JANUARY 2013 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: vema@bigpond.net.au

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

George Dalaras makes a strong comeback

When George Dalaras made his comebackon December 2 with a new album of songspenned by Nikos Antypas, his fans were thereto welcome his return and express their sup-port.

PAGE 15/33

Lake TrichonidaA wetland of great aesthetic, environmental

and economic interest.

PAGE 20/38

Serving the OrthodoxMission in Madagascar

“How the hand of God has saved us in timesof peril, comforted us in times of doubt andstrengthened our little faith through joy, whilstserving the mission of Madagascar”.

PAGES 17/35 + 19/37

Darling Harbour to make AustraliaDay spectacular!

PAGE 2/20

MEDIA’S IMPACT ON OUR CHILDREN:

iDisorder: Part 1PAGE 7/25

FIRE CREWSBATTLE BLAZESacross south-east Australia

GREEK ORTHODOX, JEWISH AND ISLAMIC SCHOOLS PAGE 8/26

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service says 12 proper-ties have been lost in a bushfire west of Coonabarabran,which also damaged the Siding Spring Observatory.

The fire in the Warrumbungle National Park has burnt outup to 40,000 hectares and has already forced the evacua-tion of over 100 residents.

The Rural Fire Service confirmed that 33 properties hadbeen lost.

Residents in the area, as well as 18 staff from the SidingSpring Observatory, had to be evacuated at the height ofthe blaze.

The observatory, run the Australian National University(ANU), is the country’s largest optical astronomy researchfacility and was deliberately located in the WarrumbungleRanges for the altitude, clear air, and low humidity.

ANU acting vice-chancellor Erik Lithander says five build-ings, including cottages that house staff, have been de-stroyed, but fortunately the telescopes remain in tact.

Large parts of NSW have been affected by bushfires,brought on by searing temperatures and wild winds.

More than 170 fires continue to burn across the state andat least 30 of them are uncontained.

Firefighters are also working to control blazes in Victoriaand Tasmania, while the threat from fires in Central Aus-tralia has eased.

In Tasmania, a Victorian firefighter has died while fightinga bushfire on the Tasman Peninsula, south of Hobart.

The man aged in his 60s was found dead yesterdayabout three kilometres from a fire edge east of Taranna.

He was one of the Victorian firefighters sent to Hobart toassist in controlling the bushfires that have destroyed about170 properties.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA2/20 JANUARY 2013

Darling Harbour to make Australia Day spectacular!

On 26 January, Sydney’s Darling Harbourwill host the most spectacular AustraliaDay celebration in the country!

Proudly presented by Sydney HarbourForeshore Authority, Darling Harbour Aus-tralia Day is one of the most popularevents on the Sydney calendar attractingmore than 180,000 people each year.

The ‘Australia Day Spectacular’ will pro-vide a breathtaking finale to Darling Har-bour’s day-long program of live shows,kids’ entertainment and interactive per-formances that celebrate Australia’s cultur-al diversity.

From 11:30am, head to the Children’sStage at The Village Green where Play-school star Jay Laga’aia will host loads of

fun activities for kids including indigenousmusical group Circular Rhythm, the humor-ous antics of French mime artist Leo theClown, the Amazing Drumming Monkeysand more!

For a taste of world music, head to PalmGrove and Harbourside Amphitheatre from12.30pm where a superb program of liveentertainment will showcase Australia’srich tapestry of multicultural sounds. Sa-vour the exotic Arabian funk of Jimmy D’sFlying Carpet Band, taste the deliciousEastern European gypsy-jazz of PolskiOgorki Trio, sample some hard-hitting har-monies from Irish folk group HermitageGreen, and chill out to the joyously cool ca-lypso rhythms of Caribbean Soul.

At 7.00pm the grand celebration that isthe Australia Day Spectacular will com-mence; quite simply one of the greatestspectacles on the Australia Day calendar!

The Governor of NSW will sail into Cock-le Bay aboard the Admiral’s barge to giveher Australia Day address to the crowd,leading into a wonderful water parade ofSydney Harbour’s grandest and quirkiestvessels carrying Australians of the Yearand some of the nation’s newest citizens.

The Harbour Heroes Parade will follow,recognising the different services per-formed on Sydney Harbour with a flotilla oftugs, high-speed craft and a variety of in-teresting working boats, before the grandentry of The Tall Ships, a stunning and rare

opportunity to see up close the majesticsails and hulking hulls of these wonderfulocean farers of a bygone era.

The Australia Day Spectacular will culmi-nate in a breathtaking multimedia sympho-ny of lights, lasers, sound, fire and wateron Cockle Bay, with an awe-inspiring py-rotechnic crescendo over Darling Harbour,all choreographed to a brilliant soundtrackby one of Australia’s finest young com-posers, Felix Riebl.

There is no better place to celebrateAustralia Day than Darling Harbour, sogather with friends and family at Sydney’spremier party precinct for a spectacularday of FREE entertainment!

Sydney Airport rapidly running out of space: analystsInfrastructure analysts at the Com-

monwealth Bank warn that Sydney Air-port may hit capacity 20 years earlierthan it expects.

Sydney Airport's management haspreviously said that it will have suffi-cient capacity to meet the city's airtransport needs until 2045.

However, an analysis by Common-wealth Bank infrastructure analysts An-dre Fromyhr and Matt Crowe estimatesthat Sydney Airport is likely to near orreach its maximum capacity in 2025based on the bank's passenger fore-casts.

The bank's estimate is consistentwith a finding by a joint Federal andNSW Government study that foundsigns of constrained capacity wouldemerge at Sydney Airport from around2020.

That report found that all peak morn-ing (6:00am-12:00pm) and evening(4:00pm-7:00pm) weekday slots wouldbe allocated by 2020, and that therewould effectively be no free slots by2027, with unmet demand for morethan 100 flights per day.

While Sydney Airport is likely to hitconstraints in about a decade, the CBAreport finds that it could currently han-dle 61 per cent more passengers if itmatched world's best practice utilisa-tion of existing facilities, exemplified by

Beijing's main airport. London (Heath-row), Hong Kong, Bangkok, Atlanta andTokyo's Haneda airport rank next forcapacity utilisation, with Sydney in themiddle of a group of 20 airports stud-ied by the bank, with a similar utilisa-tion to Charles De Gaulle Airport inParis.

However, Sydney had the best utili-sation rate of any airport in Australia,comfortably above Melbourne and wellahead of Brisbane and Perth.

To match Beijing, the analysts sug-gest Sydney Airport could increase thenumber of flights by 34 per cent andcater more for larger aircraft to in-crease the average number of passen-gers per flight by 19 per cent.

Various independent reports concludeSydney Airport will reach capacity 20

years ahead of its management's expecta-tions. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21

Editorial

JANUARY 2013

By Alexis Papachelas - Kathimerini, Athens

As odd as it may seem, Greece is beginning to stabi-lize and move forward. I am not oblivious to the painand suffering brought on by the crisis, nor the new chal-lenges that lie ahead when the austerity measures for2013 start to bite.

But our European partners - under pressure from oth-er forces as well - have decided to put an end to spec-ulation about Greece’s future in the eurozone. At thesame time, the situation is beginning to improve in therest of Europe as well, as Spain appears to havedodged the bailout bullet, and Italy and France are nowable to borrow on reasonable terms.

Given the relatively positive environment overall,Greece will most likely start regaining some of its lostcredibility, from the markets, from depositors who havetaken their money abroad and even from investors. Thisis a vital part of recovery, because without faith in

Greece’s future in the eurozone, no one can estimatehow much further the country might tumble into theabyss of recession.

On the domestic front things also seem to be gainingmomentum, starting with the justice system and over-sight mechanisms that are getting into gear. As much assome may argue that the recent wave of prosecutionsand investigations are simply foils to divert people’s at-tention from the measures, the country has never be-fore seen such powerful people being put under scruti-ny and in some cases even behind bars. The peoplesee this as a sign that the country is turning over a newleaf.

Much is also being done in terms of improving the op-eration of the state mechanism, from the managementof hospitals to the promotion of non-cash transactionsthat are so important in getting a handle on tax evasion.Is this enough to get Greece out of the mess? Of coursenot. The biggest challenge is to change the prevailing

mentality toward entrepreneurship and business, be-cause without these, growth will remain out of reach. Toachieve this, the government will have to pass a lot ofreforms that will require the support of Parliament andensure that key positions are properly staffed.

Meanwhile, banks are the ones that will ultimately de-termine what kind of growth we will have in the nextfew years. If they choose to help out the serious smalland large businesses that are suffering as a result ofthe crisis, the country will see healthy growth. If they optinstead to continue propping up badly managed andnonviable businesses in order to serve certain other in-terests, they will drive the final nail in the coffin of anyhealthy business that has managed to survive this far.Thankfully, there are enough Greek bankers who havebeen around long enough to know what is what, andwho have the integrity to play an important role in therebuilding of the Greek economy.

Banks hold the key to growth

Greek economy yet to be transformed By Dimitris Kontogiannis - Kathimerin, Athens

Greece may be winning the battle for fiscal consolida-tion but it seems to be losing the war to transform itseconomy from one based on consumption to one fueledby investment and exports.

Although exports are seeing their share of gross do-mestic product rising, investment has been dropping, un-dermining the country’s future growth prospects. If thistrend continues, Greece may not be able to attain satis-factory GDP growth rates and will therefore struggle tocome up with the kind of primary budget surpluses asso-ciated with sustainable public debt levels.

Backed by the most recent data, there are increasingsigns that Greece may be able to come close and evenbeat the goal for a general government primary deficit of2.4 billion euros or 1.2 percent of GDP in 2012. This ismainly due to the overdose of austerity which helpedovercome the bigger-than-estimated drop in real econom-ic activity last year.

A new set of spending cuts and tax hikes is expected tohurt the economy again this year but is likely to produce alarger-than-expected primary surplus. Revenues are pro-jected to exceed expenditure (without including interestpayments) by about 750 million euros, or 0.4 percent ofGDP, according to the country’s medium-term fiscal strat-egy framework.

But the encouraging developments on the fiscal frontcannot hide disappointing trends elsewhere. Two-and-a-half years after the government of George Papandreousought a bailout from the European Union and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund, followed by the implementation ofpolicies aimed at paving the way for sustainable develop-ment in the future, some figures are either disturbing or atbest do not look promising.

Almost everybody would agree that Greece was livingbeyond its means for a long time and that this should havebeen corrected. Consumption spending supported by ris-ing disposable incomes and ample and cheap credit afterthe country joined the eurozone in 2001 was behind it andthe obvious culprit which had to be dealt with. The eco-nomic adjustment programs sought to correct the fiscaland external account imbalances by imposing higher tax-es and cuts on salaries and pensions and other measuresto improve competitiveness, such as lower minimumwages in the absence of a national currency that could bedevalued.

The policies of internal devaluation contributed to thecontraction in consumption. Total consumption spending isestimated at 178.2 billion euros last year from 191.8 billionin 2011 and 203.8 billion in 2010. It had reached an all-time high of 214.6 billion euros in 2009, almost double its

size in 2000, according to European Commission data. Pri-vate and public consumption spending contracted byabout 36.4 billion between 2009 and 2012 at the sametime economic output fell by about the same amount or36.1 billion. GDP is estimated at 195 billion in 2012 from231.1 billion in 2009.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that households andthe government are consuming less but the share of totalconsumption as a part of GDP has remained resilient, eas-ing to 91.4 percent last year from 92.8 percent in 2009,according to our calculations.

In other words, the much-desired and sought-after de-crease in consumption spending has been analogous tothe drop in GDP during the 2009-12 period. Of course theEC projects the share of consumption spending in GDP willfall faster this year and next to about 89 percent and 86.4percent respectively.

However, these are still projections and even so thedrop is not as big as the proponents of a different eco-nomic model hoped for.

On the other hand, the picture presented by the exportsector appears rosier since the figures show exports ofgoods and services have been rising constantly since2009 although they are still lagging behind the high of 56.3billion euros in nominal value in 2008. Exports are project-ed to rise to 54.3 billion in 2012 from 44.5 billion in 2009,comprising a larger portion of GDP. Total exports are pro-jected to reach 28 percent of GDP in 2012 from 19.3 per-cent in 2009 and 24.1 percent in 2008.

With more and more private firms becoming more ex-trovert as they try to limit the impact of the economic cri-sis at home and promising prospects for tourism rev-enues in 2013, the view from the export side is good. It is

the brightest spot as far as the much needed transforma-tion of the economic model is concerned.

Unfortunately, the figures from the investment side arediscouraging. Gross fixed capital formation, which refersto the net increase in physical assets without includingland purchases and the depreciation of fixed capital, hasbeen declining constantly since 2007. This is true both incurrent prices and a share of GDP.

Greece’s gross fixed capital formation is estimated at27.3 billion euros last year from 31.6 billion in 2011 and39.2 billion in 2010. The projection for this year at 26.1 bil-lion is not good either. The figure stood at 45.9 billion in2009, 52.6 billion in 2008 and 59.4 billion in 2007. It fell to14 percent of GDP last year compared to 20 percent in2009 and 26.6 percent in 2007.

Even worse, the figures for future fixed capital forma-tion which subtracts the consumption of capital (deprecia-tion) have been negative since 2011, meaning new invest-ments are less than depreciation, decreasing the country’sfixed capital stock. This is obviously bad news for futuregrowth since it contributes to limiting the country’s poten-tial GDP.

With total consumption spending falling but at a slowerpace than hoped for compared to GDP, investment spend-ing dropping dramatically and only exports providinghope, the much-needed transformation of the Greek econ-omy is clearly not on track. Since the export sector is toosmall to carry the economy on its back and sensitive toeconomic conditions abroad, prospects for investmentspending will have to brighten considerably for Greece’sfuture economic growth rates not to disappoint and notundermine efforts to produce the large primary surplusesrequired for servicing the public debt.

Two-and-a-half years into the streamlining program, Greece still relies on consumption, not on investment

With total consump-tion spending falling,but at a slower pacethan hoped for com-

pared to GDP, invest-ment spending drop-ping and only exportsproviding hope, the

transformation of theeconomy is clearly

not on track.

The Greek Australian VEMA JANUARY 20134/22 TO BHMA

St Spyridon Parish, Sydney

Feast Day Celebrations, Distinctions and Scholarships 2012

On December 12, the Orthodox Churchcelebrated the Feast of Saint Spyridon theWonder-Worker, Bishop of Trimythounda,blessed amongst the Holy Fathers of theChurch and Patron Saint of St SpyridonParish, Kingsford, Sydney.

THE VESPERS SERVICE

Consequently, on Tuesday, 11th Decem-ber, on the eve of the Feast Day, the Es-perinos (Vespers) Service with the Artocla-sia (blessing of the five loaves) was con-ducted by His Grace, Bishop Seraphim ofApollonia, Assistant Bishop to His EminenceArchbishop Stylianos, assisted by all theReverend Clergy of Sydney.

In a very moving Service with the Chan-ters adhering to the Byzantine style of theMother Church, and with the magnificent,sacred church filled to capacity by localparishioners and faithful from all over Syd-ney, His Grace focused his Sermon on the

attributes of humility and faith exemplifiedby the life of St Spyridon.

DINNER AND DISTINCTIONS

Following the Esperinos Service, St Spyri-don Parish provided its complimentary an-nual Celebratory Dinner to some 650 faith-ful in the Church Hall as the Parish’s hospi-tality in gratitude to the congregation andto those who truly believe that God per-forms miracles through the intercessionsof this 4th century Saint.

During the course of the Dinner, HisGrace presented the following distinctionsto individuals who have provided signifi-cant volunteer services to the Parish of StSpyridon:

• To Mr Nikitas Kyramarios for 10 yearsdedicated service as a Member of the StSpyridon Church Committee.

• To Mr Dimitris Avdalis for 40 yearsdedicated service as a member of the St

Spyridon Church Committee and for gener-al services to St Spyridon church.

THE ST SPYRIDON SCHOLARSHIPS

At the same Function, the ‘St SpyridonScholarship’ prizes were awarded by HisGrace for excellence at the previousyear’s HSC examinations. Consequently,out of the 22 public, private and independ-ent schools in the area to which scholar-ship applications were forwarded:

The Saint Spyridon Scholarship (Venedic-tos Livissianis Memorial Prize for Best HSCResult) awarded for the highest ATAR scoreof any student in the Parish at the 2011 ex-ams, went to:

Daniel Stathis who achieved a ranking of99.3. He was born in Sydney, completedhis primary education at St Spyridon Col-lege and his secondary education at Mar-cellin College, Randwick. He is currentlystudying Commerce-Law at the Universityof New South Wales.

Daniel is the son of Mr Bill Stathis andMrs Katerina Stathis nee Klonaris.

The Saint Spyridon Scholarship (HarryKapsalis Memorial Prize for Greek) is giv-en for the highest result in the Parish forGreek.

The Scholarship for Modern Greek at the2011 HSC was awarded to Olivia Maddi-son Boyages who achieved 99/100 forModern Greek Continuers and 48/50 forModern Greek Extension. Olivia, who com-

pleted her primary education at St Spyri-don College, was an accelerated Year 11student at SCEGGS Darlinghurst last year.She has just completed her HSC and hopesto study Law at the University of Sydneynext year.

Olivia is the daughter of Professor Ste-ven Boyages and Mrs Stella Boyages neeKydoniefs. As she is currently overseaswith her parents, the scholarship was ac-cepted by her sister Felicia.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TOVARIOUS INSTITUTIONS

The following donations were offered bySt Spyridon Parish to various organizations:

• $1,000 to the ‘Estia Foundation of Aus-tralia’, the Church’s mission to young peo-ple with special needs,

• $1,000 to the ‘St Basil’s’ network ofHostels and Nursing Homes of our Arch-diocese and

• $1,000 to the ‘Castellorizian Aged CareServices’ which operate within the Parish.

Finally, St Spyridon Parish presented itsannual donation of $15,000 to St Andrew’sTheological College which is the greathope for the future of our Church and ofthe Greek-Australian community. It wasproudly recalled that St Spyridon parishhas now supported four young men tostudy at the Theological College over theyears.

FSS

Christian Dior, Gucci, Ted Baker

Rod

en

sto

ck,

Ra

y Ba

n

Sere

ng

eti,

Ma

ui J

im, F

en

di

Nina Ricci, Oakley, La font

874 Anzac Parade, Maroubra Junction874 Anzac Parade, Maroubra Junction(at bus stop, on RTA block)(at bus stop, on RTA block)

TTeell :: ((0022)) 99331144--00339933service@maroubraoptoms.com.auservice@maroubraoptoms.com.au

Katerina + Kyriacos Mavrolefteros

left: The Divine Liturgy on the Feast Day proper was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Apollonia. right: The Scholarship for Modern Greek at the 2011 HSC was awarded to OliviaMaddison Boyages who achieved 99/100 for Modern Greek Continuers and 48/50 for Modern Greek Extension.

The Saint Spyridon Scholarship (Venedictos Livissianis Memorial Prize for Best HSC Result)awarded for the highest ATAR score of any student in the Parish at the 2011 exams, went to

Daniel Stathis who achieved a ranking of 99.3.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 5/23

Our Primate’s View

JANUARY 2013

NEW YEAR 2013On the occasion of the New Year,I wish to share with

you certain simple thoughts, which, I feel, concern every

human person regardless of one’s own presuppositions.

We go through. a similar procedure and routine every

twelve months: we close our accounts in relation to the

past year and celebrate in advance the new year.

Without admitting it, we are prejudiced in our behaviour.

On the one hand, we dislike the passing year, while, on

the other hand, we tacitly express our favour in diverse

ways towards the coming year. As if the passing year left

nothing worthwhile for which we should be grateful; and

as if the new year has no unpleasant surprise, for which

we should be careful and cautious!

Such behaviour, however, is not only unjust in essence,

but also betrays a lack of realism: It makes us react like

ill-nurtured children, who want to blame a third person

for all their failures, the so called “scapegoat” or the sac-

rificial victim. Or, again, who expect all their successes by

some magical means from a certain “good luck”, rather

than as it should be, from a concerted, responsible and

ambitious effort.

Yet, beyond these childish approaches and supersti-

tions, surely many are those who consider time to be an

absolute value and measure it avariciously and passively,

whether for the past, present or future. These people

think commercially and do not hesitate to declare always

that “time is money”.

Between these two extreme categories mentioned

above, namely the category of the irresponsible ones,

who regard time as the instrument of fate, and the cate-

gory of those filled with anguish, who regard time asa mint working day and night, there is always a third cat-

egory of people, that of the faithful, who reverently andgratefully accept time to be a term limit, an opportunity,

an offering. Whether it is the old or the new year, the

faithful know that, behind time and beyond time, it is the

Timeless God, “Who has put times and seasons in His

own power” (Acts 1: 7), who is vigilant.

Thus time becomes a debt, given us so that we may

transform it into a timeless, eternal value, that has no re-

lation to money and all that is governed by money. God

has given us time as a debt, so that we may proceed to-

wards God, thus rendering time immortal.

Thus time is revealed as a mystery, because only in the

mystery does the mortal become immortal, and the cre-

ated becomes divine. Therefore, time for man is not

something indefinite and demonic, nor again something

altogether arbitrary. It is a mystical plan, which God has

started and man is called to complete, just as we give a

plan to children for colouring.

With such childish ambition and simplicity, with such hu-

mility and trust let us accept the days and nights, the

weeks and months, which God offers us, drawn by Him

for us to colour. Only thus the impersonal succession of

the moments of mathematical time will become a re-sponsible personal welcome, acceptance and recognition

of the ethical time, which is our eternity in God.

Amen.

By ARCHBISHOPSTYLIANOSOF AUSTRALIA

Skyscrapers in suburbia By Harry Versendaal - Kathimerini, Athens

Mr Leonidas didn’t go looking for his apartment. It wasmore like the other way around.

It was the early 1970s and Mr Leonidas was teachinghigh school math in an impoverished suburb of Athens.During his lunch break one day, he came across a leafletprinted by the teachers’ association, advertising a newkind of neighborhood for educators. A few years later,with the help of a low-interest bank loan, he, his wifeand their three children headed uptown, to the farwealthier suburb of Neo Psychico.

Today, the Teachers’ House, as it is known, providesan intriguing contrast to the modest, low-rise architec-ture of Athenians’ prized suburbia. Hardly beautiful as astructure, the unimpeded sea view from the tallest tow-er’s 15th floor, standing 56 meters above street level, isenough to send Greece’s skyscraper lovers, who havefew such buildings to admire, into paroxysms of joy - or,at least, touch those who are moved by the qualities im-bued in a massive concrete edifice.

If every home has a story to tell, then these modernisthigh rises use a language rarely observed in Greekabodes.

A decorative motif of rose, peach and tan tiles - pos-sibly a failed effort at whimsy - and a series of gray el-lipses girdle the apartment block from its flat roof to itsbase, emphasizing its horizontal axis almost as if em-barrassed by its towering size. At least it can take pride

in its generously wide balconies, a rare sight in the highrises of the West.

Sitting in his beige easy chair, Mr Leonidas, a pension-er and for years Block C’s superintendent, yarns abouthis home’s beginnings, back when they were just aspark in one dreamy literature teacher’s eyes. In the late60s, Nikolaos Stamatopoulos, who taught at the privateLeontios School, traveled to Italy. “He was so impressedby the rows of apartment blocks designed for workersthat he decided to get together with some of his col-leagues to build a similar apartment building, just forteachers,” says Mr Leonidas. It remains a mysterywhether his desire was also fueled by the ideals of amodern academic utopia.

The Teachers’ House was designed by architectsStavros and Angelos Vaseiliou under the junta-era de-

velopment statute “Law AN 395/68 on the Heights ofBuildings and Free Construction,” which allowed for theconstruction of tall buildings with up to 28 inhabitablelevels. After myriad technical challenges and one bank-ruptcy, the block was completed in 1973, albeit withoutthe roof garden and ground-level shops foreseen in theoriginal plans.

Along with the “Twin Towers” at its northern end, theTeachers’ House is still considered a landmark, a recog-nizable anomaly, by commuters who drive along the oth-erwise monotonous Mesogeion Avenue.

As the years passed, however, the block’s academiccharacter was diluted. “There were fewer teachers perse and more of their spouses, and cousins and children,”says Mr Leonidas. However, the buildings retain the tri-umvirate of superintendents, a residents’ council and theporter.

The cracks that appeared after the 1981 earthquakewere covered over by an outer shell of concrete and thewhole exterior was spruced up with a generousOlympic Games-era grant, but inside the shabby hall-ways, the passage of time cannot be disguised.

Forty years after he first moved in, photographs of MrLeonidas’s six grandchildren adorn his walls. His threechildren have all become doctors and two them livehere, on the 8th and 10th floors. His own apartment ismuch closer to the ground.

“Not everybody likes living up high,” he says, smiling.“A lot of people complain they get dizzy.”

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA6/24 JANUARY 2013

JAN0003

Stupidity…

One of the great joys in life is sweeping the pathsaround the Maroubra Mansions. I like to keep the placespic and span. At the crack of dawn, I can be seenbroom-in-hand battling against the accumulating leavesthat Mother Nature so delicately deposits.

The rhythmic sweeping of the footpaths, then the pa-tio and the driveway is cathartic. One can think aboutthings, say the odd prayer or even chant a favouritehymn (pianissimo, of course). You get immediate satis-

faction for a job well done. It has become a hobby.Mind you, it is a real skill. It takes time to acquire. One

needs to select the right broom for the right surface.The hand movements need to be exact and the brushstrokes executed with finesse. I think it should be anOlympic sport - everything else is.

I suppose many of you will think all of this is quitestupid. Well technically it’s not but it is very perceptiveof you. Actually I was going to write to you about stu-pidity, so I’m really glad you raised the subject.

Professor explored this topic in his essay, The Fun-damental Laws of Human Stupidity. Cipolla, an econom-ic historian, divided people into four groups: helpless,intelligent, stupid and bandits.

This is nice but I am not sure that it is appropriate totypecast people when we know that a person’s behav-iour varies from one situation to another. It would prob-ably have been better to describe tendencies to behavein particular ways as stupid but I understand the gener-al thrust of what Cipolla was trying to say. I guessCipolla is making the point that some people are moreprone than others to behave in these four ways.

Please note that stupidity has nothing to do with lackof intelligence or low education. There are some verywise, smart people without formal qualifications. On theother hand, there are some highly intelligent peoplewhose repeated actions can be quite stupid.

In fact, Cipolla examined people in a university. Hefound that a fixed proportion of the general workersshowed evidence of stupidity. Then he looked at the of-fice staff and found around the same proportion. Evenstudents displayed the same ratio of stupidity. To topthings off, he noted that the same proportion of profes-sors were characterised as stupid. Even a proportion ofNobel prize winners were deemed to be stupid. I amsure that this will make some people feel good. It willprobably confirm what you might also have observed inlife.

For good measure, Cipolla gave us five fundamentallaws of stupidity. These are important. Here they are:

1. Always and inevitably each of us underestimatesthe number of stupid individuals in circulation.

2. The probability that a given person is stupid is in-

dependent of any other characteristic possessed by thatperson.

3. A person is stupid if they cause damage to anotherperson or group of people without experiencing per-sonal gain, or even worse causing damage to them-selves in the process.

4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the harm-ful potential of stupid people; they constantly forget thatat any time anywhere, and in any circumstance, dealingwith or associating themselves with stupid individualsinvariably constitutes a costly error.

5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of per-son there is.

Is there a cure for stupidity? Yes, there is! It is calleda Christian life. You probably don’t believe me!

If you examine the lives of dedicated Orthodox Chris-tians (card-carrying believers are not just your averagechurch-goer) then you will find sober and intelligentpeople. You will see personal happiness. There will bejoy, peace and contentment.

Look at the recently published life of Elder Paisios ofMount Athos by Hieromonk Isaac to read about some-one who was “stupid” in the eyes of the world but spir-itually wise.

My friends, rampant stupidity is not the isolated errorthat anyone might make, after all, “To err is human, toforgive, divine” (Alexander Pope, An essay on criticism).It is not the innocent mistake, or some clumsiness or oc-casional inefficiency. It is hypocritical and egotistical.Above all it is contagious.

So, there may be something in Cipolla’s five funda-mental laws. They are not absolutely true but they arethought provoking.

I worry that the war against stupidity in the form ofsuperstition, ignorance or immorality is being lost notonly in Maroubra but elsewhere. So, forgive me if I saythat sweeping reforms are needed.

The views expressed are those of the author and not neces-sarily those of the VEMA or St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theo-logical College.

letterfrommaroubra@gmail.com

Letter from

Maroubra

Illustration: James Donnelly; Source: http://cantrip.org/stupidity.html

The right to vote or not to voteBy Richard Lawson

Ernest Edward Judd thought so little of the choice hefaced at a Senate election in 1925 he decided not to vote.The decision cost him 10 shillings and almost three timesas much in court costs.

Judd, however, was not prepared to let the issue restwith the decision of a Sydney magistrate. He took his caseall the way to the High Court where his fight against com-pulsory voting still remains a legal benchmark.

Judd was a member of the Socialist Labour Party whichaimed to end capitalism and replace it with socialism.

"The only candidates between whom I am asked to electare candidates who, with their parties, work for capital-ism," he argued at the time. "I am prohibited by my partyand its principles from voting for such candidates."

The argument didn't wash with the judges of the HighCourt. Justice Isaac Isaacs dismissed Judd's reasons fornot voting as only having "a faint colour of even plausibil-ity".

"Each elector may, if that be the will of the communityexpressed by its parliament, be placed under a public du-ty to record his opinion as to which of the available candi-dates shall in relative preference become the representa-tive or representatives of the constituency in parliament,"the judge said.

Which is exactly what the Queensland parliament decid-ed in 1915 and the federal parliament opted for in 1924.

"It shall be the duty of every elector to vote at each elec-tion" says the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

There is no express constitutional requirement for com-pulsory voting which means parliaments can choose tomake voting voluntary, a prospect raised by the Newmanstate government in Queensland recently.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has released a discus-sion paper unveiling a raft of possible reforms, includingwhether voting should be a choice.

The discussion paper quoted a 1996 federal parliamen-tary committee report that supported the abolition of com-pulsory voting to ensure Australia was considered a "ma-ture democracy". The report argued that voting could onlybe considered a 'right' if people could exercise a 'right'not to vote.

As many as 1.7 million voters might have done just thatat the 2010 federal election which resulted in a hung par-liament and an almost 50-50 split in the two-party pre-ferred vote of the two major parties.

A joint houses parliamentary committee on electoralmatters was told in 2011 that as many as one million eli-gible Australians were not enrolled to vote, even thoughthe law - dating back to 1912 - makes it compulsory toregister. Of those who were enrolled 947,504 did not turnup to vote while another 728,000 voted informal, inten-tionally or otherwise.

The total represented nearly 20 per cent of the eligiblevoting population. That led electoral change campaignerIan Bleys to suggest a 'None of the Above' or 'DeliberateInformal' voting option, adopted in Greece, Ukraine, Spain,France and Colombia. Like Ernest Judd, Bleys wants to takehis battle to the High Court.

Supporters of compulsion argue that voting is a civic du-ty like taxation, compulsory education and jury duty.

It also means that parliaments more accurately reflectthe "will of the electorate". One of their intriguing argu-ments, listed on the Australian Electoral Commission web-site, is that voters are actually not compelled to vote foranyone because voting is by secret ballot. You're just re-quired to turn up to vote, have your name crossed off the

electoral roll and receive a ballot paper. What you do af-ter that is your business, provided no one else knows. Op-ponents argue it is undemocratic to force people to votebecause it is an infringement of liberty. They say the ill-in-formed and those with little interest in politics are forcedto the polls.

Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce believes abolishingcompulsory voting will not only reduce attendance at theballot box but trigger a rise in radical fringe groups.

Rekindled interest in racist agendas such as the WhiteAustralian Policy would emerge from the far right, whileextreme left groups would push for "a carbon tax onbreathing" and an end to development, he suggested.

"Both these sides would proliferate, because peoplewho are motivated in that way are motivated enough toturn up," the outspoken Queensland senator said.

Results from the 2010 Australian Electoral Survey, con-ducted by the Australian National University, suggest Laborwould suffer more than the coalition if voting became op-tional. When partisan voters were asked whether theywould still vote, nearly 90 per cent of coalition supporterssaid yes, compared to 86 per cent of Labor backers.

Only 80 per cent of Greens voters indicated they wouldlodge an optional vote. So it was hardly surprising thatfederal Labor has reacted so fiercely to the Queenslanddiscussion paper.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard tweeted: "Don't let the Liber-als make our democracy the plaything of cashed-up inter-est groups."

Her deputy Wayne Swan thought he was going back tothe John Bjelke-Petersen era.

"I thought, you know, has Queensland just gone back 30years? he said.

Actually, it's 98 years.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 7/25JANUARY 2013

Growing up fast and furious

Media’s impact on our children:

iDisorder: Part 1

Many books are currently being written about themental health problems caused by use of electronic me-dia. One such book is iDisorder: Understanding our Ob-session with Technology and Overcoming its hold onus2, by Professor of Psychology Dr Larry Rosen. Hewrites that even though the problems of electronic me-dia are very new, they are similar to more conventionalmental illnesses. Examining these similarities can helpus understand these newer types of problems. Astrength of this book is that it provides very good adviceabout dealing with those problems.

The “iDisorders” that Rosen discusses include:

NarcissismNarcissism is about promoting one’s own self, and

social media in particular are good at increasing narcis-sism. Young people on-line can become very self-ab-sorbed, e.g. by being concerned about how many‘friends’ they have, spending time updating their on-linestatus and putting on a particular persona. Narcissistsappeal to others superficially, but struggle to maintainhealthy relationships over time: “the problem for narcis-sists is that their addiction to admiration hinders themfrom establishing relationships”.

It is often very difficult to help a narcissistic person,because their narcissism prevents them from acceptinghelp. Some narcissists can be helped, in the followingways:

- Help the person to reduce time spent using mediaand increase time spent on other activities, e.g. inthe outdoors;

- Respond to their narcissistic tendencies in ways thatare neither too positive nor rejecting;

- Do not respond to someone’s narcissistic rages.

Of course, it is helpful to look at our own narcissistictendencies, and to reduce them by:

- Monitoring the time that we spend on-line; - Monitoring how engrossed we become by the tech-

nology;- Adopting an “e-waiting period” (i.e. waiting and re-

reading a message before sending it, especially when we write it in anger);

- Decreasing the use of personal pronouns (“I”, “me”)in our electronic communication;

- Consciously increase our empathy for those that wecommunicate with, reminding ourselves that behind that screen there is a human being with feelings; and

- Work harder at improving real friendships ratherthan ‘virtual’ friendships.

Obsessive-Compulsive behavioursSmartphones have become for many people an ob-

ject of obsession. People check their phone constantlyregardless of where they are and who they are with:“we have lost some of the common rules of etiquette inthe service of constant worldwide connection”. For

many people, their mobile devices lead to great anxiety,out of a need to constantly check them. For example,some people do not go on holidays if they know thatthey won’t have mobile phone reception.

The author suggests the following ways to deal with“Obsessive-Compulsive iDisorder”:

- Recognise when you are experiencing anxiety rela- ted to your on-line device and take a break (“Re-think” and “Reboot”);

- “Adjust the volume” on your online connections (“Re-connect”);

- Put a priority on human contact over electronic con-tact at every opportunity (“Revitalise”).

AddictionInternet and other electronic media use can become

an addiction when they are grossly overused, and ac-companied by symptoms of withdrawal (getting the jit-ters when not using the media) or tolerance (needing ahigher dose to get the same ‘fix’), and when media useinterferes significantly with relationships, school, workor other areas of life.

“Internet Addiction” has become such a problem, thatit is likely to form a new formal diagnosis, along withrecognised disorders such as alcohol dependence, illic-it drug use and problem gambling. Other technology-re-lated pastimes can also become addictive, including textmessaging, social networking and computer games.

Standard psychological interventions for addictions donot appear to be sufficient to manage this problem. Thebook provides the following recommendations:

- Replace technology-based activities with healthy ac-tivities that provide novel and interesting stimulation, e.g.: spending time outside, gardening, reading agood book;

- Set alarms to remind you when it is time to log offand do something else;

- Set a schedule for being online and offline;- Avoid applications that the ‘addict’ has problems

with, e.g. online chatting;

- Remind yourself of the good and bad of the internet;- Examine what activities are lost due to excessive in-

ternet use;- Try support groups and family therapy if necessary.

Mood problemsExcessive media use can lead to loneliness and de-

pression, and in some cases it can involve users somuch, that they develop frantic, manic-type behaviours.Researchers have described a particular phenomenoncalled emotional contagion, where the mood of a partic-ular song or movie can affect the mood other peoplequite drastically. Also, social networking sites such asFacebook has been shown to lead to problematic inter-actions that has precipitated depression and even sui-cide.

Ways to combat depressive or manic iDisorder in-clude:

∗ Avoid being immersed in technology so much thatyou lose a perspective of real life. Monitor your mediause (e.g. by keeping a chart). How much are you com-municating on-line versus in real life? How much areyou multitasking? Monitor how your mood varies ac-cording to your electronic media use.

∗ Guard against emotional contagion by being mindfulof the negative or depressing messages that you aregetting. Monitor the mood of your online communication.Limit contact with anyone who is emotionally contagious.

∗ If you are feeling depressed, spend more time withpeople you consider real friends, limiting contact withonline acquaintances with whom you do not feel a realconnection with. Empathy and support can be shared inthe online world, so do not altogether eliminate on-linecommunication if that is where the good support iscoming from.

∗ Pay attention to signs of childhood depression. Mon-itor the use of all technology and media for children.Practice co-viewing and discuss what is being watched.Discourage the use of technologies in the children’sbedrooms. Set rules around what, how much and withwhom the child is with on-line.

∗ Prioritise the ritual of eating meals together; reclaimthe sanctity of the family dinner. Keep it at a durationthat is not too long or too short: e.g. 45 minutes. Turn offall electronic media at the beginning of the meal, includ-ing the parents’ mobile phones. Let the children talkabout their use of technology: use this opportunity togather information and avoid discipline or critique. Dis-cuss good on-line practices and etiquette.

∗ Look out for distortions in your child’s thinking pat-terns, e.g. all-or-nothing thinking (“I didn’t get the job andI will never get a job”) and magnification (“Jean un-friended me. Nobody likes me at all and I have nofriends”). Gently help your child confront those thoughtswith logical reasoning.

∗ Discourage too much multitasking on the screen tominimise the sensory overload that may lead to manic-type behaviour.

The book discusses several other “iDisorders”, includ-ing ADHD, safety and communication problems, physicalproblems, body image problems, and perceptual abnor-malities. These, God-willing, will be discussed in nextmonth’s article.

“If you can make use of something that makes your life eas-ier while maintaining enough inner strength and freedom toavoid dependence, you are the master. If you do not cultivatethis inner strength and freedom, you become the slave”.

Ulrich Weger, senior lecturer in Psychology, University of Kent1

By Fr George LiangasChild and Adolescent PsychiatristAssistant priest, St Nectarios Church, Sydney

1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/14/information-over-load-research. Accessed Dec 16 2012.

2 Rosen L, Cheever NA, Carrier LM. iDisorder: Understanding our ob-session with technology and overcoming its hold on us. New York: Pal-grave MacMillan; 2012.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA8/26 JANUARY 2013

GREEK ORTHODOX, JEWISH AND ISLAMIC SCHOOLS

How do our Greek Orthodox Colleges compare withJewish and Islamic schools? All three communities haveethnic-religious schools. This article is the third in a se-ries examining Greek Orthodox Colleges. The informa-tion on each school is from the Federal Government’smyschool website.

Greek Orthodox lag in schools, studentsand enrolments

If we compare the number of students in these threegroups then Greek Orthodox are last.

The largest Greek Orthodox College has 674 stu-dents. This is dwarfed by Moriah College with 1536students and even more by the Malek Fahd IslamicSchool with 2116 students.

If we compare the number of schools, then the Or-thodox are also way behind. The progress of the Islam-ic schools is nothing short of remarkable within such ashort timeframe.

One important consideration is the proportion of stu-dents in religious schools. The eight full-time Greek Or-thodox Colleges throughout Australia cater for 3760children but this is only 6% out of an estimated 63647Greek Orthodox (5-18 years). This small proportion willhave consequences for the maintenance of a Greek Or-thodox identity.

The number of Islamic children is almost double thatof Greek Orthodox. The difference is that they educatesix times the number of students and have more thanfour times the number of schools.

To make comparisons even worse, one only has tolook at the Jewish community. Jewish schools educate51% of their youth. There are only about 15,000 Jewishchildren in Australia. They have one quarter the numberof Greek orthodox children but they have almost doublethe number of Greek Orthodox schools.

Whichever way you look at it (schools, students orproportion of youth) Greek Orthodox are last!

NAPLAN results of Greek, Jewish andIslamic schools

After enrolments, the next step is to look at results.My analysis of school results is based on the NationalAssessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).This takes place across Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 is quite auseful guide to the specific performance of an educa-tional system. There are other criteria.

NAPLAN is especially useful because it is standard-ised, externally set and externally marked. Results arenot scaled like Higher School Certificate subjects, sowhat you see is what you get.

Overall, Jewish schools were performing at a highaverage level and Greek Orthodox colleges werearound average. For the most part, the Islamic schoolswere below the national average (there are excep-tions).

The two line graphs show the results for Reading andNumeracy for the three school systems (results forwriting, spelling and grammar are available from theauthor upon request).

Many might have expected these results. It is notenough, however, to compare median values. Thesecan hide as much as they reveal. Like many aspects theGreek Orthodox school results appear reasonable but itis only when you dig a little deeper that it gets worse.

Comparison of the three best schools

The best performing Jewish school was Masada Col-lege; the best Islamic school was Malek Fahd IslamicSchool. These were compared against the best per-

forming Orthodox college (not identified). The Orthodoxcollege was definitely last.

It is true that the Jewish results are influenced by thehigher socioeconomic status of the students and thehigher recurrent income of their schools. Nevertheless,they are all comprehensive schools (although concernhas been raised in the media about some schools en-couraging poor achievers to leave prior to Year 12 butthis should not affect the NAPLAN results). One cautionin interpreting these charts is that these are averagesand there will be some very high achievers in individualschools.

Greeks caught napping!

What do these findings mean for the Greek-Australiancommunity? Only some 6% of Greek Orthodox childrenattend an Orthodox college compared with 19% attend-ing an Islamic school or 51% attending a Jewish school.This fact alone shows we have been somewhat slowand ineffective.

To rub salt into this wound, I analysed the proportionof Greek Orthodox children throughout Australia whohave no formal educational contact with the Church. It isestimated around 70% (even allowing for some doublecounting).

In the final analysis, we are not educating sufficientnumbers of Greek Orthodox children and even whenwe do we appear to be far from the best. The next ar-ticle in this series will review the mission statements ofthe Greek Orthodox Colleges in Australia.

Dr James AthanasouUniversity of Technology, Sydney

athanasou@gmail.com

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessari-ly those of the VEMA. This report should be read in conjunction withearlier reports in the last two editions of the VEMA. I remind read-ers again that the findings are based on statistics and some esti-mates but the NAPLAN data are official results and the conclusionsshould be stable where we are comparing entire school systems.The individual school NAPLAN results will vary over time.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Total number of students

Greek Orthodox Jewish Islamic

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Greek Orthodox Jewish Islamic

Proportion of youth attending full time religious schools

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Greek Orthodox Jewish Islamic

Number of schools 400

450

500

550

600

650

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

NAPLAN READING SCORES 2011

Greek Orthodox Jewish Islamic

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

NAPLAN NUMERACY SCORES 2011

Greek Orthodox Jewish Islamic

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

Reading Comparison of thebest schools

Greek Orthodox

Masada College

Malek Fahd Islamic School

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

Numeracy Comparison of thebest schools

Greek Orthodox

Masada College

Malek Fahd Islamic School

Afternoon,Saturday schools

10%Sunday schools

4%

Full timecolleges

6%

Special religiouseducation

8%

Without churchcontact72%

Greek Orthodox5 18 years, Australia

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 9/27JANUARY 2013

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA10/28 JANUARY 2013 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 11/29

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA12/30 JANUARY 2013

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 13/31

Health

JANUARY 2013

SMOKING: IT’S TIME TO QUIT!

Each year at this time I like to write about smoking andremind everyone that it’s time to Stop Smoking! If youhave already quit smoking, it is time to remind a friend orrelative that it’s time to quit. Talk to your friends or rela-tives. Show them how you did it. Support them. Show themthat it can be done!

For those who haven’t stopped smoking now that theNew Year has arrived, make your New Year’s resolutionto STOP smoking! It’s not too late - it’s not easy - but it canbe done!

A non-nicotine drug that belongs to a class of drugsknown as nicotinic acetylcholine-receptor partial agonistsis very effective for smoking cessation. This class of drugswork by reducing craving and withdrawal symptoms andso reduce reinforcement of the smoking habit due to itssatisfying or enjoyable effects. The drug should be pre-scribed in conjunction with a comprehensive smoking-cessation support and counselling program.

Many people have had great success with this drugwhich has been on the PBS for many years now and youmay have heard your friends talk about this drug and thesuccess they have had in giving up smoking by using anicotinic acetylcholine-receptor partial agonist.

Smoking: The choice is yours

It’s your choice whether to keep smoking or not. Decid-ing what to do involves weighing up both sides of thematter. You need to consider the good and the not-so-good aspects of smoking to make an informed decision.

The positive things about smoking

We all know that you smoke because you find it enjoy-able and you find it relaxing. It goes well with a drink. Itpeps you up! It helps you keep your weight down. It calmsyour nerves when you’re under pressure or have dead-lines to meet.

Smoking keeps you awake when you feel sleepy. Smok-ing stops the boredom. It simply gives you something todo to pass the time, for example, while you wait for atrain or bus. You know smoking helps you think! Whenyou’re trying to figure out a problem or complete a job, acigarette can help you get over this hurdle. Smokingboosts your confidence. It gives you something to do withyour hands when you might feel a bit socially awkward.

The negative things about smoking

You know the negative things about smoking. You knowthat regular smokers are hooked on their habit.

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes the addiction!If you smoke in the first half hour of waking up, your ad-diction to nicotine may be strong.

Smokers often have cravings for a cigarette which in-creases during stress. Not only do you smoke for pleas-ure, but you smoke to relieve the cravings; that is yousmoke to relieve the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.Smoking can easily become quite a habit, particularly if itis strongly linked with daily activities such as drinking cof-fee or alcohol or using the telephone.

You know smoking reduces your fitness. You can feelbreathless when climbing stairs or walking. This can occurbecause the carbon monoxide gas in cigarette smoke re-duces the oxygen level in the body and causes you to tiremore easily whenever you exert yourself. If you have aheart condition and you smoke, you are more likely tohave chest pain (angina) because of the lower oxygen lev-el. Your breathing may also be affected by the damage toyour lungs from the tar in cigarette smoke.

You know smoking ages your skin. Smokers developdeep and shallow lines on the cheeks and lower jaw andthe face develops gauntness and a yellow colour.

You know smoking smells unpleasant. It can also reduceyour sense of taste and ability to enjoy food. Smoking canaffect other people; often your relatives and friends arenot happy about your smoking. Children, asthmatics andallergy sufferers can be badly affected by small amountsof smoke.

You know smoking harms your health. It causes coro-nary artery disease, strokes and circulatory problems, andcan increase your risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer.Did you know that smoking can also cause cancer of thethroat, mouth, stomach, pancreas and kidney? On the pos-itive side, your risk of developing lung cancer decreasesgreatly when you stop smoking!

Smoking can reduce fertility in both men and women.Smoking when pregnant is a great concern. It can causemiscarriage and the baby is likely to be born prematureor be underweight.

Weigh up the pros and cons

So, now you know there are positive and negativethings about smoking. It’s time for you to weigh up in yourown mind your feelings about smoking. A good start is towrite down the ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ aboutsmoking, and in the process list everything you like aboutsmoking and then everything you dislike about smoking.Spend time considering which side is more important toyou in the long term.

Time to quit

After weighing up the pros and cons, you may come tothe decision to ‘quit’, but you may have concerns aboutquitting.

I know you are concerned that you have tried to quit be-fore and failed. Well, most people have to attempt to quitseveral times before they reach their non-smoking goal.Treat each setback as a learning experience. Show yourfriends that you can do it.

I know that you’re concerned that you’re motivated, butwhen you are with your friends, and they smoke, they willmake you feel like a cigarette as well. Be ready for yourfriend’s reactions.

Some will try to undermine your efforts because theyhave their own guilt about smoking and this helps themfeel better. Others will make fun of your efforts for simi-lar reasons. Sometimes you may need to avoid these peo-ple for the first few weeks, but alternatively you can chal-lenge them to join you.

Some friends will support and encourage you and mostwill respect you when you achieve your goal. Think aboutstopping with a friend.

So, you don’t really have the willpower! Of course youdo! Willpower is the will to change and a measure of thestrength of your desire and confidence to stop smoking!

When you start to quit, you will get irritable and feel sickas the withdrawal symptoms begin in your body, as thenicotine starts to disappear. But, all the nicotine will haveleft your body within three to four days and it takes ten totwelve days for your body to adjust. During this difficulttime increasing your exercise, eating fresh fruit and veg-etables and drinking plenty of water will help the bodyduring this period of readjustment.

Think of the advantages of stopping smoking. You willfeel like a new person, free of addiction. You will smelland feel better. The worry of smoking will be off yourshoulders!

Become a non-smoker

Now that you have considered the good and bad thingsabout smoking and understand the advantages of being anon smoker, your options really are clear. There is no ar-gument. It’s time to stop smoking. Your doctor can helpyou do it. Talk to your doctor today. To get started, youneed a plan! Your doctor will discuss your nicotine de-pendence and discuss your smoking pattern and habit.Think about your smoking. When, where and why yousmoke? Are you an ‘automatic smoker’? Do you light cig-arettes without thinking about it?

If this occurs, you have a well-practised habit. But don’tworry, with hard work you too can give up smoking. Keepa diary, writing down every cigarette you smoke over a24 hour period. This is a good way to begin breaking yourold habit.

In your diary record:

1. he time each cigarette is smoked2. your mood at the time3. the situation you are in4. a possible substitute for each cigarette, for example,

a piece of fruit, a walk, a glass of water.If you are on the telephone and need to do something

with your hands, doodle on a pad with a pencil. Thinkabout what you can do instead of smoking.

It is not easy to give up smoking. It requires hard work.Set your ‘Quit Date’. Prepare before you quit! Make smallchanges in your smoking habit. Reduce the number of cig-arettes you smoke each day. Smoke only half of each cig-arette. Start your first cigarette later in the morning! Eachtime you feel like a cigarette, delay having it. Start makingsmall changes to your smoking pattern today.

The decision is yours to talk to your doctor today aboutsmoking cessation. Ask your doctor about the drugs whichcan assist is smoking cessation and if you have tried tostop smoking before ask about the class of drugs knownas nicotinic acetylcholine-receptor partial agonists. Mostdoctors are keen to help their patients stop smoking!

* The information given in this article is of a general nature andreaders should seek advice from their own medical practitioner be-fore embarking on any treatment.

HEALTHNEWSNEWS

WITH DR. THEO PENKLIS *

PLEASE NOTE: WE GIVE YOU THE ULTIMATE GUARANTEE

FIRST WE KILL THEM, THEN YOU PAYApplies to Shops, Offices & Factories

We also treat houses and units

NEW - SAFE - EFFECTIVE METHODS

(02) 9559 3605 - (02) 9558 8270Mob. 0417 257 259 Fax. (02) 9559 8200

www.globalpestcontrol.com.auLic. no. 1500 4132 003

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA14/32 JANUARY 2013

COMMUNIQUÉ

''We swear you by Almighty God that in no way should you detract from the worth, greatness and importance of our reconciliation. Let not one empty and unverified word pass over your mouths. Let our reconciliation be an example for all the other Serbs, wherever they may live. Do not allow any one of us by our actions to hinder this common sanctity. Our reconciliation has just begun. We have planted a young seedling which we need to nurture and cherish as the apple of the eye that it may grow to the pride of all'' (Metropolitan Iriney of New Gracanica - 19 February 1993).

During the past few weeks there appear a multitude of unverified, inaccurate and often malicious articles published on the internet related to the litigation in which the Serbian Orthodox Church is attempting to return to her fold the now usurped New Kalenich Monastery in Canberra. In light of the same, the Metropolitan Executive Board of the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church desires to emphasise the following: 1. Management of the Property Trust of the New Kalenich Monastery claim to act in the name of the so-called "Free Serbian Orthodox Church", but have absolutely nothing to do with the original Free Serbian Orthodox Church, which existed a few decades ago as a temporary result of misfortunate times and an even more misfortunate schism which had befallen the Serbian Orthodox Church. The schism was liturgically overcome on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, 15 February 1992, when the Liturgy of Reconciliation was concelebrated by Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Iriney of New Gracanica, both now of blessed repose. In so doing, the New Gracanica Metropolitanate was established in place of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church and returned to the fold of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 2. The Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church is the successor to the former Diocese for Australia and New Zealand of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate and the former Diocese of Australia and New Zealand. By decision of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church of 10th May 2011, the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand was established in place of the former two parallel Dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 3. The management of the Property Trust has usurped the New Kalenich Monastery and attempted to sever it from the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian faithful and cede it to the jurisdiction of a canonically unrecognised, so-called “True Orthodox Church of Greece”, into a myriad of internally rivalled factions known as the "Synod in Opposition" and the "Cyprianites". This "church" was created in 1984 in Greece, when a certain group of schismatics broke away from a schismatic group known as the "Auxentianites" and established the "Synod in Opposition", as they continue to formally present themselves in public domain. This body is not in communion with the Orthodox Church. 4. Management of the Property Trust, under the aegis of that "True Orthodox Church of Greece" or, the "Synod in Opposition", or the "Cyprianites", have recently announced that they intend, in the New Kalenich Monastery Church of St Sava, on the very feast of Saint Sava, to enthrone as their "bishop" a certain Englishman, Ambrose Baird, a convert to "Orthodoxy" from London. The Metropolitanate Executive Board once again underscores that the Church has brought forth this litigation with a heavy heart after management of the Property Trust refused to acknowledge that they had any obligation to hold the New Kalenich Monastery Church of St Sava for the Serbian Orthodox faithful. The Metropolitanate Executive Board reiterates that last year’s Assembly of the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand issued an open invitation to this entire group to return with repentance to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which will gladly welcome and receive them. The Metropolitanate requested the parties attend mediation in an effort to resolve the litigation. The management of the Property Trust resisted this initiative. The Court accepted the submission of the Metropolitanate and ordered the parties to attend mediation. The Metropolitanate participated in the mediation with the directors of the Property Trust in an effort to resolve the dispute and conclude the litigation. Unfortunately, not only have all of our invitations to repentance, return and reconciliation with the Church been ignored or rejected; but now with the announced "enthronement" of Mr Baird as "bishop", instead of their canonical Serbian Bishop, they have conclusively and publicly exposed their intention to permanently estrange the New Kalenich Monastery from the Serbian people and the Serbian Orthodox Church. We continue to remain hopeful that the planners and organisers of this intended blasphemous gathering will, in the interim, return to their senses and give up on their intentions and further desecration of the New Kalenich Monastery, as well as return to the Orthodox Faith and the Serbian Orthodox Church. However, we remain equally resolved to defend and preserve with all our might the Serbian Orthodox Church and to fight for the right to the Monastery, which was built by Orthodox Serbs, to remain sacred to Orthodox Serbs.

7 December 2012 SYDNEY

Greek Scouts Under the aegis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese

In conjunction with Scouts Australia

ENROLMENTS Cub Scouts, Scouts 7yrs-15years

make new friends! be part of a team, see, learn new things and have lots of fun

boys and girls will benefit from the Australian Scouting program as well as the additional Greek Parallel program and the

opportunity to practice their knowledge of the Greek Orthodox culture and the Greek language

To enrol your children contact: Parish of St Euphemia – Bankstown

Paul Theodore (Group Leader) mob. 0411259800. Katerina Kevgas – (Leader) mob.0425272999

Parish of St Stylianos – Sutherland Nicholas Depolignol (Group Leader) ph. 95701075

Voula Kapsimallis – (Leader) mob.0410732770

Parish of All Saints – Belmore Nicholas Malaxos (Group Leader) mob.0418215008 Ourania Papadimatos – (Leader) mob.0451591971

Also more Adults are needed to participate by becoming a Leader or Assistant (all training will be provided – no previous experience required) Authorized by Mr George Papadimitriou James PhC,MPS,JP (Commissioner for Greek Scouts) 16, Crewe St. Bardwell Park 2207

Email: greekscouts@hotmail.com

Costs: $25 ONE-OFF JOINING FEE, $55 UNIFORM.

In a step toward determining its sover-eign rights over possible hydrocarbon de-posits in its underwater areas, Greece hasharmonized legislation with the 1982 Unit-ed Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS).

Athens reportedly informed the UN lastMay of its position in regard to the delin-eation of the continental shelf, reservingthe right under Law 4001/2011 to explorefor hydrocarbon deposits “on land, in lakesand in underwater areas over which theHellenic Republic has sovereign rights un-der the provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS.”

Athens is paving the way for seismicsurveys to be conducted in the Ionian Sea,

off Crete and in parts of the southeastAegean, a move that would require it todeclare an exclusive economic zone (EEZ)200 nautical miles from its shores, or halfthe distance from its neighbors’ shores.Turkey wants bilateral negotiations on theissue.

Diplomatic sources suggest that Ankarahas yet to submit a document to the UNoutlining its position on the delineation ofthe continental shelf and its territorial wa-ters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto-glu commented Monday that if Greece de-fined its maritime economic zones, “Turkeywould take corresponding steps.”

Greece takes steps to strengthen drill rights

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 15/33JANUARY 2013

Military hospital refuse shows life in WWI Thessaloniki By Iota Myrtsioti Kathimerini, Athens

Wonderful treasures attesting to the modern history ofThessaloniki were found among the refuse of an oldWorld War I military hospital used by the Army of the Ori-ent, which served on the Balkan front, items that had re-mained buried for almost 100 years on the outskirts ofThermi.

The hospital's garbage dump, which had become over-grown with weeds, was rediscovered in 2007 and exca-vations have since yielded a wealth of material that offersa new reading of the history of that period in the northernport city.

Dozens of empty champagne and Burgundy wine bot-tles, eating utensils, cookware, military uniforms, buttons,shoes and coins, among many other finds, began to painta picture in the minds of the archaeologists and historiansresearching the finds of the everyday stories of the menin the multiethnic army that served in Macedonia duringWWI.

All of these treasures are now on display in Thessaloni-ki in an exhibition titled “Army of the Orient in the Balkans:Archaeological Testimonials of a Hospital in Thermi/Se-des,” which runs to March 3 at the Museum of ByzantineCulture.

“My first impression was that the finds were from an of-ficers' club and showed how they entertained them-selves,” Anastasios Antonaras, one of the archaeologists

who worked on the exhibit, told Kathimerini. “It took twoyears of research before I discovered how close pleasureis to pain and joy to sadness, as the bottles found in thedump were reused to store medicine, covering the verysizable needs of the 16 military hospitals that had beenset up in Thessaloniki at the time.”

The seemingly useless junk from the French militaryhospital tells fascinating stories, such as how a soldiermay have been saved by a 10-drachma piece, which wasfound with a bullet hole in its center. The collection of but-tons is also very interesting, as they come from the uni-forms of French, Russian, Serbian and British soldiers,showing that exchanges between armies, hospitals andcamps were constant.

“This is the first time such material has been used to il-lustrate what life was like during the war on the Macedon-ian front,” said Antonaras, who co-curated the exhibitionwith Ioannis Motsianos under the supervision of Agathoni-ki Tsilipakou, director of the Museum of Byzantine Culture.

The remnants of the military hospital of the Army of theOrient, which fought in Thermi on the outskirts of Thessa-loniki in the 1914-18 period, not only shows what life waslike for the soldiers and medics on the front, but also theevolution of the science of medicine as well as life outsidethe trenches.

The Army of the Orient played a pivotal role in rebuild-ing Thessaloniki, improving the rail network and buildingschools.

The army was 300,000 strong and tripled the populationof the city, which had just 120,000 residents at the time.The soldiers came from France, Britain, India, Senegal,Australia and New Zealand, forming a multicultural mosa-ic that brought new life and economic activity to the quietport city, as new restaurant, tavernas, hotels, cafes, musicstages and, of course, brothels opened for the entertain-ment of the soldiers.

The displays at the exhibition are augmented by materi-al from the archives and collections of the Mediatheque del’Architecture et de Patrimoine - Diffusion RMN of theFrench Ministry of Culture, the Thessaloniki History Center,the municipality and several private collectors.

George Dalaras makes a strong comeback By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini, Athens

When George Dalaras made his comeback on Decem-ber 2 with a new album of songs penned by Nikos Anty-pas, his fans were there to welcome his return and ex-press their support.

The concert-goers rose from their seats when the ver-satile singer walked onto the stage at Gazarte in centralAthens, waving their illuminated cell phones and shoutingout words of encouragement.

It was a far cry from the hostile reception in the Athen-ian suburb of Ilion last spring, when the veteran Greeksinger was booed off the stage, called a traitor and hadbottles of water, cups of coffee and containers of yogurtthrown at him during a free concert organized to expresssolidarity with crisis-slammed Greeks by a group of pro-testers who accused him of pandering to the system.

The new album is titled “Ti tha pi etsi einai” and the au-dience at Gazarte was treated to a selection of songsfrom it, as well as older favorites.

The songs on the new album are about everyday storiesand strong emotions with a pervading sense of melan-choly.

Dalaras, 63, has released 70 personal albums that havesold over 14 million copies worldwide, ranging from clas-sic rebetiko to opera and pop. He spoke to Kathimerinifollowing his Gazarte appearance.

Your new album exudes a sense that you aretrying to make a new start. Was there ever atime when you doubted yourself or yourcareer choices?

Life always has continuity. I am often in doubt, not aboutmy ideas, but about their application. This is not a philo-sophical quandary, but a practical one. When I want to dosomething I do it, but then I often wonder whether I got itright.

You are a grandfather now. What kind of sto-ries would you like to tell your grandson?

My feelings are so intense. [Singer-songwriter] HarisKatsimichas describes it well in the verse “You’d bescared if you knew how much I love you.” I would love toteach him all about colors. To swim with him in the waves.To listen to magical music, like that of [the late clarinetplayer] Tasos Halkias or a suite by Vivaldi. Those are sto-ries as well, aren’t they? I wouldn’t like to tell him aboutqueens and wolves.

In your spring concert series you returned toyour old haunts in Brahami, Keratsini and Ilion,until the attack. What were you thinking atthe time?

The first thing I told myself was to be patient. Next I feltconcern for the people who were beside me on the stageand the hundreds of people in the audience who had noth-ing to do with the incident.

Then there was anger - the kind of anger people feelwhen they are wronged. I can understand their delusions,but not their actions.

And I wonder: If their objections were spontaneous, whydidn’t anyone come to talk to me and demand an answer?I was right there.

After the attack, were you tempted to throwin the towel, to retire?

The opposite, I’d say. Singing is a state of being for meand no one gives up the right to live and work. I am not acar that can be taken out of circulation. I will go when Ichoose.

Many say that you were attacked because ofyour wife’s political decisions [Anna Dalara is adeputy with socialist PASOK].

I know. Other than a new brand of fascism, we also ap-pear to have a new brand of phallocracy. Anna made herchoices. Right or wrong, they are her business. If I dis-agreed, should I have locked her up in the house so thatshe wouldn’t impact on my career? Seriously?

Have you ever felt that you’ve provoked someof the criticism that has been leveled againstyou over the years regarding your politics andactivism?

I have paid a heavy price for my obsessions and be-liefs. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out why. For some rea-son, there are people who believe that a leftist can singfor Chile but not for Cyprus.

The left-wing establishment to which youbelong ideologically hasn’t given you muchsupport when you have found yourself thesubject of public criticism. Does that disap-point you?

The left has thousands of problems to deal with; it can’tsolve my problems as well. The left was and is an unreal-ized fantasy, the ideology on which so many of us found asolid basis that allowed us to evolve, even if it often ap-pears much more superior than the people who ostensi-bly advocate it.

If there is one thing I would like the readers of this in-terview to go away with, it is this enormous fear I haveover the rifts in society and the absence of solidarity. Andthis solidarity is something that the left can achieve.

How would you compare the present state ofthe country to how things were in the 1950sand 60s?

The violence and aggression is the same and just asdangerous. I may have seen it through the eyes of a childin the aftermath of the civil war, but the crash landing weare experiencing today after a period of false prosperityis really very dramatic. It is most dramatic for people whowere never tempted to lie, cheat or steal, who always hada clean view of the world, who were honest and who arenow living in poverty. What they are experiencing is humil-iation. Then there is the rising popularity of [ultranational-ist] Golden Dawn, which is very serious. We need to keepour eyes and ears wide open.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA16/34 JANUARY 2013

St Gregory of NyssaGregory of Nyssa (c.335 - c.394) was a great bishop,

mystic, theologian and saint of the early Church. He hasbeen described as “one of the most penetrating and orig-inal thinkers of Greek Christianity” (Bernard McGinn), andas “a subtle, sophisticated thinker, the most rigorously in-tellectual of all the early Christian thinkers” (Robert Wilken).We celebrate his feast day this month, on January 10.

Gregory was the youngest of the Cappadocian Fathers,the other two being his brother St Basil the Great and theirmutual friend St Gregory Nazianzus. Each of these Fathershad their own gifts: Basil was an outstanding administra-tor and monastic legislator, Gregory Nazianzus was an at-tractive preacher and poet, while Gregory of Nyssa be-came renown for the depth and breadth of his mysticaland philosophical writings.

In character, Gregory was a gentle, retiring spirit, pre-ferring study and reflection to the life of action. He had aformidable intellectual nature, but was also sensitive andemotional, and even somewhat simple and naïve in thearena of public affairs. But he came to be highly respect-ed by the Byzantines, and was called “the Father of Fa-thers” and “Star of Nyssa” at the 7th Ecumenical Council (inNicaea, 787). Gregory Nazianzus described him as “thecolumn supporting the whole Church”, while Maximus theConfessor called him “Doctor of the Universe”.

Gregory was born in Neocaesarea, a central city of thePontus region, and came from a remarkable family ofsaints and church leaders.

His parents were aristocratic and cultivated, but also or-thodox in faith, deeply committed to Christianity over anumber of generations. Gregory’s grandmother was StMacrina the Elder, who was killed along with her husbandduring the last savage persecution of Christians in theeastern Roman Empire.

Gregory’s father, St Basil the Elder, was an eminentteacher of rhetoric but died at an early age. It was there-fore left to Gregory’s mother, St Emmelia, to raise the fam-ily of 10 children: 5 boys and 5 girls. Three of the boyswere to become bishops, the eldest of which was St Basil,who after studies in Constantinople and Athens was tobecome bishop of Caesarea.

The most famous of Gregory’s sisters is St Macrina,who had a considerable influence on Gregory (indeed,Gregory wrote a moving biography of her). When their fa-ther died, Macrina helped her mother in raising heryounger brothers and sisters, and became the major pillarof strength for the family.

After the death of their mother, Gregory described Mac-rina as a “mother in place of my mother”, and Gregory of-ten regarded Macrina as his teacher and guide, placingher in a class with Monica (Augustine’s mother) as one ofthe great spiritual mothers of the early Church. In a simi-lar vein, recent scholars have characterised Macrina as“the fourth Cappadocian” (Jaroslav Pelikan) and “a geniusin a family of geniuses” (Mary T. Malone).

But despite the deep religious faith of Gregory’s family,Gregory’s early life showed no great commitment to theChurch. He was not lucky enough to attend the great uni-versities of the day, as had his brother Basil, but he didundertake a thorough and wide training in rhetoric andphilosophy, highly valuing Plato and holding Origen ingreat esteem.

After becoming an anagnostes (lector) in the church atage 20, he did not choose to follow this with ordination asa priest, as was customary, or join Basil and Macrina inpursuit of a monastic lifestyle.

Instead, he unexpectedly renounced his post as lectorand opted for a secular career as a rhetorician (a teacherof public speaking). His family became very concernedabout this turn of events, and even asked GregoryNazianzus to intervene on their behalf and try to talk somesense into their younger brother. But Gregory was muchin love with his chosen profession, and continued in thisposition for around 7-8 years.

It is likely that during this time Gregory also married andpossibly had a son, though it seems that both his wife andchild died early. Eventually, Gregory gave up his career asa rhetor and joined the monastic community at Annisa inPontus that his sister helped to establish.

However, his brother Basil was soon to call him out of

seclusion. In an attempt to retain control of the Church inthe face of the Arians, who had the backing of the easternRoman emperor (Valens), Basil installed bishops aroundCappadocia who would help him battle the Arian heresy.So, he convinced Gregory Nazianzus to be ordained bish-op of Sasima, and he also persuaded his younger brotherGregory to become bishop of Nyssa.

Despite his great reluctance and self-doubt, Gregory ac-cepted the call to be ordained in 371 bishop of Nyssa, asmall town in northwest Cappadocia. But Gregory did notmeet Basil’s expectations: Basil criticised him for his “sim-plicity” and “lack of experience” in church administration. Inaddition, Gregory met with opposition from heretics resid-ing in Nyssa.

This opposition came to a head in 375-76, when twosynods convened (the first in Ancyra, the second in Nyssa)made up mainly of Arian bishops and alleging that Grego-ry’s ordination as bishop was invalid and that Gregory hadmisappropriated church funds. Their real aim, however,was to destabilise Basil’s authority - by this time Basil wasa famous and influential bishop, but due to Basil’s highstanding in the community they could not attack him di-rectly, and hence they went after his brother. They tem-porarily succeeded: Gregory was deposed and sent intoexile.

For the next two years (376-78) Gregory wandered fromplace to place, depressed and sick in body and spirit.Where he went at this time we do not know, and some ofhis letters suggest that he was harboured by friends.

But in 378 the Arian emperor Valens was killed in battleand was succeeded by Theodosius, a devout Christianand an unequivocal supporter of the Nicene confession.Gregory could now safely return to his see at Nyssa. Andhis congregation welcomed him back enthusiastically: inone his letters he describes how the people flocked togreet him in the pouring rain.

As this indicates, whatever Gregory’s failures as achurch administrator, he was greatly loved as a bishopand pastor by the ordinary folk.

Another momentous change soon followed: his brotherBasil died (in September 378), and Macrina was also mor-tally ill at this time. Upon receiving news of Macrina’s ill-ness, Gregory immediately decided to make the 10-daytrip to Annisa in the hope of seeing his sister one last time.

He did in fact manage to get there in time, and in his bi-ography of his sister he describes how he visited her onher death-bed (after not having seen her for nearly 8years) and stayed by her side as she passed away. Onceshe died, he wrote that “my reason no longer maintainedits proper balance; but, as if submerged by some winter-swollen river in flood, I was swept away by sorrow and,disregarding the tasks at hand, gave myself over entirelyto lamentation.”

With the passing away of Macrina and especially ofBasil, Gregory felt that the responsibility for defending or-thodoxy against Arianism now fell on his shoulders. Thusbegan the most productive period in Gregory’s life. Seeinghimself as Basil’s heir, Gregory became increasingly en-gaged in defending the Church from heresy, as is indicat-ed by the fact that most of his works belong to the last 15years of his life.

One of his most important works is known as “AgainstEunomius”, written in four volumes and defending Christi-anity from the-then leading spokesman for Arian theology:Eunomius of Cyzicus. Like Arius, Eunomius taught thatChrist is a creature and hence is inferior to God the Fa-ther, and that the essence of God (the Father) is somethingthat can be known by us precisely and completely (as “un-begottenness”).

Gregory responded by defending the divinity of Christand the mystery of God, emphasizing that no words cancapture the inner being or essence of God.

God is ineffable, unn