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GOARCH - June 19, 1999
OFFICIAL NEWS

Archdiocese Celebrates Hellenic Letters and Arts

New York,NY - His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, has called for the nationwide celebration of Hellenic Letters and Arts Week with special programs in all communities of the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese Department of Education sponsors this annual event which is celebrated in conjunction with the Feast Day of the Three Hierarchs on January 30th. The Feast Day of the Three Hierarchs commemorates the fourth century scholars and theologians: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John the Chrysostomos, who espoused Christianity with Hellenism, its language, philosophy, drama, poetry and art. Three Hierarchs Day was first celebrated in the year 1100 AD when the Byzantine Emperor Alexis Comnenos proclaimed that January 30th be set aside to honor these men whose writings contributed to the formulation of Greek Orthodoxy, Greek culture and education.

Highlighting the celebration will be a luncheon honoring Dr. John M. Duffy, the esteemed Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature at Harvard University, to be held on January 31st beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Terrace on the Park, Flushing Meadows, New York. Proceeds of the luncheon will be used for scholarships for seminarians of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA.

On Friday, January 29 at 9:00 a.m., His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon will preside at the Divine Liturgy at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity for principals, teachers and students of all Orthodox parochial schools in New York City, and will recognize the students who have achieved the highest grades in the 1998 Comprehensive Exams in Modern Greek (Regents). His Eminence will host a Vasilopeta Reception in honor of the teachers at 4:00 p.m. at the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese Department of Education, under the Direction of Dr. Nicholas Kladopoulos and Assistant Director Maria Makedon, annually sponsors the celebration of Hellenic Letters by the some 30,000 students nationwide in the Archdiocesan School system of 19 parochial day schools and 300 afternoon Greek schools.

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