APRIL 2010 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: vema@bigpond.net.au

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

Volos: Greecein a nutshell

Described as “one of life’s amplest gen-erosities’, this city in central Greece encapsu-lates a blend of history, tradition and nature.

ACADEMIC CHOICES FOR INFANTSPAGE 3/19

The health of a nation

Food and the importance of learning how toprepare meals from a young age.

PAGE 14/30

Eurozone’s 30 blnEuros for Greece

Struggling to cope with the high cost of bor-rowing, Greece was tossed a financial lifelineby the eurozone.

PAGE 9/25

PAGE 13/29

The Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens turns 30 PAGE 5/21

Stadium of first Modern Olympics reopens to visitors

Brain development in the Early Years

www.standrewsorthodoxpress.com.au

Athens' historic Panathenian Stadi-um, the venue of the first ModernOlympic Games in 1896, has re-opened for visits by the public afterbeing closed for restoration at thebeginning of 2000 and reopeningbriefly for the Athens 2004 OlympicGames.

The legendary stadium, dating backto 330 BC, has traditionally hostedathletic events and been a center ofattraction for millions of visitors fromall over the world, and is one of the most important monu-ments in Athens and all of Greece, and this led the HellenicOlympic Committee to decide to reopen the Stadium as avisitors' destination.

The Stadium is now open to visitors throughout the year,from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. between March and October,and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m between November and Feb-ruary, with guided tours, while the ticket price has been setat three (3) euros. The guided tours include information onthe Stadium's rich history, architecture, construction andrestoration, its location, and landmark events for athleticsand Greek civilization, and especially its Olympics history.

The Panathenian Stadium (stadiumof all the Athenians), also known asthe Kallimarmaro (meaning 'beauti-fully marbled') Stadium, is the onlymajor stadium in the world con-structed entirely of white marble,and indeed of the world-renownedwhite "Penteli marble" from nearbyMt. Penteli, the same marble thatwas used 2,400 earlier for the con-struction of the Parthenon on theAcropolis.

The Stadium is the finishing point for the contemporaryMarathon race. The official distance of the route from theancient bridge at Marathon to the Stadium is 42.2 km (26.2miles), which was codified for the 1924 Olympic Gamesheld in Paris.

More recently, the Kallimarmaro Stadium was selected asthe main motif for a high value euro collectors' coin, name-ly the "Panathenian Stadium commemorative coin" minted in2003 in honor of the Athens 2004 Olympics. The Stadium isalso depicted on the flip side of all the Olympic medalsawarded during the 2004 Games and the following summerOlympics of Beijing in 2008.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA2/18 APRIL 2010

ADDRESS OF HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP STYLIANOS

GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY OF 1821

AND THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE THEOTOKOSDelivered 21-3-2010, Sydney Opera House Forecourt

From long ago, we have grown accus-tomed to naming the 25th March the ‘Na-tional Day of the Greeks’ or the celebrationof ‘National Independence’, indeed com-bining it into a double celebration with thereligious Feast of the ‘Annunciation of theTheotokos’ which was for the liberation ofthe entire human race.

It appears, however, that what has oc-curred in more recent times, that is, from1821 to approximately the middle of the20th century, has matured us to the pointwhere we are able to see matters in amuch deeper perspective.

This means that, neither is the releasefrom Ottoman rule an achievement that re-lates only to Greeks, nor could the religiousFeast of the Annunciation of the Theotokosbe of concern only to Christians.

The thirst for ‘freedom’ and ‘self-deter-mination’ is not merely a national postu-late. It is a universal one. And the spiritualrebirth that was required, according to di-vine Providence, to bring misguided man tohis initial but lost destination, is likewise anhonorable nostalgia of all people and alltimes.

However, with these new criteria madeavailable to modern man by pain and mis-fortune in all parts of the modern world,we do not need the so-called ‘globalisa-tion’ (regardless of how one interprets

this!) in order to recognize the originalquality and mutual respect that must existbetween people at least, together withcompassion for every living thing in the an-imal kingdom.

Consequently, peace, justice and mutualcompassion should have replaced theweapons of rivalry and greed from longago. In this way, there would no longer beany need for triumphant parades and thedisplay of enormous expenditure for in-creasingly destructive wars.

The damage to our climate on the onehand, and the unforeseeable work-relatedand traffic accidents on the other, togetherwith the unbelievably multiplying illnesses(of body, mind and soul), would be suffi-cient and great goals for human co-opera-tion and well-being.

Therefore our gathering at this celebra-tion today, first of all invites us all to hon-our the sacrifices of our ancestors - notonly of the Hellenes and Philhellenes, butalso of all those who have struggled forthe honour and ‘liberation’ of the humanperson, from any bonds that have de-prived humanity of the ‘clear horizons’ andthe sincere solidarity between individualsand nations.

May the memory of all these heroes ofthe entire world be eternal!

Amen.

The march proceeds proudly down George Street to Sydney Harbour

The steps of the Sydney Opera House are full in anticipation of the outdoor celebration

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/19

EditorialAPRIL 2010

In two fast-paced April days in Washington, the worldtook a big step out of the age of MAD and into an evenmadder age, when a dark vision of random nuclear ter-ror will shadow our days for decades or more to come.

Almost 20 years after the Cold War’s end, after theend of the chilling US-Russian nuclear standoff of mutu-ally assured destruction, President Barack Obama ush-ered in the new era with an unprecedented, 47-nationsummit to begin to confront this ultimate threat.

It was an important first step. From the highest levels,it conferred top priority on what is planned as a contin-uing effort to better marshal global resources to keepthe stuff of nuclear bombs - plutonium and highly en-riched uranium - out of the hands of terrorists andsmugglers.

Doing so will demand unusual, difficult cooperationaround the world. Nations’ nuclear secrets may be ex-posed. Global inspectors may spotlight governments’ in-eptitude. International advisers may have to rewrite na-tions’ laws to crack down on nuclear sloppiness.

What’s needed is a “new manner of thinking,” Obama

told the assembled presidents and premiers, echoing aprophetic warning from the earliest days of the nuclearage. On April 12 and 13, signalling their readiness to joinin, those leaders pointed to or pledged actions to betterlock down weapons-grade nuclear material and technol-ogy.

Egypt boasted of new legislation criminalising traffick-ing in nuclear goods, for example, and Malaysia of a lawtightening export controls, in a nation grown notoriousas a clandestine transit point for nuclear technology.Ukraine, Mexico and others vowed to give up their high-ly enriched uranium. And the leaders’ final communiqueendorsed Obama’s goal of securing all vulnerable nu-clear materials within four years.

Experts say that will be hard to do, however, as theworld tries to ascertain just how much is out there,where it is, and what’s “vulnerable”.

The fissile materials sit in some surprising placesworldwide - in the power plants of Russian icebreakersand US missile submarines, in university research reac-tors, in storehouses within Japan’s nuclear power sys-

tem. And hundreds of tonnes are packed into deployedor disused nuclear warheads in the US and Russia.

Experts can only estimate the amounts. Something be-tween 1,300 and 1,900 tonnes of weapons-grade urani-um is stockpiled worldwide, the authoritative Internation-al Panel on Fissile Materials reported last year. Merepounds, meanwhile, can make a city-levelling bomb.

The deadly tonnage accumulated during the MAD era,when the US and Russia outdid each other in producingthese exotic manmade heavy metals, and even donatedsome to friendly nations for research reactors.

That Cold War rivalry has faded, but its fissile legacylingers on. Now a nervous world worries less about asuperpower Armageddon and more about the knownnuclear aspirations of al Qa’ida and other terror groups.As for the extent of nuclear trafficking, the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog,counts almost two dozen known incidents involving plu-tonium or highly enriched uranium since the early 1990s.But, again, the world doesn‘t know what it doesn’t know.

ATHENS NEWS

Much has been written in the recent past about thesignificant number of parents who are concerned aboutenrolling their children in what they consider to be thebest ‘academic’ preschools and child care facilities inorder to ensure their children’s success when they be-gin their formal schooling.

Some parents are even signing up their children topreschools and schools before they are born! This con-cern and push for an earlier introduction into the aca-demic world is troubling. Let us not forget that academ-ic can be defined as “anything which is too far from im-mediate reality” and so this effort to create an academ-ically gifted super baby is not only undesirable but alsocontrary to what we are currently learning about howinfants’ and young children’s brains develop.

The developments in neuroscience have provided uswith an explosion of information. New brain-imagingtechniques have allowed us to discover that the brain isnot the mysterious ‘black box’ it once was as we nowhave the ability to see what is going on in the brain asone interacts with the environment. As a result, manyparents are interested in any new findings and howthey can glean any possible advantage for their chil-dren.

Contrary to earlier scientific beliefs that babies areborn with a brain that resembles a blank slate, scien-tists have discovered that learning begins before birth.Let us not forget that the still unborn Saint John the Bap-tist recognised and responded to his mother’s embracewith the pregnant Theotokos (Luke 2:41,44). It is nowwidely accepted that babies are born recognising theirmother’s (and other familiar) voice and music they heardwhile in the womb, and that children know more andlearn faster than was ever thought possible. Scientistshave also discovered that in the first three to four yearsof life the brain develops synapses or connections be-tween cells at a rate so great that it will never be du-plicated throughout life.

This information has been misinterpreted by excitedand excitable parents to mean that babies and youngchildren need extra stimulation during this critical periodand that waiting until after the child has begun schoolresults in ‘missing the boat’ and not allowing the brainto develop its full potential. This oversimplification is justnot true.

The first misconception among the misinformed is thebelief that synapses represent learning and as an ex-tension, the more synapses one has, the better, and thatthey need to be somehow protected in some way sothat they are not lost. It is indeed true that the child’sbrain develops trillions of synaptic connections. What isnot well understood by excitable parents who couldhave a ‘genius’ in their midst is that the brain overpro-duces synapses and an important part of brain devel-opment is the pruning of inappropriate or unnecessarysynapses. For example, every child is born with cellsthat would allow them to pronounce every sound ofevery language in the world. However, the connectionsfor sounds of the languages they hear every day arestrengthened while the ones that are not used arepruned away. This allows children to adapt to andspeak the languages of their parents and caregivers.

Another misconception is that early, special and en-riched environments are essential during critical periodsto develop their child’s brain to its fullest potential. Manyparents have therefore gone to the extreme of ‘dress-ing’ their homes in white and black contrasting images,playing Mozart tapes and using specialised software inorder to provide the most enriched environment possi-ble. Many researchers would argue that this extra stim-ulation is unnecessary.

While there can be no doubt as to the importance ofthe environment on the intellectual, moral and emotion-al development of an individual, the over-stimulated en-vironment has not been found to be any more effectivethan a normal environment. The problems exist at theopposite end of the spectrum when children are raisedin a deprived environment. We know too well about thedevastating effects of a deprived environment on chil-dren, and images of certain severely impoverished or-phanages immediately come to mind. Such environ-ments result in stunted emotional growth and the lossof the ability to speak a spoken language because thebrain has pruned too many synapses as a result of lackof exposure to speech.

The environment is therefore very important to the

development of the child but scientific evidence is yet toshow that any stimulation above the natural interactionthat takes place has any positive impact on a child’s de-velopment.

Every baby and young child prospers in a warm, inti-mate relationship with a primary caregiver. They needto witness and experience models of appropriate socialinteractions and a physically and psychologically safeenvironment where they are free to master their ownworld. Given a normal environment, children are able todo this with minimal intervention on the part of adults.To this end, play is important as it provides young chil-dren with an opportunity to take ownership and explo-ration of their own interests with the support of adults.Activity is the critical component (for more informationsee Jean Piaget’s theories of development) as childrendo not learn effectively through passive input (which iswhy flash cards, workbooks, ‘educational computergames’ etc are not only inappropriate, but in fact de-prive the child of the natural interaction with the world).

Children enjoy learning the most in rich and variednatural settings. Such opportunities arise everywhereand range from going for a walk, gardening or letting achild help with cooking or sorting clothes. The best pos-sible introduction to reading is not the introductorygrammar and language skills books that one can pur-chase, but simply reading to the child or singing songswith him/her.

In closing, I would like to raise a point that causesmuch frustration. I am not arguing both sides, but sincewe now know that children adapt to and learn the lan-guages of the caregivers, I am at a loss as to why manyGreek-Australian parents refuse to speak their maternallanguage to their young children because it “will con-fuse them” and “will interfere with their learning Eng-lish”. Given the fact that children are born with the po-tential to speak every syllable of every language if thisis nurtured, why do we so simply and casually lose thebilingual aspect of our character? The same parentswho enrol their children in enrichment programs dis-courage their children from learning in a natural envi-ronment!

To comment, agree or disagree, visit http://peter-mav.livejournal.com/

* Peter Mavrommatis is a teacher of Orthodox Studies and Per-sonal Development at St Spyridon College Senior School, Sydney.

By PETERMAVROMMATIS *

ACADEMIC CHOICES FOR INFANTSBrain development in the Early Years

New mindset in world disarmament

The Greek Australian VEMA APRIL 20104/20 TO BHMA

Greek National Day

at St John’s CollegeOn Tuesday 23rd March, St. John’s Greek Orthodox Col-

lege celebrated our National Day with enthusiasm.Throughout the ceremony, we were overawed by theamazing performances by the junior and senior students.The programme included traditional Greek dancing,singing and a wonderful, heartbreaking play was per-formed. The highlight of the programme was the heartmoving performance of the three Grade 1 students whosang the Greek National Anthem with such passion.We were honoured with the presence of His Grace Bish-op Ezekiel, Reverend Father Chris Dimolianis, Dr. C. La-dopoulos and the President of the Parents’ Association MrP. Stavros.

Commemoration at Melbourne’sShrine of Remembrance

On Thursday the 25th March, Student Office Bearers at-tended the Doxology at the Church of St Eustathios. Thiswas followed by a wreath laying ceremony at the Shrineof Remembrance. The Office Bearers then representedthe College at the Hellenic Branch of the RSL.

Angelia Gentikoglou andRaphael Papaspyropoulos

College Captains

P R O S I T O SW e b D e v e l o p m e n t & I . T . C o n s u l t i n g

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Greek NGO worker

kidnapped by Taliban freed A Greek man who has lived for

years in northern Pakistan is freeand in good condition sevenmonths after being kidnapped bysuspected Afghan Taliban, officialssaid on April 8. Athanasios Lerounisran a welfare centre and school inChitral district, and has lived innorthern Pakistan since the mid-1990s.

He was kidnapped by some 30gunmen believed to be from neigh-bouring Afghanistan in a Septem-ber encounter that killed a securityguard. Greece’s ambassador inIslamabad, Petros Mavroidis, saidLerounis was freed on April 7 butwas still with Pakistani authoritiesin Chitral. He was expected toreach the Pakistani capital late onApril 8, Mavroidis said, adding thathe had no other details. Exactlyhow or where Lerounis, who policesaid is in his 50s, was freed wasunclear.

A Pakistani government official,Rehmatallah Wazir, said months ofnegotiations between tribal elders,security agencies and AfghanTaliban were involved. He also saidsecurity forces “rescued” Lerounis,but wouldn’t describe what hemeant by that.

The Greek had been held at onepoint in Afghanistan’s Nooristan

province, but now “he is with us.He is safe and in good health,”Wazir said. The kidnappers wanteda ransom for the man, but nonewas paid, Wazir added. He alsosaid earlier reports that a Pakistaniservant had been kidnapped alongwith Lerounis in the Bamboret areawere incorrect.

Kidnappings for ransom havesoared in Pakistan, where the lawand order situation has frayed dueto the rising militant threat.Although most kidnappings are ofPakistanis and are carried out byregular criminal gangs, some arebelieved to help fund militantgroups.

ATHENS NEWS

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 5/21APRIL 2010

THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT ATHENS TURNS THIRTY

By Wayne Mullen

The Australian Archaeological Instituteat Athens was established in 1980 fol-lowing negotiations with the Greek gov-ernment. The Institute is similar to theother scholarly institutions in Athensmaintained by major European andAmerican countries. Some of these, suchas the French School (École Françaised’Athènes), the American School ofClassical Studies at Athens and theBritish School at Athens have existed forwell over a century. In 2010 the AAIAturns thirty and although it receives noGovernment support it is well-estab-lished among the other sixteen ForeignSchools in the Greek capital.

The AAIA was founded by its currentDirector, Professor Alexander Cam-bitoglou who arrived in Australia in 1962and became the first person of Greekbackground to be appointed a UniversityProfessor in this country. As Professor ofArchaeology, one of his early initiativeswas to establish the first Australian Ar-chaeological Expedition to Greece, to thesite of Zagora on the island of Andros,and later on to the site of the ancientcity of Torone which lies on the Sithoniapeninsula in Chalkidike. He fostered thisfieldwork through his personal and pro-fessional contacts in Greece, but knewthat with his death or retirement Aus-tralian archaeological field work in thecountry would cease without the exis-tence of formal Australian cultural repre-sentation in Athens. Thus the idea of theAAIA was born, but its establishmentwas only achieved with great effort! Andonce it was in existence its growth wasnot guaranteed and has only been se-cured after years of hard work by theDirector, by the staff and by the many,many supportive members of the publicand of the Greek community who havehelped it prosper. For his achievementsProfessor Cambitoglou has been hon-oured in this country with the award ofan Order of Australia and in Greece withthe award of an Order of the Phoenix,both granted for services to the disci-

pline of Archaeology. Fundamentally,therefore, the purpose of the Institute isto represent Australian scholars inGreece who wish to undertake archaeo-logical research - which it does throughapplying for permits for fieldwork via theGreek Ministry of Culture. Its role, how-ever, is very broad since its constitutionsupports the promotion of Hellenic cul-ture in general, including Classical,Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies.

To further these aims AAIA’s activitieshave become national and internationalin scope. Its Australia-wide membershipincludes many enthusiastic individuals,each of the major Universities in Aus-tralia that teach Classics, Ancient Historyor Archaeology and cultural organiza-tions like the Powerhouse Museum anda number of high schools. We are proud,for instance, to include a high schoolfrom the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, StSpyridon’s College, as one of our mem-bers as well as St Andrew’s Greek Or-thodox Theological College. In additionSocieties of Friends of the AAIA havebeen founded in each Australian stateand in Athens. These groups offer schol-arships and run public fund-raisingevents to support the AAIA and promoteits aims.

One of its major contributions in Aus-tralia is the annual Visiting Professorshipwhich brings a distinguished scholarfrom Europe or America to lecture andgive seminars in all the major Universi-ties of the country. Recently it has alsocreated a Visiting Professorial ResearchFellowship that will bring to Australia atregular intervals for a period of a fewmonths a distinguished foreign scholarto do his or her research in Sydney.

Publishing represents an importantpart of its activities. It publishes twojournals being partly responsible for thepublication of its official journal, Mediter-ranean Archaeology and fully responsi-ble for the publication of its Bulletin.

The Institute’s headquarters are in theUniversity of Sydney where its main li-brary for archaeologists is kept andwhere its administration is based. Oncampus it maintains strong connectionswith the Department of Classical Archae-ology, the superb Nicholson Museum ofantiquities and the Centre for Classicaland Near Eastern Studies of Australiawith whom it shares many facilities.

The Institute also has an office inAthens which helps Australian scholarsthat need to carry out research inGreece and a hostel in that city as well.

The hostel is a wonderful place, anapartment in Makriyianni close to theAcropolis and the new Museum that pro-vides simple and decent accommodationfor students, scholars and members ofthe public who choose to stay in it. InAthens the AAIA runs an academic pro-gramme of lectures and seminars forthe local academic community and asummer school in collaboration with theDepartment of Classical Archaeology ofthe University of Sydney designed pri-marily for Australian university students.It offers a fellowship every second yearand every year it offers a number ofscholarships for students to travel toGreece. Last but not least it carries outfieldwork in Greece, presently at Toronein northern Greece, Zagora on the islandof Andros and at Kythera. From 2009 ithas also become a sponsor of the Aus-tralian Archaeological Mission to Paphosin Cyprus which excavates at the ancientcity of Nea Paphos and its important the-atre.

Last week the AAIA celebrated its thir-tieth anniversary with a reception de-signed to acknowledge the Institute’smany achievements and the people in-volved with its establishment. This washeld in the presence of the Chancellor ofthe University of Sydney, Her ExcellencyProfessor Marie Bashir AC, CVO (who isalso the President of the Institute), TheGreek Ambassador, the Cypriot HighCommissioner and the Greek ConsulGeneral.

The programme for the evening in-cluded a short speech by ProfessorCambitoglou about the “Prehistory” ofthe AAIA which listed many of the per-sonalities who were integral to the de-velopment of the Institute, a short talkentitled “The Northern Frontier: Greeksand Thracians in Ancient Argilos” by theAAIA’s Professorial Research Fellow,Professor Jacques Perreault. The eventconcluded with the award of the Insti-tute’s inaugural gold medal for scholarlydistinction in the Classics and Archaeolo-gy to the eminent academic ProfessorGraeme Clarke AO.

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO, President of the AustralianArchaeological Institute at Athens with its Foundation Director, Professor Alexander

Cambitoglou, AO

His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos with Professor Cambitoglou during a visit to St Spyridon College, Maroubra

His Excellency Mr Alexios Christopoulos,Greek Ambassador to Australia,

addressing the Institute’s 30th Anniversary

The view of the Parthenon from the Institute’s Hostel in Athens

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA6/22

Facts & StatsAPRIL 2010

Jobs outlook suggests rates beyond average next yearThe prospects of a further strengthening

jobs market suggests that the Reserve Bankof Australia (RBA) will be lifting the cash ratebeyond a more `normal' level next year,conomists say.

But there was nothing in the latest labourforce report for March to alter their variousviews as to when the next move in rateswould likely be - ranging from May out toJuly. The Australian Bureau of Statistics re-port showed the jobless rate remained at5.3 per cent in March, staying above Janu-ary's surprise low of 5.2 per cent.

The number of people employed in themonth rose by a seasonally adjusted 19,600with full-time employment jumping by30,600, but offset by a near 11,000 drop inpart-time workers.

"Today's indication of continuing solidlabour demand is encouraging for the RBA,supporting its decision to raise the cashrate 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent thisweek," ANZ senior economist Amber Rabi-nov said.

Prior to this month’s rate rise, the centralbank had indicated that lending rates werearound 50 basis points below average.

Still, Thursday's data showed February'soutcome has been revised down from a400 employment rise to 4,700 fall, markingthe first jobs decline since August 2009.

Employment Minister Julia Gillard saidthese figures underscored the need forcaution.

"For caution in a too-rapid withdrawal ofeconomic stimulus, given the work it hasobviously done and is continuing to do tosupport Australian jobs," she told reportersin Melbourne.

She said the report showed how somecompanies have been able to convert part-time jobs to full-time as the global financialcrisis recedes.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow agreedthat the employment report provided furtherevidence of the effectiveness of the gov-ernment's response to the global recession.

"But we should not forget that there arestill 619,100 people without jobs who con-tinue to struggle financially with personaland household debts, and this week's risein interest rates will not help," she said in astatement.

National Australia Bank senior economistSpiros Papadopoulos said leading indicatorsof employment remain strong, and expectssolid hirings will continue through 2010.

He expects the unemployment rate to bearound 4.7 per cent by the end of this year,and heading towards the low fours in late2011.

"That will maintain the pressure on the

RBA to get rates back to average, and so aMay rate hike remains on the cards," hesaid.

More worrying for homeowners, it alsosuggests the central bank will be takingrates beyond neutral next year.

RBS chief economist Kieran Davies saidbusiness surveys show slack in the labourmarket is rapidly disappearing.

"This matters for the RBA given that atighter labour market raises the odds ofcatch-up wage increases," he said.

"This suggests that inflation should accel-erate next year, which is why we think thatthe RBA will move beyond neutral to tightpolicy in 2011."

A survey by mortgage broker Loan Mar-ket showed that more than 30 per cent ofAustralians spend over half their monthly in-come repaying mortgages, credit cards orpersonals loans.

Loan Market chief operating officier DeanRuston said this was "quite a staggeringstatistic".

"If official rates go back up to traditionallevels of around 5.5 per cent from the cur-rent level of 4.25 per cent too quickly then alot of mortgage holders will be struggling tomake their repayments," Mr Rushtonwarned.

AAP

Demand for homeloans falls for fifth

straight monthDemand for home loans contin-

ued to wane in February, even be-fore the two latest interest rate in-creases, data released earlier thismonth shows.

Just 50,287 mortgages weregranted to owner-occupiers inFebruary, down by a seasonally-adjusted 1.8 per cent compared toJanuary, the fifth consecutivemonth of decline, Australian Bu-reau of Statistics data shows.

Economists' forecasts had cen-tred on 1.0 per cent fall in Febru-ary home loan commitments.

Last year's three interest raterises and an end to the federalgovernment's more generous firsthomebuyer grant at the end of2009 were blamed for the steadydrop-off in mortgage demand.

The Reserve Bank of Australiahas since raised the cash ratetwice this year, the most recentbeing at last week's monthlyboard meeting that took the cashrate to 4.25 per cent and 125 ba-sis points above its 2009 trough.

First homebuyers made up 18.1per cent of loans granted in Feb-ruary compared to 20.5 per cent inJanuary, and down from a recordhigh of 28.5 per cent in May 2009.

AAP

Depressed adultssmoke more

Adults who suffer from depres-sion are twice as likely to smokeand also smoke more heavily thanadults who are not depressed, astudy released recently shows.

Forty-three per cent of all adultsaged 20 and older who sufferfrom depression smoked ciga-rettes, compared with 22 per centof adults who were not de-pressed, data compiled by the USNational Centre for Health Statis-tics, which is part of the Centresfor Disease Control and Preven-tion show.

The phenomenon was the mostmarked among men between theages of 40 and 54 and womenbetween the ages of 20 and 39.

More than half of men with de-pression, aged 40-54, were smok-ers compared to less than a quar-ter of men in the same age groupwho were not depressed, whilehalf of women aged 20-39 whosuffered depression smoked com-pared with 21 per cent of womenwho were not depressed.

Nearly three in 10 adults withdepression smoked more than apack of cigarettes per day, whichwas almost twice the rate foradult smokers who were not de-pressed.

AFP

The rich get richer and the poor get the picture, sang aussierockers Midnight Oil in the early 1980s.

And according to Australian National University economistProfessor Andrew Leigh those lyrics pretty much sum up thefindings of his new study into wage disparity.

Working with Oxford University professor Sir Tony Atkinson,Prof Leigh tracked wages back to the 1920s to determine theshare of income held by the rich.

Using taxation statistics, the study found that the incomeshare of Australia's best paid workers has been rising at arate far outpacing ordinary workers.

The top one per cent, those on more $200,000 a year, havedoubled their share of household income wealth since 1980.

While the top 0.1 per cent, about 1000 people on more than$700,000 a year, have tripled their share of household incomeover the same period.

Prof Leigh said former Midnight Oil frontman and Labor min-ister Peter Garrett had it right when he sang "the rich get rich-er and the poor get the picture".

"It's not that the poor are actually getting poorer, it's just thatthey are not enjoying the same gains from growth that the topare," he told reporters in Canberra.

The study noted several reasons for the trend, which ProfLeigh expects will continue.

These include cuts to top tax rates, companies sourcing in-ternational executives on international wages, and technologychanges.

Australia's experience has been mirrored in other English-speaking western countries like Britain, the United States andCanada, but not in continental Europe.

Prof Leigh says that's because German speaking CEOs, forexample, would have more opportunity to head up a Germancompany. He says while the findings are hardly surprising, thestudy will help to fuel a national debate around inequality.

"Rising inequality strains our social fabric, and this is a meas-ure of the economic power accruing to those at the very top ofthe distribution."

AAP

Study shows the nation's rich

are getting richer

OECD figures show drop inAustralia's aid spending

Australia's overseas aid spending slipped by 1.4 per cent in 2009,but the country remains on course to achieve its 2010 goals, ac-cording to OECD figures released earlier this month.

Official development assistance (ODA) by donor countries of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rose 0.7per cent in real terms and 6.8 per cent once debt relief was ex-cluded.

Australia's contribution fell by 1.4 per cent to 0.29 per cent ofgross national income (GNI), despite the overall increase by mem-bers of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

The drop in Australia's figure was "due to high debt-relief levelsin 2008 which did not continue into 2009", the OECD report said.

A spokesman for Parliamentary Secretary for International Devel-opment Assistance Bob McMullan said the drop was more of a "s-tatistical anomaly" due to discrepancies in the way the OECD andAusAid calculate their figures.

"There are discrepancies between the OECD's reporting periodand AusAid's reporting period. The OECD looks at calendar years,whereas AusAid reports in financial years," he told AAP.

"We had around $300 million dollars in debt relief in Iraq whichexpired just before the OECD reporting period, so that counted asODA but not in the current period."

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 7/23APRIL 2010

‘We have found the Messiah’

- Apostle Andrew (John 1:41)

www.standrewsorthodoxpress.com.au

An initiative of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

So Greek: Confessions of a

conservative leftie From one of the most senior corre-

spondents in the Canberra Press Gallerycomes a rare account of life as a politi-cal insider.

Born in a small village in Cyprus, NikiSavva spent her childhood in Mel-bourne’s working-class suburbs - fron-tiers where locals were suspicious ofolive oil, and Greek kids spoke Gringlishto their parents.

Only a few decades later, despite allthe challenges of being a migrantwoman in Australia, Savva had risenthrough the ranks of political journalismat The Australian, and had gone on tohead the Canberra bureaus of both theMelbourne Herald Sun and The Age.

Then in 1997, family tragedy struck,and she was forced to reassess her ca-reer. In spite of her own Labor convic-tions, she became Liberal treasurer Pe-ter Costello’s press secretary, a role thatshe kept for six years before moving onto join John Howard’s staff.

This is one of the few books aboutAustralian political life written by an in-sider with decades of exposure to its

major players. Hilarious, moving, andendlessly fascinating, Savva’s is a storythat moves between countries, cultures,careers and, ultimately, political convic-tions.

Polish President laid to rest

New era in US-Russian relations

Tens of thousands of grieving Polestook to the streets of Krakow to attendthe state funeral of President LechKaczynski and his wife.

The Polish president and his wifewere killed in a plan crash last Saturday.Another 94 high-profile Poles perishedin the same accident. Several worldleaders, however, were forced to can-cel their trip to Poland due to the hugecloud of volcanic ash that has tightenedits grip over much of Europe.

Among the leaders who abstainedfrom the funeral were US PresidentBarack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor AngelaMerkel.

US President Barack Obama andRussian leader Dmitry Medvedev signeda landmark treaty on earlier this month,committing their nations to major nu-clear arms cuts. Under the new Strate-gic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), theformer Cold War foes will be allowed amaximum of 1,550 deployed warheads,about 30 percent lower than a limit setin 2002.

It also imposes limits on the air- andsubmarine- borne intercontinental ballistic missiles that carry warheads. Agreed to af-ter months of hard bargaining, the treaty was signed by the two presidents in theSpanish Hall of Prague Castle.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA8/24 APRIL 2010

2011 Scholarship

Examinations and

Enrolment Interviews for

Years 4 to 12

“A School with Values and Tradition” St John’s Greek Orthodox College will be conducting its Scholarship Examinations and Enrolment Interviews for 2011 on:

Friday 28th May, 2010 9 am – 12 noon in the Junior School Multi Purpose Hall.

The College has a broad academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular programme and is well-supported with caring teachers and outstanding facilities. Pastoral Care and Religion programmes are conducted from P – 12 to assist students with their personal and social development. St John’s College engenders a caring and safe learning environment for the whole community.

Scholarship Details Two categories of Academic Scholarships are offered:

1. Part Scholarship: 50% discount on tuition fees only. High Academic Performance in Test.

2. Full Scholarship: 100% discount on tuition fees only. Exceptional Academic Performance in Test.

The School also offers Music and Sporting Scholarships. If you wish to register your interest or an interview contact the Administrative Officer Ms Athanasiou on 9480 5300 by Thursday 20 th May.

Pact forged with Turkey,Erdogan to visit in mid-May

Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and his Turk-ish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu agreed to boost bilateral contacts atthe government and military level in a bid to settle longstanding dis-putes.

“This new vision is based not on a perception of mutual threat butan understanding of common interest,” Davutoglu said following talkswith Droutsas in Ankara. Meanwhile, Turkish press reports said thatTurkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Athens in mid-May, two weeks earlier than scheduled.

Australian stunt bike riderjumps over Corinth Canal

Australian motorcycle stuntrider Robbie Maddison earlierthis month successfully per-formed an 85-metre jumpover the Corinth Canal.

Maddison, 28, has carriedout similar jumps across theworld, including one on Lon-don’s Tower Bridge. “The firstobstacle I had to overcomewas my fear,” he said after the Corinth Canal feat.

Consumer website goes onlineConsumers can have their

product safety questions an-swered at the click of a mousebutton thanks to a new web-site set up by the federal gov-ernment.

The site productsafety.gov.aucontains a wealth of informa-tion on all manner of con-sumer products, from babygoods and cosmetics to furni-ture and vehicles.

It details what's safe andwhat's not, what to look outfor in new purchases and howto use products safely.

Consumer Affairs MinisterCraig Emerson said it was thefirst time consumers had ac-cess to a one-stop site an-swering a range of productsafety queries.

They'll also be able to makeinquiries and complaintsthrough the website, whichwas set up in response to a2006 Productivity Commission

recommendation. Informationon current safety bans as wellas statistics and the debunkingof common product myths willalso be available.

Local and overseas suppli-

ers are expected to take ad-vantage of the site to ensuretheir products comply withAustralian law, Dr Emersonsaid.

AAP

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Thursday 20th May.

ENROL NOWPositions available in some classes/years

Kindergarten to Year 12

Phone: (02) 9796 8240 Fax: 9790 7354PS: officeps@steuphemia.nsw.edu.auHS: officehs@steuphemia.nsw.edu.auWebsite: www.steuphemia.nsw.edu.au

ST EUPHEMIA COLLEGE202 Stacey Street, Bankstown, NSW 2200

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

ST EUPHEMIA COLLEGE K-12

LEARNING FOR LIFESince its founding in 1989, St Euphemia College has forged a reputation for academic excellence, a caring pastoral program,

a disciplined and safe environment that is responsive to individual student needs and fostering a love for lifelong learning.

What does St Euphemia offer?* Dedicated and enthusiastic staff

* Small class sizes

* Specialised teachers and facilities

* State of the art computer laboratories

* Competition sport

* Literacy and Numeracy support programs

* Enrichment programs

* A wide range of subjects

* Opportunities for community service

* Expanding facilities

* Instruction in English in all Key Learning Areas

Scholastic Success* Consistent top 3 School rank in the Bankstown area

* Attainment of State rankings in HSC Design &

Technology, IPT and Modern Greek

* Numerous Band 5 and 6 results in HSC subjects

* Very high proportion of tertiary entrance

* Ongoing excellent results in NAPLAN, Selective

School, School Certificate and HSC examinations

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 9/25APRIL 2010

Struggling to cope with the highcost of borrowing, Greece wastossed a financial lifeline by the euro-zone, when finance ministers agreedin a teleconference to provide Athenswith emergency loans of up to 30 bil-lion euros.

Although some technical details stillneed to be ironed out, it was an-nounced in Brussels that the terms ofthe rescue package had been agreed.

Luxembourg Prime Minister and Eu-rogroup chairman Jean-Claude Junck-er said that Greece would receive themoney in the form of bilateral loansthat would be coordinated by the Eu-ropean Commission and paid throughthe European Central Bank (ECB).

“If the mechanism had to be activat-ed, it would not be a violation of theno-bailout clause (in the EuropeanUnion treaty) since the loans are re-payable and contain no element ofsubsidy,” he told reporters.

European Economic and MonetaryAffairs Commissioner Olli Rehn saidloans would carry an interest rate ofabout 5 percent.

Earlier this month, the yield on

Greek 10-year bonds rose above 7.5percent, its highest since 1998.

Rehn also said that the Washington-based International Monetary Fund(IMF) would make a “substantial con-tribution” to the deal, probably about10 billion euros.

Greece auctioned 1.2 billion eurosof government bonds as it seeks toraise about 11 billion euros by theend of May to refinance debt andmeet interest charges.

The announcement in Brussels waswelcomed in Athens.

“A very important decision has beenmade,” said Finance Minister GiorgosPapaconstantinou.

“The Greek government has notasked for the activation of the mecha-nism, although it is immediately avail-able.

“We believe that we will be able tocontinue borrowing on the marketswithout any obstructions.”

Papaconstantinou said that Greecewould participate in a joint technicalcommission with the EU, ECB and IMFto finalize how the mechanism wouldwork.

Eurozone’s 30 bln for Greece

Members agree on amount available in emergency loans; interest rate to be at about 5 percent ‘I am certain that, among the faithful,

there will be many interested listeners who will benefit from this devoted effort

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The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA10/26 APRIL 2010

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 11/27

HealthAPRIL 2010

CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE‘Ischaemic heart disease is a disease of middle age’.

When I was a young medical student, one of my men-tors would always quote this line whenever a youngpatient in their forties presented with a heart attack.

I was reminded of this line this week when I learnedof the sudden death from a heart attack of a young manin our community.

The term ‘ischaemic heart disease’ refers to coronaryartery disease or coronary heart disease. This is the un-derlying cause of a heart attack.

What causes a heart attack?

Coronary artery disease is the slow build up of fattydeposits on the inner wall of the arteries that supply theheart muscle with blood. The fatty deposits, known asplaque or atheroma, can narrow the inside of the arter-ies. A heart attack begins when an area of plaquecracks. Blood cells may stick to the damaged area andform a clot that suddenly and completely blocks theflow of blood to the heart muscle.

The lack of blood to the heart muscle (called ischae-mia) permanently damages the blood supply.

What is the incidence of coronary artery disease?

Coronary artery disease is the number one cause ofdeath in modern western society. Coronary artery dis-ease is responsible for one in three deaths in Australia.Coronary artery disease in Australia is three timesmore common in men than in women. Around one quar-ter of patients die from the acute event and half ofthese die before they reach the hospital.

What is atheroma?

Atheroma (or plaque) is an accumulation in the walls ofarteries; made up of cells, or cell debris that contain

lipids (cholesterol and fatty acids), calcium and fibrousconnective tissue.

In the context of the heart, atheroma, in the coronaryarteries, are commonly referred to as atheromatousplaques.

The process of atheroma narrowing coronary arteriesbegins in early life and continues throughout life.

What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

The main symptom of a heart attack is chest pain ordiscomfort which can sometimes feel like a heaviness,tightness or pressure on the chest. The pain may radi-ate to the neck or jaw or down the left arm.

Other symptoms which may be associated with thepain include shortness of breath, nausea, sweating andfeeling dizzy or light headed.

The symptoms may come on suddenly or developover minutes. The symptoms may become progressive-ly worse.

A heart attack is a medical emergency. And if some-one is suspected of having a heart attack, emergencymedical assistance should be sought by calling the am-bulance, that is call triple zero (000) and ask for ambu-lance.

What are the risk factors for a heart attack?

The risk factors, that is, things that increase yourchances of having a heart attack include:

• High blood pressure• High cholesterol• Smoking• Diabetes• Gout• Increasing age• Being male (the male predilection exists forpatients 40-70 years. After 70 yrs of age,both sexes are affected equally)• Family history of coronary artery disease• Unhealthy eating• Excessive alcohol intake• Lack of exercise• Stress

These risk factors may increase the risk of developinghardening of the arteries (or artherosclerosis) due toatheroma. Most of the risk factors are independent, andif two or more are present they have a multiplication ef-fect. If only one risk factor is present, the patient doesnot have so much cause for concern.

How is a heart attack diagnosed?

A heart attack is diagnosed by performing an electro-cardiograph or ECG. A blood test will measure substances released into the

heart muscle when the heart is damaged. One of these

substances is ‘troponin’. A rise in the troponin level isindicative of a heart attack.A chest x-ray may be performed to visualize the heart.

An angiogram will show whether the coronary arteriesare narrowed or blocked. An angiogram is a procedurewhere a small tube or catheter is inserted into an arteryin the groin and guided into the heart. Dye is injectedthrough the catheter into the coronary arteries and x-rays are taken. The x-rays reveal the condition of thesearteries and outline the degree of narrowing of thecoronary arteries.

How is a heart attack treated?

Treatment of a heart attack should commence as soonas possible. If the ambulance attends, the ambulanceofficers will usually place an oxygen mask over the pa-tient’s face. This is to increase the oxygen level in theblood stream in an effort to increase the chance of thecardiac tissue which is lacking in oxygen (or ischaemic)receiving the oxygen it requires.

Aspirin is a medication which helps thin the blood andminimise the clot. It too may be offered by the ambu-lance officers.

In effect, often the treatment starts before the diagno-sis is made. Such simple emergency treatment mayminimise the damage to the heart muscle.At the hospital, once the diagnosis is made, other spe-

cial clot-dissolving medicines may be administered di-rectly into the blood stream.

Some patients may require angioplasty and stent im-plantation.

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure that aims to re-store blood flow to the heart by using a special balloonto open a blocked artery from within the artery. Afterangioplasty is performed to open up a blocked coro-nary artery, a special expandable metal tube (‘stent’) isusually inserted into the site, expanded, and left in placeto keep the artery open.

Other patients may require coronary artery bypassgraft surgery (CABG) where surgery is performed toredirect blood flow around a narrow artery, allowingthe blood to flow more freely into the heart muscle.

How can one reduce the risk of heart attack?

Addressing the lifestyle factors that contribute to coro-nary artery disease can reduce the risk of a heart at-tack.

One must exercise, be smoke-free and avoid expo-sure to other people’s cigarette smoke. Enjoy a healthydiet and minimise alcohol intake. Achieve and maintaina healthy body weight, reduce cholesterol and manageblood pressure by taking medication as prescribed.

Talk to your doctor today about your risk factors forcoronary artery disease.

* The information given in this article is of a general nature and readersshould seek advice from their own medical practitioner before embark-ing on any treatment.

HEALTHNEWSNEWS

WITH DR. THEO PENKLIS *

ΕΛΛΗΝΑΣ ΥΔΡΑΥΛΙΚΟΣ

SPECIALISING IN

- HOT & COLD WATER

- EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS

- BLOCKED DRAINS, TOILETS

- LEAKY TAPS, PIPES

- GAS, REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA12/28 APRIL 2010

Rev Dr Doru Costache

In the following, I shall attempt to address the richtreasure represented by the liturgical tradition of the Or-thodox Church, as annually experienced during Great Lentand the Pentekostarion (the fifty days between Paschaand the Pentecost). The two liturgical periods presentstructures that remain unusual for the rest of the year, il-lustrating their climactic significance for a genuine Chris-tian worldview and phronema. Indeed, the Paschalnight/day seems to constitute the point of intersection fora number of different liturgical rhythms or ways of spiritu-al experience. For the symbolic power pertaining to therespective terms, I will designate this variety as the ‘notyet’ rhythm, the ‘today’ rhythm and the ‘already’ rhythm.

The ‘not yet’ rhythm is perfectly illustrated by theLenten-type week. When browsing the liturgical calendar,we realise that the Lenten week begins on Monday to endon Sunday, according to the symbolic pattern of a journeytowards a certain goal. Given the obvious specific natureof the Great Lent as a time dedicated to spiritual endeav-ours and ascetic undertakings, it seems appropriate to in-fer that this structure of the week suggests a crescendofrom the toils of the spiritual labours, as represented bythe weekdays, to the reward embodied by Sunday. Never-theless, we cannot escape the feeling that the journey ofa Lenten week never reaches a proper end: each Sunday,with its mild rule of fasting, remains far from matching theabundance of regular Sundays. Since, according to St Max-imus, joy is the name of the future blessing, and since theexpressions of joy are limited for any Lenten Sunday, thereward is not yet fully bestowed on us. It may come as nosurprise therefore that each Lenten Sunday looks like ashort break during a storm, before a new plunging into thewhirling waters of a new challenging week of fasting. Thesymbolic architecture of the Lenten week fits very well thehistorical model of the journey undertaken by God’s peo-ple towards the eschatological Kingdom, reminding us ofthe transitory state of our current condition. The lesson ofthe Lenten week is clear: Lent is not a goal in itself, we arenot yet there, and there is much more to do.

After the Great Lent, whose traditional end is markedby the Saturday of Lazarus, a new type of liturgical expe-rience is open. With the Saturday of Lazarus and for thewhole period that ends with Pentecost, everything is about‘today.’ Nothing just happened; instead, everything is hap-pening. The events narrated by both the scriptural read-ings and the liturgical hymns of the period abundantly usethe term ‘today,’ pointing to the ongoing character of thesalvific events related to Christ’s passion, resurrection,ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit. It is the properrhythm characterising the life of God’s people, which con-stantly reiterates the experience of the first generation ofChristian witnesses. According to the symbolic typology ofthis period, there is no historical break between the expe-rience of the first Christian generation and our own expe-rience with Christ. We are not disadvantaged because welive two millennia after the events, for the simple fact thatthe events transcend history and offer us the opportunityto experience them today, here and now. We are Lazarus,we are the crowds acclaiming the humble Lord of glory,we are the disciples, we are the witnesses of the NewCovenant at the mystical supper, we are Judas, we arethose insulting Christ and those crucifying him, we arethose mourning him, we are the myrrh-bearers andThomas, we are God’s people, mystically instructed forforty days, receiving the Spirit and being sent to the endsof the world to preach the Good News to all nations, in alllanguages and to all cultures.

Together with the repetitive occurrence of the word‘today,’ this reality is manifoldly made evident. The priestliterally takes Christ off the holy cross (the Aποκαθήλωσιςservice) and we all pass underneath the holy epitaph, thetomb of Christ, on Holy Friday; thus buried with Christ, weexperience on Saturday morning the earthquake causedby the liberating descent of the Lord into the Hades; still inthe tomb, we anxiously wait in the dark to see the light,

which literally shines in the night of Pascha, and we risetogether with Jesus, resurrected by him whom death can-not defeat...

All these ritual moments are meant to enforce ourawareness of the ever-unfolding events and our contem-poraneity with them. Everything happens ‘today’ and thereis no room for doubt. Like the apostles, we proclaim:

“That which was from the beginning, which wehave heard, which we have seen with our eyes,which we have looked at and our hands havetouched - this we proclaim concerning the Wordof life. The life appeared; we have seen it andtestify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternallife, which was with the Father and has appearedto us. We proclaim to you what we have seenand heard, so that you also may have fellowshipwith us. And our fellowship is with the Father andwith his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to makeour joy complete. This is the message we haveheard from him and declare to you: God is light;in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim tohave fellowship with him yet walk in the dark-ness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if wewalk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fel-

lowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus,his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:1-7).

‘Today’ inaugurates the third rhythm, that of the ‘al-ready.’ This corresponds to the structure of the first res-urrectional week (known as Bright Week) that begins withSunday, as a sign of abundant grace and joy, being con-tinued through the weekdays, as symbols of the laboursfor the appropriation of the gift that is already bestowedon us. This structure is common to all subsequent weeks.The historical pattern is still present, given that the weekssucceed each other in their unfolding towards the escha-ton. Nevertheless, this time we journey confidently, sincethe light has been manifested and accompanies us alongthe whole distance. Such is the experience of the newpeople of God: sent to the world (εν ειρήνη προέλθωμεν)to joyfully bring the Good News that everything which hasbeen done is for us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, theSon of God, and by believing we may have life in his holyname (see John 20:30-31). A message of hope, which un-veils the complex character of the ecclesial phronema, ascherished by the Orthodox Church in its paschal journeythrough history...

* Revd Dr Doru Costache lectures in Patristics at St Andrew’sTheological College, Sydney

Not Yet, Today, Already: Paschal Digressions on the Liturgical Rhythms

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia An initiative of the Greek Orthodox Parish and Communities of

St. Paraskevi and St. Barbara - Blacktown and St. Ioannis – Parramatta in collaboration with St. Andrew’s Theological College

The series will be held each Tuesday eveningfrom May 4th till June 8th 2010,

7.15 – 9.00 p.m. at St. Ioannis Church Hall, 11 Hassall St, Parramatta. (No fees. Parking in the council car park in Hassall St is free from 7pm)

A COMPREHENSIVE COURSE IN ENGLISH WHICH SEEKS TO BRING US CLOSER TO OUR FAITH

Tuesday 4th May

“THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY TRINITY: A PARADIGM FOR TRUE HUMAN LIVING” Dr Philip Kariatlis, Lecturer in Theology, St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox College

Tuesday 11th May

"MYSTERION KAI LEITOURGEIA: LIVING SACRAMENTALLY" an attempt to bridge the "weekend rhythm" of the liturgy & sacraments, and the "weekday rhythm" of the personal - usually not

"religious" – experience

Fr (Dr) Doru Costache, Lecturer in Patristic Studies,

St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College

Tuesday 18st May

“LOVE, A SHORTCUT TO HEAVEN” Fr Nicholas Stavropoulos, CEO St Basil’s Homes

Tuesday 25th May

“SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF MENTAL ILLNESS” Dn & Dr George Liangas, Deacon and Psychiatry Registrar, Westmead Hospital

Tuesday 1st June

“AUTHENTIC ORTHODOX TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS” Fr Sotirios Papafilopoulos, Parish Priest at St. Paraskevi Church Blacktown

Tuesday 8th June

“WHOEVER DESIRES TO COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME” (Mark 8:34)

Fr Dimitri Kokkinos, Parish Priest at St. Ioannis Church, Parramatta

Dr Philip Kariatlis, Lecturer in Theology, St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 13/29APRIL 2010

Travel

BY H. ARGYROPOULOS

Imagine a sprawling seasidecity with a green, snow-cappedmountain in the background, allreflected in the tranquil watersof the Pagasitic Gulf.

At this time of year, this is thefirst impression visitors have ofVolos, 330 kilometers north ofAthens.

The country’s third-largestport and a city with considerableattractions, the capital of the dis-trict of Magnesia in centralGreece is an excellent base forexploring the famously wonder-ful district of Pilio to the east butis also a destination in itself.Novelist Menelaos Lountemiswas not wrong when he de-scribed Volos as “one of life’samplest generosities.”

It was from this area, the loca-tion of ancient Iolcos, that, ac-cording to Greek mythology, Ja-son and the Argonauts sailed offto the Black Sea in their questfor the Golden Fleece.

The roots of the modern cityof Volos are found in the ancientfort, built in the middle of the 6thcentury, where the Palaia neigh-borhood is today.

Its construction coincided withthe abandonment of the nearbyancient city of Demetrias - foun-ded by Demetrius Poliorcetes,one of the successors of Ale-xander the Great - which haddeveloped into a strong buildingcenter of rowed vessels.

The fort protected a small porton its southern side, whichserved the exportation of pro-duce from the plain of Thessalyin the west and Pilio.

The port started gaining im-portance in the middle of the17th century and large ware-houses were built around it. Atthe end of the 19th century, thenorthern and southern sides ofthe fort were knocked down andthe interior was inhabited.

After 1830, merchants beganbuilding a new city on the north-eastern side of the castle, withrows of workshops, shops andhouses along the coast. The newcity, still under Ottoman rule, be-came a flourishing trade center -partly due to its proximity to thethen border of the fledglingmodern Greek state - and Euro-pean powers set up consulatesthere.

The addition of the region of

Thessaly to Greece in 1881 in-tensified the pace of develop-ment, evident in the growth ofconstruction, with monuments

as well as modern and neoclas-sical buildings characteristic ofthe era. Accomplished architectsadorned the city with imposingchurches. The railway station,the great warehouses, work-shops and newly established in-dustries brought new forms ofindustrial architecture then foundmainly in Central and WesternEuropean cities. Labor activists

in Volos made the first attemptsin Greece to set up trade unioncenters in the early 1900s.

Volos received a large num-

ber of refugees after the disas-trous Greek military campaign inAsia Minor in 1922. This spelleda new, significant change in thebroader area’s social, economicand cultural life, including itsgastronomic profile. Thanks tothis impact, the broader Volosarea now has more than 400 ofthe famous “tsipouradika,” eateries serving a wide variety ofappetizers to accompany shotsof tsipouro, the popular alcoholicspirit.

With a developed industrialbase, Volos was one of themain growth centers of thecountry’s labor movement dur-ing the economic recession ofthe 1930s, when many workersdied in violent clashes with po-lice.

A strong earthquake in 1955destroyed a large number ofVolos’s neoclassical buildings,which largely led to its contem-porary architectural profile. To-day it is a bustling city of about80,000 and more than 6,000 stu-dents, often envied for its quali-ty of life which is afforded by itsseaside location, the relativelyunhurried pace of life and, par-ticularly, proximity to Mount Piliowith its many wonderful attrac-tions.

ATHENSPLUS

VolosDescribed as ‘one of life’s amplest generosities’, this city in central

Greece encapsulates a blend of history, tradition and nature

Greece in a nutshell

What to see

Take a stroll along the seafront - ifthe weather is nice, everyone will bethere; the railway station, designed byItalian engineer Evaristo De Chiricoand constructed in 1882, and the ex-cellent railway museum (tel 2421023424, open 7.30 a.m. - 2.30 p.m.,Monday-Friday) on the station’s firstfloor; also take the small train to Pilio,also built by De Chirico; the centralmarket and municipal theater - a verylively hub; the archaeological sites ofDemetrias, Iolcos, Dimini and Sesklo,believed to be the oldest Neolithic set-tlement in the Balkans.

Where to stay

Hotels: Hotel Aigli (24 Argonafton,tel 24210.25691), three-star, on theseafront; Electra (24 Topali, tel24210.32671), three-star, in the cen-ter; Nefeli (10 Koumoundourou & Dim-itriados, tel 24210.30211), in the cen-ter; Park (2 Deligiorgi, tel 24210-36511). Eating out: Kavouras (8 Hatzi-rargyri), old tsipouradiko with verygood appetizers; Remvi (25 Plastira,tel 24210.27952) fish taverna on thewater; Spyropoulos (7 Feron, tel24210.30588), popular taverna, stapleGreek dishes with Asia Minor influ-ences; Pyrofani (1 Tsopotou, tel24210.31370), tsipouradiko.

MuseumThe remains of a Byzantine fort and

acropolis at Servia, on the eastern si-de of Polyfyto Lake and next to a gor-ge with intriguing human - and ani-malshaped rocks. The lake is crossedover by the longest highway bridge inthe Balkans (1,372 meters). Other op-tions in the area include touring thelakeside, water-skiing and visiting thepretty, leafy little town of Velvento -famed for its fruit orchards and as thebirthplace of Giorgos Zorbas, whoprovided inspiration for Nikos Kazan-tzakis’s “Zorba the Greek” - and thewaterfalls at Skepasto.

21 3

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA14/30 APRIL 2010

Arts, Food & WineThe health of the nation

Editor: Imogen Coward

By Dr Ann Coward

Before going any further, let me quickly explain, firstly,that I’m not a medical doctor, and secondly, that this is notan article about the plight of our hospital system; it’sabout food and the importance of learning how to pre-pare meals from a young age. We’ve all had a chance tosee Jamie Oliver extol the virtues of Italian and Frenchchildren’s knowledge of good food, and how their palatesare trained, whether it be at home (Italy), or through theschools (France). But what about Australia’s children andyoung adults?

Recently, some young friends of mine spent a few daysas boarders in a university college. I had told them myown college experiences, of how Sunday’s roast was stillbeing served until the following Friday, by which time ithad gone through various permutations, the deep-friedcroquettes marking the end of what had originally beencooked six days earlier. We were provided with fresh sal-ads daily, a variety of cooked vegetables and a choice ofhot or cold breakfasts, but, as with all institutionalized liv-ing, we students did end up with dietary deficiencies aftera very short stay in college. I also lived for a while in acollege where the boarders cooked their own meals. Well,I cooked meals. One other student cooked steak and chips

every night for a year, while another cooked fish fingersand frozen peas every night for dinner. The rest ate at thelocal truck stop.

On this recent occasion, my young friends (who havebeen used to preparing their own fresh meals at home)were served meals that been brought in by the collegeand heated up for the students. Two nights were quiteenough for them, so the following evening they ate at thelocal RSL club, one of the clubs that helped close the cof-fin lid on country cafes in the 1960s. There, for less thanwhat the college charged for pasta, they managed to havea full roast dinner and for a few dollars extra buy a sirloinsteak with salad and vegetables on one evening, andbraised lamb shanks, served with chips and salad, on an-other. The only thing the club and the university collegehad in common, and this I found quite alarming, was thatthey both had fully stocked bars. The college, in its wis-dom also provided a number of machines, stocked withchips and lollies. This is appalling. If we are to be a nation of healthy peo-

ple, we need to have a good, hard look at how we viewthe provision of meals, not only for school children but foranyone who is reliant upon an institutional setting for theircare, be it students, the armed forces, patients or the eld-erly.

And what about our attitude to alcohol? Well, the Re-sponsible Service of Alcohol certificate just about sums upour nation’s immaturity in that area. The emphasis is onwho is legally responsible for serving a person who ap-pears to be drunk, as opposed to one who is drunk, orwho will be drunk a few minutes after consuming whatthey’ve just purchased. It’s time to change Australian atti-tudes. Drinking alcohol without eating is sheer foolishness.Holding alcohol up as some sort of rite of passage for 18year olds is also foolishness. And using a bar to prop upfunds for student residences borders on immoral. Whatbusiness would get away with having a canteen that soldmush, while alternatively encouraging their workers tospend their meal money at the company’s bar? When itcomes to productivity, this simply doesn’t make sense.

However, it’s one thing to rave and rant over obvious

problems, but it’s another matter to come up with solu-tions. Where should we start? During the Second WorldWar, the government was forced to take the initiative,teaching servicemen and women about basic hygiene,that is, to shower daily, to wash hands after using the toi-let, and so on. After the war, they took this informationback to their families and raised the standard of hygienein the country, with the education departments offeringhealth and hygiene lessons to schoolchildren as well inthe 1940s and 1950s. Health departments ran campaignswarning against the dangers of spreading diseases suchas tuberculosis by discouraging spitting (‘expectorating’)on footpaths, for example. Such obvious things, yet weseem not only to have gone backwards in our standardsof basic hygiene, but also to have totally ignored the val-ue of food preparation to our well-being. So many people say with pride, “I can’t cook”, but it’s not

something to be proud of. Anyone with a modicum of in-telligence can prepare a meal. We live in a country wherethe drinking water is safe and the salad vegetables ac-cessible. All that’s required is a loaf of bread, a chunk ofcheese, a knife, a chopping board, some olive oil andlemon juice, and we have all we need to turn a handful ofolives, a fistful of lettuce leaves, cucumbers, tomatoes,and whatever takes our fancy, into a delicious meal.

Preparing food, enjoying food, caring about it and whatwe put into our mouths, and what we drink and how wedrink, are fundamental to our well-being as individualsand as a nation. It is all very well to educate people aboutnutrition charts, publish the latest obesity figures and toregulate what types food can be sold from school can-teens according to their perceived health value. However,this can’t automatically translate into a population whichcan prepare healthy food themselves if there is not also aparallel drive to ensure that everyone develops basic foodpreparation and cooking skills. Just imagine what an edu-cation revolution there’d be, if the governments took theinitiative in having school children learn to prepare (atleast partial) fresh meals from their first day at school?You never know, down the track, it might even lessen theburden on hospital waiting lists!

Écoutez!Arts Review

Organic One Shiraz2007

This Organic One Shiraz is produced by wine-makerFrank Bonic, from grapes bio-dynamically grown on theBonic family’s single vineyard in Jerilderie NSW, withthe entire wine production process certified organic bythe ACO.

It is medium bodied shiraz with complex and subtleflavours of sour cherries and blackberries and a dis-tinct mineral-y tang, not unlike licking a (tasty) rock! The

finish is quite smooth andlacks the mouth-puckeringstrong tannins of yester-year’s Australian shiraz.Best served with a heartymeat dish. To find yournearest retailer or topurchase online directfrom the cellar door(with discount) visitwww.Organic1.com.au

Cost: around $25-30

FFoooodd && WWiinnee

Leonardo’s NotebooksLeonardo da Vinci, edited by H. Anna Suh

(Black Doc and Leventhal, 2009)

This book is a com-pilation of extractsfrom Leonardo daVinci’s notebookswith da Vinci’s orig-inal text translatedinto English and ex-tensive reproduc-tions of his draw-ings. The text and il-lustrations coversuch diverse topicsas his investiga-tions into the formand function of thehuman body, geog-raphy, landscapes,sciences, philoso-phy, painting and drawing, as well as his remarkableinventions including flying machines and tanks. Forartists, in particular, these notebooks are an invalu-able catalogue of drawings and observations on visu-al art and technique. His observations include humanproportions (for example, the length of a human’sarms outstretched will equal that person’s height), andhow many things are realistically depicted in art - forexample, artists tend to make the shape of the humanform under clothing too noticeable, whereas da Vinciinsists that the reverse will look more realistic, withthicker clothing obscuring the details of the humanform underneath. His observations are often intrigu-ing, but when we think about some of them, they arequite obvious - such as the fact that there will alwaysappear to be more mountains in the far distance thannear to us. The drawings throughout the notebooksare clear and excellent demonstrations of his variousobservations. This book is invaluable for artists and atreasure for art enthusiasts.

L.C.

Photo: www.cultex.org

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 15/31APRIL 2010

The Kastellorizian Association of Victoriaannounced that the 2010 Kastellorizian ofthe Year Award to Mr. Nicholas G. Pappasfrom Sydney. Many will know of him by hisbooks on Kastellorizo, his websitewww.castellorizohistory.com or the Gour-met Traveller March 2010 edition.

Nicholas Pappas is of Kastellorizian de-scent as his parents were born on Kastel-lorizo. He was born in Sydney in 1961 andobtained his law degree at the Universityof NSW and began practicing in 1994. In1996 he established his own law firmNicholas G. Pappas & Company.

Nicholas has also completed a PhD inEconomic History from the University ofSydney. He is married to Helene, a lawyer,and they have twins in George and Marina.

Nicholas has two passions: the first isNRL football, primarily the Rabbitohs, andsecondly Kastellorizian history. He has had

a long-standing association with the Rab-bitohs and was the Club’s legal advisor inits battle for reinstatement to the NRL afterits exclusion from the competition in 1999.In 2003, he became Chairman and, in2006, he supported and oversaw the Rab-bitohs partial privatisation by RussellCrowe and Peter Holmes-a-Court.

On a professional level, Nicholas canadd the following to his impressive cre-dentials:

• Chairman, Laiki Bank Australia since2006 and Director 2001

• President, Board of Trustees, Power-house Museum, Sydney (The Museum ofApplied Arts and Sciences since 2003,Trustee since 1999

• Chairman, South Sydney District RugbyLeague Football Club Limited (The Rab-bitohs)

• Governor, The Steve Waugh Founda-tion - Australia

• Secretary, Archdiocesan Council• Trustee - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese

of Australia Consolidated TrustNicholas’s publications list is as follows:• Castellorizo; An Illustrated History of

the Island and its Conquerors, HalsteadPress, 1994

• Embers on the Sea: The Empire PatrolDisaster, Halstead Press, 1995

• Near Eastern Dreams: The French Oc-cupation of Catellorizo, 1915-1921, Hal-stead Press, 2002

• An Island in Time: Catellorizo in Photo-graphs, 1890-1948, Halstead Press, 2010forthcoming with Nick Bogiatzis

• Various articles in academic journalsand other publications on European Histo-ry, the Law and rebetika.

The Award will be conferred on the 23rdMay 2010 at the Kastellorizian AssociationClubrooms when we celebrate St Constan-tine and St Helen’s Day.

September 2010 Wednesday

Evenings242 Cleveland Street, Redfern, in the Main Hall

For enquiries, please contact the Registrar at (02) 9549 3100 or registrar@sagotc.edu.au

On site parking is limited. Please, consider alternatives

St Andrew’s Patristic Symposium 2010

St Gregory the Theologian or The Poetry of Theology

Inaugural address by His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos, Dean of the College. The proceedings of the 2009 St Andrew’s Patristic Symposium will be launched. A series of scholarly papers, exploring the legacy of St Gregory the Theologian

Throughout the month of September, St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College invites you to a celebration for the heart and mind

Nicholas G. Pappas Kastellorizian of the Year 2010

St Andrew’s Patristic

Symposium 2010

St Gregory the Theologian or

The Poetry of Theology

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New multilingual information

booklet launchedMember for Grayndler and Minister for Infrastructure,

Anthony Albanese MP, launched Centrelink’s new Informa-tion in your language booklet at Petersham Town Hall inSydney.

“Australia is enriched by its migrants and refugees, andtheir diverse cultural backgrounds,” Mr Albanese said.

“It’s very important that people who arrive are made tofeel welcome and included, and get support if they need it,whether they speak English or not.

“This new Information in your language booklet is thelatest addition to Centrelink’s suite of information productsfor Australians who come from diverse cultural and lin-guistic backgrounds.

“For the first time, translated introductory information onall of Centrelink’s wide range of payments and services ispackaged neatly into one booklet.

“It comes in 35 languages from Chinese, Greek and Ital-ian to Nepali, Swahili, Tagalog and more,” Mr Albanesesaid.

For the bibliophiles…Constantinople: the Last Great

Siege, 1453By Roger Crowley (faber and faber, 2005)

The author tries to sit on the fence a little with thisbook - as he says in the chapter on his sources, thesubject can be viewed as ‘the fall of Constantinople -or the capture of Istanbul’. By looking at EmperorConstantine XI’s predicament, and the inability ofthose in Mystra to answer his pleas for help, plus Sul-tan Mehmet II’s upbringing and his belief that he wasto be the one to claim Constantinople for Islam, theauthor brings to the subject a viewpoint that sendsthe reader scurrying off to look for more explanations- not a bad thing in itself even if this is not the bookto provide those answers.

A.C.

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA16/32 APRIL 2010

The students who come from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds are encouraged to excel in all their endeavours in a caring, disciplined and safe environment that is responsive to individual needs.The school pursues the objectives, processes and outcomes of education as stated by the NSW Board of Studies. English is the medium of instruction and courses are offered in all Key Learning Areas of secondary education.

Mission StatementThat within a dynamic Orthodox, Christian framework, a student may strive to achieve academicexcellence, a love for learning, social responsibility, spiritual growth and respect for a healthy mind and body.

School Motto“Strive for Excellence”

St. EuphemiaCollege

Enrolling now for 2010 and 2011St Euphemia is a co educational school providing education to approximately 700 students K - 12. The school was established in 1989 by the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Bankstown and Districts.

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 at 6.30pmSt Euphemia Orthodox College

202 Stacey Street, Bankstown, 2200, NSW

P.O. Box 747, Bankstown, 1885, NSW

Phone: 9796 8240 Fax: 9790 7354

Web: www.steuphemia.nsw.edu.au

The students who come from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds are encouraged to excel in all their endeavours in a caring, disciplined and safe environment that is responsive to individual needs.The school pursues the objectives, processes and outcomes of education as stated by the NSW Board of Studies. English is the medium of instruction and courses are offered in all Key Learning Areas of secondary education.

Mission StatementThat within a dynamic Orthodox, Christian framework, a student may strive to achieve academicexcellence, a love for learning, social responsibility, spiritual growth and respect for a healthy mind and body.

School Motto“Strive for Excellence”

St. EuphemiaCollege

Enrolling now for 2010 and 2011St Euphemia is a co educational school providing education to approximately 700 students K - 12. The school was established in 1989 by the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Bankstown and Districts.

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 at 6.30pm

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA

St Euphemia Orthodox College202 Stacey Street,

Bankstown, 2200, NSWP.O. Box 747, Bankstown,

1885, NSWPhone: (02) 9796 8240

Fax: (02) 9790 7354Web: www.steuphemia.nsw.edu.au

Email: officehs@steuphemia.nsw.edu.au