By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer

THESSALONIKI – Anatolia Col-lege is an “integrated academiccommunity” that includes an El-ementary School, Anatolia HighSchool, and the American Col-lege of Thessaloniki (ACT). The125 year-old institution hasdeep roots in modern Greece,and its president, Panos Vlachos,spoke to TNH about its futureand the current state of highereducation in his country.In 1886 the Anatolia College

of Mersovan was founded in thePontus region of Asia Minor asa theological seminary by Amer-ican missionaries and was at-tended by Greek and ArmenianChristians. After the exchangeof population caused by the AsiaMinor disaster, it reopened inThessaloniki in 1924 with helpfrom Eleftherios Venizelos.Currently, 350 students on

semester abroad programs areenrolled at ACT from more than10 countries.Vlachos began with an

overview of the devastating im-pact of the Greek economic cri-sis on higher education.While public universities are

facing severe cuts in their bud-gets, “the ministry of educationdoes not allow them to reducethe number of students they ac-cept, and that created problemsbecause they were forced to dis-miss many faculty,” he noted.Private colleges, long cham-

pioned by the EU and theUnited States, can now be partof the solution. Until 2008, the Greek consti-

tution only permitted publicuniversities to operate. Newlaws in 2008 and 2012 providesome recognition to the degreesgranted by private colleges,which Vlachos said constitutedprogress.He cannot forecast when full

recognition of private universi-ties will be given, but he expectsover the next 4-5 year to seemore American colleges will beoperating in Greece – there arecurrently three: American Col-lege of Greece (Deree), theAmerican Farm School in Thes-saloniki, and Anatolia College. There are also a number of

colleges with European affilia-tion.ACT, which was just reac-

credited for another 10 years bythe New England Association ofSchools & Colleges (NEASC),has gradually grown to have thelargest foreign students pro-gram in Greece. The majority are not of Greek

descent, but “they see Greece asa destination that is of interestto them,” Vlachos said, andadded, “We follow very closelythe liberal arts philosophy ofAmerican colleges – they will re-

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By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – Koula Sophianou,the Consul General of the Re-public of Cyprus in New York,was the featured speaker of theinaugural Conversation withWomen Leaders Series of theAssociation of Greek AmericanProfessional Women (AGAPW)on December 4. The event which filled the

Olympic Tower’s Atrium Caféwith well-wishers, was a beau-tiful occasion for biddingfarewell to the devoted publicservant who not only repre-sented her island nation with in-telligence, warmth, and gracebut who never missed an oppor-tunity to promote the cause ofjustice for Cyprus, to thank thecommunity for its supportthrough the years, and to ex-press her pride in its achieve-ments, most of all, the advance-ment of Hellenism in Americaand the preservation of theGreek language. Sophianou did not know that

the Association would bestowupon her an award - but shemight have guessed from itsacronym - which perfectly ex-pressed the feelings of everyonein the room: a crystal form thatsimultaneously evokes a livingflame and a teardrop.Dr. Olga Alexakos, the

founder and president ofAGAPW, welcomed and thankedthe evening’s guests, dignitariesand benefactors, which includedthe Onassis Foundation (USA)Center which donated thespace, represented by PennyTsillas, the wife of its ExecutiveDirector, Ambassador Lucas Tsil-las. Dr. Aphrodite Navab,

AGAPW’s Vice-President was theEmcee and moderator of the Q& A that followed. Sophianou turned the invita-

tion to speak on the topic ofpublic service into an opportu-nity to honor the people in herlife who conveyed to her theessence of public service. Although there were no gov-

ernment officials in her family,through their lives they taughther the meaning of duty.First and foremost, there is

her mother. Sophianou was 1 ½years old when the Turks in-

vaded and occupied northernCyprus, including her home-town of Famagusta-Varosha.“Like other people, we losteverything – property, ourhome, our father.”Now refugees, her mother

found a job and made sure shegave Sophianou and her sisterthe best possible life – it wassimply her duty. Her maternal grandparents

were also her teachers in the artof sacrifice, hard work and ded-ication – the characteristics oflife in the diplomatic servicethat is masked by its glamorousexterior. Sophianou said she was

drawn to the Foreign Ministryby her desire to solve the Cyprusproblem – an admission that res-onated with the idealistic youthof many talented people in the

By Andy DabilisTNH Staff Writer

ATHENS – As Greek Prime Min-ister Antonis Samaras said thekey to Greece’s recovery isgrowth and restoring competi-tiveness, major oppositionSYRIZA Party leader AlexisTsipras said the government willfall next year and that his Leftistswill rule.Samaras’ New Democracy

Conservatives find themselveslocked in a deepening battlewith SYRIZA, which opposes theterms of two bailouts of $325billion that is keeping the econ-omy propped up and as the gov-ernment is locked in tough ne-gotiations with internationallenders to keep the money com-ing. Speaking to the same audi-

ence at a meeting sponsored bythe American-Hellenic Chamberof Commerce, Samaras said hewants to wean Greece off therescue packages and back ontrack to return to the markets.“Competitiveness means a

decrease in taxation. Exportsmeans to realize the potentialthat we have as a country,”Samaras said, upbeat thatGreece will come back.“The worst is over and the

next year will be a year of re-covery for the Greek economy.For the first time this year wecovered our needs and we willbe left with a small amount, wewill not borrow – this is the pri-mary surplus. We have so farfended off bankruptcy, havingbeen very close to it. However,we disproved those who ex-pected bankruptcy. Now we areall talking of competitiveness,productivity and extroversion.”He has been going from New

York to Beijing in search of busi-nesses and trying to persuadethem to take a chance on Greeceas it tries to get out from undera crushing economic crisis thathas a deep recession set to entera seventh year in 2014.Greece is surviving on loans

from Troika of the EuropeanUnion-International MonetaryFund-European Central Bank(EU-IMF-ECB) but is battlingwith the lenders over whetherthere is a hole in the 2014 bud-get that could require fillingwith more austerity measuresthat Samaras vowed to neverever again impose on belea-guered Greeks buried by big paycuts, tax hikes and slashed pen-sions.With Tsipras saying he wants

the Troika’s money but not theirterms and as the SYRIZA leaderhas offered no economic recov-ery plan, Samaras said his rival

Astoria Panel on Obamacare IssuesThe Greek American Homeowners Association hosted a timely discussion on Nov. 4 at its head-quarters titled “Affordable Care Act/Obamacare.” On the panel (L-R): Minna Elias, Fay Kozas,Karen Schwab, Exec. Director, Mt. Sinai Hospital of Queens, and George Alexiou.

By Constantine S. Sirigos THN Staff Writer

NEW YORK – S.O.S. Spirit ofSurvival – One Family’s ChillingAccount of the Costa ConcordiaDisaster is the title of the bookwritten by the Ananias Familyabout their near-death experi-ence almost two years ago.Look at the book jacket. Car-

nival Cruise Line’s Costa Con-cordia is a pretty ship, isn’t it?Tall, stately, sleek. Modern. Look again. The angle of the

sea. The Mediterranean’s eter-nal blue is not the serene bodyof water beloved of tourists. On

January 13, 2012 the sea be-came a sword that suddenlyslashed in two the world of3,229 passengers and 1,023crew members: Here was life,here was death – and no onewas sore of his fate. For 32 passengers life came

to an end, but for the more than4000 survivors life would neverbe the same. The book tells thestory of four of those passengerswho returned to familiar homesbut not to their old lives.Dean and Georgia Ananias

were lifelong devotees of cruis-ing – they have been on morethan 60 cruises – and theirdaughters, Debbie, Cindy, andValerie also grew to love thepastime.“It was always our safe

haven, our happy place, wherewe enjoyed life the most, ”Geor-gia told TNH, but now “we cannever set foot on another shipuntil we know that the safety ofpassengers is put first.”

Their main reason for writingthe book was to prod “cruiselines…we want this book to bea catalyst for change,” Georgiasaid. The book is the start, and

they will continue meeting withofficials to promote policychanges worldwide. They al-ready met with the coast guard,who interviewed them for 4½hours. “We were given the gift of

life and we cannot sit back anddo nothing,” Dean told TNH,and Georgia added, “You can’thave that kind of a trauma hap-pen without having a different‘normal.’” They never imagined that

would be the case when theyboarded the Costa Concordia,the state-of-the- art craft thatwas launched on September 2,2005.Four of them were enjoying

Story of Costa Concordia Survivors

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Thessaloniki’s AnatoliaCollege, Rich in HistoryAnd Focused on Future

Samaras isHopeful, butTsipras SaysSYRIZA RiseIs ImminentLeftist LeaderProclaims HisParty Will Win2014 Elections

By Theodore KalmoukosTNH Staff Writer

BOSTON, MA – ChristineStavropoulos, a graduate of Hel-lenic College, sent a strong com-plaint to the Archdiocese ofAmerica in New York and the Me-tropolis of Boston alleging thatRev. Anthony Evangelatos of theAnnunciation parish of Brockton,MA ruined her son’s weddingwith his unholy and unbecomingbehavior.In a letter dated October 11,

to Metropolitan Methodios ofBoston with copy to Archbishop

Demetrios, Stavropoulos beganby writing that “I am sending youa hard copy of this letter (previ-ously sent to Father Ted [Barbas]as an email), as I have not re-ceived a response from prior at-tempts to contact your office re-garding this matter. My familyand I are disturbed that ouremails and calls have gone unan-swered, and so we have decidedto try and contact you by writing.We believe we deserve a re-sponse and a resolution to thismatter.“Originally, this letter was

written the day after my son's

wedding, which took place onSeptember 15 at the Annuncia-tion Church on Oak Street inBrockton, MA. Father AntoniosEvangelatos performed the cere-mony. My husband, my childrenand I have been parishioners atGreek Orthodox churches inMassachusetts all of our lives,and we have never witnessedsuch a rushed, cold, and imper-sonal wedding. I do not say thislightly, but I truly believe that myson's wedding was ruined, andwe are seriously considering re-

Mom: Priest “Ruined” Son’s Wedding

Golden Dawn Members Support Their Party LeadersA supporter of the extreme right party Golden Dawn shouts slogans during a protest in front ofthe Parliament, in Athens on Nov. 30. About 2000 people gathered at the Greek parliament toprotest the imprisonment of the party's leader and two other lawmakers. Two smaller, rivalgatherings of leftist activists in Athens, meanwhile, dispersed peacefully.

AP Photo/kostAs tsiroNis

It is Called a Crisis, But it is a TragedyCandles are lit in the entrance of the building where a 13-year-old girl died after inhaling fumes from a wood-burningstove, in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Monday. See re-lated story on page 9.

AGAPW’s Fond Farewell toConsul General Sophianou

tNh/CostAs BEJ

AP Photo/NikolAs GiAkoumidis

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room. “At 24 you think you canchange the world,” she said.

Over time she learned thatthe qualities she was born withand which she developed nev-ertheless enabled her to make

an impact.Among her most important

lessons was the importance andpower of teamwork, which sheillustrated through the cooper-ation she experienced betweenher Greek and Cypriot col-leagues that led her country’sEU membership and its defensein the face of vicious attackswhen its citizens voted againstthe deeply flawed Annan Planin 2004.

Sadly, not everyone cares forthe injustice and pain onCyprus. Sophianou’s poignantyet forceful presentationscaused people – Greeks andnon-Greeks – to care. And towant to fight for justice andfreedom on Cyprus.

During the Q & A she urgedthe women and men in theroom to communicate with pub-lic officials, the media and theirfriends, emphasizing both theneed for and the ease withwhich people can gain knowl-edge in the internet age.

One of the more touchingmoments came when she notedthat she arrived in New York onNovember 30, 2009 – the dayof the feast day of St. Andrew,the patron saint of Cyprus.Sophianou said she felt he wasalways at her side.

During her tenure her appre-ciation deepened for the efforts

of the community for Cyprus,which she knew from childhoodboth from news reports ofprotest marches at the UN andin Washington, and on a morepersonal basis from the assis-tance she and her sister receivedfrom the Poll family in New Yorkwhich furthered their education.

Duty figured in both cases.She learned that people like toPolls offered material, and vitalmoral support, from a sense ofduty, and she learned up closeas Consul General that membersof the community “fight forCyprus because you think it’sthe right thing to do.”

Sophianou urged them tocontinue and declared “Eachone of you is a leader…be in-formed, reach out, establish re-lationships…Support Greek andCypriot artists and musiciansand produce cultural events…Lets support each other, andmodern Greek studies pro-grams, and give more scholar-ships to students.”

The audience was aglow.One guest during Q &A said“They lit the Rockefeller treetonight, and you lit up New Yorktoo.”

That’s how people have feltsince November 30, 2009.

COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, DECEMBER 7-13, 2013 5

By Demetris TsakasTNH Staff Writer

TENAFLY, NJ – For threedecades the Greek Children’sFund (GCF) has provided helpand financial support to childrenand their families from Greece,Cyprus, and the United Statesseeking medical treatment inAmerica. At its 30th anniversaryGala on November 30 the orga-nization announced steps thatwill take their philanthropic en-deavors to the next level.

The GCF announced plans forthe establishment of its ownhousing for the children and theirfamilies. $15,000 has been raisedso far, most of which has beendonated by the Amorgos Societyin New York, and a separate in-dividual contribution by the So-ciety’s president, Nikos Gavalas.

At the Gala, which was heldin the community center of theChurch of St. John the Theolo-gian in Tenafly, NJ Gavalas andthe Society’s secretary, NikitasTheologitis, presented GCF with

a check for $5000 in behalf ofthe organization, and a personalcheck from Gavalas in theamount of $5000.

The President of the Fund,George Kitsios, who was thekeynote speaker, expressed grat-itude for the donations, notingthat they were a catalyst for thefundraising effort to date.

The Gala was held in the sameroom where 30 years ago theGCF held its first event, and itserved as the occasion for hon-oring GCF past president Sam

Matthews and Elpida Hatzivasil-iou, who was one of the first chil-dren to benefit from the generos-ity of the Fund.

Kitsios welcomed andthanked the guests. He offeredtribute to the work of GCFfounder Stanley Matthewsthrough the decades, and he alsopraised new members and offi-cers who are determined to buildon the solid foundations laiddown by Matthews.

Sam Matthews noted that todate GCF has distributed $7 mil-

lion to help with the treatmentof seven thousand children andhe accepted the award on behalfof all who work for this purpose.

Kitsios told TNH "tonight'sevent was more successful thanexpected,” and Gavalas said "allof us who are here tonight cameto support the common, holy pur-pose,” and Stanley Matthews de-clared "God is with us, and whatwe do is God's work, a work oflove and prayer.”

Dino Rallis congratulated thehonorees and Kitsios, whom he

lauded for sacrificing his timeand for his leadership , andpraised the dream of acquiringtheir own facility

Elpida Hatzivasiliou was hos-pitalized during Christmas 1986.She shared her experience withthe guests and, "I'm back here af-ter so many years to say a bigthank you for helping me duringmy difficult time, and for threedecades helping children, sup-porting them, and providingthem the opportunity to dreamand hope.”

Greek Children’s Fund Gala a Success, Dreams of Facility for Children

AGAPW’s Fond Adieu to Departing Cyprus Consul General Koula Sophianou

peating the ceremony at a churchin Greece.”

Stavropoulos acknowledgedthat “my son and his wife werelate (30-40 minutes) to the cere-mony. I have never in my lifebeen to a wedding that startedon time, and I have never seen apriest react in such a way to abride's tardiness. First, he humil-iated the bride's father in frontof the whole congregation. Thefather approached the priest toapologize for his delay which wasdue to traffic, and Father Anto-nios sarcastically berated him infront of everyone, from the altar,saying: ‘I suppose traffic was onlya problem for you and not foreveryone else who is alreadyhere.’ How embarrassing! FatherAntonios proceeded to lecture thecongregation about traffic andbeing on time as we waited forthe bride.”

Evangelatos was in a hurry tofinish the wedding because hehad to attend his own familyobligation. Stavropoulos wrotethat “a Greek Orthodox weddingusually takes about 45 minutes.Father Antonios rushed throughthe ceremony so quickly, that weended in 25 minutes. He cutprayers, interrupted the chanter,and even went so far as to phys-ically pull my son around thetable during the Dance of Isaiah,to the point where his crown re-peatedly fell from his head. Thismade the best man very nervous,and the bride nearly tripped overher dress. Father Antonios' curtdemeanor and indescribablecoldness towards the newlywedsmade for a very awkward cere-mony. My son even complainedto me afterwards: ‘Mom, thepriest didn't look us in the eyeeven once the whole time.’ Whatmother's heart wouldn't breakupon hearing that?

“After the ceremony was over,the priest did not bless the cou-ple, did not wish them happinessand prosperity, and just didn't saya single thing to them or to thecongregation as closing remarks.As my son and his wife turned toleave the altar, there was some

clapping in the church, and Fa-ther Antonios descended thesteps and proceeded to yell at us.I understand that clapping is notgenerally acceptable in a church(and I don't believe it's appropri-ate myself), but that is no way toaddress it. To end a wedding onthat note is despicable. Insteadof some warm remarks from theirpriest, my son and his wife basi-cally got shoved out with no part-ing words of wisdom or God'sblessing, but with words of hate.”

Stavropoulos wrote to Metho-dios that “when the couple andthe parents formed a receivingline after the ceremony, FatherAntonios interrupted it in themiddle to get the couple to signtheir certificates, because he wasin a hurry to leave. Apparentlyhe had planned some kind offamily event after the church cer-emony, and we were getting inthe way of his plans. He did noteven come to the reception afterthe church to do the blessing,even though he was invited.Again, this has never happenedto me, and it left a bitter taste inmy mouth that my son wastreated this way.”

When Stavropoulos ap-proached Evangelatos after theceremony to ask him about all ofthat, he was sarcastic to her. Shewrote that “I, of course, ap-proached the priest in private af-ter the ceremony to ask him whyall of this happened, and I con-fronted him with what I think arevery valid complaints. I cannotbegin to describe his rudenessand the sarcasm that was drip-ping from every word that camefrom his mouth. Meanwhile, hekept walking and telling me hewas busy and had to leave, andif I didn't like it I should havegone to my own parish. I under-stand that we were late, and thiscan be frustrating. But a priest issupposed to be a patient charac-ter, a role model, and someoneto whom a young couple looksfor advice when starting theirnew lives. Father Antonios,through his unacceptable behav-ior, shattered this perception.”

She wrote that “Father Anto-nios accepted double payment

for his ‘services’…the best manafter the ceremony approachedthe priest and paid him an addi-tional $100 for the ceremony,plus $50 each for the chanter andthe sexton. The priest took themoney saying: ‘They already paidme, but I'll take that.’”

Initially, Stavropoulos hadsent a letter to Fr. Theodore Bar-bas, Chancellor of the Boston Me-tropolis, who ignored her com-pletely. A month later she sentthe letter to Methodios with acopy to Demetrios. Bishop Ando-nios of Phasiane, Chancellor ofthe Archdiocese in a letter Octo-ber 22 wrote that “since this in-volves a clergyman in the Me-tropolis of Boston, Churchprotocol dictates that this matterbe investigated and handled bythe local Metropolis, which willrespond accordingly and take ap-propriate action if warranted. Inany case, I am sorry that your ex-perience on what should havebeen a joyful event has causedyou so much concern.”

Metropolitan Methodios toldTNH that “I took all the necessaryaction. We are trying to commu-nicate with the family and I amwilling to personally go to theirhome to talk to them.” Evange-latos declined TNH’s request forcomment.

After Methodios’ directive,Evangelatos attempted to com-municate by phone with the new-lyweds and Stavropoulos butthey were so disappointed thatthey had nothing to tell him.Evangelatos sent a letter toStavropoulos on November 12stating among other things that“I extend my apologies to youand your family if the weddingwas not as you had expected.”He also returned the extra moneythat the best man had given him.

TNH was told from sourceswithin the Brockton parish thatthis was not the first time thatEvangelatos had behaved in un-becoming way. The membershipof the parish, sources said, hasdeclined to low numbers while afew years ago a massive exodusof six members of the parishcouncil took place because ofEvangelatos.

Mother Says Priest Ruined Son’s Wedding

Nikos Gavalas, President of the Amorgos Society, and George Kitsios, President of the GCF, ad-dress the guests about the organization's ambitious plans to build housing for the children.

(L-R) Ismini Michaels, George Kitsios, Elpida Hatzivasiliou, Sam Matthews, Stanley Matthews,and Peter Nanos. The child is Bob Manoliades, who was provided assistance by the GCF.

PHOTOS: TNH/COSTAS BEJ

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Koula Sophianou, Cyprus’ Consul General was AGAPW’s featured speaker, but she was surprised with a touching award.