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Cannabis use among Greek teens reaches 25-year high

The Greek Herald
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Cannabis use among Greek teens reaches 25-year high

Cannabis use among teenagers in Greece has climbed to its highest level in 25 years, according to new findings released as part of the European Drug Report 2026.

Research by Greece’s National Documentation Center for the EU Drugs Agency found that 11.5 per cent of 16-year-olds reported using cannabis, highlighting growing concerns about substance use among young people.

The report also showed a significant rise in drug-related treatment admissions. Cases linked to cannabis increased by 32 per cent over the past decade, while admissions involving cocaine and other stimulants rose by 106 per cent in the last five years and 256 per cent over the past 10 years. Cocaine use was found to be particularly concentrated in the Greater Athens region.

Researchers also noted the increasing popularity of semi-synthetic cannabinoids. Among 16-year-olds who had recently used cannabis, 44 per cent reported using HHC, while authorities recorded multiple seizures of vaping products containing similar substances during 2025.

Further evidence of changing drug trends emerged from used-syringe analysis conducted in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Volos, which revealed widespread polydrug use involving heroin, cocaine and pharmaceutical substances.

The findings have raised fresh concerns about drug use patterns in Greece, particularly among younger age groups.

Source: Ekathimerini

Metallica fans shook Athens harder than Iron Maiden, seismologists find

The Greek Herald
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Metallica fans shook Athens harder than Iron Maiden, seismologists find

Fans attending recent concerts by Metallica and Iron Maiden in Athens created measurable seismic activity, with Metallica supporters producing the strongest tremors, according to Greece’s National Observatory.

Researchers from the Institute of Geodynamics analysed data collected by earthquake-monitoring equipment installed at the Olympic Stadium and found that crowd movements at both concerts generated micro-quakes.

The study concluded that Metallica fans were not only more numerous but also more energetic, producing seismic activity equivalent to a magnitude 1.5 earthquake during the performance of the song Moth Into Flame.

By comparison, Iron Maiden concertgoers generated tremors equivalent to a magnitude 0.9 earthquake during Killers.

The researchers also examined crowd activity during the EuroLeague basketball final held near the stadium on May 24. While supporters generated measurable vibrations, the seismic activity was lower than that recorded at Iron Maiden’s concert.

“The results highlight how seismology can record not only natural phenomena but also the effect of human activity on the environment,” the institute said.

“The two concerts served as a large-scale natural laboratory where… the Geodynamic Institute was able to study how the collective movement, rhythm and enthusiasm of tens of thousands of fans can be converted into measurable seismic waves.”

Around 80,000 people attended Metallica’s Athens concert on May 9, approximately 30,000 more than the crowd at Iron Maiden’s performance two weeks later.

Researchers said the findings demonstrate how large gatherings can produce detectable seismic signals, offering scientists a unique opportunity to study the effects of human activity through earthquake-monitoring technology.

Investigation underway after historic bell disappears from Pylos fortress

The Greek Herald
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Investigation underway after historic bell disappears from Pylos fortress

Authorities in southwestern Greece are investigating the disappearance of a commemorative bell from a chapel inside the historic Niokastro fortress in Pylos.

The bell, located at the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, was last confirmed in place on May 29 through photographs. Visitors reported it missing on June 6, prompting an inquiry by local authorities and officials from the Ministry of Culture.

Weighing approximately 12 kilograms, the bell was gifted by Russian supporters of Greece and arrived aboard the Russian warship Azov in 2017 during events marking the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Navarino. It was installed in the fortress chapel as a symbol of the historic links between Greece and Russia and to commemorate a pivotal moment in the Greek War of Independence.

Investigators are exploring all possibilities, including theft or an unauthorised removal, as efforts continue to determine the bell’s whereabouts.

The disappearance has sparked concern among local residents due to the bell’s historical and cultural importance. The Battle of Navarino, fought in 1827 near present-day Pylos, saw British, French and Russian forces defeat the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet, helping pave the way for Greek independence.

The incident has also renewed discussion about the protection of religious and heritage artifacts across Greece. In recent years, authorities have examined several cases involving stolen or trafficked ecclesiastical objects, leading to calls for stronger security measures at churches, monasteries and historic sites.

Niokastro fortress, one of Greece’s best-preserved Ottoman-era fortifications, attracts thousands of visitors annually and remains one of the most significant landmarks in the Messinia region.

Source: Tovima

Standoff grows over reopening of Kalavryta’s historic rack railway

The Greek Herald
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Standoff grows over reopening of Kalavryta’s historic rack railway

A disagreement has emerged between the Greek government and local authorities in Kalavryta over the reopening of the famous Diakopto–Kalavryta rack railway, a landmark tourist attraction in the Peloponnese.

Transport Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis has asked the Municipality of Kalavryta to provide formal confirmation that conditions along the Vouraikos Gorge route are safe for train operations during the summer period. The railway has remained largely closed due to concerns about rockfalls and landslides affecting sections of the line.

“The rack railway will not reopen through public statements or demonstrations,” Kyranakis said.

Local officials have argued that the railway has operated for more than a century without any accident caused by falling rocks and maintain that geological risks are considerably lower during the summer months. However, railway authorities say that verbal assurances are insufficient and that a written technical assessment is required before services can resume.

Infrastructure managers have already completed maintenance work, vegetation removal and track cleaning in key areas, while further inspections are ongoing. Authorities continue to evaluate safety conditions before making a final decision on reopening.

The prolonged suspension has frustrated businesses in Kalavryta, which rely heavily on tourism generated by the scenic railway. Many local residents and stakeholders believe the closure is harming the regional economy and are pushing for services to restart as soon as possible.

The debate comes at a time when railway safety remains under intense scrutiny across Greece following the 2023 Tempi rail disaster.

Source: Tovima

Greece bans junk food from school canteens in major health overhaul

The Greek Herald
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Greece bans junk food from school canteens in major health overhaul

Greece’s Ministry of Health has announced a new strict public health regulation which will remove processed ‘junk’ food from school canteens.

This comes as an effort to combat childhood obesity and promote healthy eating habits. The decision was signed by Deputy Health Minister Eirini Agapidaki who defined which products are permitted and which are banned from school canteens.

Products allowed to be sold from school canteens include fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits with no added sugar, and fruit salads or fruit compotes preserved in natural juice. Dairy products such as fresh milk, kefir, ayran (a traditional yogurt-based drink), yogurt, rice pudding, and cream desserts will also be permitted provided they contain no added sugar and meet specific fat content limits.

For baked goods and snacks, whole-grain products will be allowed, such as traditional bread rings (koulouri), rusks, cereal bars, raisin bread, and molasses cookies. In addition, sesame bars (pasteli), halva, and sugar-free plant-based desserts will be permitted, while nuts will only be allowed in middle schools and high schools.

For sandwiches, toast, and salads, only whole-grain bread, fresh vegetables, Greek cheeses, boiled chicken or turkey, tuna, and eggs may be used. Allowed fats are limited to olive oil, olive paste, or soft margarine. Salads may also include grains and legumes.

Pies and pizzas will be allowed only if they contain no processed meats and are made only using olive oil or plant-based oils.

Approved beverages include bottled water, natural juices with no added sugar, plant-based drinks, and herbal infusions (the latter only in secondary education). Coffee is permitted exclusively for school staff.

Prohibited items include processed meat products such as ham, bacon, pariza (a type of processed meat similar to bologna), mortadella, and sausages. Prepared meat-based foods such as gyros, schnitzel, burgers, and kebabs are also prohibited.

Also banned are pizzas and pies containing processed meats, processed cheeses, chips, cheese puffs, chocolate, ice cream, candy, and energy drinks. Additional prohibited items include cakes, traditional Greek sweet breads (tsoureki), croissants, soft drinks, and condiments or spreads such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and chocolate spreads.

Source: Tovima

Inspired by yiayia: Danielle Thiris on ceramics, culture and connection

Christina Savopoulos
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Inspired by yiayia: Danielle Thiris on ceramics, culture and connection

Greek-Cypriot Australian ceramicist Danielle Thiris creates dynamic pieces about connection and culture and offers her own interpretation of her heritage.

Danielle spoke with The Greek Herald about her creative practice, the deep connection she feels to her Greek and Cypriot background, and the themes that continue to inspire her work.

With a background in the music industry, Danielle became a practising ceramicist after completing a short course at Carlton Arts in 2012. She undertook further study at Slow Clay in Collingwood and has since been refining her craft.

Danielle Thiris 6
Danielle Thiris 6
Greek-Cypriot Australian ceramicist Danielle Thiris creates dynamic pieces.

Ceramics began as a hobby for Danielle before evolving into a career in 2020 when a curator discovered one of her pieces in a Fitzroy guest house and invited her into a group exhibition.

Now a full-time ceramicist, Danielle says, “It’s my primary passion, it’s what I get out of bed for. I absolutely love it.”

Danielle’s father is from Rhodes and her mother from Larnaca in Cyprus. She distinctly remembers spending a year at school in Rhodes when she was six years old and riding a donkey to her primary school. She told The Greek Herald that watching her grandmother use different objects growing up sparked her love of vessels and ceramics.

“I grew up observing my yiayia doing a lot of religious ceremonies and rituals and she would always have special vessels or receptacles, whether it was the incense or the holy basil, everything had its special little pot,” she said.

“Special things for the candles and olive oils. I think I was quite enamoured by her rituals and ceremonies. That’s what got me interested in vessels and special sacred objects.”

Danielle Thiris 4
Danielle’s yiayia has inspired her.

Danielle is the first in her family to explore her artistic side through ceramics and her nieces are following closely behind.

“All of my nieces are all really, really good at ceramics. My niece Clara… is a natural at it. My other two nieces who live in Melbourne are also quite incredible,” she said.

Having previously worked with Craft Victoria, Danielle also featured in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Melbourne Now exhibition, what she described as a “career highlight.” Her contribution to Melbourne Now was Souvlaki Whispers, inspired by Ancient Greek pottery.

“I have a very strong resonance to Ancient Greek vessels,” she said.

“I think it’s just from seeing yiayia handle little containers and pots and I also have a strong reverence for history and that similarity that all humans across time and place use vessels. I also like the fact that pots are quite accessible, it’s an accessible way for people to enjoy art. I think the great thing about pots is that everyone knows what they are and they’re instantly recognisable. People understand them and they’re not intimidating.”

Danielle Thiris 3
Danielle is inspired by Ancient Greek pottery.

All of Danielle’s pieces are handmade using individual coils without a wheel.

“I’m quite slow. I’m not a prolific maker,” she said. “I quite enjoy working slowly and letting [the pieces] evolve… That slow process is a big part of my practice and the meaning behind what I’m doing.”

When asked about recurring themes in her work, Danielle quickly answered, “Connection.”

“I connect pots together so I might connect two Greek pots, an amphora and a kylix, and then I might put a German tall vessel in the middle. [My pieces] are about connection and shared human impulse to make things with our hands and I think they’re about the similarities across all cultures. I quite like focusing on that shared humanity,” she said.

“I think there’s a lot of separation and racism unfortunately, and I quite like the idea of bringing all the cultures together. It’s about cultural appreciation and the oneness of humans as opposed to us all being from different places.”

Danielle Thiris 5
All of Danielle’s pieces are handmade using individual coils without a wheel.

Danielle is continuing to develop new bodies of work inspired by Greek and Cypriot vessels. Her future projects will again explore the theme of connection, particularly through the movability of her pieces.

Danielle uses South Australian terracotta, a material she feels aligns with her values and heritage.

“It felt like a truer expression of my cultural identity,” she said.

When developing new pieces, she often finds herself returning to a verb list from sculptor Richard Serra which helps guide her practice.

“It’s a list of verbs – to roll, to pinch, to fold, to move, to twist… The idea behind it is that you’re present in the moment with what you’re making and observing and therefore learning more about the material and responding in different ways and it can inform the making process by watching these little surprises happen,” she said.

See more of Danielle’s work at her website.

Reimagining Giorgis Zorba: Life, death and legacy in ‘Zorba’s Last Dance’

Christina Savopoulos
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Reimagining Giorgis Zorba: Life, death and legacy in ‘Zorba’s Last Dance’

What would happen if the spirit of Giorgis Zorbas visited Nikos Kazantzakis and asked him to change the way he is depicted in Kazantzakis’ novel Zorba the Greek? Award-winning playwright Tom Petsinis answers just that in his refreshing theatre production Zorba’s Last Dance.

Directed by Rosemary Johns, Zorba’s Last Dance was originally performed at La Mama Courthouse two years ago. Recent funding from the City of Melbourne has brought the production back to the stage, inviting a whole new audience to dive deep into the lives of Zorbas and Kazantzakis, played respectively by Evangelos Arabatzis and Dimitrios Koutsoukos.

The encounters between Zorbas and Kazantzakis are framed through contemporary Melbourne characters John (Arabatzis) and Paul (Koutsoukos).

Recently diagnosed with cancer, John asks his playwright friend Paul to write a play about Zorba and give him one final role to play. Through this play-within-a-play, Petsinis explores questions of mortality, legacy and what it means to live a meaningful life.

These ideas are established from the opening moments of the production. Donna Dimovski-Kantarovski, who plays Lyuba, Zorbas’ second wife, alongside several other characters, opens the play with haunting vocals as she recites the lament ‘Zaidi, Zaidi’ (‘Sunset, Sunset’), mourning her husband Giorgis. The lament immediately establishes the production’s thematic resonance of life and death.

Following both sets of characters as they confront their own struggles, the question of what makes a life worth living — and what may await on the other side — remains ever present. 

The characters’ philosophical discussions touch on illness, ageing, finding meaning through music and life’s smaller moments, asking the question ‘When was the last time you felt alive?’. These conversations feel deeply human and are grounded in humour and honesty.

Arabatzis and Koutsoukos bring such energy and effortless rapport to the stage. Their performances transition seamlessly between contemporary Melbourne and the imagined meetings of Zorbas and Kazantzakis. The actors effectively contrast Zorbas’ passion for life and music with Kazantzakis’ reserved nature, often hidden behind his written words.

The ease with which the two actors feed off one another’s energy drives the entire performance. Their humour and dialogue, particularly in the contemporary scenes, create a refreshing sense of realism. Here are two Greek Australian men speaking to one another without relying on the familiar ‘wog’ stereotype for laughs. Instead, they emerge as fully formed characters with their own histories and vulnerabilities.

Petsinis has crafted a self-aware piece of theatre that is not stereotypically Greek while still celebrating the culture and its rich history. He pays homage to the historical realities of these figures’ lives while comedically and insightfully critiquing the flaws of Zorba the Greek.

Rather than placing the original text on a pedestal, Zorba’s Last Dance enters into a conversation with it, questioning who gets to control a person’s legacy and how literature holds the ability to shape the way people are remembered.

The intimate setting of the Greek Centre’s Mezzanine further creates this sense of connection by removing the limitations of a traditional stage space, particularly when the performers sit among audience members and invite spectators to join them in a dance, blurring the line between observer and participant. 

By intertwining the stories of John and Paul with those of Zorbas and Kazantzakis, Zorba’s Last Dance becomes more than a reimagining of a literary classic. It is a thoughtful and often humorous reflection on what it means to truly feel alive.

‘Magnifica Humanitas’ and the Orthodox vision of the human person

The Greek Herald
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‘Magnifica Humanitas’ and the Orthodox vision of the human person

By Dean Kalimniou

Most discussions of artificial intelligence begin with machines. Pope Leo XIV begins with humanity.

At first glance, Magnifica Humanitas appears to be an encyclical about technology. It addresses artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning and the growing influence of digital systems upon contemporary life. Yet beneath these concerns lies a far older question, one that has occupied philosophers, theologians and saints for centuries: what does it mean to be human?

The significance of the encyclical lies precisely here. Pope Leo is less concerned with what machines can do than with what humanity may become in a civilisation increasingly tempted to understand itself according to the logic of its own creations. The danger he identifies is not that computers will suddenly acquire souls or consciousness. Rather, it is that human beings may gradually come to regard themselves as sophisticated mechanisms whose value is measured according to productivity, efficiency and performance.

Such concerns resonate deeply within Orthodox Christianity. Yet the Orthodox response begins from a somewhat different place. Before asking what artificial intelligence can accomplish, Orthodoxy asks what the human person is and what the human person is for. The question is not technological but theological.

Running throughout Magnifica Humanitas is a sustained defence of Christian humanism. Humanity, in this vision, is neither self-creating nor self-sufficient. Human dignity derives from a relationship with God, while fulfilment is discovered in communion rather than autonomy. Orthodox theology encounters little difficulty in recognising this language, although it tends to express the same insight through the scriptural language of image and likeness.

The opening chapters of Genesis describe humanity as being created in the image and likeness of God. Generations of Orthodox theologians have reflected upon those words. The image signifies a gift bestowed at creation, an indelible mark that remains even amidst sin and alienation. The likeness points towards a destiny, a movement towards fulfilment through communion with God. Human existence therefore possesses both an inherent dignity and a future vocation. Every person enters the world bearing a sacred inheritance and a calling that extends beyond the limits of biological existence.

Here Orthodoxy introduces an important nuance into the discussion initiated by Pope Leo. Human dignity is not merely something that requires protection. It is also something that is called towards fulfilment.

Saint Athanasius the Great expressed this vocation in one of the most famous statements in Christian theology: “For He was made man that we might be made God.”

The phrase encapsulates the Orthodox doctrine of deification. Humanity is neither a biological accident nor merely the highest expression of nature. Created in the image of God, the human person is called towards communion with God. Any account of human existence that neglects this transcendent horizon inevitably diminishes humanity, regardless of how sophisticated its language of rights, autonomy or dignity may appear.

A similar insight appears in the theology of Saint Gregory the Theologian. Defending the full reality of Christ’s humanity, he insisted that: “That which He has not assumed He has not healed.”

Human nature matters because God has entered into it. The Incarnation sanctifies the whole person and reveals a vision of humanity that cannot be reduced to cognition, information processing or measurable capability.

The question raised by artificial intelligence therefore reaches beyond technology itself. At stake is a particular understanding of human fulfilment. Increasingly, contemporary culture presents technology as a means of overcoming the limitations of the human condition. Longevity, intelligence, memory and even consciousness are often described as problems awaiting technical solutions. Transhumanist movements openly advocate the enhancement of human capacities through technological means, imagining a future in which humanity gradually transcends its biological limitations.

Pope Leo identifies this aspiration as one of the defining challenges of the present age. Orthodox Christianity recognises the same impulse, yet interprets it very differently.

In one sense, Christianity and transhumanism begin from a similar observation. Both recognise that humanity is unfinished. Both acknowledge that human beings experience limitation, suffering and mortality. Their disagreement concerns the path by which fulfilment is sought.

Repeatedly, Magnifica Humanitas contrasts enhancement with grace. Contemporary technological culture frequently imagines salvation in terms of optimisation, whether through increased intelligence, longevity or capability. Christian tradition has always envisioned transformation differently. Grace does not operate as a technological upgrade. Healing, restoration and perfection occur through communion with God.

Orthodox theology has explored this mystery for centuries through its doctrine of deification. Transformation remains possible. Indeed, it stands at the very centre of Christian life. Yet it is received as gift rather than manufactured as product. Humanity’s destiny is neither self-engineering nor self-transcendence achieved through technology. Fulfilment emerges through participation in divine life.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa offers a particularly illuminating perspective in this regard. Reflecting upon humanity’s relationship with God, he understood spiritual growth as an endless journey into the inexhaustible life of the Creator. Because God is infinite, growth in holiness possesses no final limit. Here one encounters a profound alternative to transhumanism. Christian transcendence concerns ever deeper communion with the divine rather than the continual enhancement of human faculties.

Questions of enhancement inevitably lead to questions of personhood. Artificial intelligence can already perform tasks that once appeared uniquely human. It can converse, compose poetry, generate images and imitate patterns of reasoning. Such developments have led some commentators to speculate about machine consciousness and even machine personhood.

Orthodox theology approaches the matter from a different angle. The decisive question is not whether machines can imitate human behaviour. The question is whether imitation and personhood are the same thing.

Few modern Orthodox thinkers explored this issue more profoundly than Metropolitan John Zizioulas. Human existence, he argued, is fundamentally relational. Personhood is characterised by what he described as “otherness in communion and communion in otherness.” A person exists through relationship.

Artificial intelligence may simulate aspects of human interaction with increasing sophistication. Simulation, however, remains distinct from communion. A machine can reproduce language. It cannot love. It can imitate empathy. It cannot enter into self-sacrifice. It can generate conversation. It cannot freely offer itself to another in communion. Intelligence and personhood are not synonymous.

For this reason, the Orthodox response to artificial intelligence is not rooted in fear of technology. The issue lies elsewhere. Humanity risks forgetting what constitutes personhood in the first place.

The encyclical’s discussion of Babel points towards another dimension of the problem. Pope Leo invokes the Tower of Babel as a symbol of humanity’s attempt to secure fulfilment through its own ingenuity. Such imagery possesses obvious relevance in an age increasingly inclined to seek salvation through technological means.

Ancient monastic writers recognised pride as the root of spiritual illness because it obscures humanity’s dependence upon God. From Eden onwards, Scripture presents the temptation to become one’s own god as one of the defining features of the human condition. Artificial intelligence has not created this temptation. New instruments have merely given it fresh expression.

Father Alexander Schmemann observed that modern societies increasingly seek fulfilment through systems, institutions and techniques while neglecting humanity’s deeper spiritual vocation. His observations possess an undeniable relevance today. Technological progress offers remarkable possibilities. Yet no system, however sophisticated, can answer questions that are ultimately spiritual in nature.

At the same time, Orthodoxy does not regard technology as evil. Churches themselves are filled with matter transformed into vehicles of grace: wood, stone, paint, gold, incense and music. Creation remains fundamentally good.

Saint Maximus the Confessor provides an important framework for understanding this distinction. Every created thing, he taught, possesses its own logos, its inner principle and purpose, finding coherence within the eternal Logos. Distortion arises not from creation itself but from its misuse.

The danger therefore lies not within technology but within humanity’s relationship to it. Artificial intelligence is neither humanity’s saviour nor its destroyer. Its consequences depend largely upon the spiritual condition of those who wield it.

One of the most distinctive Orthodox contributions to the contemporary discussion concerns the role of struggle in human flourishing. Prayer is difficult. Fasting is difficult. Forgiveness is difficult. Spiritual growth has always been associated with effort, perseverance and sacrifice.

Contemporary culture increasingly seeks technologies capable of removing effort from human activity. Efficiency becomes a supreme value. Friction appears as a problem to be eliminated. Yet one may reasonably ask whether a humanity relieved of every burden risks being relieved of those disciplines through which character is formed.

Artificial intelligence can undoubtedly perform many tasks more efficiently than human beings. Whether efficiency constitutes the highest good remains another question entirely. Ascetic tradition has long recognised that patience, perseverance and struggle play an indispensable role in human flourishing. A civilisation determined to eliminate every form of difficulty may eventually discover that it has weakened some of the very capacities required for genuine freedom.

Orthodox spirituality has never understood freedom as the absence of constraint. Freedom emerges through self-mastery. The monk who fasts, the penitent who forgives and the believer who persists in prayer are not diminishing themselves. They are being formed. A culture increasingly shaped by technologies designed to remove inconvenience may therefore face an unexpected danger. In seeking to spare itself every struggle, it may gradually lose appreciation for the formative power of discipline, patience and sacrifice.

The Fathers understood that every tool carries within it a pedagogy. Human beings are shaped by what they repeatedly do. A civilisation accustomed to immediate answers may gradually lose patience for contemplation. Where memory is routinely outsourced, tradition itself may become attenuated. Should creativity increasingly be delegated to machines, imagination risks being reconceived as a commodity rather than a gift. Technologies do not remain external to those who use them. They become teachers. The question is what lessons they impart.

Ultimately, the discussion returns to the question of human dignity. Saint John Chrysostom repeatedly challenged attempts to evaluate persons according to wealth, influence, status or utility. The poor person, the widow, the stranger and the outcast possessed precisely the same dignity as the emperor because each bore the image of God.

Such a perspective acquires renewed significance in a culture increasingly tempted to evaluate persons according to economic usefulness and measurable output. Human worth cannot be calculated according to productivity. Were capability to become the foundation of dignity, the weak, the elderly, the disabled and the unborn would always remain vulnerable.

Saint Isaac the Syrian expressed the Christian alternative with characteristic simplicity: “What is a merciful heart? It is a heart burning for the sake of the whole creation.”

Love remains the ultimate criterion. No algorithm can teach repentance. No machine can cultivate humility. No technological innovation can replace prayer, sacrificial love or communion with God.

Pope Leo’s encyclical serves as a timely reminder that technological capability and moral progress are not synonymous. Systems created to serve humanity must never be permitted to define it.

One of the more striking images employed by Pope Leo is that of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The choice is significant. Nehemiah’s task was not merely architectural. The restoration of the city was inseparable from the restoration of a people whose identity had been fractured by exile. Walls alone could not save Jerusalem. A renewed understanding of covenant, community and purpose was also required.

The image acquires a particular resonance in an age increasingly preoccupied with technological construction. Humanity is building at a remarkable pace. Digital networks, artificial intelligence systems and vast technological infrastructures continue to reshape everyday life. The question posed by Magnifica Humanitas is whether these achievements are accompanied by a corresponding renewal of moral and spiritual vision.

Orthodox Christianity has always understood renewal as an inward as well as an outward work. Churches may be built, institutions established and societies organised, yet the Fathers consistently insisted that the true rebuilding of Jerusalem begins within the human heart. The ascetic tradition repeatedly returns to this theme. Before walls are rebuilt, the image of God within humanity must be renewed and brought ever closer to its likeness.

Towards the conclusion of Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo frames the contemporary moment as a choice between two visions of civilisation. One places its confidence in technological mastery and increasingly seeks fulfilment through systems of its own creation. The other understands human flourishing as inseparable from relationship with God. Readers will recognise echoes of Saint Augustine’s distinction between two cities founded upon different loves.

Orthodox theology approaches the same question through a somewhat different lens. The Fathers repeatedly observed that cultures are ultimately shaped by the object of their worship. Civilisations become reflections of their deepest desires. A society devoted to power will organise itself accordingly. A society devoted to wealth will eventually mirror its priorities. Questions raised by artificial intelligence therefore concern more than technology alone. They concern the kind of civilisation humanity wishes to become and the ultimate source from which it seeks meaning.

The Fathers never imagined a world of algorithms, neural networks and artificial intelligence. Nonetheless, they understood with remarkable clarity the temptation accompanying every age: the inclination to place one’s trust in the works of one’s own hands.

Whether fashioned from cedar, bronze, marble or algorithm, idols remain identifiable by the promises they make. Power without wisdom, mastery without transformation and transcendence without God constitute their perennial offer.

The question confronting the age of artificial intelligence is therefore not whether machines can become more human. The more urgent question is whether human beings, captivated by their own creations, will remember what it means to be human at all.

Sweet smell of succession for Oakleigh icons passing the torch without burning the house

Mary Sinanidis
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Sweet smell of succession for Oakleigh icons passing the torch without burning the house

The story of Nikos Cakes and Vanilla Lounge is, in many ways, the story of the Greek Australian community itself.

Built by migrant parents who arrived with little more than determination, family, and a willingness to work hard, both businesses grew from humble beginnings into community institutions. Decades later, their children face a challenge every bit as difficult as building the business itself: how do you pass it on without tearing the family apart?

That question was at the heart of a Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) event at Vanilla Lounge’s The Terrace on Thursday, June 11.

Chaired by HACCI Victoria Board Chair Fotini Kypraios, the event brought together Yianni Poupouzas of Nikos Cakes and Tia Tsonis of Vanilla Lounge for a candid conversation about succession, family politics, money, conflict, and legacy.

‘We bathed our kids together’

The connection between the two families goes back decades. Nikos Cakes matriarch Tess Poupouzas recalled the years when both families were juggling young children while trying to establish themselves. A κουμπαριά (godparent relationship) developed, and the children became godbrothers and godsisters.

“The kids used to take baths together,” she laughed.

Tess Poupouzas, one of the founders of Nikos Cakes.

While Yianni’s family lived in Templestowe and Tia’s in Sandringham, they were constantly in and out of each other’s homes. Alongside the children, the businesses grew, intertwined.

“With family businesses, you just grow up in it,” Yianni said. “It becomes part of your everyday life.”

His childhood memories involve being bundled into the car on Saturdays and taken to work with his parents, beginning a journey from box-folder and dishwasher to manager and eventual business leader.

For Tia, business was equally inseparable from family life.

“I remember sitting in the first booth at The Medallion folding boxes,” she said. Business conversations happened around the dinner table, in the car, and within earshot of the children. “You learn that it’s about responsibility.”

Tia Tsonis.

The danger of trends

One of the night’s most revealing stories came from Yianni’s attempt to modernise Nikos Cakes after expanding into Fairfield. Like many businesses, the family believed they needed to become more contemporary, and traditional Greek products made way for trendier offerings. It was a flop.

“A lot of people think relevance means being on trend all the time and sort of chasing your tail,” Yianni said, adding that customers weren’t looking for another fashionable café, they wanted Nikos Cakes. The lesson, learnt the hard way, was simple: authenticity matters. “Just keep that train on the tracks,” he said.

Tia agreed. “How do you stay relevant in hospitality? Forget TikTok. Forget Instagram. Forget the socials. Focus on your brand and your people. Focus on giving the best service and the best of yourself that you can.”

She pointed to Eaton Mall itself as proof. “Why are people still coming to Eaton Mall? What draws people back to Nikos Cakes, to Vanilla, to Meat Me, to Orexi, to Caffe Greco, to Melissa? It’s our hospitality. That’s how we stay relevant. You do what you do best, and you grow through that.”

Conversations families avoid

For all the discussion about lawyers, accountants, and structures, both speakers agreed that succession usually succeeds or fails because of communication.

“A lot of the challenges faced by families in business boil down to communication, or very bad communication, and the setting of expectations,” Ms Kypraios observed.

“Silence doesn’t always mean harmony,” Yianni said, noting that families often avoid difficult conversations about ownership, responsibility, and succession until tensions have already formed. “If you see conflict on the horizon, you’re probably too late.”

For the Poupouzas family, the need for succession planning became more urgent as the next generation started families of their own.

Nikos Cakes – The Poupouzas family.

“What prompted our need for succession planning and looking toward the future was our growing families,” Yianni said.

“Whilst we were growing kids under mum and dad’s umbrella, they looked after us, we were fine. But once we started getting married things shifted a little bit, and then things majorly changed when we started having children. We had a greater need to support ourselves.”

The discussion inevitably turned to the often-taboo topic of money. “When it comes to business, you need to remove the family element and ask what each person contributes and what that is worth,” Yianni said.

At Nikos Cakes, family members are paid according to their contribution. At Vanilla, the family eventually adopted an equal partnership structure. While they chose different paths, both families arrived at the same lesson: clarity prevents resentment.

This prompted an audience member to ask: do you ever sacrifice the best business decision to preserve family harmony? “It’s definitely a democracy,” Tia replied.

Nobody fights like family

The biggest laughs of the evening came when the conversation turned to family conflict.

“We are at each other’s throats all the time,” Yianni admitted. “I can sit up here and pretend we’re the perfect family and it was rosy and amazing. It’s not the truth. We disagree quite animatedly. When we disagree, we disagree colourfully.”

Anyone raised in a Greek family immediately understood. Yet, somehow, the disagreements strengthen rather than weaken the business. The secret, according to Tia, is to “put the little ego at the door and really go into the pursuit of what is right for the business.”

More than cakes and coffee

Speaking of legacy, Tia reflected on growing up in a different era.

“The ’80s and the ’90s were very simple,” she said. “Those values and those feelings of being together as a family and working together as a family had a different meaning by the time we got to adulthood. We sort of grew in the business when it was a simple time.”

Vanilla – The Spanos family.

Whether future generations will embrace hospitality in the same way remains uncertain. “I don’t know if all of our children would be able to navigate the world of hospitality,” she admitted.

Ms Kypraios referenced a well-known family business saying: “Generation one builds the business, generation two grows the business, and generation three destroys it, because cousins are different to siblings.”

Neither family intends to let that happen.

The evening’s most emotional moment came when Tia recalled her late father, Thanasis Spanos, and the values he left behind. “Our love for our dad and our mum gives us wings every day.”

Thanasi Spanos - Vanilla Founder
Vanilla Founder Thanasi Spanos and his father (left), Thanasi mosaic at Vanilla (right).

She remembered the word her father repeated throughout his life: Dynami. Strength. Or, as he liked to explain it to Australians, power. “He would always say, ‘Dynami. Don’t worry. Don’t have fear.'” In fact, those were among the last words he spoke to her before leaving for the hospital.

It is the same spirit that built Nikos Cakes and Vanilla Lounge. And if Thursday night’s conversation proved anything, it is this: succession is not just about ownership or structure, it is about protecting what was built together, before it gets lost between generations.

Nikos Cakes celebrated 30 years in business with dancing, food festivities and offered customers a chance to win a trip to Greece.

*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Mary Sinanidis

Tribute to the late John Halikos becomes defining moment of Darwin GleNTi

The Greek Herald
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Tribute to the late John Halikos becomes defining moment of Darwin GleNTi

Another successful Darwin GleNTi has come and gone, but organisers say one moment will linger longer than any other — a moving tribute by the Opa School of Hellenic Dance to the late John Halikos.

As part of the performance, Halikos’ portrait was displayed while celebrations paused and attendees raised a glass in honour of one of GleNTi’s greatest contributors.

The builder and philanthropist passed away on March 4 at the age of 66 following a sudden heart attack. A proud Kalymnian and “much-loved Territorian,” he left an enduring mark on both the Northern Territory and his ancestral homeland.

Through the Halikos Group, he helped shape Darwin’s construction, hospitality and development sectors, creating opportunities for countless Territorians over many years. His family’s businesses became synonymous with the growth and development of Darwin, contributing significantly to the city’s economy and community life.

Despite his success in Australia, Halikos remained deeply committed to his birthplace of Kalymnos. His philanthropic contributions included funding the “Halikio” (Chalikeio) building at the Vouvaleio General Hospital of Kalymnos at his own expense, helping strengthen healthcare services on the island.

He also supported schools, families facing financial hardship, vulnerable groups and numerous projects aimed at improving healthcare, transportation and daily life across Kalymnos and neighbouring Pserimos.

The tribute formed part of another highly successful GleNTi festival, which attracted an estimated 40,000 people to Darwin’s Esplanade across two days of food, music, dancing and entertainment.

Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia President Michael Koulianos said this year’s event surpassed previous festivals, raising $21,000 for NT Police Legacy.

Blessed with perfect dry season weather, crowds packed the Esplanade throughout the weekend to enjoy Greek hospitality, traditional cuisine and cultural performances. Vendors reportedly struggled to keep up with demand despite increasing stock levels, while the evenings were filled with music, dancing and celebrations late into the night.

For many attendees, however, it was the Opa School of Hellenic Dance’s tribute to Halikos that proved the festival’s most memorable moment – a fitting honour for a man whose legacy continues to be felt in both Darwin and Kalymnos.

Source: NT News

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