Around and
about British Columbia
By Dimitrios & Katerina Angelatos
“Cities and the Olympics”
Hellenic Studies SFU welcomes former
Mayor of Athens as guest speaker
(From L to R) Mr. Bonnis of the
Hellenic Canadian Congress, Peter Capadouca, Prof. Panayiotis Pappas,
Harry Katevatis, president of the Hellenic Congress, Dimitris Avramopoulos,
former mayor of Athens, Greece, Ambassador Tsilas, of the Alexander
Onassis Foundation, Prof. Andre Gerolymatos, Maria Hamilton, Program
Coordinator, and Tasoula Berggren, honorary consul of Cyprus.
Dimitris
Avramopoulos, a Senior Fellow of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit
Foundation (USA), visited Vancouver to lecture at Simon Fraser University
on Thursday, May 1. The lecture took place early in the morning, at 8:00
am at Harbour Center, the downtown campus of SFU. Continental breakfast
was served before the lecture.
Mr.
Avramopoulos came to Vancouver just over six months ago, then as Mayor of
Athens, Greece, the Host City of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. This time
he came to talk on behalf of the Onassis Foundation. The organization
finances a University Seminars Program to increase awareness and interest
in Greek civilization. Guest professors and scholars participate in this
program, delivering a series of seminars and lectures at universities
throughout the United States and Canada. This was one of those talks.
Costa
Bonnis welcomed everyone to the lecture. Nikos Kallas introduced
Ambassador Loucas Tsilas, the Executive Director of the Alexander S.
Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, USA. Ambassador Tsilas spoke on the
purpose of his organization. Prof. Andre Gerolymatos, the chair in
Hellenic Studies also took part in the question and answer period
following Mr. Avramopoulos’ presentation. In the audience were members
of various Greek organizations as well as members of the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Bid Corporation. The Consul of Cyprus, Tasoula Berggren and Costas
Yianakarrakos, the husband of the Consul of Greece also attended.
Mr.
Avramopoulos stated that he was happy and proud to again visit the
beautiful city of Vancouver. On his earlier visit he had been the first
foreign mayor to visit the newly elected mayor of Vancouver. At that time
he had presented to the new mayor all the advantages of hosting the
Olympics. Mr. Avramopoulos stated that he has also visited Whistler during
this latest trip and was very impressed with it. He was sure that there
would be a successful outcome to the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Winter
Olympic bid.
Mr.
Avramopoulos stated that the benefits of the Games remain long after the
Games are over. Venues that are built for the games remain for the use of
the local population. The athletes, volunteers, organizations and others
that come to the Games take part not only in the local cultural events but
often stay to travel around the country. Tourism therefore benefits.
Of
course, the city that hosts the Games has a lot of preparations to do. The
whole city has to change, to develop and progress. Transportation has to
be upgraded and social housing improved. The whole city gets a
“face-lift”. The city must become more humane. In Athens for example
the city purchased several run down hotels and renovated them to provide
shelter for the homeless. The whole transportation infrastructure changed.
New roads were constructed, buses were replaced, as were many ships. New
cultural venues were developed and parks were improved, making the whole
city more pedestrian friendly. Athens had a unique problem in that it had
to modernize the city, yet at the same time respect the cultural levels of
civilization discovered during the process. Often work had to stop when
antiquities where found. Roads often had to be rerouted as a result. Mr.
Avramopoulos was confident that Athens would be ready in time, in spite of
the time lost.
Each
city has its own set of problems to overcome. For example in Montreal in
1976 the city had to deal with a major strike of the labour force.
Barcelona had to deal with four levels of government. Several Olympics
were cancelled because of war. In some cities terrorist attacks created
concerns about security, there have been boycotts in others. Many times
the Olympics went through difficult moments but they are still there. We
can not isolate the Games from diplomatic turmoil.
The
Games are the dreams of successive generations of athletes. Unity of time,
place and action ensure the success of the games. For two weeks all the
eyes of the world are upon the Host City and the world never forgets these
Olympic cities. Who heard of the little town of Lillehammer before it
hosted the Winter Games?
The
Olympics represent ideas of mutual relations and an international exchange
of knowledge. The Olympic movement focuses on the youth, teaching respect,
tolerance and solidarity. These are the true legacy of the Olympics.
While
this lecture was sponsored mainly by the Alexander S. Onassis Public
Benefit Foundation, USA and the Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser
University it also had a number of other sponsors. Special recognition
should be given to Kosta Tsetsekas of Signal Design Group, the Vancouver
2010 Bid Corporation and of course Mr. George Kallas of Metropolitan Fine
Printers. The latter also presented framed Bill Reid prints to the
visiting dignitaries, Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos and Ambassador Loucas
Tsilas as well as to Michael Stevenson, the president of Simon Fraser
University.
Lectures
such as this one supplement the course of studies available to students
enrolled in the Hellenic Studies program. Hellenic Studies is by
definition an interdisciplinary field that has developed over the past
decade. Disciplines include language, literature, history, music,
religion, archaeology, politics, philosophy, art, culture and
civilization. These studies are not “housed” under one department but
the courses are taken from various departments. At SFU the intent of the
Hellenic Studies certificate is to provide students with a basic
understanding of the Hellenic world from ancient times to modern. Two
avenues of studies are offered, one for those who are interested in
acquiring a general knowledge, another for those with an interest in
graduate studies. To-date four students have graduated with a Masters
degree in Greek History, including Maria Rousou (MA “Britain’s Balcony
in the Middle East: Cyprus’ role in British defence strategy, 1945-57).
Others are close to achieving that goal.
Lectures
such as this one sponsored by the Onassis Foundation show the global
recognition of Simon Fraser University and its Hellenic Studies program.
Dr. Andre Gerolymatos (Dept. of History, Hellenic Studies Chair) is well
known and respected. He has appeared numerous times on television and
radio programs. The university made a wise choice when it chose him for
the position. Maria Hamilton, the Hellenic Studies Program Coordinator has
also been instrumental in the success of the program. This year Dr.
Panayiotis Pappas (Dept. of Linguistics, Professor in Greek Language and
Linguistics) also joined the program. There are also a number of session
instructors so one can see that the number of staff grows from year to
year. Hellenic Studies also has a field school in Greece, on the island of
Kephalonia which offers students an exciting opportunity to immerse in
Greek culture and life, while studying and earning academic credits.
Courses in Greek language, history, archaeology and literature are taught
by faculty from Simon Fraser University and from Greece. Field studies to
other parts of Greece are also part of the program.
Pharos finishes lecture season with
“Cretan hospitality, food and traditions”
The newly elected member of the board
of directors of Pharos, Hellenic Cultural Society, Gwenyth Lewis,
delivers her message to the members of the Society
Pharos,
the Canadian Hellenic Cultural Society held its last lecture of the
2002/2003 lecture season on Monday, April 28, at the upper hall of the
Hellenic Community Centre in Vancouver.
Before
the talk began, the business of the society had to be looked after. The
annual General meeting and elections took place. The directors for the
next season are: Gwenyth Lewis, Hector Williams, Kostas Kaounas, Peter
Capadouca, George Panagopoulos, Jocelyn Noel, Susan Duncan, Richard
Spratley and Apostolos Fyssas. The positions, including that of president,
will be decided among the directors and announced at a later date. These
people will be busy over the next months drawing up a slate of guest
speakers for the 2003/2004 lecture season. Usually six lectures (October,
November, January, February, March and April) are held, on the last Monday
of the month.
This
talk was a joint effort by Dr. Richard Spratley, Theonifi Prinianakis and
Angela Murrills. Angela is a Vancouver freelance writer who is known for
her articles about food, restaurants, fashion and travel. Richard and
Lynda Spratley and Peter and Angela Murrills had joined Vancouver The Main
restaurateurs Theonifi and Haralambos Prinianakis in a visit to Crete last
September. Richard showed some slides from that trip, highlighting the
many feasts of traditional Cretan food that they were invited to share in
by Harry and Thea’s families. Richard said that hospitality (Philoxenia)
is a Greek art form that reaches its peak on the island of Crete. When you
become friends with Cretans you are often adopted into their large and
extended families. Thea Prinianakis spoke on some of the traditional foods
of Crete and how the recipes vary from different parts of the island. She
talked about the traditional kallitsounia and had brought some for people
to taste. She also gave a demonstration on how the orange sweet, portokali
glyko and “Greek” coffee was made.
Pharos
has had a tradition of closing the lecture season with slides and
experiences to stir the travel bug for the summer. This talk certainly did
that.
Holy Week in Vancouver
Pascha or
Easter is the most important celebration of the Orthodox Christian faith.
It is during the long Lenten period before that one has a chance to
reflect and renew the faith. The period from Palm Sunday until the feast
of Pascha is known as Holy Week. This is usually when one sees the most
attendance at the various Orthodox churches. The churches are their
fullest for the Friday evening service and procession and the Saturday
midnight service, the Resurrection Service and the Paschal Sunday Liturgy
following it, ending early Pascha morning.
This
is a time that families are brought closer together. Families that do not
attend church regularly make an extra effort to attend during this time.
On Easter Sunday, even though they might have had only a few hours of
sleep, many get up early to roast the lamb. Families gather from far and
wide to share the traditional lamb roast, the red eggs, the traditional
pastries and other foods.
On
Holy (or Good) Friday all the Orthodox churches in Vancouver and the
surrounding area were packed with people. Our cameraman, Dimitrios
Angelatos made it to part of the services of five different churches. The
evening started at St. Nicholas Canadian Orthodox Church (OCA) in Langley,
then on to St. Herman Orthodox Church (OCA), also in Langley before
heading to Surrey, to Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church.
Then he headed to Vancouver, first to Sts. Nicholas & Dimitrios Greek
Orthodox Church and then finally to St. George Cathedral, getting there
shortly before the start of the procession. The Holy Friday procession at
St. George Cathedral is the largest of any of the Orthodox churches in
Vancouver, winding its way along three long city blocks, including busy
Arbutus Street. Traffic police were on hand to make sure that traffic was
stopped for the duration of the procession. On this day probably close to
four thousand people attended these five churches.
The
Catholic and Protestant churches celebrate Easter at a different time than
the Orthodox Church. Some years Orthodox Easter falls on the same day,
other years it is one week to five weeks later than “western” Easter.
All Orthodox Christians, whether “new calendar” or “old calendar
(Julian)” celebrate Easter at the same time, even though they celebrate
Christmas (Nativity of Christ) at different times. This is confusing to
some “new calendar” Greeks. They do not realize that they are actually
using the “old calendar” for Easter. For Lent, Easter, Ascension and
Pentecost, all Orthodox Christians around the world, regardless of
“calendar” or nationality, are joined in celebrating the Orthodox
faith.
Cretans and Ionians commemorate historical events
On
Sunday, May 18, at St. George Cathedral in Vancouver, two important events
in the history of Greece were commemorated, first with a memorial service
after the Liturgy, then with a wreath laying ceremony at the cenotaph
outside the church.
The
Kefallonian Cultural Society of BC commemorated the 139th
anniversary of the cession of the Ionian Islands to Greece, on May 21,
1864. Although these islands, then under British control, had been under
the control of many different nations over the course of their history,
the inhabitants always considered themselves as Hellenes. Laying the
wreath, on behave of all the people of the Ionians, were Angelo Marinakis,
the president of the Kefallonian Cultural Society and Harry Katevatis, the
president of the Hellenic Canadian Congress. Mr. Katevatis was also the
first president of the Kefallonian Cultural Society.
The
Cretan Association of BC also commemorated an important event in the
history of their island. In May of 1941, for ten days the Cretan people,
along with British and New Zealand soldiers fought valiantly and with
heavy loss of life against the onslaught of the German army. The Germans
had not expected such fierce opposition, which ultimately delayed their
advance into Russia. By upsetting the timetable for the Russian invasion
the Battle of Crete helped turn the tide of war against the Germans.
Laying the wreath on behave of the Cretan Association were the president,
Nikos Papoutsakis and the vice-president, Michael Kyrvitsakis, assisted by
Eleni and Stelios Spiliotopoulos.
Kefallonian Society members with the
memorial wreath – Evangelos Catevatis, (secretary), Angelos Marinakis
(president), and Harry Katevatis (president, Hellenic Canadian Congress of
BC).
Kefallonian Society holds open house
The Kefallonian Cultural Society Meeting –
Yerasimos Pollakis, Evangelos Katevatis, Dr. Andre Gerolymatos, Angelos
Marinakis and Harry Katevatis.
On
Tuesday, May 20, the Kefallonian Cultural Society of BC again commemorated
the 139th anniversary of the cession of the Ionian Islands to
Greece by sponsoring a talk by Dr. Andre Gerolymatos, the Chair of the
Hellenic Studies at SFU. The topic of the evening of course was
“Eptanisos” (Seven Islands) as the Ionian Islands are often referred
to. Kefallonia is the largest of these islands.
The
Kefallonian Cultural Society of BC had its beginnings almost two years ago
and is just now getting into gear. Several more events are now in the
planning stages. This meeting was a chance not only to hear the talk by
Prof. Gerolymatos but also to give people an opportunity to sign up as
members of this new society. The executive of the society are Angelos
Marinakis as the president, Evangelos Catevatis as the secretary and Dr.
Andre Gerolymatos as the treasurer.
Prof.
Gerolymatos stated that the Ionian Islands have been an integral part of
the Hellenic civilization, almost since the dawn of time. They have also
been a significant element of European and Western civilization. That is
typified by the Homeric poems, which emanated from those islands.
As
the Byzantine Empire crumbled the Ionian Islands were absorbed into the
Venetian Empire, then later coming under the control of France, Russia and
finally in 1815, under Britain. Under British rule the islands were
granted local autonomy but the British could not convince the islanders to
remain as part of the British Empire. The British were astounded that the
Ionians wished to unite with the small nation of Greece, especially since
the British, like most Europeans, could not see how the Greeks of the 19th
Century had any relations with those of ancient Greece. Because of events
in Europe and the rise of nationalism, the Greeks of the Ionian Islands
rebelled, fought and eventually forced the British to let them unify with
Greece in 1864.
The
Ionians, like the other Greeks, have seen the rise and fall of many
empires, that of Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Ottomans,
Byzantines, Venetians, British and French. All these have come and gone
but the Homeric poems still remain, A thousand years from now people will
still know of the events depicted in these poems, while events of the more
recent past will long be forgotten.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD – GREEK SHIPPING AFFAIRS
The new Harbour Master of Greek Shipping Affairs arrived in Vancouver recently. Every two years there is a “changing of the guards”. Senior Commander Nikolaos Spanakis takes over the post from Senior Commander Nicholas Seretis. On Sunday, May 18th both gentlemen were at St. George Cathedral in Vancouver where many people caught their first glimpse of the new Harbour Master.