With poems, songs, traditional dances and speeches about the religious and historical significance of March 25th students of Adelaide’s St George College have joined the commemorative events for the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution.
On Thursday, March 25th in a special celebration held at the College’s Junior Campus Hall the students had the opportunity to acknowledge Greek Independence Day and honour the commitment of those who fought for the country’s freedom.
Present were Father Diogenis Patsouris and the Principal of St George College, Peter Karamoshos, who gave speeches about the importance of the Greek Revolution in the continuation of the Christian faith and the preservation of the Greek language and culture.
Father Patsouris conveyed warm regards from Bishop Silouan of Sinope and Archbishop Makarios and congratulated the students, the Principal and the staff for their efforts.
“You should be proud you are Greek and you also are Christian Orthodox. This is the ultimate honour for someone who is born in Adelaide’s Greek community,” said Father Patsouris.
The school’s Principal, Mr Karamoshos talked about the importance of speaking a second language at home and referred to his own experience as a Greek Australian.
“Never underestimate the value of a second language. I grew up in a tiny place with very few Greeks and all my friends are Aussies. I grew up as an Aussie. I wish my parents were hard on me to maintain my Greek,” Mr Karamoshos said.
“Greeks at the time [in 1453] made sure they maintained their culture, their religion and values and those parents passed them on to their children and their children to their grandchildren and this happened for nearly 400 years. This was a massive commitment, “he said and encouraged the children to keep the Greek spark alive.
Earlier on the same day, St George College Captain, James Sotiropoulos and Vice-Captain Desi Karahalios participated in a dawn service and flag raising ceremony hosted by the City of West Torrens and on Sunday March 21st, a number of students attended the Doxology at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church Thebarton followed by the Trisagion Memorial Service at the War memorial in North Terrace.
