Greece celebrated the Epiphany over the weekend with Blessing of the Waters ceremonies across the country.
According to Ekathimerini, the good weather drew large crowds to the outdoor ceremonies. People witnessed as swimmers dived into seas, rivers or lakes to retrieve the Holy Cross thrown by Greek Orthodox priests.
In the Greek port of Piraeus, a cross is traditionally thrown three times, to accommodate the throngs of swimmers. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece was unable to attend this year’s event due to testing positive for COVID-19.
Το φως των Θεοφανείων στέλνει ένα ισχυρό μήνυμα ελπίδας και προόδου. Και καθώς βρισκόμαστε στην αρχή του 2024, έχουμε το δικαίωμα να ατενίζουμε το μέλλον με περισσότερη αισιοδοξία, με περισσότερη αυτοπεποίθηση.
Elsewhere, in Chania on the Greek island of Crete, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the Blessing of the Waters ceremony.
In a speech, Mitsotakis said that “at the dawn of 2024 we have the right to look to the future with more optimism, with more confidence.”
Acknowledging the geopolitical difficulties and inflation, the Prime Minister added that “we will continue to fight for a better everyday life for all Greek women and for all Greek men.”
The state’s best International Baccalaureate (IB) students have gathered in Adelaide to celebrate their year 12 success, with one being from Greek heritage – Chloe Tziavrangos.
Pembroke School student, Chloe Tziavrangos received a score of 40, joining fellow students in their success while rivalling the world’s brightest school-leavers all over the world.
According to Adelaide Now, The IB curriculum is regarded as an “academically rigorous pre-university matriculation course” and is available in 150 countries worldwide, including a dozen Adelaide based schools.
Pembroke School congratulated students for their IB results via Facebook yesterday.
It was fitting that the occasion was also held by Pembroke School, which has provided the globally acclaimed final years school program alongside the standard SACE curriculum at its Kensington Park location since 1989, when it was first offered in Adelaide.
The largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous arachnid – the deadly funnel-web spider – has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park in Sydney, where it will help save lives.
The Sydney spider was named after the Greek God “Hercules” due its size, measuring in at 7.9 centimetres from foot to foot, surpassing the park’s former record-holder from 2018, “Colossus”.
According to ABC News, spider specialists from a neighbouring park made the discovery on the Central Coast of New South Wales, finding the largest male funnel-web spider specimen ever obtained in Australia.
“Hercules”
Spider keeper, Emma Teni at Sydney’s Australian Reptile Park with “Hercules.”
“We’re used to having pretty big funnel-web spiders donated to the park, however, receiving a male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot,” said Emma Teni, a spider keeper at Australian Reptile Park.
“His [Hercules] venom output could be enormous, proving incredibly valuable for the park’s venom program.”
Since the inception of the program in 1981, no fatalities have been reported in Australia from a funnel-web spider bite.
The painting of ‘Wally the galah’ by artist, Kelly Batsiokis, which was taken from the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide only days after Christmas, has been recovered by authorities and returned to its rightful home.
According to Adelaide Now, the cardiology team from The Hospital Research Foundation had purchased the artwork in 2022 for the unit’s waiting area.
Batsiokis asserted that the painting was not cheap, and the purchase was “an incredibly generous gesture for the staff and patients”.
“Thank you to whoever handed him in,” Batsiokis said.
Lyell McEwin cardiology staff are overjoyed at the return of ‘Wally the galah’. Photo: Adelaide Now.
The framed, 1.2m-high painting, which was stolen on December 28 by a man dressed in High Vis, was discovered undamaged and neatly wrapped inside an Elizabeth funeral home.
On January 2, the same 38-year-old Salisbury Heights man was reported for the theft, with the painting finally being returned to the hospital this morning.
The Salisbury Heights man will be arraigned in Elizabeth’s Magistrates Court at a later date.
Epiphany, the “festival of light” or “ton Foton,” is one of the most glorious celebrations for Christians around the world.
On January 6, Eastern Christianity celebrates the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, a landmark event in the life of Jesus. John baptised God to fulfill his righteousness. The baptism is believed to have happened in at Al-Maghtas, or Bethany, across the Jordan river, located in today’s Jordan.
According to the Scriptures, Jesus arrived from Galilee to John, his cousin and chosen by God to proclaim His coming, to be baptised. As Jesus was emerging out of the waters, the Heavens suddenly opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him.
God’s voice was saying: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am pleased.”
Therefore, most denominations of Christianity view the baptism of Jesus as a major event, and the foundation of the baptism rite.
In the western denominations, this day is commemorated one day in the week following the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and, in Roman Catholicism, the baptism of Jesus is one of the light mysteries added to the Rosemary.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is the feast of the Trinity. The biblical story of the Baptism of Christ is recorded in all four Gospels: Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s, and John’s.
Epiphany is the day where purification and glorious justice prevails on earth and in heaven. Christians believe that, on the day of Epiphany, every remaining evil spirit or ghost on earth, takes leave, which is facilitated with the spraying of the homes, businesses, schools, and crops with the Holy water, “agiasmos.”
The Greek Orthodox church performs the “Great Blessings” of the waters, which is a ceremony performed twice, once inside the church, and the second, a liturgy in the open air and close to large bodies of water, be it a river, a lake, or the sea.
The ceremony is performed by the priest, surrounded by brave men and women, who jump to catch the cross from the freezing waters.
The lucky diver victoriously returns the cross to the priest and is then blessed by him. Later, the priest releases a white dove, which symbolises the Holy Spirit.
Illustration
The symbolic significance of the Baptism is great, with the purifying element of the water and the background illuminated, usually with gold or yellow hues. The symbolism of the light in iconography expresses the fundamental theme of “revelation,” as is sung in the hymn of the Feast: “Christ appeared and enlightened the world.”
The Baptism of Christ, from an Armenian Gospel Book, 1455. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
The narrative is uniquely translated in Christian iconography:
Commonly, on the left side, we see John the Baptist, dressed in camel hair, as he was a desert hermit. His arms are extended, in expression of prayer and reverence, directing others towards Christ. John is conducting the Baptism with his left hand.
At the top of the illustration, the Heavens are open, signified by a semicircle. The Holy Spirit is captured in the form of a white dove descending upon Christ.
Then, at the center, there is Jesus, standing in the water, occupying the most important dimensions of the icon, who is vested in a white waistcloth and blessing the waters with his right hand.
The Baptism of Jesus. Icon from St. Paraskeyi and Kyriaki of Souli, Marathon, 18th century. Konstantinos A. Benakis heritage. The Benaki Museum. The flowery patterns are influences from the Ottoman décor.
Opposite John the Baptist, the iconography usually depicts an angel or angels, with the heads bowing in reverence to Christ.
Illustrations of the Baptism vary among Christian denominations, but the central configurations of the Jordan river, Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit, often captured in the form of a dove, is hardly ever differentiated.
Iconography manifests this similarity, as the Baptism of Jesus, in the Greek Orthodox Church, has been one of the two occasions when all three figures of the Holy Trinity revealed themselves, at the same time, to humankind: God, the Father, speaking from the clouds, God, the Son, being baptised and God, the Holy Spirit, revealed as a dove, descending from the heavens.
The United Cup quarter-final will pit second seeds Greece, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, against the 16th-seeded Germans, Alexander Zverev and Anqelique Kerber today in Sydney.
Both sides advanced from their respective Sydney groups with 1-1 records: Greece topped Group B, while Germany’s performance was enough to advance despite finishing second in Group D.
According to theATP Tour, Tsitsipas and Zverev ended their 2023 season at the Nitto ATP Finals, though neither advanced to the semi-finals in Turin.
Prior to the season finale, they contested their 13th Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup, with Tsitsipas winning at the Rolex Paris Masters to improve to 9-4 in the rivalry.
“The matches are always close. He’s a great competitor,” Tsitsipas said of Zverev, who joins him inside the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Sakkari is also wary of her seasoned German opponent, Kerber, despite a perfect 2-0 singles record in the United Cup group stage (d. Seguel, Fernandez).
“…It’s going to be very tough. She’s [Kerber] very experienced. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m ready for it,” Sakkari said.
The victor of this quarter-final match will face host, Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Sydney football coach Zacharis Imisides is caught up in a legal battle with the sport’s governing body after being suspended for allegedly sending Snapchat messages to a 14-year-old girl.
According to The Daily Telegraph, 41-year old Imisides was issued a four-year suspension by the Football NSW General Purposes Tribunal after he sent a series of purported Snapchat messages to the teenager while he was coaching the Sydney Olympic FC girls squad.
In its published verdict, the tribunal found that the purported texts delivered to the teenager included “Your smile is dangerous” and “good luck been thinking bout [about] u [you] x.”
Another alleged Snapchat message sent on the girl’s birthday read: “I will be waiting for my birthday kiss.”
Imisides was suspended from all football related activities including coaching. Photo: The Daily Telegraph.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Imisides has denied sending the messages, which he said were delivered over Snapchat by other people he knows.
Imisides told the tribunal the messages were “taken out of context,” were not sexual in nature, and he did not understand what the letter “x” represented in the messages.
The tribunal found it “simply did not believe” that Mr Imisides “was unaware of the clear message” the letter ‘x’ conveyed in the alleged messages sent to the teenager. The tribunal said the alleged conduct constituted an offence under Football NSW regulations.
ImisidestoldThe Daily Telegraph he has since lodged an appeal against the tribunal decision.
Spiros Filidis, the Greek man who was tragically stabbed on his way to the shops in Melbourne’s south east on Tuesday, has been remembered today as a “beautiful soul” by his heartbroken family.
The 46-year-old Greek man was found on the side of the road at the corner of Little Avenue and Widdop Crescent, Hampton East, just after midday on Tuesday with upper body injuries. Emergency services performed CPR, but he died at the scene.
Family and friends have since paid tribute to Mr Filidis, describing him as a nice man, who had twice battled cancer and lived with an intellectual impairment.
“Our beloved Spiros was a beautiful soul who touched the lives of all who knew him,” Spiros’ devastated sister, Eve told the Herald Sun.
“His presence lit up the room, wherever he went. Our hearts are broken. He will be forever lovingly missed.”
The accused 27-year-old man from Moorabbin will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken in Chania, Crete, on Saturday afternoon to discuss support for Ukraine and safeguarding maritime regional security.
Mitsotakis and Blinken last met back in February of 2023, affirming the unshakable partnership between their respective countries.
Sat down with @PrimeMinisterGR Kyriakos Mitsotakis today and affirmed the United States’ unshakeable partnership with Greece. The United States stands with Greece and supports Greece’s continued leadership in the region. pic.twitter.com/AsLWPvcX8h
According to Ekathimerini, alongside discussing necessary security measures, the F35 issue concerning the US approval of Greece’s acquisition of F35 fighter jets will be highlighted as a topic of importance.
The Department of State spokesperson, Matthew Miller shared that over the next week, Blinken is set to visit Greece, Turkey and Israel among many countries.
Australian police agencies offer recruitment drives at various times during the year. The 2023 recruitment campaign from South Australia Police (SAPOL) – You belong in Blue – aimed to increase its pool of police cadets and Police Security Officers (PSO’s).
The campaign, which was launched by SA Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens, features a video with everyday police officers to reflect the diversity of its workforce, to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.
South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens
Former police graduate Constable Kyri who graduated from the police academy in June 2021, spoke to The Greek Herald about why she chose SAPOL over a career in sales and marketing.
Constable Kyri grew up in a Greek household, with three other siblings, has a good command of the Greek language – thanks to Saturday morning classes – and ‘loves’ her yiayia’s spanakopita and kataifi, and her mother’s yiros!
Kyri is still fiercely connected to her Greek heritage, and while at university was involved in Greek social club events and still attends a Greek church for name days, Easter and Christmas.
Constable Kyri graduated from the police academy in June 2021.
“I am [proud], especially after having been to Greece and seeing where my grandparents come from, and the life they have built for themselves and us in Australia,” she said.
Choosing a policing career did not happen immediately after leaving school. Instead, she went to university and worked in sales/marketing administration roles while volunteering at State Emergency Services (SES).
“There wasn’t a particular moment, but I had been volunteering with the State Emergency Services for a while, which I enjoyed, and I was getting a bit restless working in an office, so I put my application in,” she said.
“I had thought about it during university, but I wanted to try other jobs and life experiences, such as travel, before I applied.
SA police officers
“I applied about six years after graduating from uni.”
During the application process, Kyri worked on increasing her fitness levels with the help of a personal trainer, who tailored a running program to help with this goal.
After a successful application, Kyri attended the Police Academy for nine months and graduated in June 2021, where she was relocated to a large country town to begin her career as a police officer.
“Our main task is responding to tasks. If you call the police, we arrive,” she said.
“Secondary to that, is patrolling the town, looking for any types of suspicious activities in the area and showing general police presence to deter crime.
“I am currently enjoying general duties on the road, where I plan to stay for several years.
“Eventually I may wish to join an investigation section – potentially family violence.”
