STATEN ISLAND, NY – For yet another year, the community of Holy Trinity-St Nicholas in Staten Island honored couples celebrating 50+ years of marriage with a modest ceremony held at the church immediately following the Divine Liturgy on January 16.

The honored couples, all members of the community, are: Christos and Androula Papaiacovou with 65 years of marriage, Peter and Eleni Rassia 63 years, Harry (Haralambos) and Katerina Seremetis 63 years, Constantine and Helen Tzivas 61 years, Michael and Vicky Anastos 58 years, George and Margarita Seherlis 55 years, Constantine and Maria Kapetanakis 55 years, Emmanuel and Stella Vlastakis 54 years, John and Christina Haritis 54 years, Anastasios and Chloe Anastos 53 years, John and Joanna Nichols 52 years, Konstantinos and Susan Arvanites 50 years, and Fr. Nicholas and Presvytera Patricia Petropoulakos 50 years.

Presiding priest of the community, Fr. Nicholas Petropoulakos, blessed and congratulated the couples and presented them with a gift from the parish.

As he said, “all together the couples have a total of 675 years of marriage. It is with great pleasure that we honor today our worthy fellow human beings who for decades have faithfully served the institution of marriage and the values ​​of the family. They offer us a valuable life lesson and are an example for everyone to follow. I wish God to give you health and many more years of happy married life.”

Harry and Katerina Seremetis, originally from Lemnos, met at the Cretan House in New York and got married in St. Spyridon Church in 1958. “The advice we could give to all couples for a happy marriage is honesty, communication, and understanding,” they told The National Herald.

John Haritis, originally from Sparta and Kalamata, met his wife, Christina, originally from Kranidi, in 1964 at a GOYA conference in New Orleans and they were married in 1967 in the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Brooklyn. “All the years we have been together we respect each other and with patience we overcome all problems,” they said.

Anastasios and Chloe Anastos, both from Cyprus, have been married for 52 years. They consider the secret of their marriage as harmony and positive attitude when confronting everyday problems.

Emmanuel and Stella Vlastakis met in 1963 in New York and got married in 1967 at Holy Trinitiy-St. Nicholas Church in Staten Island. He said that “we Cretans consider the family as the cornerstone of society. I wish the newly married couples every happiness and joy in their lives.”

Michael and Vicky Anastos met in 1960 in Limassol, Cyprus, and married in 1963. They came to America in 1966 and settled in Staten Island where they still reside today.