St George's Day Today - Xronia Polla kai Kala to all the Georges and Georgias In Our Global Greek World!

 St George Lykavettos

23rd April is a very important day in Greece's calendar, St George's Day,  the nameday for all the Georges and Georgias, traditionally a very popular name in Greece, including that of the Prime Minister, George Papandreou.  

What this means is that 50% of the population is probably celebrating a nameday today somewhere in our Global Greek World! 

Our family is no exception, with my beloved George leading the list of those celebrating,  we have at least 10 family members celebrating today! Na sas xairomaste olous!

 It is a nameday that changes depending on when Easter is celebrated... if Easter falls after the 23rd April, it is celebrated on the Monday after Easter Sunday, if Easter falls before the 23rd April, as was the case this year, then it is celebrated on the day itself.

This year it is also the day Greece officially applied to the IMF and the EU for assistance to solve the economic crisis, but for the moment we won't dwell on it...

For the moment we dedicate these beautiful songs to all our Georges and Georgias, and wish each and everyone of you a very happy Nameday.

Xronia Polla kai Kala! Enjoy!

Γιώργο και Γεωργία, Χρόνια Πολλά και Καλά!! 

 

About Saint George

Saint George was born to a Christian noble family in Lydda, Palestine during the late third century between about 275 AD and 285 AD, and he died in Nicomedia. His father, Gerontius, was a Roman army official from Cappadocia and his mother was from Palestine. They were both Christians and from noble families of Anici, so by this the child was raised with Christian beliefs. They decided to call him Geōrgios , meaning "worker of the land". At the age of 14, George lost his father; a few years later, George's mother, Polychronia, died. Eastern accounts give the names of his parents as Anastasius and Theobaste.

Then George decided to go to Nicomedia, the imperial city of that time, and present himself to Emperor Diocletian to apply for a career as a soldier. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as he had known his father, Gerontius — one of his finest soldiers. By his late 20s, George was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedia.

In the year AD 302, Diocletian (influenced by Galerius) issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. But George objected and with the courage of his faith approached the Emperor and ruler. Diocletian was upset, not wanting to lose his best Tribune and the son of his best official, Gerontius. George loudly renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. The Emperor made many offers, but George never accepted.

Recognizing the futility of his efforts, Diocletian was left with no choice but to have him executed for his refusal. Before the execution George gave his wealth to the poor and prepared himself. After various torture sessions, including laceration on a wheel of swords in which he was resuscitated three times, George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's city wall, on April 23, 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians as well, and so they joined George in martyrdom.

His body was returned to Lydda for burial, where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr...

Read More at Wikipedia

Capital Link Forum - Opportunities and Challenges in Greece Today

The Centre for Progressive Policy Research (KEPP)
in cooperation with
Capital Link
invite you to the forum

Challenges and Opportunities in Greece Today

 Athens Concert Hall-Megaron Mousikis (Mitropoulos Hall)

Friday 23 April 2010

09:00  – 17:00 

The current difficult economic conditions in Greece present numerous and significant challenges for the Government and business but at the same time present major opportunities for those who are willing to look at things from a long-term perspective.

The topics to be discussed during the Forum include the investment environment, business experience and prospects, investment opportunities in the energy and innovation sectors, as well as the prospects for foreign investment in Greece.

The Forum is under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping
and aims to explore the challenges and opportunities presented in Greece today while trying to navigate through the exit from the crisis.

Mrs. Louka Katseli, Minister of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping will be the keynote speaker on "The Investment Environment and the Business Experience".

The Former Prime Minister of the Republic of France, Mr Laurent Fabius, will be the keynote speaker during the lunch which will be held in the Mouson Foyer between 13:00 – 14:30

Please note that there are no participation fees for the Conference, but there will be a charge of 120 Euros (+ VAT)  per person for participation in the official luncheon with M. Laurent Fabius

To confirm your participation, please Click Here 

To read more about Capital Link, Click here

Parthenon Sculptures: There Are No Excuses Anymore - Bring Them Back!

What this, what's this? 

Where is Big Ben? 

All the answers are in the video...

Far fetched you might say, but these are the excuses being used!

We say that there are no more excuses!

Spread the word around the world, send this link to all your friends, whether they are Greek or not...

Help us BRING THEM BACK!

 Click here  to read The Theft of Big Ben by writer Kostas Arkoudeas, from the Newspaper Eleftherotypia, the clever story (in Greek) that probably inspired this video...

Global Greek Ads: From Australia For Woolworths - Papou Stavros and Yiayia Maria ...

A very clever ad highly popular in Australia and not just among the Greek speakers! 

The couple could be Italian, Spanish or from any other Mediterranean country, but Stavros and Maria are your 'typical' Greek Australian couple living somewhere in the suburbs. As they are of Greek origin they know the value of fresh food so they grow their own in their garden...unfortunately they have to compete with the pigeons for it, so they have set up their own control mechanism.   Woolworths is probably telling us that rather than do all that to ensure your supply of fresh food, you are much better off getting it from Woolworths...

For those that don't understand the dialogue

Maria: (Ah, look at that!!) Stavro! Stavro! Birds!!! They'll eat your tomatoes. Do something!

Stavros: Oh those birds. I'll shoo them off.

Maria: You're no good sitting there, do something! They'll eat all your tomatoes. Look at them. For God sake, shoo them away!

Stavros: Ok, I got rid of them.

Maria: Yes? Good are they gone? Good.

Stavros: Now I can get back to reading my newspaper.

Maria: For once you did something right! 

 

Thanks to WE LOVE THE OLD GREEK COUPLE FROM THE WOOLWORTHS AD Facebook group for the translation.

Global Greek Humour: You're in Greece Now, My Son....

An Australian decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to England thinking that he would start by working his way across Europe.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$10,000.00 per call".

The Australian, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for.

The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000.00 you could talk to God.

The Australian thanked the priest and went on his way.

Next stop was in France. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in England and he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was.

She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000.00 he could talk to God.

"O.K., thank you," said the Australian.

He then travelled to Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Czech Republic.

In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "$10,000.00 per call" sign under it. The Australian, upon leaving the Netherlands, decided to travel to Greece to see if Greeks had the same phone.

He arrived in Greece, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read, "40 cents per call."

The Australian was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.

"Father, I've travelled all over Europe and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in all of Europe the price was $10,000 per call.

Why is it so cheap here?"

The priest smiled and answered,

"You're in Greece now, my son - it's a local call."

Sarah Palin's Next Career: Greek American Award Winning Actress Tina Fey Strikes Again!

Tina Fey

Tina Fey (Elizabeth Stamatina) is a  Greek American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer, all in one highly talented, multi award-winning package . She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. Singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, they gave her their AP Entertainer of the Year award.

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1992, Tina moved to Chicago to take classes at the improvisational comedy group The Second City, where she became a featured player in 1994. Three years later, she became a writer for the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). Promoted to the position of head writer in 1999, Tina was added to the cast in the following year.

During her time there, she was co-anchor of the show's Weekend Update segment. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created her own television series called 30 Rock, where she portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series - a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL.

Tina Fey married  composer Jeff Richmond in a Greek Orthodox ceremony in 2001 and they have a daughter named after Tina's mum Zenovia,  Alice Zinobia Richmond. 

Read more at Wikipedia

The video below is from her latest guest appearance on Saturday Night Live... 

In 2009, Tina won an Emmy Award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL during the 2008 presidential Election Campaign and contributed to SNL getting it's best ratings ever. 

She is amazing! Enjoy!





Watch this one too as CNN compares Tina Fey with the real thing!!! You almost cannot tell the difference. Well done Tina! :)

10 April 1826: The Exodus of Messolonghi - Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi

Greece Standing on the Ruins of Messolonghi 

Eugene Delacroix 1826

Today, 10th of April marks the anniversary of the Exodus of Messolonghi - another bloody chapter in the Greek struggle for Independence from the Turks.

During the Orlov Revolt in 1770 the fleet of Messolonghi was defeated and the town passed to the Turks. Messolonghi revolted against the Turks on May 20, 1821 and was a major stronghold of the Greek rebels in the Greek War of Independence. Its inhabitants successfully resisted a siege by Ottoman forces in 1822. 

  Exodus of Messolonghi (1855) - Theodoros P Vryzakis  

National Art Gallery - Athens, Greece

The second siege started on April 15, 1825 by Reşid Mehmed Pasha whose army numbered 30,000 men and was later reinforced by another 10,000 men led by Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt. After a year of relentless enemy attacks and facing starvation, the people of Messolonghi decided to leave the beleaguered city in the "Exodus of its Guards" (The Sortie) on the night of April 10, 1826. 

At the time, there were 10,500 people in Messolonghi, 3,500 of whom were armed. Very few people survived the Ottoman pincer  movement after the betrayal of their plan.

La Missolonghienne - Η Μεσολογγίτισσα - Woman of Messolonghi

 E. De Lansac 1828 - Town Hall, Messolonghi

Due to the heroic stance of the population and the subsequent massacre of its inhabitants by the Turkish-Egyptian forces, the town of Messolonghi received the honorary title of Hiera Polis (the Sacred City), unique among other Greek cities. 

Celebrated French painter Eugene Delacroix and  British poet Lord Byron were famous philhellenes who lent their support to the Greek cause. Lord Byron actually died in Messolonghi from malaria in 1824.

 Lord Byron on his Deathbed

J D Odevaere c 1826, Groeninge Museum, Bruges

A cenotaph containing his heart and a statue located in the town were built to pay tribute to this great poet's generous support of Greece's struggle for Independence.

The  Exodos of Messolonghi Memorial Day is a significant anniversary and is held annually on Palm Sunday in the presence of the President of the Republic, politicians and Ambassadors. 

Read what the French Ambassador to Greece wrote about his visit to Messolonghi for the annual celebrations, on Palm Sunday, 28th March 2010, in his blog Le Blog de L'Ambassadeur de France en Grece.

Listen to Nikos Xylouris sing the magnificent poem, Eleftheroi Polyorkimenoi (Free Besieged) which was written by national poet, Dionysios Solomos in honour of the heroic people of Messolonghi, and set to music by composer Yiannis Markopoulos. 

Άκρα του τάφου σιωπή στον κάμπο βασιλεύει·

λαλεί πουλί, παίρνει σπυρί, κι η μάνα το ζηλεύει.

Τα μάτια η πείνα εμαύρισε· στα μάτια η μάνα μνέει·

στέκει ο Σουλιώτης ο καλός παράμερα καί κλαίει:

«Έρμο τουφέκι σκοτεινό, τι σ' έχω γω στο χέρι;

οπού συ μού ΄γινες βαρύ κι ο Αγαρηνός το ξέρει».

Source: Wikipedia

Egypt Conference: Parthenon Marbles Among Priorities for Repatriation of Looted Cultural Treasures

Stolen Parthenon Treasures

Source: ANA-MPA.gr

Twenty-six countries, among them Greece, have joined forces in a coordinated campaign for the return of their stolen antiquities, during an international conference in Cairo this week on recovering stolen ancient artefacts from abroad attended by antiquities officials, deputy culture ministers and museum directors.

The first step of the initiative is to draft a catalogue containing the priority stolen antiquities that the countries are demanding be repatriated, while the conference delegates also discussed proposals and recommendations that will be submitted to United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO, aiming at amendment of a 1970 convention banning the ownership or export of stolen antiquities acquired after that date in order to facilitate the repatriation of the antiquities to their countries of origin.

Seven delegate countries -- Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Libya, Nigeria, Peru and Syria -- of the 22 countries in attendance at the Cairo conference, have already submitted their lists with the antiquities designated as "top priority" they seek to be returned, while the remaining countries have a month to submit their own lists, according to Egypt's antiquities chief Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the country's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

For Greece, the priority continues to be the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, which it has been campaigning for over the past 30 years.

Announcing the expanded campaign at a joint press conference with the officials from the US, Greece and Italy, Hawass noted that "Greece was fighting alone, and Italy was fighting alone", but "now, for the first time, we are united...we will fight together".

Greece's representative Elena Korka, who heads the country's cultural heritage protection directorate, told reporters that the Cairo conference "shows the importance many countries place on this matter and enables us to join forces".

Source: ANA-MPA

Global Greek Events: 11 April - Official New York Launch of ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΓΑΠΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΛΛΩΝ by Global Greek Writer, Justine (Ioustini) Frangouli-Argyris

John Catsimatidis, one of our Golden Global Greeks, and # 616 on the Forbes Billionaires List for 2010,  is  the personification of what we all call the American Dream.

Photo Source: John Catsimatidis' Website

Born in Nissyros, Greece in 1948, John’s parents emigrated to America when he was six months old. With little money, they settled in a rented apartment on 135th Street in Harlem. While his father Andreas worked long hours as a busboy, his mother Despina brought up their only son. 

Gia tin Agapi ton Allon by Ioustini Frangoulis is the story of this dynamic lady's life! An incredible tale of love, betrayal, and dignity set in the context of the conservative and tradition-bound island community of Nissyros.




Growing up, Catsimatidis attended both public and parochial grade schools. His youthful fascination with mechanics and how things worked led him to Brooklyn Tech and then on to NYU as an Engineering major. While in college, a part-time job in a family friend’s grocery store at 137th & Broadway gave him the impetus to open a small grocery at Broadway and 99th Street in Manhattan which would become the flagship for a conglomerate that would eventually generate over $3 billion dollars in annual sales and employ more than 8000 people ... Catsimatidis himself was to become a business tycoon who might one day be the Mayor of New York...   Read More

Photo Source: Ioustini Frangoulis 

Justine Frangouli-Argyris is one of our Global Greeks! Justine, or Ioustini as she is known in Greek, was born in Lefkada. A best-selling Greek author and journalist, Ioustini has been a contributor to daily newspapers, radio, television and magazines in Greece since 1983. Since 1989 she has been living and working in Montreal, Canada as a correspondent for the Athens News Agency (ANA), Eleftherotypia and Ethnos newspapers. During the same period, she also collaborated with local Greek-Canadian and American radio stations and publications, but more importantly has written a number of very successful books which have been published both in Greek and English. 

 Gia tin Agapi ton Allon is the latest and by all accounts will be her most successful!!! 

After the highly symbolic and moving official launch of this book in November 2009 at Athens' Grande Bretagne Hotel, in the presence of John Catsimatidis himself, the author Ioustini, many friends and dignitaries, it is time to take the story back to the adopted home of it's leading lady ... the city of New York!

On Sunday, 11 April, 2010, in the most appropriate of places...Nissyros House, Gia tin Agapi ton Allon will be launched in New York, in the presence of John Catsimatidis, his family, the author and MPs Yiorgos Nikitiadis and Gregoris Niotis. Mr Niotis is currently Deputy Speaker of the Greek Parliament and is an MP with vast experience in matters of Greeks Abroad, in fact it was during his term that SAE, the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, was established.

Ioustini, Global Greek World once again wishes you every success for this tremendous book! It is well deserved!

---

To read more about Ioustini on Wikipedia,  
Click here

To visit her blog  
Click Here

To buy the Book, 

 Click Here

GOT GREEK SURVEY - Whether You are 1/16th or 100% Greek, This Survey is About YOU

Got Greek? Online Study Wants to Know

Over the past year, we’ve been listening to students from one end of the country to the other. Among other things, we’ve heard students speak about themselves, their families and their heritage from a wonderful variety of viewpoints. From these conversations, we’ve discovered that there is a fascinating spectrum of young people, from all parts of the country and all kinds of backgrounds — who all identify with their Greek heritage in one way or another. From Greek-Greek to Greek-American, Greek Irish, Greek-Iranian and even Greek-Chinese— they all say they’ve “got Greek.”  

Your Voice Matters!  

If you feel that you’ve “got Greek” then your voice belongs in this conversation. That’s why we’re inviting you to take the Got Greek? survey. The online questionnaire we’ve developed is easy to take, and is right at your fingertips. This is a chance for you to speak out about how you feel about your own Greek heritage — and what role it has played in your life at home, and how it affects your social life, your relationships and your college experience. Sign up here to take the online survey — and become part of the conversation. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

 Stephanie Marudas, National Research Study Director

About the Survey

A landmark online national study is under way to learn how American college and university students with Greek ancestry feel about their heritage.

The Got Greek? National Student Survey is asking undergraduate and graduate students— currently enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States— about their views and opinions on their background and how it relates to everything from food and music, to family, friends and dating.

The survey is open to any student with Greek heritage— including second-, third-, and fourth-generation Greek American students— as well as students born in Greece or Cyprus currently studying in the U.S.

To participate in the survey, students can go online and register today.

This academically-supervised survey is part of the Next Generation National Research Study, which also includes oral history interviews with students throughout the United States. The interviews are archived online and available to read.

Sponsored by the Next Generation Initiative, an independent non-profit educational foundation, the study was launched with major funding from the Zapis Charitable Foundation and others. Joining the campaign to promote the study are Hellenic student groups on more than 50 campuses across the country and a wide range of organizations including the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA), the Modern Greek  Studies Association, the National Hellenic Museum and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

ABC’s Good Morning America anchor and chief political correspondent, Greek American  George Stephanopoulos recently kicked off the campaign by calling on students around the country to participate in the groundbreaking study. In an email message to students, Stephanopoulos wrote:

“To get the most complete and representative results, we need to make sure that every eligible student has a chance to be included in the study. As we are learning from this study, there are many more young people your age who say they’ve “got Greek” than we knew or imagined.”

Stephanopoulos also launched the study’s presence on Facebook, where the public can sign up to follow progress of the study at: http://www.facebook.com/ivegotgreek .

Results of this study promise to be important and useful to scholars, Greek American researchers, and the community for years to come.  

We at Global Greek World applaud this initiative and look forward to seeing it extended to other countries where there is a Greek presence.

This is your chance to speak up and be included! 

Take part now!

Χριστός Ανέστη - Χρόνια Πολλά! Christos Anesti - Kalo Pascha to All!

To Aghio Fos

Photo Source: Konstantina Moutos

Megalo Savvato last night and the  Midnight Resurrection (Anastasi) Service is the culmination of Holy week.

At the stroke of Midnight as the Priest chants Defte Lavete Fos, everyone clambers to be the first to light his or her candle from the Aghio Fos. This is the Holy Light which arrived in Greece earlier in the day from the Holy Sepulcher in the Holy Lands. 

Anastasi at Aghia Sophia, Neo Psychiko Athens

Photo Source: Konstantina Moutos

Apart from the spiritual fulfillment and sense of renewal, once the service is over it is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and be with family, to exchange the traditional kisses and wish each other 'Christos Anesti' (Christ is Risen) and 'Alithos Anesti'! (Truly, He is Risen). 

Easter Sunday (Kyriaki tou Pascha) today and we are roasting our lamb - either in the oven or on the traditional spit and spend much of the day eating and drinking trying to see who will win in the traditional Tsougrisma of the Eggs! ( we have yet to find a good translation for this one...so we have left it in Grenglish).

It is wonderful to note that many Greek communities around the world make the Anastasi and Easter Day celebrations a Community event so that all members can come, bringing their family and friends, both Greek and non-Greek, to join in the festivities.

These are special memories to hold on to and cherish - a time of bonding of families and reinforcement of the traditions of our Hellenic upbringing, traditions which are timeless and hold strong no matter where we are in the world! 

Easter Sunday is also Kyriaki tis Agapis, the Sunday of Love, with the Agapi service later in the day, with the Evangelio (Gospel) being  read in various languages, Italian, Arabic, Russian and others, proclaiming the universal message of the Resurrection, Rebirth, Hope, Love and Peace for all.

We have chosen to end this series of posts on Greek Holy Week  as we started it!
Listen to this beautiful and unique rendition of Christos Anesti by Irene Papas from her collaboration with Vangelis Papathanassiou...two of our wonderful Global Greeks!

Χριστός Ανέστη εκ νεκρών, 

θανάτω θάνατον πατήσας 

και τοις εν τοις μνήμασιν, 

Ζωήν χαρισάμενος

----------

Christos Anesth ek nekron 

Thanato thanato patisas 

Kai tis en ths mnimasi 

Zoi xarisamenos 

 ---------

Christ is risen from the dead 

Crushing death with His death

Giving the gift of life

To all those lying in their tombs

 

To all our friends in the Global Greek World who are celebrating today...

Christos Anesti!  

Kalo Pascha kai Chronia Polla!! 

Have a Truly Blessed  Easter!

A traditional Greek Easter Greeting Card


All photos are from the GGW archives unless otherwise mentioned.  

At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows! 

 © GlobalGreekWorld 2009-2017 All Rights Reserved

Aghia kai Megali Paraskevi - Good Friday - O Epitafios - O Glyky mou Ear

Decorating the Epitafio at Evangelismos Tis Theotokou, 
Good Friday 1959, Wellington New Zealand

Father Elias G Economou

GOOD FRIDAY - I APOKATHILOSI

Usually in mid-afternoon in churches abroad, but in the late morning in Greece, Great Vespers is chanted. During this service, we hear the story of the Crucifixion, but with attention paid to the death of Christ, the work of Joseph of Arimathea to secure the body of Christ from Pilate, His removal from the cross, and His burial.
 
During the service, the Body of Christ is removed from the cross, wrapped in a white cloth (shroud)  and brought into the sanctuary. Following the reading, the priest carries the icon of the Epitafio through the church and places it in the Sephulcher (the kouvouklion), which has been decorated with flowers.

GOOD FRIDAY EVENING -TA EGKOMIA - THE LAMENTATIONS

On Holy Friday evening, we sing the Orthros of Holy Saturday, consisting of psalms, hymns and readings, dealing with the death of Christ. During the Orthros, the congregation will join in chanting the Lamentations, ta Egkomia, hymns of praise to the Lord and relating His ultimate triumph over death. 

During this service the icon of the Epitafio is carried in procession around the church while the priests, choirs and congregation sing the most beautiful hymns of Holy Week, 

I Zoi en Tafo - Η Ζωή εν Τάφω



Aksion Esti - Αξιον Εστί



Ai Geneai ai Pasai - Αι γένεαι Πάσαι...






In Greece, and in most communities abroad, the entire flower-bedecked Epitafio, symbolising the Tomb, is carried in a procession around the neighbourhood of the church, or within the church if the weather is not good. 

Evangelismos Tis Theotokou, Wellington New Zealand 

Good Friday 1959
Father Elias G Economou officiating

In some towns around Greece and in Athens centre, all the processions gather in one central point, usually the main plateia or square, and the service continues there with all the faithful gathered together. 

  

It is an awesome sight indeed and the aroma of the beautiful spring flowers which adorn the Epitafio pervades the atmosphere. 

Decorating the Epitafio is one of the beloved rituals of young and old alike, and is generally carried out after the early morning Orthro service in our communities  abroad. 

   In Greece, because the Apokathilosi service takes place immediately after the morning vespers, the Epitafio is decorated straight after the Dodeka Evaggelia and usually finishes early in the morning. We lasted until 2 am ...

All of Good Friday people file come to pay their respects, filing past the Epitafio, crossing themselves and bowing their head in homage to the body of Christ in the Sepulcher right up to the time of the perifora (procession).

The coloured photos in the post are from the decoration of the Epitafio last night and from today's services in our small church, Profitis Elias, an eksoklisi in the northern suburbs of Athens... The black and white ones from the Holy Week 1959 at the first Evangelismos Church in Wellington, New Zealand, under the guidance of Father Elias Economou.
  
Καλή Ανάσταση! Kali Anastasi!