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Russian Orthodox Church condemns Greece’s recognition of Ukraine Orthodox Church

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Russian Orthodox Church condemns Greece’s recognition of Ukraine Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church stopped a Eucharistic communion with Archbishop Leronymos II of Greece, due to his recognition of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In late October, Archbishop Ieronymos II officially acknowledged the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

“This means that we stop the Eucharist communion with the Archbishop of Athens, but this does not mean that we stop communion with the whole Greek church. We will continue to maintain fellowship with all those bishops who do not recognise the Ukranian schism, and there are such in the Greek church,” said Metropolitan Hilarion.

“We already predicted our reaction in the decision of the second Synod meeting in October…we said that if the Archbishop of Athens officially recognises the Ukranian schism, then his name will be deleted from the Russian Orthodox Church’s bead-roll,” the Metropolitan said.

The Moscow Patriarchate described the situation as the “legalization of schism,” stressing that it would have catastrophic consequences and affect millions of Christians in Ukraine and other countries.

On October 12, the Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece became the first Orthodox church to recognise Constantinople’s decision to give the non-canonical Ukrainian church the tomos of autocephaly.

Additionally, the Synod granted Archbishop Leronymos II the right to make decisions regarding the issue of autocephaly, clearing the way for the Greek church to take the next step and officially recognise the Ukranian church.

New French ambassador sees multilevel cooperation between France and Greece

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New French ambassador sees multilevel cooperation between France and Greece

France’s new ambassador to Greece, Patrick Maisonnave, calls for cooperation on multiple levels between Athens and Paris on issues ranging from security to investment in his first interview in Greece.

Maisonnave told Kathimerini that France will defend its interests in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – where French company Total has signed a licensing agreement for hydrocarbon exploration along with Italy’s Eni – while stressing that Turkey is a player that does not always cooperate at the regional level.

“Greece is clearly at the center of a multitude of challenges: the refugee crisis, humanitarian issues, security issues, geopolitics and a slew of regional and extra-regional factors that are particularly complex, foremost of which is Turkey, which does not always play the game of regional and bilateral cooperation. We are allies, but in practical terms Turkey acts alone, as evidenced by its recent initiative in Syria,” said Maisonnave.

The ambassador highlighted three areas where Greece and France’s cooperation could be strenghtened, including economic, immigration and defence.

“The first is economic. The former government made bold decisions. The new government is presenting clear and encouraging prospects that we welcome and which will lead to the path of economic growth. There is also the immigration crisis, which is not a Greek crisis but a European Union one. Lastly, there’s the area of defense, the strategic dimension. We want to make an effective contribution so that the Hellenic Armed Forces can return to a state that will allow Greece, together with others, with France, to deal with security challenges,” he said.

The ambassador also touched on an increase in French investment in Greece, during his interview with Kathimerini.

“France wants to be one of Greece’s leading partners, just as it was during the decade of the crisis. I would like to hail the French businesspeople who stayed in Greece despite the difficulties,” he said.

“[Prime Minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis has embarked on a wide-ranging and bold effort to restore the economy and I have no doubt that French businesspeople and French investment funds will be in a position to participate in this effort – in the area of defense, which I mentioned previously, but also in the areas of transport, insurance and financial services, in the hotel and tourism sectors, in energy, pharmaceutical products, the management of water resources and waste, and the area of agriculture and food.”

92-year-old Greek woman reunited with Holocaust survivors she saved during WWII

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92-year-old Greek woman reunited with Holocaust survivors she saved during WWII

One by one, the 40 descendants of a group of Israeli siblings leaned down and hugged the elderly Greek woman to whom they owe their very existence, as she sat in her wheelchair and wiped away tears streaking down her wrinkled face.

Clutching the hands of those she hid, fed and protected as a teenager more than 75 years ago, 92-year-old Dina Melpomeni said she could now “die quietly.”

Sunday’s emotional encounter was the first time Dina had met the offspring of the Mordechai family she helped save during the Holocaust.

The Mordechai family lived in Veria, Greece, near Thessaloniki, where nearly the entire Jewish community was annihilated within a few months in one of the most brutal executions of the Nazis.

When the Nazis began rounding up the Jews for deportation in early 1943, the family’s non-Jewish friends provided them with fake identity cards and hid them in the attic of the old abandoned Turkish mosque. They were there for almost a year, hearing the screams outside of other Jews being rounded up. But eventually they had to leave because their health was declining in the cramped, unventilated attic.

That’s when Dina and her two older sisters took the family of seven into their own single-room home on the outskirts of the city, sharing with them their food rations.

One of the children, a six-year-old boy named Shmuel, became gravely ill and had to be taken to a hospital, despite the risk of exposing his identity. He died there.

Shortly after, the family was informed and Dina’s sisters and their relatives helped them flee in various directions.

Yanai, the oldest, headed for the woods, another went to the mountains, and the mother headed out on foot with her youngest two surviving children in search of another hiding spot.

Dina and her orphaned and impoverished sisters provided them with clothing before their departure. The family reunited after liberation and made their way to Israel, where the children started families of their own.

Yossi Mor, today 77, was just an infant when his family was taken in, but he said he could still remember a few things, such as when his older brother died and the kindness they encountered from their rescuers — who gave them various forms of refuge for nearly two years.

“They fed us, they gave us medicine, they gave us the protection, everything, they washed our clothes,” he said, before gesturing toward Dina. “She loved me very much.”

Mor and Yanai had reunited with Dina in Greece years ago. But the younger generation of their extended family had never met her before Sunday’s ceremony. The two soldiers proudly pushed Dina and Yanai throughout the complex in their wheelchairs.

Sourced via The Japan Times.

Study shows young Greek families hesitant to have more children in fear of economic crisis

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Study shows young Greek families hesitant to have more children in fear of economic crisis

Eight out of ten young couples in Greece would like to have a large family, but cannot afford one, according to a new study concerning the causes of infertility in the country, conducted in January-February 2019.

In brief, poverty experienced by Greek households is the biggest obstacle that reduces births, Greek newspaper “TA NEA” reported Sunday, citing the results of the study.

The research was carried out by the Department of Statistics and Insurance Science of the University of Piraeus in collaboration with HOPEgenesis, a non-profit organization in the field of medicine that addresses the issue of low birth rates in Greece.

Low birth rates are characterised by experts as a “time bomb” on the foundations of Greece’s development prospects.

More specifically, one in two Greeks (52.9 percent) names the high financial cost of pregnancy (prenatal screening and childbirth) and the upbringing of a child, as the most significant hurdles.

Of them, 89.7 percent stated that they would have a child immediately if they were offered the cost of childbirth, while 86.3 percent would start family-planning efforts even tomorrow, provided they received financial incentives for the cost of the nursery.

The study sample consisted of 121 adults, 25-35 years old, from the HOPEgenesis database who had expressed a desire to have a child. Participants resided in remote and inaccessible areas of Greece with a severe birth deficit.

According to the scientists of the study, the birth deficit changes the size as well as the structure of the whole population.

Today, half of Greece’s population is over 43 years old, the population of people over 65 years old exceeds that of children under 15 years old, and people over 80 years old are the fastest-growing age group.

Meanwhile, the migration of young people – mainly scientists – which is yet another consequence of the financial crisis – accelerates population shrinkage.

In Greece, births have been steadily declining since 2008, reaching, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority’s (ELSTAT) recently published data, a historic low below 86,500 in 2018.

The natural balance (births/deaths) has been negative since 2011, while the estimate of the permanent population for 2018 was 0.25 percent lower than the previous year.

In this context, the Greek government has birth support high on the agenda and is already promoting some first measures – starting in 2020, with a bonus of 2,000 euros for every child born in Greece, based on socio-economic criteria.

Sourced from Xinhua.

Scientists are using waste from Greek yoghurt to create ‘green’ antibiotics

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Scientists are using waste from Greek yoghurt to create ‘green’ antibiotics

The modern biomedical industry requires new approaches to the production of antimicrobials. The production of Greek yoghurt is often wasteful, so research has been carried out recently into its uses in the field of “green” antibiotics.

Waste process of Greek yoghurt

Three cups of milk are required to produce one cup of yogurt.

The main component of the waste stream is acid whey, which has a comparatively high acidity, BOD (biological oxygen demand) and COD (chemical oxygen demand) concentration.  

Combined with large volumes of wastewater, the COD/BOD elements mean that Greek yogurt production has a high environmental footprint.

Using acid whey for energy production

Acid whey has shown promise as a feedstock for energy production. It has been widely used to produce high-quality feedstock for animals, due to the highly concentrated presence of sugars, protein and lipids.

However, this is limited by the problem of lactose fermentation and the production of acid whey being higher than the demand in the animal industry. A large amount of this valuable by-product is going to waste.

Using acid whey for ‘green’ antibiotics

Recent research carried out by a team in Germany, found that acid whey can be converted to MCCAs (medium-chain carboxylic acids).

MCCAs are present in the biofuels and chemicals that produce ‘green’ antimicrobials. The research team are proposing that the acid whey from Greek yoghurt should be utilised by converting it into MCCA oil.

There are many environmental factors that currently lead to an increase in the cost of any industrial process using MCCAs. This makes it economically unviable at the scales of production needed for large-scale use of MCCA oil as a feedstock and “green” microbial.

Though, the continued research that has been undertaken has provided proof that there may be a possibility of future sustainability and cost-reduction in this field.

You can read the full scientific journal here.

Jiajie Xu et al. (2018) Temperature-Phased Conversion of Acid Whey Waste Into Medium-Chain Carboxylic Acids via Lactic Acid: No External e-donor, Joule Vol. 2, Issue 2 Pages 280-295

With reference to News Medical.

Navarino Challenge 2019 thrills and educates in Greece

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Navarino Challenge 2019 thrills and educates in Greece

The award-winning Navarino Challenge lived up to its theme “Sports Unite People” as 2,700 people of all ages participated in the activities for a 7th consecutive year, October 11-13 in Messinia and Costa Navarino.

With ideal weather conditions and a rich program of more than 30 activities, the event, hosted by The Westin Resort Costa Navarino supports the ideals of the Olympic Movement, contributing towards the development of a peaceful and better world without discrimination, through sports.

The wellness event promoted the benefits of exercise and raised awareness of the Mediterranean diet in the effort to fight childhood obesity and the event exhorted young people to get involved in games and sports, through the Active Kids program, by adding even more kids’ activities this year.

Navarino Challenge brought together athletes, families, and children from 40 countries.

The full schedule of the event included activities for the whole family.

On October 11, Greek Hall of Fame basketball icon Nick Galis, this year’s guest of honor, tipped off the 4on4 basketball tournament by Nutramins that was held with the participation of the basketball legend Joe Arlaouckas and two-time Olympic silver medalist Alexandros Nikolaidis.

The day continued with many sports activities and ended with the screening of Barney Spender and Roddy Gibson’s award-winning documentary The Road to Sparta at the Agora, Costa Navarino.

On October 12 sports action was held in the Municipality of Pylos-Nestor that supported the event for another year and helped in the smooth implementation of the activities at Navarino Bay with the assistance of local companies. For the first time in the event, participants had the opportunity to try sea kayaking and headed to the island of Sphacteria with the support of Explore Messinia.

Open water swimming enthusiasts had the chance to compete in a chip-timed event at the beautiful Navarino bay from the scenic Pylos harbor, covering the unique 1 mile (1.6 km) route of the open water swimming race by Vikos.

The Challenge The Wind interclub sailing race of triangle course with OPTIMIST and LASER 4.7 boats was co-organized with the Maritime Athletic Pylos Association “Nestor”.

The sea activities also marked the beginning of the Navarinia event for the 192nd anniversary of the Battle of Navarino, which will culminate this week.

In addition, Pylos came alive with local flavors and scents. A station with traditional lalagia, loukoumia, pasteli created by Poseidonia and Pylos Poems welcomed visitors.

A visit to the refurbished family home of the Olympic champion Kostis Tsiklitiras was held with the presence of Olympic medalist Spyros Gianniotis.

Greek sporting greats honoured

Hall of Fame basketball legend Nick Galis was honored for his contribution to sports by Costantza Sbokou-Constantakopoulou on behalf of TEMES, along with the Minister of Tourism, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, and Theresa Cissell, Qatar Airways Country Manager for Greece and Cyprus.

The Greek-American ultramarathon runner and the event’s ambassador Dean Karnazes was awarded by the Minister of Tourism.

Greek gold Paralympic medalist and world champion in boccia Grigoris Polychronidis was awarded by Byung Moo (Theofilos) Shin, President & Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics Hellas.

Silver Olympic medalist Spyros Gianniotis was awarded by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports.

Two-time Olympic medalist in rowing Vassilis Polymeros was awarded by Petri Logara, Operations Manager of Ford Motor Hellas.

World karate champion Eleni Chatziliadou was awarded by Cissell, while bronze medalist in sailing world championship Maria Tsamopoulou was awarded by Stefanos Theodorides, Managing Director of TEMES. The event was presented by Joe Arlauckas with music by the Pylos Conservatory duo.

The Half-Marathon route is described by runners as one of the most beautiful around the world, and the 5km route also impressed participants. Navarino Challenge was included in World’s Marathons world community with runners from the Sports Club with people with special needs from Kalamata, Diaforozo, celebrating their participation at the event one day before the International White Cane Day (October 15).

The eco-friendly event included strictly smoke-free areas for the start and endpoints of the Navarino Dunes runways and declared the beautiful Voidokilia beach strictly plastic-free.

Navarino Challenge supports the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis with a program on Food Aid and Promotion of Healthy Nutrition, DIATROFI, and through Captain Vasilis and Carmen Konstantakopoulos Foundation, WWF Greece and Karkinaki, through the GivenGain online platform.

Navarino Challenge is part of the #BeactiveHellas 2019 program of the European Commission and was held under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Sports.

The event was held under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization with the approval of the Hellenic Swimming Federation.

Navarino Challenge was co-organized by Costa Navarino, The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and Active Media Group with the support of the Municipalities of Pylos-Nestor and Trifilia.

Sourced from Tornos News.

Basketball EuroLeague: Greece’s Panathinaikos beat Turkey’s Anadolu Efes

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Basketball EuroLeague: Greece’s Panathinaikos beat Turkey’s Anadolu Efes

Greece’s Panathinaikos defeated Turkey’s Anadolou Efes, on Thursday at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Greece won the match 86-70.

Home team Panathinaikos’ Point guard Nick Calathes was a key player for his team as he had a “double-double” in the match, scoring 11 points and dishing out 10 assists.

Greece’s point guard Tyrese Rice was on fire against Anadolu Efes as he scored 18 points, coming off the bench.

Jimmer Fredette helped his team with 11 points, while Georgios Papagiannis tallied 10 points in the victory for Panathinaikos.

It was the second less for the Turkish club in EuroLeague, this year.

Sourced from Hurriyet Daily News.

Vasili’s Taxidi: Danas Deli Café – Marrickville’s longest running shop

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Vasili’s Taxidi: Danas Deli Café – Marrickville’s longest running shop

By Vasilis Vasilas

Climbing up Illawarra Road, as you approach Marrickville, the first shop situated on the very edge of the suburb is ironically Marrickville’s longest- running Greek shop, Danas Deli Café, run by Dimitris and Agathi- and their two daughters, Tina and Olga.

As the shop’s awning states, the shop has been operating since 1962; over 57 years, the Danas family has witnessed Marrickville’s so many changes and they have adapted accordingly to continue providing its customers high quality products and great service.

When Dimitris bought the shop, Marrickville was a very different suburb to what transform into- only a few years later- with the mass influx of Greek migrants. Buying the shop off a New Zealander, who had owned the shop for many years, he highlights the difficulties in undertaking a new business as he was now the ‘dago’ running the shop and all of the previous owner’s customers no longer came to the shop.

Dimitris praises the support of his previous employer, Andreas Antoniou, who ran a delicatessen in George Street, Sydney city, as he gave him enormous support to transform the shop into a delicatessen, Mediterranean Delicatessen.

Shopping attitudes and behaviours were very different at the time; as Flemings supermarket was down the road, the Greek shoppers would do their shopping there, then come and buy what they needed from the delicatessen… then, Dimitris would deliver all their shopping- including all the items from Flemings- to their homes.

With so many newly arrived Greek migrants not knowing English and how various financial and bureaucratic institutions worked, Dimitris’ delicatessen was also a hub for advice, support and services. Becoming a Justice of the Peace, he helped so many migrants with officiating legal documents.

Having married Agathi in 1974, they are a dynamic duo as they have worked together ever since. Business grew and the delicatessen was extended to accommodate more products to satisfy customers’ yearning for Greek products. In the meantime, Dimitris diversified his business by owning a liquor store in Leichhardt and buying Marrickville’s Flemings supermarket.

However, the opening of Woolworths across the road from Danas’ delicatessen had a great impact on the small businesses in the area; customers could conveniently do their fruit and vegetables, groceries and meat shopping in the one place.

Moving with the times, the Danas reinvented the family business into a deli café in 2004; the front section, run by Dimtris and Agathi’s daughters, Tina and Olga, is café while Dimitri and Agathi run the delicatessen in the rear of the shop. Dimitri does not hide his joy of working with both his daughters in the deli café as it highlights they are a family business.

Until recently, the outside of the deli café proudly waved both an Australian and Greek flag as Dimitri is proud of his two homelands; he wishes the younger generation of Australians of Greek heritage maintain a strong sense of Greek identity and support the Greek business network.

For me, what I admire about the Danas family is their perseverance and determination to continue servicing the local area; they have experiences so many changes in the local area and adapted to them… successfully.

Greek airline Sky Express partners with Qatar Airways

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Greek airline Sky Express partners with Qatar Airways

Greek airline Sky Express said, on Thursday, it had signed an agreement with Qatar Airways to cooperate on flights connecting Doha with the Greek islands, in a boost to the country’s key tourism industry.

Tourism accounts for about a quarter of economic output in Greece, which saw a record number of about 33 million visitors last year.

The privately owned carrier, which competes with Aegean Airlines’ subsidiary Olympic Airways on domestic routes, flies to 24 Greek destinations, including the popular islands of Corfu, Santorini and Crete on ATR42 and ATR72 twin engine turboprop aircraft.

Sky Express said the deal would allow passengers to travel across its network.

Qatar Airways, the country’s flagship airline, has been flying to Athens since 2005. Last year it added flights to Thessaloniki and Mykonos.

Sourced from Reuters.

Greek Minister Lina Mendoni meets Ariana Rockefeller in Athens

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Greek Minister Lina Mendoni meets Ariana Rockefeller in Athens

On Wednesday, the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, met with Ariana Rockefeller, the granddaughter of the philanthropist, David Rockefeller Sr.

The Rockefeller family relationship with Greece goes back decades. John D. Rockefeller Jr., David’s father, appreciated and adored antiquity and the history of ancient Athens, Pericles and the creation of the Acropolis. David Rockefeller maintained his family’s love for Greece and ancient Greek Culture by visiting Mount Athos.

In addition, the Rockefeller Foundation funded excavations in Ancient Agora in the 1930s. In 1929, the Foundation provided the capital to complete the construction of the Museum of Ancient Agora along with scholarships to train archaeologists.

For their meeting, Rockefeller gifted the Minister of Culture and Sports with her grandfather’s memoir along with a copy of the record of the donation from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1949. This bequest gave $150,000 to the American School of Classical Studies to continue their work excavating Ancient Agora. The original document lives in the archives of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York.

Rockefeller assured the Minister that she would continue the Rockefeller legacy with her continued involvement in Greek issues as a representative of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Sourced from Cision PR Newswire.

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