On August 15th, Greek Orthodox Christians across the world celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Commonly referred to as ‘Panagia’ and ‘Dekapentavgoustos’, meaning ‘August 15th’, Greeks commemorate the death of the Virgin Mary and her ascension into heaven, to be seated at the right hand of the father. The feast day is second only to Easter (Pascha).
On this day, the life of the Panagia is revered and honoured. As a result of this, her feast day is held in great esteem. To celebrate, Greeks all over the world celebrate with cultural activities and festivals.
Who is the Panagia?
Panagia (also spelled Panayia and Panaghia) is a title given to the Virgin Mary, who was Jesus’s mother. In Greek, Panagia actually means “all holy”. This is a title of respect, reserved for the woman who gave birth to Christ.
The Virgin Mary is also referred to as the Theotokos, which means the “Mother of God”. In Greece, people often name places like churches, villages, and even beaches after the Virgin Mary and when they do, they often use the title of Panagia.
How is This Celebrated?
No matter where you are in Greece, you will find people celebrating the Panagia on August 15th. There are special church services held throughout the country, especially in churches that are named after the Panagia.
In Australia, Greek Orthodox Christians attend special church services to celebrate the feast day, with it being very common for people to stay for a feast and dancing.
To wish someone a happy name day on this holiday, you should say, “Kalo Dekapendavgousto!”
Standout celebrations in Greece take place is churches like Panayia Evangelistria on Tinos, the Monastery of Panayia Soumela on Mt. Vermio, and Panayia Ekatontaliliani on Paros Greek island.
Some of the most popular dekapentavgoustos celebrations in Greece are held at the following churches:
Agiasotissa of Agiasos on the island of Lesbos
Church of the Assumption in Olympos on the island of Karpathos
Monastery of Our Lady Spiliani in Nisyros
Monastery of the Apocalypse in Patmos
Monastery of Panagia tou Harou in Lipsi
Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Thassos
Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Kaso
Monastery of the Virgin of Fidos in Markopoulo on the island of Kefalonia
Chapel of the Virgin Mary in Kato Koufonisia
Our Lady the Revealed and Our Lady of the Sea in Andros
“There’s no way out. There’s no way to fix it. It’s just horrific to go through the labour process and… it’s for nothing really. It’s for nothing and it’s just going to cause you more pain,” begins 33-year-old Rea Liapis, with tears in her eyes.
She’s referring to how at 25 weeks pregnant she went into an early labour with the ominous words of her obstetrician ringing in her ears: “It’s likely your child will not survive this.”
She was right.
On March 3, 2012, Rea, who was 26 years old at the time, gave birth to a stillborn baby girl named Mia. The labour, she says, was ‘traumatic’ and something she and her husband Pat ‘haven’t been able to get over completely.’
“When Mia was born, she weighed only 600 grams. My doctor wrapped her up, put her on me and we held her… They were initially going to leave her in our room, but I was just so exhausted by the end of it, so they took her away,” Rea tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“But when they brought her back the next morning, nicely wrapped and dressed in her little outfit, that was even more traumatic because she was so cold as they had her in the morgue overnight. So that in itself was a bit difficult.”
Rea’s obstetrician took photos of her baby daughter, Mia, after the birth. Photo supplied.
“Guilt comes from every angle”:
Heartbreaking stories such as Rea’s are sadly not uncommon in Australia. According to the Stillbirth Foundation Australia, a stillbirth, defined as the loss of a foetus from 20 weeks into the pregnancy, occurs six times a day in Australia. In fact, one in 135 births will be stillborn and the cause of many of these deaths will never be known.
Rea and her family belong to this category. Having never done a full autopsy on Mia, the cause of her death remains a mystery. Something which Rea says made her question everything she did during her pregnancy.
“The guilt is a really funny thing because it comes from every angle. It’s ‘did I do something wrong?’ or ‘what if I had been on bed rest?’,” Rea says sadly.
“I had bleeding from 13 weeks and it was nothing major, but the guilt was there as well because I thought, ‘if I had stayed in the hospital from the beginning, would anything have been different?’”
Add to this the internal conflict Rea and her husband felt when they discovered they were pregnant with their second daughter, Zara, within three months of the stillbirth. They later had a son, Sebastian, as well.
Rea and her husband Pat. Photo supplied.
“It was extremely difficult to decide to go through it again because we had no answers. We were so scared. However, we actually became pregnant quite quickly a second time with Zara and my doctor was looking after me a lot more, checking in on me a lot and that created its own guilt,” Rea explains.
“Once Zara came along, and I’m so happy because I have this gorgeous, beautiful little girl, but when I think about Mia I do get upset because it’s not something that ever disappears.
“And if I think, ‘oh I wish Mia was here,’ the guilt comes back where it’s like, ‘yes but if you had her here, you wouldn’t have Zara.’ So then you feel guilty for missing her because had everything gone perfectly fine, I wouldn’t have Zara. So yeah, mum guilt is a funny thing.”
“Making it disappear doesn’t help”:
What’s not funny is the fact that stillbirth is still largely misunderstood and a taboo topic in today’s society.
In fact, Rea recognises that discussions around the issue have improved from the past where, according to a conversation she had with her grandfather, “no one spoke about it.”
“He said to me, ‘one day someone was pregnant and one day they weren’t. That was it. You just sort of buried the body and moved on. There were no names, nothing.’ So I think we’ve come a long way,” Rea says.
However, she adds that more still needs to be done because at the end of the day, acknowledging her stillbirth, and having others do the same, was the first step in her healing process.
Rea was only 26-years-old when she gave birth to her stillborn daughter. Photo supplied.
“We had a proper burial and I think that helped me heal because it was more about understanding that she is my daughter and I didn’t want anyone to just fob it off as a miscarriage, which I think a lot of people do,” Rea explains.
“We’ve got some beautiful photos as well… and seeing them, you’re like ‘wow that’s a baby, they’re baby toes.’ So making her real and making people understand that it wasn’t just nothing was really instrumental in helping me feel better about the whole situation.”
And of course, having the wonderful support of her close family and friends also played an important role in mending her broken heart.
“If you’re going through this, it’s just important to have people around you and to understand that there’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with your child and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with feeling like they are your child because they are. Making it disappear doesn’t help,” Rea says.
Wise words from a woman who has clearly experienced her fair share of trauma which many of us couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
The Castellorizian Club, or what many knew as the Cazzie Club, was a staple institution for Greeks in Sydney, particularly in the Eastern Suburbs.
Since its opening in October 1973, the Cazzie Club became an epicentre of the Greek community in Australia, with strong Greek businesses surrounding the club. Its success saw the growth of a younger generation of Australian Greeks, who participated in and enjoyed many of the Club’s activities.
“I was too young and may have missed out on the Cassie Club disco – though I somehow got in once as a fifteen year old wearing a The Clash t-shirt – and spent the night on the first floor at one of tables dodging the security,” historian Vasilis Vasilas reminisces on the Cazzie Club.
TUESDAY THROWBACKS #12: The CASTELLORIZIAN, or CASSIE, CLUB, KINGSFORDThis throwback brings back a lot of memories!!!…
The Cazzie Club came to life after a much younger committee was elected to run the Castellorizian Association in NSW. With expert qualifications, the new board had the necessary expertise to examine, develop and pursue the proposal to build a licensed club premises in Kingsford.
Paraschos (Perry) Kailis, President of Castellorizian Club Limited at the time, saw to it that the new Cazzie Club was to bring a new positive Greek vibe to the Eastern Suburbs. On 6 October 1973 the new Club was officially opened to the members and their guests by the then Lord Mayor of Sydney, Nicholas Shehadie OBE and blessed by his Eminence Archbishop Ezekiel.
O’Deas Corner in Kingsford. Former location of the Cazzie Club. Photo: Sydney Completion
A great number of spectacular concerts, lectures, events and activities were held at the club, bringing Greeks from all across Sydney to engage in social activities. Many former attendees all say the same thing; It was more than a club, it was a cultural hub.
In 1985 the Club was awarded the highest honour from Greece, receiving an award from the Athens Academy for their community work and for the maintenance of Greek culture in Australia.
According to the Castellorizian Association, much of the success was due to the enormous voluntary contribution of a small core of members, “who over a number of years ensured that a number of complicated but necessary steps be followed to achieve their vision.”
Although the Club has sadly closed, The Greek Herald understands that a new Cazzie Club is soon to open in NSW, with details to be announced in the coming months.
Remembered as the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history, Helios Airways Flight 522 crashed near Grammatiko, Greece, on August 14, 2005, killing 121 passengers and crew.
The plane was scheduled to fly from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague, Czech Republic, with a stopover at Athens International Airport.
According to an Aircraft Accident Report published in 2006, a ground engineer was sent to the plane prior to the flight to perform a pressurisation leak check. In order to carry out this check without requiring the aircraft’s engines, the pressurisation system was set to “manual”. However, the engineer failed to reset to “auto” on completion of the test.
Before every flight, the pressurisation system is checked on three separate occasions: during the pre-flight procedure, the after-start check, and the after take-off check. All three times, the flight crew overlooked the system, not noticing the incorrect setting.
A Helios Airways Boeing 737-31S at Ruzyne Airport (PRG / LKPR).
As the aircraft climbed, the pressure inside the cabin gradually decreased. As it passed through an altitude of 12,040 feet, the cabin altitude warning horn sounded.
This alert sound, which indicated a pressure loss, was identical to the take-off configuration warning, which the pilots assumed to be the cause. The plane continued to rise, and as it reached an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet, the oxygen masks in the passenger cabin automatically deployed.
The captain proceeded to radio the Helios operations centre and reported “the take-off configuration warning on” and “cooling equipment normal and alternate off line”. He then spoke to the ground engineer, who had checked the pressurisation before take off, and asked “Can you confirm that the pressurisation panel is set to AUTO?”
The engineers question was 60 seconds too late, as the captain was already experiencing hypoxia’s initial symptoms. The captain disregarded the question and instead asked in reply, “Where are my equipment cooling circuit breakers?”.
This was the last communication with the aircraft.
The aircraft continued to climb until it levelled off at approximately 34,000 feet. After repeated failed attempts at contact, two F-16 fighter aircraft were scrambled to establish visual contact.Intercepting the passenger jet at 11:24, the fighter pilots and observed the first officer face down on the control board and an empty captain seat.
Computer generated image of fighters flying next to Helios aircraft. Photo: Transport Central
20 minutes later, flight attendant Andreas Prodromou entered the cockpit and sat down in the captain’s seat, having remained conscious by using a portable oxygen supply. The flight attendant held a UK Commercial Pilot Licence, but was inexperienced in flying a Boeing 737. Crash investigators concluded that Prodromou’s experience was insufficient for him to be able to gain control of the aircraft under the circumstances.
The left engine proceeded to flame out due to fuel exhaustion, followed by right engine.Just before 12:04, the aircraft crashed into hills near Grammatiko, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board.
The passenger list included 93 adults and 22 children, comprising of 103 Cypriot nationals and 12 Greek nationals.
One of the many brave frontline workers in Victoria’s ambulance service, paramedic Steven Gelagotis was diagnosed with COVID-19 after being tasked with transporting infected St Basil’s patients to hospital for treatment.
Steven was diagnosed with COVID-19 thirteen days ago, contracting the virus while working at St Basil’s Aged Care as a transport paramedic for Ambulance Victoria. Having a Greek background, Steven says his Greek language skills were used to communicate with the patients and calm them.
“I was translating Greek with a doctor doing the rounds. Just to provide some sort of reassurance to the patients in there that people are understanding what they’re saying,” Steven says on The Project.
“It was quite nice to be able to speak to some of those patients in there because they haven’t seen their family for quite some time.”
Operated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, the St Basil’s Aged Care Home in Fawkner is home to hundreds of Greek Australian elderly patients. So far, over 20 elderly residents of Greek background have died in the Fawkner home.
“It helped them and made them feel special and made them feel like their voice was being heard. And it was nice just to have a chat with these people,” Steven continued.
A fit and healthy male, Steven didn’t predict the COVID-19 virus would affect his body so badly. The Greek Australian paramedic says he suffered from headaches and body aches, followed by vomiting and having a fever the next few days.
Photo: Instagram
Steven’s symptoms only worsened, however, suffering from short breaths and a loss of his sense of taste and smell.
“I’ve had every different symptom under the sun,” Steven adds.
“I did not prepare myself mentally. I look after myself pretty well, I exercise every day, I eat right and stay healthy.
We’re very proud of our paramedic Steven speaking tonight on @theprojecttv about his experience with COVID-19. His message – “it’s not just an older person virus, young and fit guys like me can get it.” Good news – Steven is now in recovery and we look forward to seeing him soon. pic.twitter.com/GmIRPf1qH0
“Being there while you’re vomiting and cleaning up your own vomit and looking after yourself, it was a it distressing at times but thankfully I’m out of it now and feel better.”
Ambulance Victoria continue to facilitate hospital transport for patients that are unwell. To date, 220 elderly Australians have died from coronavirus in the nation’s residential aged care homes.
After months of closed skies, Greece will allow Israelis to visit, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Thursday after a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi.
“I welcome Greece’s decision to allow tourism from Israel to Greece in the era of the coronavirus,” Ashkenazi said in a statement at the conclusion of the meeting in Jerusalem.
“This decision expresses the warm relationship between the countries and the common desire to return to a normal routine in the coronavirus era. We hope that more European countries will also adopt this decision.”
Welcome to Israel my good friend, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs @NikosDendias. It is always a great honor to host you here in Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/8h0du6kgag
— גבי אשכנזי – Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) August 13, 2020
According to The Jerusalem Post, 600 Israeli tourists will be allowed to visit Greece per week, and will be allowed to stay in only four locations: Athens, Crete, Thessaloniki and Corfu.
It is also reported that Israeli tourists will be required to take a coronavirus test between arriving in Greece and stay in quarantine until they receive the test results.
The Foreign Ministry statement said that it was agreed that the two foreign ministries will formulate a plan that will allow Israeli tourists and businessmen to visit Greece.
Since the start of the pandemic, Greece has seen 5,623 infections and 212 deaths. Israel, by sharp contrast, has recorded over 88,000 cases and 643 deaths.
The glorified Petratos trio will no longer be gracing the A-League after Dimitri Petratos announced that he had signed a deal with an unnamed Saudi Arabian Professional League club.
Jets will reportedly receive an undisclosed fee for the 27-year-old, who enjoyed his most successful season with the club in 2017-18, scoring 10 goals in 27 appearances.
Before moving to Newcastle, Petratos had a one-year stint at South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai. The Greek-Australian couldn’t manage to score in any of his appearances for the club.
The Newcastle Jets played their final game of the season last night, beating Wellington Phoenix 3-0. Dimitri and his brother Kosta were part of the winning squad, with Maki Petratos left as a substitute.
Photo: AAP
The World Game reached out to Petratos’ agent James Hardy, who refrained from making any comment on his client’s future.
However, he did say: “Dimitri has had a fantastic year, as have the entire team as a collective since (coach) Carl Robinson came in.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss Milwaukee’s final game of the regular season after being handed a one-game suspension for headbutting Washington’s Moe Wagner in Tuesday night’s matchup between the Bucks and Wizards.
The Greek Freak lost his cool after Wagner drew a charge against Antetokounmpo, who followed Wagner to the opposite end of the court, squared up to his face, and proceeded to but heads.
Giannis was ejected from the game and went on to miss this weeks match against Memphis Grizzlies.
The Greek Freak was asked about the incident in a post-match press conference.
“Terrible action,” Antetokounmpo said. “If I could go back and turn back time and go back to that play, I wouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day, we’re all human, we all make mistakes.
“I think I’ve done a great job all year, in my career, of keeping my composure and focusing on the game, but like I said, we’re human, we make mistakes. But at the end of the day, learn from it, keep playing good basketball and keep moving forward.”
Antetokounmpo admitted he took his frustrations out on Wagner, even though the Wizards big man was just a handy target.
“I don’t think I was frustrated with Wagner. I think it was just the whole, like, buildup of dirty plays in my mind, you know, guys tripping me, guys falling in front of my feet, holding me, hitting me." pic.twitter.com/1iNSc5bdXe
“I think it was just the whole, like, build-up of dirty plays in my mind. Guys tripping me, guys falling in front of my feet, holding me, hitting me,” he said. “I don’t have nothing against Wagner, it wasn’t just him.”
Antetokounmpo will still be eligible for the Bucks’ opening round playoff matchup against the Orlando Magic, with the Eastern Conference seeding and matchups locked in as of Wednesday.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has looked to of backed down from military conflict with Greece and a United Europe, as the Turkish President said dialogue was the “only solution” to the ongoing East Med dispute.
Turkey and Greece, NATO allies, are vehemently at odds over claims from both nations for hydrocarbon resources in the region. Tensions rose higher on Monday after Ankara launched exploration operations in a disputed area of the Mediterranean; a move Greece called illegal.
Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party, Erdogan said the escalation of tensions in the region was caused by Greece, and urged Athens to respect Turkey’s rights. “The path to a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is via dialogue and negotiation. We are not chasing any unnecessary adventures or seeking tensions,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a meeting of provincial election officials at the headquarters of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara on January 29, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)
While Erdogan is now seeking “dialogue and negotiation”, the Turkish President claimed only five days prior that he did not need to engage in discussion with Greece over the issue.
“There’s no need for discussion with those who have no rights, especially in maritime zones,” Erdogan told reporters after participating in prayers at the Hagia Sophia mosque.
Greek and Turkish warships still shadow the Oruc Reis which was conducting seismic research in an area Greece says is over its continental shelf. Mitsotakis said Greece had deployed naval vessels to the area and placed its military on alert in response to the Turkish deployment of its own fleet.
Η Ελλάδα είναι μια χώρα υπερήφανη και ισχυρή. Μέλος της Ευρωπαϊκής οικογένειας, πυλώνας σταθερότητας στην Aν. Μεσόγειο, προσηλωμένη στις αρχές του Διεθνούς Δικαίου. Η πατρίδα μας δεν απειλεί, αλλά και δεν εκβιάζεται. Δεν υποκύπτει σε απειλές, ούτε ανέχεται προκλητικές ενέργειες. pic.twitter.com/GFYpIlVm4E
The Prime Minister said Greece “(does) not fear even the toughest dialogue,” as it had faith in its positions, but that “dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.”
“We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet, self-restraint is only one aspect of our power,” Mitsotakis said. “No provocation will … go unanswered. We have demonstrated that we will respond, if necessary. And we will do so again if it is required.”
Greece’s prime minister warmly thanked France on Thursday for its decision to boost its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, where Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron is “a true friend of Greece and also a fervent protector of European values and international law.”
The mounting tension follows Turkey’s move Monday to send a seismic research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus to prospect for potential offshore gas and oil reserves, following similar discoveries in other parts of the region.
Je remercie le Président Macron pour sa solidarité. @EmmanuelMacron est un vrai ami de la Grèce mais aussi un fervent défenseur des valeurs européennes et du droit international. 🇬🇷🇫🇷
The Turkish leader accused France of “provoking” Greece and Cyprus into taking “wrongful steps.”
France’s armed forces ministry confirmed it was dispatching two Rafale fighter jets and a naval frigate to the eastern Mediterranean after Macron voiced grave concern over the situation.
At sea, the French Lafayette frigate left Cyprus’ port of Larnaca and took part in a maritime exercise with the Greek Navy, the statement said. The Lafayette overnight joined the French helicopter carrier Tonnerre, en route to help Lebanon following the devastating explosion in Beirut.
In this photo provided by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey’s research vessel, Oruc Reis, in red and white, is surrounded by Turkish navy vessels as it was heading in the west of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey, Monday, Aug 10, 2020.
“That military presence is aiming at reinforcing France’s autonomous assessment of the situation and affirms the country’s attachment to free movement, maritime safety and respect for international law in the Mediterranean Sea,” the ministry said.
Macron announced following a phone call with Mitsotakis late Wednesday that he has decided to “temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in cooperation with European partners including Greece.”
Greece’s NATO and European Union ally France is the EU’s biggest military power.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis address the press after being met by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 in Paris. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
In a televised statement Wednesday, Mitsotakis warned of the “risk of an accident” in the area where the Greek and Turkish warships are gathered.
“In such a case, responsibility lies upon the one who gives rise to these circumstances,” he said. He added that Greece is not averse to “even the toughest dialogue,” but that “dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.”
“We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet, self-restraint is only one aspect of our power,” Mitsotakis said. “No provocation will … go unanswered.”
