HOMOGENEITY
The Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Celebrated in Boston
January 26, 2025
From the celebration of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters in Boston, at the Cathedral Center in Brooklyn. PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
BOSTON. The feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters was celebrated on the afternoon of Sunday, January 26, 2025, by the Greek schools of the communities of the Metropolis of Boston at the community center of the Cathedral of the Annunciation. In attendance were Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, the consul general of Greece in Boston Simeon Tegos, priests, principals and teachers of Greek schools, as well as the president of the Federation of Hellenic American Associations Eleni Vidali, former president Dimitris Papaslis, parents, students and parents.
The celebration began with a prayer led by Metropolitan Methodius, who congratulated the teachers and parents who cultivate "Greek Letters, the Language and our identity."
The keynote speaker of the celebration of Greek Letters in Boston is Protopresbyter – Professor George Dragas.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
The choir of the Theological School, under the direction of its director, Fr. Romanos Karanos, performed the national anthems of Greece and America, the apolytikium and topical hymns of the Three Hierarchs.
Students from Greek schools recited topical poems. The student from the Greek school of the Evangelismos community in the city of Newburyport, Vasiliki Asimelli, gave a thoughtful personal speech about the Three Hierarchs, in which, among other things, she said the following: " It is worth remembering a few lines from their rich work:
Basil the Great will vigorously support ancient Greek wisdom, adopting every useful flower of it with which he will enrich the Christian tradition. Although a Christian, he will recognize ancient Greek literature... He will write about it...
Just as gardeners, when they gather flowers, discard some and keep others, so in these discourses, if there is anything useful, let us examine it carefully. And, by collecting only the useful, discarding the useless, let us benefit the soul. us from these.
And Gregory the Theologian will focus on the importance of education, which will be the means for all-round moral development, and not just its development.
Vasiliki Asimelli from the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts delivers her speech on the Three Hierarchs.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
Nothing is equal to education; it is a weapon, it adorns life and reveals the divine works of wisdom to those who pursue it with zeal.
But John Chrysostom also always referred to the importance of education for the spiritual cultivation of man and that true happiness stems from the proper upbringing of children and not from material goods.
'No wealth, no crown, no honor offers people as much happiness as the education of children and their upbringing according to the will of God.'
The contribution of the Three Hierarchs to Education is undeniable.
As for me, who will soon be graduating from school, they are a shining example that will always lead me to our roots to look to the future with the wisdom that is now appropriate."
Consul General Symeon Tegos, in his greeting, praised the teachers and students of Greek schools for their love and interest in Greek Education and Greek Letters.
The main speaker was the Protopresbyter Professor Georgios Dragas, who spoke on the topic "The Three Great Lights of the Orthodox Church". Among other things, he said the following: “We are called to see the holy faces of the Three Hierarchs not only in their historical revelation but in their spiritual characteristic. We are called to examine and appropriate their spiritual heritage and testament.
Part of the audience at the celebration of Greek Letters in Boston. Distinguished are Angeliki Kalmoukou, Stella Bloom and Athanasia Gkiouri. PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
From this deeper perspective, the Three Hierarchs are the ecumenical teachers of the Church and their spiritual testament, Greek Christianity. It is the testament that has been given initially to the Greek Orthodox Church and through it to all Orthodox Christians and to the entire world. What exactly is this Greco-Christian heritage?
The dance group "Sons and Daughters of Alexander the Great" gave life to the celebration of Greek Letters.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K"/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
The Three Hierarchs appear to us on their feast days as witnesses of immortality. They are the lights of faith in Christ who gives us the certainty of resurrection and eternal life. If the tragedy of human life has its roots in the experience of pain, evil and death, the solution to this tragedy has its roots in faith, love and hope in Christ. This is exactly what the legacy of the Three Hierarchs has confirmed to us. They have become living witnesses of the Risen Christ. They received the light of his grace for themselves and became its illuminators and gave it to others. They demonstrated in their lives the power of the Risen Lord, who rose for them, for us and for all humanity. The divine grace of God that Christ gave us is the covenant of the Three Hierarchs to us. The Triune God provides the solution to all human tragedies, no matter how hard and difficult this may seem. How do we enter into this saving covenant and how do we truly appropriate the grace of God that leads from death to life and from sin to holiness? It is the Holy Church that actually provides this path. With her sacred mysteries and her teaching receives and distributes the grace of the Holy Spirit, the power of new life, immortality and theosis."
Metropolitan Methodius of Boston cuts the royal cake at the end of the celebration of Greek Letters.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
Father George emphasized that "the ancient Greek philosophers exposed the basic problems of human life and existence. The holy Fathers and Hierarchs of Hellenism gave the answers to these problems. They expanded the ancient wisdom of education (paedia) and good behavior ( virtue) diverting its abstract ideological perspective and turning it towards the Triune God and the Grace of the saving Economy in Christ. Thus they saved the ancient world from the anguish and utopianism of fatalism and vanity. Today our world is being led to similar dead ends . He becomes introverted in his interests and abstract in his ideals. He loses the vision of truth and virtue. The soul becomes materialistic in a way that seeks to gain more and more, or when it reaches material wealth it is imprisoned in apathy, alienation and loneliness. In this context we find once again the great legacy of the Three Great Luminaries of the Trisylvan Deity as the greatest blessing. These Fathers hold the key to our modern life. It is the key to approaching Christ, the grace of God that purifies, illuminates and deifies our humanity, leading it to the eternal kingdom of God of eternal life. , of truth and glory. I hope that today's celebration will be a starting point for all of us to explore and immerse ourselves in the holiness of their lives and especially in their precious writings."
The dance group "Sons and Daughters of the Great" under the direction of founder and director Georgios Papadopoulou performed dances from the region of Macedonia.
Metropolitan Methodius cut the traditional king cake, wishing everyone "a good year with health and every heavenly blessing," while the lucky person of the year in which the coin fell was Ms. Stella Bloom from New Hampshire.
The program was coordinated by Protopresbyter Athanasios Nenes.
Students from Greek schools recite poems about the Three Hierarchs.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS
From the celebration of Greek Letters. In the first row are Consul General Symeon Tegos, Metropolitan Methodius of Boston, the keynote speaker Protopresbyter - Professor George Dragas, and Professor and Choir Director Fr. Romanos Karanos.
PHOTOGRAPHY "E.K."/THEODOROS KALMOUKOS