in 2001 as the Youth Director and Pastoral Assistant at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (2001-2004).
From 2008-2011, Fr. Zougras served at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Astoria as the Youth Director and at the same time, was a middle and high school history and economics teacher.
In February 2011, Fr. Zougras married Presbytera Alexa. Shortly after, Fr. Zougras received his first parish assignment as a clergyman at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Hempstead, NY. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in November of 2011 by His Grace Bishop Andonios of Phasiane. In January of 2012, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. Fr. Zougras served at the Cathedral of St. Paul from October of 2011 to September of 2014, also serving as the Spiritual Advisor to the Nassau/Suffolk Inter GOYA.
In September 2014, Fr. Zougras was assigned as the Dean of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Tenafly, NJ. He was also appointed in 2015 as the Metropolis of New Jersey Youth Commissioner for the Northern New Jersey Greek Orthodox Youth.
The community of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Fort Lauderdale was blessed to have him return to their parish as their presiding priest on February 1, 2019. Fr. Zougras and Presbytera Alexa have a son, Dionysios.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
CLOSTER, NJ – The well-attended Greek Independence Day Celebration in Closter, NJ, took place on March 25, beginning with the Flag Raising Ceremony at Ruckman Park in Closter.
ALBANY – New York State Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R, C-Staten Island/Brooklyn) on March 26 was joined in Albany by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America to recognize Greek Independence Day and the 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion and continued occupation of Cyprus.
ATHENS - Historic member of PASOK and passionate advocate of the recognition of Pontian Greek genocide Michalis Charalambidis died on Wednesday aged 73.
ATHENS - While the New Democracy government denied audio files from the 2023 head-on train crash in Tempe which killed 57 had been tampered with, five managers at the state-run OSE railways agency reportedly had access to them.
FAIRVIEW, NJ – The Greek Cypriots of New Jersey under the auspices of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, the Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York and Consul General of Cyprus Michalis Firillas will commemorate the 69th Anniversary of the EOKA Liberation Struggle of Cyprus from British Colonial Rule 1955-1959, with a memorial service at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, 101 Anderson Avenue in Fairview, NJ, on Sunday, March 31.