JUNE 2017 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: vema@bigpond.net.au

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMADISCIPLINE IN THE HOME

The oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

Mt ZiriaMt Ziria (also known as Kyllini), which occu-

pies the western part of the Corinth district inthe Peloponnese, is less than 150 km’s west ofAthens and offers fir forests and picturesquelakes.

More than 50,000 peopleat the 41st PaniyiriGreek Festival

The popular Panigiri Greek Festival in Bris-bane was a huge success, with over 50,000people attending the two-day event.

The statistics on domestic violence in Aus-tralia are sobering. One in three women haveexperienced physical violence since age 15.One in five women have experienced sexual vi-olence.

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ORTHODOX AND HETERODOX (B’)OUR ARCHBISHOP’S VIEW

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Calling out domestic violencefrom the shadows

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TThhoouussaannddss ffaarreewweellll CCoonnssttaannttiinnooss MMiittssoottaakkiiss

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THERESA MAY’SLEADERSHIPON THE LINE

British Prime Minister Theresa May has reshuffled hercabinet as pressure mounts on her to quit in the wake oflast week’s disastrous election result.

The Prime Minister, who blew her majority in an elec-tion called three years ahead of time, is facing increasinginternal criticism as she negotiates a deal to form gov-ernment with the Democratic Unionist Party of NorthernIreland.

Conservative Party MP Anna Soubry said Ms May’s po-sition was untenable long term.

“I think she will have to go unfortunately. But not forsome time, let’s get this clear. We need stability,” she

said. Ms Soubry, who campaigned for Britain to stay inthe EU ahead of last year’s referendum, said in light ofthe election result, Ms May did not have a majority inparliament for taking Britain out of the European singlemarket.

“Theresa May is a dead woman walking. It’s just howlong she’s going to remain on death row,” said formerConservative chancellor George Osborne, who wassacked by Ms May when she became prime minister lastyear.

Cont. page 13/29

As Conservative Party recriminations continue

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA2/18 JUNE 2017

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA)have called on Prime Minister Turnbull to show leader-ship in commitment to the global climate agreement,which is our best chance for the stewardship of theworld around us.

NCCA President, Bishop Philip Huggins said “this mo-mentous climate deal is bigger than just one country,one person or a handful of climate sceptics. It is aboutthe urgent survival of humanity, the ability for all chil-dren to be able to born into and live in a world withclean air and clean water.

Sr Elizabeth Delaney sgs, the General Secretary of theNCCA, said “Prime Minister Turnbull, a man of faith, willunderstand that Australians are looking to him for lead-ership on one of the biggest threats facing us and futuregenerations.

“Australia needs to keep its focus on the task of im-plementing and strengthening its commitments to its

people and those in surrounding countries for a 1.5 de-gree warming limit. Our very survival is at stake.

Bishop Huggins said:“Our Pacific neighbours in Tuvalu and the Carteret Is-

lands are already feeling pressure to flee their countrybecause of a rise in sea level.

“In Australia, our unprecedented heat waves are hav-ing serious consequences for our land, livestock, vege-tation and homes.

“This climate deal, signed by 195 countries is aboutaction and trust that our leaders understand that thereis no second chance at this.

“Global warming is real, and it will have devastatingeffects on us in our lifetime. Prime Minister Turnbullshould lead in protecting this planet for our childrenand for their children, regardless of the short sighted-ness of the US President or climate sceptics,” concludedBishop Huggins.

Peak Christian body calls for leadership on climate agreement

On Sunday the 21st of May the Parish of Saints Constantine and Helene in Perth, WA, celebrated the feast day of their patron sa ints. The two day celebration commenced with theVespers Service on the Saturday night followed by the Divine Liturgy the next day and the of ficial icon procession. Following the Divine Liturgy a luncheon was organised by theHellenic Community of WA and the Castellorizian Association of WA in the hall next door to the Church. Students from St Andrew’s Grammar recited various readings relating to

Saints Constantine and Helene.

President Pavlopoulos:

‘The Ecumenical Patriarchate is our cradle’

“The Patriarchate is our cradle and the Turkishleadership must realize that the presence of thePatriarchate in Constantinople is one of Turkey’smost powerful ties with the EU and the West. Ihope and believe that in the end the Turkish lead-ership will understand it and will enable the Patri-archate to do its work, especially the educationalone, and I am talking about the reopening of theSchool of Halki,” Greek President Prokopios Pavlo-poulos said during his recent visit to the Ecumeni-cal Patriarchate, where he met with the Ecumeni-cal Patriarch Bartholomew.

Pavlopoulos was in Istanbul to participate in thesummit marking the 25th anniversary of the estab-lishment of the Black Sea Cooperation Organisa-tion (BSEC), at the invitation of the President of theRepublic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/19JUNE 2017

Thousands farewell Constantine Mitsotakis

Thousands of ordinary citizens, politi-cians and members of the government –as well as friends and family – were pres-ent for the last farewell to Greek states-man Constantine Mitsotakis, during thefuneral service held in Athens onWednesday afternoon (31/5).

A former prime minister, minister andthe honorary leader of the New Democ-racy party for several decades, Mitso-takis was given a funeral with the hon-ours of a serving prime minister at theAthens Metropolitican Cathedral, wherehis body had lain in state throughout themorning.

First to arrive were members of thefamily, including his daughter DoraBakoyannis, an MP, his daughter Alexan-dra Mitsotakis Gourdain, his daughterKaterina Mitsotaki and his son and mainopposition ND leader Kyriakos Mitso-takis, as well as his many grandchildrenand great grandchildren.

Among those attending the funeralwere President of the Hellenic RepublicProkopis Pavlopoulos, Prime MinisterAlexis Tsipras, Cyprus President NicosAnastasiades and several former Greek

premiers, Parliament President NikosVoutsis and Government Vice-PresidentYiannis Dragasakis, as well as govern-ment ministers, the leaders of Greek po-litical parties, main opposition NewDemocracy’s Parliamentary group andformer ministers and MPs in his cabinet.

The funeral service, read by Archbish-op of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos,started shortly after 15:00 with a saluteby honour guards from each of the threebranches of the armed forces and musicby an Athens Guard military band.

Funeral orations were read out byPresident Pavlopoulos, who praised thelate statesman’s dedication to democra-cy and especially parliamentary democ-racy above all.

“He was a true European leader,”Pavlopoulos said, noting that the certain-ty of Greece’s European course wasamong the legacies that he had left, aswell as that of unity and harmony in thecountry.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiadessaid that Greeks were mourning thepassing of a great politician that had lefthis mark on Greek history, known for his

bravery and his smile. Mitsotakis hadstood up against populism and led ef-forts for reconciliation, he said, over-looking political cost for the good ofGreece.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was especially mo-ved when his turn came to speak, sayinghis father had chosen to return to hisbeloved Crete as his final resting place“in a small cemetery at Agoulide, whereanyone passing by chance would neverimagine that a great politician is going tobe there.”

“You were the last of a generation thatpassed through the Symplegades but al-so felt deeply the potential of our coun-try and believed in it… Your political lega-cy was ever relevant, to respect thetruth, to seek unity, to not forget thatGreece’s future is in the heart of Eu-rope,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. It wasnow the turn of the current generationto stand up to populism, envy and divi-sion, he added.

After the funeral service, Mitsotakis’body was taken to Elefsina airport andflown to Crete in a C-130 military trans-port aircraft, where it was buried.

PM Turnbull: Australia’s policy of using ‘FYROM’

remains unchangedAt a rally in Sydney on Sunday, April 23, Member for Hughes (NSW) Craig Kelly

made a statement regarding the FYROM name dispute that caused Peter Ja-sonides, National Co-Chair of the Australian Hellenic Council, to write a letter ofcomplaint to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

“Macedonians have every right to call their country Macedonia,” was the state-ment made by Craig Kelly at the rally.

Following the letter of complaint by Peter Jasonides the PM issued a reply re-garding Craig Kelly’s statement.

In the statement the PM said that Australia’s policy of using the name ‘FormerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ “remains unchanged,” adding “Our consistentposition follows United Nations’ practice, and strives to remain impartial pendinga mutually agreed solution among governments in Athens and Skopje… I regret anyoffense caused to the Hellenic Republic and Greek Australians.”

President message on Day of

Remembrance of the Genocide

of Pontus

HellenismThe sacred memory of the tragic

victims of the Genocide of Hellenismin the Pontus must remain alive tokeep the world on alert, as the night-mare of crimes against Humanity isunfortunately not over, the Presi-dent of the Republic, Prokopios Pav-lopoulos said in his message on theDay of Remembrance of the Geno-cide of Pontus Hellenism (19 May).

The hardships we experience, es-pecially through the barbarity of ji-hadist terrorism, prove that thenightmare of crimes against Human-ity is unfortunately not over. That iswhy the Sacred Memory of the Trag-ic Victims of the Greek Genocide ofthe Pontus must remain alive tokeep the world on alert,” Pavlopou-los said and added:

“The Greek nation, fulfilling its ba-sic, historical and institutional obli-gation – on the basis of the provi-sions of Law 2193/1994 – honoursthis year the sacred memory of thetragic victims of the Pontus Hel-lenism, proving in practice that wedo not forget this atrocious crimeagainst Humanity.”

The message of the President ofthe Republic concluded: “On this Re-membrance Day we call on all peo-ples not to forget the victims and ofany other genocide, given that onlythe whole world – and consequentlythe International Community – willprevent similar atrocious crimesagainst Humanity in the future.”

TO BHMA4/20 JUNE 2017

Sometimes I am surprised by how naive I am. I real-ly live in a sheltered environment here in Maroubra.

Maybe it was my parents, my general upbringing orsome other factors but I have been granted someprotection. Believe me, I am truly grateful for this andas a result I have tried to replicate it with my ownkids.

What brings on these philosophical thoughts?Well last week I travelled to Brisbane in the early

morning for a one-day meeting. It was the AustralianSummit on Sexual Exploitation. Not everyone’s cup oftea, I can assure you!

Let me tell you something – what I heard was reallydistressing.

Anyway, my return was around the last flight forthe evening. Fortunately, my son had given me acomplimentary pass to the Qantas lounge to have ameal and to relax.

It was there that I met an MP who had been at theconference. I congratulated him on his closing re-marks. He had said something about his faith andhow it was opposed to the influence of pornography.

We got talking and he invited me to join him andanother person from the conference. We spokearound a range of topics and then the man revealedthat he had been addicted to pornography. It con-sumed 5-6 hours of every day.

This was a respectable sort of person. A family man.A responsible job in society, at a fairly high and publiclevel. I was not sure I had heard correctly.

He had even asked to leave his wife but she did not

agree and together they tackled the problem. Thefirst step was to find an Internet Service Provider whohad a complete filter. After some searching one waslocated in South Australia with a complete block forsuch material.

The next step was some therapy. It worked.His marriage was saved. His family life and work re-

sumed. He has now devoted himself to fighting theinfluence of pornography through his professionalwork.

In my naivete, I did not realise that pornographycan become so addictive. I never considered that itwas such a widespread problem in society. I neverknew that it was affecting our children in many differ-ent ways. I never linked pornography and violence.

The link between pornography and sexual exploita-tion was not on my radar. I failed to realise that“porn” was big business.

In the US, 150 million images were downloaded in2014.

There has been a 47% increase in child sexual ma-terial from 2012.

Australia and Maroubra are not immune. Therehave been 11,000 referrals to the Australian Policeand 37,000 images have been referred to the Chil-dren’s e-safety commissioner. Every image of a childis the image of a serious crime.

The pornography networks are very sinister. Therevelations from the Queensland Police at the confer-ence were distressing.

The victims are getting younger. They include tod-dlers as well as babies. The crimes against them areincreasingly violent.

As a result of porn, even some young children areturning into sexual predators.

Not unexpectedly, mental health issues are linkedto such influences.

There is even a noticeable decline in empathy inour society – our sympathy and understanding forothers.

The introduction of pornography through the Inter-net is a social experiment with unknown long-termsocial consequences. It is uncontrolled.

The point was made that it is easier to raise a child

without abuse than trying to repair the damage thathas been done.

In African cultures they say that it takes a village toraise a child.

We – you and I and our children – are a village. TheGreek-Australian and Greek Orthodox community is avillage.

Let us take on the example of the city of Toowoom-ba in Queensland. Its mayor Paul Antonio promoted“A city free from porn”.

Parents in particular need to be aware that theirchildren are being exposed to porn. Someone told meyesterday that it is 90 per cent. Take active steps tominimise the harm. Educate them and vaccinate our-selves against this disease. At the very least teachthem to turn their eyes away and to tell a parent ortrusted adult.

Sources: Having a city free of pornography starts with onestep, Toowoomba leaders say at launch of campaign

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-12/toowoomba-leaders-push-for-city-free-of-porn/7923478

The views expressed are those of the author and not neces-sarily those of the VEMA or St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox The-ological College.

letterfrommaroubra@gmail.com

Letterfrom

Maroubra

The Greek Australian VEMA

Eleni Glouftsis makes AFL umpiring history in Bombers v Eagles clashEleni Glouftsis has created history by becoming the

first woman to officiate an AFL/VFL match as a field um-pire, while the future of the iconic centre bounce willagain be a topic of debate.

Glouftsis chose to throw the ball up in the second halfof Sunday’s AFL match between Essendon and WestCoast at Docklands.

An unusually soft re-laid strip of turf in the centre ofDocklands made it difficult for Glouftsis to elevate theball high enough at centre bounces.

In consultation with AFL umpires head coach HaydenKennedy, she decided to throw it up in the second half,as happens with ball-ups in general play.

Fellow umpires Simon Meredith and Shaun Ryan con-tinued to bounce the ball in the middle of the ground.

“The bouncing is just one part of the game and notworrying about that too much was a really big part ofit,” Glouftsis said.

“It was just enjoying the first part of the game andgetting into it when I did.

“I’m generally a pretty good bouncer so I was prettydisappointed to be honest with the way I bounced to-day.

“But at the end of the day it’s about the decisions andI think I did an OK job with that.”

Glouftsis officiated well and was pleased with thefeedback she received from Kennedy.

The 25-year-old school teacher, who was at work atSt Bernard’s College in Essendon when she found outshe would make her senior umpiring debut, was alsoencouraged by the response she received from playersfrom both sides.

“A lot of them have seen me through the VFL and theSANFL a few years ago,” Glouftsis said.

“When I had a poor bounce a lot of the boys were like‘just keep going, be confident’ which is really lovely.

“They’ve been really supportive, which was great.”

The AFL Umpires Association favours the abolition ofthe centre bounce, although the final decision will restwith the AFL Commission.

AAP

Eleni Glouftsis linesup a bounce duringthe Bombers versus

Eagles match atDocklands.

TO BHMA 5/21JUNE 2017 The Greek Australian VEMA

Our Primate’s View

ORTHODOX AND HETERODOX(B)

The first thought that arises in the soul of a pious andOrthodox Christian when he hears the order “savedpeople”, namely to the “ark of salvation” which is Or-thodoxy, the Orthodox faithful knows that he belongs tothe “saved people” , namely to the “ark of salvation”which is Orthodoxy, yet he does not forget that thesanctifying sacraments of the Church wipe out sin onthe one hand, but not sinfulness as well. The inclinationtowards sin always remains in the soul of the faithfuluntil his last breath. This is why the Apostle Paul warns:“Let him who thinks that he stands well take heed lesthe fall” (I Cor. 10 : 12). This sense of personal unworthi-ness is the measure of spirituality. Which means that tothe degree that this sense weakens, so also our spiritualhealth is in doubt. The Apostles themselves, who hadthe Lord among them, did not hesitate to confess pub-licly and repeatedly their personal unworthiness,whether it was Peter or James or John that spoke. Themost moving example, however, is again Paul whowrites: “0 wretched man that l am! Who shall deliver mefrom the body of this death?” (Rom. 7 : 24).

This, of course, in no way means that our personal un-worthiness automatically undermines the integrity ofour faith or the sincerity of our Orthodoxy. It surelydoes mean, however - and this is of crucial importance -that the Orthodox faith is possessed by us not by rightbut by grace of God. This is the significance of the Apos-tolic words: that we bear the treasure of faith in fragilevessels, so that God always has the first word and notman. These vessels are, in fact, not simply fragile but“clay”. Notice how characteristically the Apostle under-lines this truth: “We have this treasure in earthen ves-sels, that the excellency of the power maybe of God, andnot of us” (II Cor. 4 : 7). If someone, therefore, has theOrthodox faith in the first place, by being baptised Or-thodox, this does not necessarily mean that he is also pi-ous. These are two distinct things which should normal-ly be identified, or rather be presuppositions of one an-other. Unfortunately, however, they are not identified,not mutually presupposed, because of our personal un-worthiness. That piety and Orthodoxy are not alwaysidentified in practice, nor interrelated, is also seen clear-ly in the way in which the litany prayers of worship areformulated. It is not without significance that we pray“for the pious and Orthodox Christians” ! This “and”would be superfluous it the words “pious” and “Ortho-dox” were the same by necessity. Thus we would simplysay a prayer “for the pious, Orthodox Christians” , oreven for only one of the two since one would imply theother.

The fact, however, that Orthodox may coexist withimpiety due to our hard-heartedness should not scan-dalise us. On the contrary, it should fill us with grati-

tude, for it means chat God condescends even to suchan impermissible “cohabitation” of sin with truth, in or-der for the truth to reign in time through repentance, sothat we might be saved. This, too, is an “economy” ofGod, proportional to the economy advised by the Apos-tle Paul during the first years of Christianity for circum-stances where one spouse was not Christian; the Apos-tle counselled the Christian member not to separate thenon-Christian spouse, but to try and save him with co-habitation and coexistence (I Cor. 7 :10). Only in thecase where the coexistence of Orthodoxy and impietyhas’ become established through a hardening of theconscience, does the wrath of God come unrestrainedin order to dissolve this illegal “conjugal relationship”:“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven againstall ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who holdthe truth in unrighteousness” (Rom, 1 : 18).

From what has been said above, it becomes more thanclear that the Orthodox faith is not our achievement,but a gift from God. In any case, ultimately even the el-ementary strength of being able to believe and not be-ing insensitive, is not a result of our endeavours but agift from above. Faith itself, then, not only as the con-tent of doctrine but also as a human spiritual function, isa form of grace. This is why the Apostle Paul is obligedin the end “to nihilate” even our works and our will be-fore the great mystery of faith, emphasising that salva-tion “is not of him who wills, nor of him that runs, but ofGod that shows mercy” (Rom. 9 : 16). Our Orthodoxy,therefore, is the “mercy” of God, which means “good-will”, offering without previous obligation. An offeringwhich is beyond the framework of “giving and taking” ,which is not a “reward” but unrepayable grace. Beforesuch a mystery of faith, whoever belongs to the Church,namely the faithful, feels even more his personal un-worthiness when he reckons the “mercy of God”.

At the same time, however, he dares to condemn nei-ther the heterodox nor even the unfaithful. He feelspain for them, of course, and is sorry for both in asmuch as he feels them to be outside “the flock ofsheep”, but the truly pious faithful does not dare to con-demn them nor to ignore them. And at this point thewords of the greatest neptic Fathers bear much weight’“Go, say nothing against your brother, and you will besaved”! And the Saint does not clarify whether yourbrother is pious or impious, nor whether he is Orthodoxor heterodox. For the first thing you must remember isthat he is your brother.

(cont’d)

Source: “Voice of Orthodoxy, December 1986

By ARCHBISHOPSTYLIANOSOF AUSTRALIA

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA

Visit our webpagewwwwww..greekorthodoxgreekorthodox..orgorg..auau

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA6/22 JUNE 2017

By Fr Dimitri Tsakas

(Excerpts from a Paper Delivered at the Queensland Premier’sDepartment Speakers Series in May 2017)

The statistics on domestic violence in Australia aresobering. One in three women have experienced physi-cal violence since age 15. One in five women have ex-perienced sexual violence. One in four women have ex-perienced physical or sexual violence by an intimatepartner. And tragically, on average, one woman a weekis killed by a partner or former partner in Australia.

Perpetrators come from diverse backgrounds, ages,and educational levels. The violence is typically the mis-use of power to control another person and boils downto a choice in doing so. They can be any gender, but thevast majority of abusers are men. It is imperative formen to oppose this violence and establish proper mod-els for healthy manhood.

Anecdotal evidence throughout history, from con-cepts like “the rule of thumb” in English Common Law,to historic literature condoning punishment of trouble-some women, lead us to safely assume violence againstwomen was cross-culturally acceptable and generallyunchallenged.

Women feel guilty and trapped in these relationships.Guilty because cultural prescriptions make family prob-lems into women’s problems regardless of the source.Trapped, because it is considered disloyal to betray pa-triarchal privacy by seeking help from outsiders andthus expose husbands and the family to potentialscrutiny.

I would like to briefly explore the importance of “call-ing out” domestic violence by utilising a paradigm fromPsychiatrist Carl Jung, which, I believe to be of signifi-cant importance for legislators and those in public serv-ice addressing Domestic Violence.

Jung identified those things we hide from ourselves asour shadows. The shadows are parts of the self thathave been buried, disconnected from overt conscious-ness, locked away, because they often cause us discom-fort, distress, and/or shame. The Shadow is that part ofthe human or indeed, communal psyche which oftenremains beyond overt consciousness. It is often the un-challenged and unquestioned parts of our self or com-munity identity hidden from public view and discourse.

The shadowy part of our self can be potent and some-times destructive as we struggle to integrate or reject itas part of our conscious identity. It can lead to imma-ture behaviours, violent outbursts, outright denial offacts, projection of our shame or anger onto others.Many different events or situations can act as “triggers”for such responses but the vulnerability inherent withintimacy tends to be a particularly powerful trigger. Fre-quently, it is within the context of intimate relation-ships that our shadow self is easily triggered.

The concept of the “shadow” also occurs on a largersocietal scale. There are many topics that were in soci-ety’s cultural shadow now out in the light. For example,domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse, alcoholismin epidemic proportions. These are topics that wouldnot have been commonly spoken about 20 years agoand are now understood by everyone. Out in open,these issues are challenging societies to re-examinetheir sense of cultural self, face that which was hidden,and in the process, re-integrate a renewed sense ofcommunity self. This can be tumultuous. An attitudesurrendering women to the status of property is a longand deep historical “shadow” in individual and societalterms.

The normalcy of violence has ruled for long, and itsexcesses and desecrations are now painfully apparent.We best advance the spirit of the time by admitting thefeminine so evident in the teaching of Christ, into ourlives and hearts, into our social structures and politicalinstitutions.

But violence is notoriously resistant to change. It hasbeen a Jungian “shadow” for thousands of years and noamount of legislation will transform it overnight. It willtake much time. We have begun calling it out, and here,legislation is very important, but we are still in thephase of adjustment and re-integration. This is particu-larly so for men as we discover a newer, more evolved,and less violent way of being.

I think if abusive men are afforded worthwhile thera-py, and better understood the psychological and cultur-al reasons for their violence, the effect could only bepositive. And if women felt the full support of their so-ciety in standing against violence, without minimising itwith outdated clichés, we would all be the better for it.The personal mess is not then so terribly personal, andcreative insight, rather than guilt-feelings and fear,could be better mobilised.

In this regard, government initiatives, well thoughtout and strategically implemented, are profoundly im-portant. They firstly bring the “shadow” into the light.In this fashion, these initiatives gradually change thedominant discourse in society and this is where thingsslowly begin to change. Our first priority is the safetyand support of the victim. We must not however, leavethe perpetrator unattended. Good professional inter-vention must be available for victim and perpetratorand also for children, particularly through those vulner-able years of adolescence and early adulthood. Thework of government, in partnership with NGOs, Church-es, and indeed the private sector (which can provideimmense workplace support for all affected) is para-mount.

The Queensland Government’s Domestic and FamilyViolence Prevention Strategy is an important and signif-icant step forward. We have some way to go but we areat last on our way.

“To sin and not repent is blasphemy

against the Lord”, Anonymous

Issue 4

Portion 4.1 On lust According to Saint Basil: “God, solicitous for our salvation, ordained two states of life for men-marriage and virginity-that he who is not able to endure the hardships of virginity might have recourse to the married state, realizing however, that he will be required to give an account of his sobriety and holiness and of his resemblance to the saints who passed their lives in the married state and in the rearing of children.” According to Saint Paul: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of lust, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you.” Portion 4.2 Canon Law on lust According to Orthodox Canon Law: “If a bishop, or priest, or deacon, or any of the priestly rank abstains from marriage, meat, or wine, not for asceticism, but because he abominates them, he must either correct himself or be defrocked. Likewise for a Lay Christian.”

Portion 4.3 Crimes of lust Marriage is considered a harbor from lust. When a child reaches puberty, he or she must make a firm decision against lust, abstaining from every unlawful thought and practice until the time of marriage. According to the Apostle Paul unlawful practices are listed thus: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals will inherit the kingdom of God.” Portion 4.4 A poem on Continence

My mind wanders much in deceptive glory. Hold its thought and tie it with humble thoughts.

My eyes, used to spying the worldly delights. Settle now your glance on spiritual beauty.

My nose, you who desire much worldly scents.

Taste of the smell of death and become continent.

My babbling mouth for political discussions. The words now of scripture you must recite.

You my ears, my lords, over pampered in gentle words.

Now let sound in your drum the sound of the last trumpet.

My hands, who are servants in these passing works. Arise to prayer and to charitable deeds.

And you my feet, yearn only for the undeluded path.

And walk the single road that leads to life.

Calling Out Domestic Violence from the Shadows

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 7/23JUNE 2017

The Greek Orthodox Church was present at a show ofbipartisan support for Special Religious Education inNew South Wales schools.

Special religious education is also known commonlyas “Scripture”. This program allows the Greek OrthodoxChurch to provide around half an hour of religious in-struction each week in State Schools.

It is provided by an army of over 150 teachers tosome 5000 Greek Orthodox pupils on a weekly basis. Itis a major task undertaken by each parish throughoutthe State.

Scripture is by far the largest internal education pro-gram of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

It complements the work of the Sunday Schools andreinforces religious identity,in order to give meaningand direction to life.

Scripture offers Orthodoxy to the hearts of childrenwho would otherwise have no contact with their faith.

Positive comments about Scripture were made by theNSW Minister for Education Rob Stokes and ShadowMinister Jihad Jib. They were among the politicians whojoined with faith leaders.

The findings of new research conducted into Scrip-ture in New South Wales were presented at this inter-faith event held at Parliament House.

Education Minister Rob Stokes said that both sides ofthe NSW Government recognise that special religiouseducation in schools has been, and continues to be, animportant expression of diversity and inclusiveness.

“Ever since 1848 there has been a bipartisan under-standing of the importance of recognising one of ourfundamental expressions of religious freedom in ourcommunity.

“To provide training and understanding of the tenetsof faith is very, very important to young people, and Ibelieve that there is no more appropriate place to allowthat discussion to continue than in our schools.

“It is wonderful to see that 84% of parents are satis-fied or very satisfied with their child’s learning experi-ences in SRE classrooms”, he said.

Mr Stokes thanked the 11,000 SRE teachers across 29faith groups who teach in NSW public schools, and saidthat the results of the new research were a great en-dorsement for the continuation of SRE classes inschools.

In his address, Shadow Education Minister Jihad Dib,also announced his party’s support of weekly religious

education classes continuing in NSW.“My Stokes says this is a bipartisan agreement – and

it has been and it will be”, he said. “Is there a place for SRE? Absolutely.”Mr Dib noted that the new research showed that SRE

was particularly important for the moral and spiritualwellbeing of students.

“What we take away is not only the very positive re-sponse to elements of the report, but the way that as asociety we actually see that there is a place for moralvalue.

“Every single student should have an opportunity, atleast for one hour in a week, to reflect about the person

that they are and the way they can better themselves.”There was no doubt that the endorsement of special

religious education given by the Liberal, Labor andChristian Democratic parties is important. It was grate-fully received by all the faiths who were present.

His Grace Bishop Seraphim is responsible for specialreligious education in New South Wales. The Hon PaulGreen from the Christian Democratic Party hosted thisevent and was thanked on behalf of His Grace for hiswholehearted support of religious education and alsofor hosting this event.

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The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA10/26 JUNE 2017

By Guy Freeland*

When I am in Vema-article writing mode annoyingly thefirst thing to which my mind turns, having completed anarticle, is what to write about next month. So it hap-pened, the day after meeting the May deadline by theskin of my teeth, that I made the steep descent down tothe very bottom of our garden, replenished the bird-bath en route when the rainbow lorikeets allowed meto do so, and parked myself on the garden seat in thecorner to cogitate upon the issue.

And then, as my eye travelled up through the garden, Iwas suddenly overwhelmed by its the sheer beauty. Thelow westerly sun illuminated the old flower-bedeckedspreading camellia backed by enormously tall an-gophoras and turpentines leading up, via largely hiddenascending terraces, to the house. The scene was simplyenchanting and I sat spellbound. This for a momentwasn’t just a suburban garden I was contemplating, itwas the earthly and heavenly paradise in one, shimmer-ing with spiritual energy; what St Hildegard of Bingen(1098-1179) called viriditas, greening power. A minuteor two later the vision began to fade as I was pulledback to the everyday world by noticing sundry tasks inneed of attention.

I have had similar experiences over the years when thegarden has briefly been transfigured in beauty. Perhapsthe most wondrous moment occurred at midnight.Looking out of the window, I saw the full moon in thecloudless sky beaming straight down into the lowestarea of the garden (a rare occurrence). I couldn’t resistthe urge to go out in my dressing gown and climb downto the bottom of the garden. Descending the garden bysteps from level to level one eventually reaches a clear-ing, rather like a dell in the middle of a wood, with aplant-filled island in the middle. I set off.

It was as bright as day, but as I reached the belt of treesI was briefly engulfed in a slightly menacing gloom. Butthen I was in the “dell” and back in full moonlight. Istood transfixed, for how long I don’t know, as themoon slowly swept across the clearing. The garden wasso transformed that I had to think intently to identifythe trees, rocks and plants of the daytime world. Thiswas the supersensible world transfiguring the mundaneworld. It is no mystery why it is that monks and nunsknow that the night is the best time for prayer, whenthe world is at peace and at its thinnest, and the God-head at Its most accessible.

Gardens are places where the everyday world cansometimes be seen to unite with the pure beauty of thetranscendent heavenly realm to reveal things in theirtrue reality. Gardens are places where God walks in thecool of the day (Genesis 3:8) and reveals previously hid-den truths; they are

Places of Revelation

The most famous incident of a revelation in a garden isundoubtedly that of the conversion of St Augustine ofHippo (354-430). St Augustine’s earlier life was anythingbut one of purity and moral rectitude, but even when alonging to leave the life of the flesh began to take holdhis prayer was conditional “Give me chastity and conti-nence, but not yet.”

The crisis came to a head under a fig tree in a garden inMilan. Weeping, he cried out to God: “How long, howlong shall I continue to say: ‘tomorrow and tomorrow’?Why not now? Why not this very hour put an end to myuncleanness?” Then he heard the voice of a child com-ing from a neighbouring house seeming to cry out re-peatedly: “Take and read, take and read.” He immedi-ately returned to where his friend Alypius was sittingand took up St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans which hehad been reading. His eye fell on the words: “Not in ri-

oting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wanton-ness, not in strife and envying: but put you on the LordJesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh inconcupiscence (Romans 13:13).” It was as if, he wrote,“my heart was filled with a light of confidence and allthe shadows of my doubts were swept away.”

But gardens had not finished weaving their wonders.Shortly before she died, Augustine and his deeply spiri-tual and much-loved mother, St Monica, enjoyed a mu-tual mystical experience which sealed Augustine’s con-version. While looking through a window at the gardenwithin a house in Ostia, Augustine, in a very remarkablepassage, tells how he and St Monica ascended by de-grees of contemplation from the mundane world to thesupersensible realm. Then “in a flash of thought” theytouched “the Eternal Wisdom abiding over all.” (Confes-sions, Bk 9, in Augustine of Hippo: Selected Writings ,trans. Mary T. Clark, Paulist Press.)

As the Ostia garden was within the house, presumablyit was in a peristylum, an enclosed rectangular court-yard bordered by a colonnade. I wonder whether Au-gustine and Monica didn’t recall the famous words inthe Song of Songs: “a garden inclosed is my sister, myspouse (4:12 AV).” In actuality, the Song of Songs (orSong of Solomon) was a form of liturgical drama, cele-brated at wedding feasts, in which the bride and groomspeak alternately, interspersed by a chorus of “thedaughters of Jerusalem”. The bride is likened to a gar-den and her charms to various plants and fruits.

The Old Testament book, though itself packed with alle-gory, has always been interpreted as an allegory. TheFathers interpret the garden as the Church, but with thedevelopment of Marian devotion the enclosed gardenwas seen as prophetic of the virginity of the Theotokos.The bride’s search for the groom in Chapter 3 has beenseen as prophetic of St Mary Magdalene’s search forthe body of Christ in the garden of the sepulchre. Likethe bride embracing the groom, Mary wishes to em-brace Christ but, unlike the groom, Christ tells her notto embrace (or touch) Him (John 20:17). This revealingof the Risen Saviour is of course the crowning instanceof a garden revelation. The Song of Songs also providesimagery with which the Garden of Eden and its su-percelestial parallel, the heavenly Paradise, are depict-ed in iconography.

The Garden as Sanctuary

Gardens are places of sanctuary, of quiet contempla-tion, of solace and healing. Many times, I have foundpeace in a garden when overcome by emotional stress.In fact, I count it as one of the greatest blessings of mylife that I have always had ready access to beautiful gar-dens. My botanical mother created the most charmingsuburban garden that I have known and retreat to itnever failed to comfort me in the throes of childhood’semotional dramas.

Even the hated boarding school in which I was impris-oned for the greater part of the year from eight to thir-teen had a simply lovely vegetable garden, and the boyswere given a patch of earth in which they could growplants. Mostly, they were interested in growing any-thing edible (we were half-starved), but I and a friendturned ours into a miniature flower garden; we evenwon the prize for best garden two years running. It was,I think, that little garden, crowned with our pride andjoy, a standard rose, that prevented my total disintegra-tion.

Gardens are more than just refuges for disturbed or sickhuman beings, they are sanctuaries for rare and endan-gered plants, birds and other creatures. In fact, theirrole in conservation becomes more critical by the yearas the natural world comes under ever greater stressfrom loss of natural habitat through land clearing andinjurious farming and development practices.

Sacred gardens have existed for many cultures, includ-ing Christianity. Sadly, very few churches now have anatrium. Although named from the conservatory-styledentrance halls of Roman villas, church atria, usually atthe West end of the church, developed to resemble theperistylum, and were either paved or contained a gar-den. Both the Western monastic cloister and the East-ern monastic enclosure developed from the atrium.

(To be continued)

* Guy Freeland is a member of the Faculty of St Andrew’s GreekOrthodox Theological College, Sydney. A fully-illustrated collec-tion of his Vema articles, Windows to Orthodoxy, is availablefrom the Archdiocesan Bookshop.

The Sacredness of Gardens

The old camellia, the Freeland Garden, Gordon, NSW

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 11/27JUNE 2017

By Philip Chrysopoulos

The Battle of Crete will remain in military history asthe scene of the largest German airborne operation ofWorld War II. In Greek history, it is another chapter ofbravery and triumph of the Hellenic spirit.

Crete was targeted because of the British airfield onthe island, which were more than capable of strikingthe vital Ploesti oil fields in Rmania. Hitler’s forces need-ed all the oil they could get for the impending assaulton Russia. Securing Crete would be tantamount to driv-ing the British out of the eastern Mediterranean; itwould also be the first step towards Cyprus and theSuez Canal

The battle that started on May 20 and ended in June1, 1941 was dubbed the “Graveyard of the Fallshirm-jager” (German Parachutists known as ” Sky Hunters”).Nearly 4,000 German troops were killed and 1,500wounded in the first three days of the assault. It was al-so the first time the Germans had encountered stiff par-tisan activity, with women and even children getting in-volved in the battle.

Early on the morning of May 20, waves of Stukabombers and low flying fighter planes bombed and s-trafed the Maleme, Chania, and Souda Bay areas. Later,a total 570 carrier aircraft dropped 8,100 parachutistsat Maleme, Chania, Rethymno, and Iraklion. The attackwas done in two waves, one in the morning and anoth-er in the afternoon, so they had enough time in be-tween for the aircraft to return from Crete, refuel andreturn again back to the island. The sky filled with thou-sands of parachutes as the church bells began to ring.The stunned Cretans began to run towards the dropzones shouting “Stop the Germans” with anything theycould find, outdated rifles, pitchforks, old pistols. ManyGermans never made it out of their harnesses.

The Allied troops on Crete — British, New Zealander,Australian and Greek Battalions that had been evacuat-ed from mainland Greece — under British CommanderMajor General Freyberg had been aware of the impend-ing assault through Enigma intercepts. The Germanswere dropped into areas heavily defended with nearlythree times the amount of men they were expecting. InMaleme they jumped into enemy fire from infantryweapons, positioned in the hills south of the airfield.Many of the paratroopers were killed during the de-scent or shortly after landing. Most of the men were un-able to recover the weapons containers and had to relyon the pistol, knife and the four hand grenades theycarried. Casualties were very heavy. The commander ofthe 7th Airborne Division, Generalleutnant WilhelmSuessmann was killed during the approach flight, whileGeneral major Eugen Meindl, who was in command ofthe Maleme group, was seriously wounded shortly afterlanding. Both the Maleme and Chania groups were leftwithout their commanders.

The parachutists suffered even more casualties thanat Maleme and failed to capture the airfields, towns, orports they were ordered to. Some landed at the wrongpoints because the troop carriers had difficulty in ori-enting themselves. After they touched ground manyGermans found themselves in an almost hopeless situa-tion, struggling for survival.

After the first day, no field was available for the air-borne landing of the 5th Mountain Division, which wasscheduled for the next day.

Chania was still in enemy hands and the isolatedtroops landed at the four drop points had so far beenunable to establish contact among themselves. Howev-er, despite the strong resistance, the fury and strengthof the onslaught surprised the defenders. Despite heavyopposition and fire from the British antiaircraft guns setup near the airfield, the attackers captured the north-

ern and north-western edge of the airfield and ad-vanced up the northern slope of Hill 107.

The Chania group, which was to capture the village ofSouda and the town of Chania and eliminate the Britishcommand staff located in that area, landed on rockyground and suffered many jump casualties. The isolatedGerman elements made little headway against the well-entrenched enemy forces.

As the battle wore on and casualty reports started tocome in to General Airborne Commander Kurt Stu-dent’s HQ at the Hotel “Grande Bretagne” in Athens, itseemed that the battle was lost. But luck was on theGerman side. Freyberg had to withdraw some troopsfrom positions around Hill 107, overlooking the Airfieldat Maleme. This stroke of luck gave the Germans theupper hand and enabled them to begin the desperatelyneeded air landing troops of the Gebirgsjager on theairfield. Little by little, the entire 5th Mountain Divisionwas flown in. Even more important to the attack forceswere the artillery pieces, antitank guns, and supplies ofall types, which had been missing during the initialstage of the invasion and which were now being airlift-ed into Maleme.

The allies pulled back in the face of a constant flow offresh troops and began their retreat. On May 29, mo-torized reconnaissance elements, advancing throughenemy-held territory, established contact with the Ger-man forces in the Rethymno area and reached Iraklionthe next day. After repeated encounters with enemyrear guards, the German forces reached the south coastof the island on June 1st. The struggle for Crete wasthereby terminated. Despite the long delay in issuanceof evacuation orders, the British Navy was able to em-bark approximately 14,800 men and return them toEgypt. The Navy conducted the evacuation during fournights, suffering losses from German aircraft attacks.Subjected to severe losses and constant harassment byGerman planes, the Navy performed the evacuationduring four nights. Five thousand British and Allied sol-diers were left behind.

The retreat of the Allied forces was defended by the8th Greek Regiment in and around the village of Ali-kianos. It was composed of young Cretan recruits, gen-darmes, and cadets. They were poorly equipped andonly 850 strong but they made up in spirit. Along withthe 10 New Zealand Infantry Brigade they decisively re-pulsed the Engineer Battalion. During the next few daysthey held out against repeated attacks by the 85th and100th Mountain Regiments. For seven days they held

Alikianos and protected the Allied line of retreat. The8th Greek Regiment is credited with making the evacu-ation of Western Crete a possibility.

The Germans had never encountered the extent ofcivilian resistance that they encountered on Crete. Ret-ribution was swift. The German High Command wantedto break the spirit of the populace and do it quickly. Inretaliation for the losses they incurred, the Nazis spreadpunishment, terror and death on the innocent civiliansof the island. More than 2,000 Cretans were executedduring the first month alone and 25,000 more later. De-spite these atrocities, the brave people of Crete put upa courageous guerilla resistance, aided by a few Britishofficers of the Special Operations Executuive and Alliedtroops who remained. The resistance fighters wereknown as the “Andartes” (the Rebels).

According to several historians, Cretan resistanceplayed an important role in developments. By the endof the three-and-a-half years of occupation, Hitler hadsent a total of 100,000 troops to the island to subdue5,000 Cretan Andartes. These German troops couldhave been deployed somewhere else instead of beingtied down on Crete. More German troops were lostduring the Battle of Crete than in France, Yugoslaviaand Poland combined. Most importantly, as a result ofthe fighting on Crete, Hitler’s master plan to invadeRussia before the coming of winter, had to be post-poned, which resulted in the deaths of many Germantroops who were not properly prepared to survive theharsh Russian winter.

Battle of Crete: How Cretans faced the biggest airborne operation in WWII

JUNE 201712/28 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA

Rostered Playgroup Fosters Early Learning at St John’s College PrestonAt St John’s College Preston (Vic), we’re thrilled to share our caring college com-

munity with our youngest learners. Running every Tuesday morning throughoutthe college year, the playgroup provides a fun play environment for children agedthree to five years who are yet to start their formal education.

Rostered Playgroup encourages learning through an emphasis on creative andimaginative play. Activities such as craft, playdough and sand play are very popular,as too are singing, dancing and dressing up.

As the playgroup runs during the school day, children also experience some out-door playtime with primary school students. They also occasionally visit the Foun-

dation classroom.Playgroup is a great way for them to get to know the school environment in small

and measured doses. It also builds their confidence as they prepare for their schoolyears.

Presbytera Helen Nicolaou runs our Rostered Playgroup. Helen is a qualified pri-mary teacher and holds a Bachelor degree in Visual Arts and Design. She createsawarm, engaging and welcoming environment for all children.

For enquiries about the Parent Rostered Playgroup, please contact St John’s Col-lege Reception on (03)94805300 or email: enrolments@stjohnspreston.vic.edu.au

Research vessel scans and reveals the secrets of Santorini and Kolumbo volcanoes

The research vessel RV Poseidon of theGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for OceanResearch of Kiel in cooperation with theGeology Department of KapodistrianUniversity of Athens are examining theseabed and the underseas volcanoes ofthe islands of Cyclades with focus on thevolcano of Santorini and the submarinevolcano Kolumbo.

The expedition started on March 8 andthe scientists aim to study the develop-ments and changes in the undersea vol-canoes of the Cyclades throughout thecenturies and to find indications for pos-sible explosions in the future.

Special focus will be given on the vol-cano of Santorini, which is an attractionfor scientists from Greece and abroad, inorder to investigate the largest volcanicexplosion that took place approximately3,600 years ago as well as the most re-

cent explosion of the underseas volcanoof Kolumbo that took place in 1650 AD.

The programme will run until the endof May and includes four oceanographicmissions that will monitor the submarinearea of Greece’s volcanic field. The threeexpeditions will focus on the triangleSantorini-Amorgos-Nisyros while thefourth one will examine the submarinearea of the Saronic Gulf.

The first expedition that was complet-ed in March concerned the study of thefault line in Anydros as well as the exam-ination of the hydrothermic activity inthe caldera of Kolumbo.

The autonomous underseas vessel(AUV) Abyss scanned and mapped the

approximately 100 sq.km of the seabednortheast of Santorini.

The scientists aim is to understand theactive tectonic structure of the area andhow it interacts with other active volca-noes with the hydrothermia and with theearthquakes.

Chief of the first expedition was Cana-dian professor of GEOMAR center MarkHanington.

Speaking to the Athens MacedonianNews Agency (ANA), he stressed that“the mapping of active volcanoes with aAUV vessel is held in order to understandthe development of the volcanoes in thefuture”.

Athens University professor ParaskeviNomikou, who has been studying thetwo volcanoes since 2010, stated to ANA:“Our cooperation with the German re-search group helped us to develop ourknowledge on the tectonic and volcanicactivity in the area.

“The submarine volcano of Kolumboconstitutes a natural laboratory for thescientists. We are examining the hydro-thermic relation between the two activehydrothermic fields, of Santorini and Ko-lumbo, and the high definition mappingof the seabead revealed, for the firsttime, the special and intense morpholo-gy of the submarine terrain.”

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 13/29JUNE 2017

THERESA MAY’S LEADERSHIP ON THE LINEAs Conservative Party recriminations continue

CONT. FROM PAGE 1/17

Several British newspapers were reporting that someprominent Conservatives, including Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnson and Brexit Minister David Davis, were be-ing urged by supporters to challenge Ms May for theparty leadership.

Theresa May’s leadership peril

The Prime Minister’s authority in is in obvious freefall,but in this political climate few could rule out morebizarre twists and turns that could save her, writes Eu-rope correspondent James Glenday.

Mr Johnson dismissed the reports as “tripe”.“I am backing Theresa May. Let’s get on with the job,”

he tweeted.Defence Minister Michael Fallon said Ms May was

right to call an election to ask for a bigger majority — adecision taken by the cabinet — but said the countrywould need to make the best of the hung parliamentthe election has returned.

Mr Fallon, who is one of Ms May’s most loyal sup-porters, said he disagreed with Mr Osborne’s descrip-tion of her as a “dead woman walking” and he expectedConservative MPs to rally behind her.

However, the Defence Minister said after the electiona new approach was needed, welcoming the resigna-tion of her two closest aides Nick Timothy and FionaHill, who were perceived by many Conservative MPs tobe high-handed and secretive.

Ms May also confirmed the appointments of many ofher leading ministers, with only a few tweaks includingthe promotion of ally Damian Green to Cabinet Office

Minister, a senior role that administers the day-to-dayrunning of the government.

All the most senior ministers — including Mr Johnson,Mr Fallon, Treasury chief Philip Hammond and HomeSecretary Amber Rudd — kept their jobs.

“I am going to be backing her, and absolutely every-body I’m talking to is going to be backing her too,” MrJohnson told Sky News.

“I genuinely think that the people of this country ...have had enough of this stuff, I think what they want is... for us to get on, deliver Brexit and deliver on theirpriorities and Theresa May is by far the best person ...to deliver that.”

DUP negotiations to continue

Ms May called the snap election in a bid to increasethe narrow majority she had inherited from her prede-cessor David Cameron, but her plan went disastrouslywrong.

Her Tories will now need the support of the NorthernIreland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to be able togovern.

“The talks so far have been positive. Discussions willcontinue next week to work on the details and to reachagreement on arrangements for the new parliament,”the DUP said in a statement.

Who are the DUP?

Arlene Foster applauds the result at Belfast Northwith a colleague in front of the union jack flag.

British voters have been frantically Googling the Dem-

ocratic Unionist Party, that now holds the balance ofpower in the British parliament. So who are they?

Many critics, including Scottish Conservative leaderRuth Davidson, have expressed concerns over the so-cially conservative DUP’s stances against gay marriageand abortion, among other issues.

Others have also said a Conservative-DUP deal couldendanger Northern Ireland’s peace settlement, whichrelies on the British Government being a neutral arbiterbetween those who want the province to remain in theUnited Kingdom and those who want it to become partof the Republic of Ireland.

“There has been a lot of hyperbole about the DUPsince the elections, a lot of things said, a lot of peoplewho really don’t know what we stand for,” DUP leaderArlene Foster told Sky News.

“Just to be clear, we will act in the national interest.We want to do what is right for the whole of the UK andto bring stability to the Government of the United King-dom.”

The Conservatives won 318 House of Commons seatsin the election, eight short of an outright majority.

Labour, the main opposition party, won 262. The DUPwon 10.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said he thought therecould be another election soon.

“It is quite possible there will be an election later thisyear or early next, year and that might be a good thingbecause we cannot go on with a period of great insta-bility,” Mr Corbyn, who has called on Ms May to resignover the election result, told the BBC.

“We have a program, we have support and we areready to fight another election campaign as soon asmay be.”

The Greek Australian VEMATO BHMA14/30 JUNE 2017

Arts, Food & WineEditor: Imogen Coward

Film-maker James Prineas: worth watching

By Dr Ann Coward

Messages of congratulations are flooding in to film-maker, James Prineas, after his film screenplay, KytheraMon Amour 2: An Island Named Desire , won bestscreenplay at the New York City Independent FilmAwards. This follows awards received for Kythera MonAmour 1 which included: Los Angeles Film Review Inde-pendent Film Awards 2017, winner Bronze Award; Ac-cess Code Short Film Festival 2016, Official Selection;Amarcord Arthouse Television & Video Awards 2016,Official Selection; Oregon Film Awards 2016; Winner Sil-ver Award.

This is proving to be an eventful year for James, whoseshort film, The Beekeepers of Kythera, won best originalscore at Tropfest this year. Tropfest has a wide interna-tional audience, and James hopes that one result of thefilm’s promotion will be that, “It would be nice if ittempted a few viewers to visit Kythera, which, like therest of Greece, can use all the tourist dollars it can get.”

The sibling ‘stars’ of The Beekeepers first appeared inthe initial Kythera Mon Amour film, with a story-line re-volving around migration to Australia: of a young man,George, and of two other older people, brother and sis-ter, George and Poppy. Although, in the past, migrationwas something undertaken by young people (includingtwo of James’ grandparents who emigrated to Australiafrom Kythera), this film has a twist to it, by exploring theidea of elderly Kytherians wanting to migrate.

Showing the passion the characters feel for their island,and its inhabitants (including its wildlife), and their reti-cence about leaving, is well-balanced with humourthroughout. Other characters, including the local priest,add to the colour, depth, and, of course, humour in thefilm. James’ photography of the island itself is a realbonus, his books and videos on Kythera having beenwell received in the past few years. As well as possess-ing a quirky sense of humour - which comes across inhis films - James possesses what is referred to as ‘agood eye’ and his film of the island, Kythera, taken froma drone is well worth taking the time to look at andsavour. Sadly the book accompanying the DVD KytheraFrom the Air is sold out, but copies of the video are stillavailable, and definitely worth owning.

His work is probably best summed up in an interviewwhich he gave for Tropfest, where James said, “Mywork tends to be portraiture - of people, landscapes,communities. I try to get to their essence and to findoriginal ways to achieve that. I don’t think in terms of“themes,” just in ways to showcase my subjects in anentertaining fashion.”

So, what does a film-maker do after having made filmsthat have not only been well-received by audiences (thecinemas packed for the premieres of Kythera MonAmour in Berlin, Sydney and Brisbane), but is also goingon to win acclaim in international film festivals? Make

another film, of course. The sequel for Kythera MonAmour, called An Island Named Desire, is planned to bereleased to cinemas this coming October, and will fea-ture the stars from the first film. Kythera Mon Amourwas produced with the generous support of the Kyther-ian Association of Australia, the Cordato Family, N. M.Feros, and Mary and Angelo Notaras. Anyone wishing tohelp fund the sequel, or to purchase or rent a video ofKythera Mon Amour , is welcome to contact JamesPrineas through the film’s website, or via his kythera-net email (details below).

James, an Australian now living in Germany, has beeninvolved in photography and film-making for over thirtyyears. His personal website contains a gallery of filmsand photographs including images taken of Kythera (theisland and the people), and Palestine, amongst others.Internationally, James is also well-known for his award-winning website kythera-family.net. The website is sup-ported by Kytherians world-wide, and has become amodel site for communities around the world.

The following is a list of websites which may be of in-terest for anyone wishing to learn more about this en-ergetic, enthusiastic and creative man, his films, his loveof Greece and in particular Kythera (Tsirigo/Cirigo), andhis work in promoting the island and strengthening theties between Kytherians world-wide. People who notonly dream, but act upon those dreams are rare, andsuch people are to be encouraged. Well done James,we congratulate you on your achievements!

The Films and Photographs of James Prineas:http://james-prineas.com/To contact James Prineas: James@kythera-family.netWebsite award: www.webbyawards.com/win-ners/2005/web/general-website/community/kythera-familynet/James Prineas, facebook page:www.facebook.com/jamesalexander.dewhirstprineas/Website, Kythera Mon Amour: www.kytheramon-amour.comTrailer of The Beekeepers: vimeo.com/201809723 Quotes taken from: www.wearemovingstories.com To purchase the DVD Kythera from the air:https://www.kythera-books.com/

The Greek Australian VemaThe oldest circulating

Greek newspaper outside Greece

Tel: (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033

Email: vema@bigpond.net.au

Kythera Mon Amour: Siblings, Georgosand Poppy, leaving Kythera

for Australia

Film-maker James Prineas in New York

MAY 2017 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: vema@bigpond.net.au

THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN

VEMAThe oldestcirculating

Greeknewspaper

outsideGreece

ArgitheaUnspoiled and sparsely populated, this lush

central Greek district boasts rustic and breath-taking beauty.

The Political Nature of theModern Papacy: An Introduction

Pope Francis remains the only pre-West-phalian absolute monarch vested with sover-eignty, exercising authority within a legitimatestate connected with but not dependent upona small territorial enclave.

Greek Australians are angry over Liberal PartyMP Craig Kelly who made a statement aboutthe name of the Former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia (FYROM).

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ORTHODOX AND HETERODOXOUR ARCHBISHOP’S VIEW

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Greek Australians irrate over politician’s comment on FYROM name

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TURKISH VESSELSVIOLATE GREEK

TERRITORIAL WATERSHopes that tension between Athens and Ankara would

subside after the meeting between Prime Minister Alex-is Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan onSaturday (13/5) were dashed two days later after twoTurkish missile boats entered Greek territorial waters offthe southeast Aegean island of Agathonisi.

The vessels, which were taking part in a maritime exer-cise code-named Denizkurdu (Seawolf), stayed in Greekterritorial waters for about 20 minutes. They were moni-tored by Hellenic Navy vessels before they left. Lastmonth Agathonisi was described as a “Turkish island” byTurkey’s Minister of European Union Affairs Omer Celik.

Nonetheless, before Monday’s incident, governmentofficials had hailed the meeting between Tsipras and Er-dogan in Beijing on Saturday (13/5) as positive.

Both men agreed on the need to find a way to rebuildconfidence, even though the Turkish leader reiterated –albeit less aggressively than on previous occasions – his

call for the extradition of eight Turkish servicemen whofled to Greece after the coup attempt in the neighboringcountry last year.

New tension between Athens and Ankara

With the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia, All Saints Grammar hosted in Belmore (NSW) the Na­tional Sports Games of the seven Colleges of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, from 3 to 5 May. More than 300students travelled from Perth (St Andrew’s College), Adelaide (St George College), Melbourne (St John’s College and OakleighGrammar), and from other areas of Sydney (Colleges of St Spyridon and St Euphemia).

The inaugural Doxology was special, as the pupils were honoured with the presence of the Evzones of the Greek PresidentialGuard. Three exciting days followed, during which the students competed in team sports in a spirit of emulation, but also pro­moted their artistic skills, participating in the tribute organised for the sixtieth anniversary of the death of Nikos Kazantzakis.

As His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Apollonia, pointed out at the Closing Ceremony of the Games, students from all over Aus­tralia had the opportunity to confirm their common bonds of faith, values and language that connect the Greek Orthodox Col­leges of the Archdiocese. The next Games will be organised in Melbourne by St John’s College.

The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 15/31JUNE 2017

Bank of Sydney announced recently anew partnership with the Hellenic Aus-tralian Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try (HACCI). This exciting partnership re-flects the shared values of the two or-ganisations, their commitment to thesuccess of Hellenic Australian businesses,and to fostering the next generation ofHellenic Australian business and thoughtleaders.

“We consider this strengthening of ourlong term relationship with HACCI as animportant enabler of our strategy for theGreek community. HACCI is a source ofpositive energy and enthusiasm, and thisresonates with our own way of doingbusiness,” said Mr Miltos Michaelas, CEOof Bank of Sydney.

“At Bank of Sydney, we are proud ofour Hellenic roots and our communitywork, both of which have shaped ourcharacter and vision to be Australia’s on-ly true relationship bank,” concluded Mr.Michaelas.

Ms Georgegina Poulos, Chair of theHACCI, welcomed the Bank of Sydney asa Main Partner of the Chamber.

“HACCI is excited about this next phase

in our growth, including enhancing ourrange of services and events for ourmembers.HACCI sees this new partner-ship with Bank of Sydney as a pivotalstep forward. It will assist with our ex-pansion plans, taking us towards a na-tional footprint, representing HellenicAustralian businesses nation-wide,” shesaid.

HACCI is one of Australia’s foremost in-ternational chambers of commerce, rep-resenting a diverse business and profes-sional membership base. HACCI providesa broad range of services and opportuni-ties for its members and the HellenicAustralian community such as network-ing events, bilateral trade events, intern-ship and mentoring programs, women inleadership forums, HACCI Radio and itsflagship event HACCI Excellence AwardsGala Ball.

This partnership between Bank of Syd-ney and HACCI is part of the Bank’s strat-egy to partner with and support variouscommunity and business groups, whilealso enhancing its vision to be Australia’sonly true relationship Bank.

Bank of Sydney announces its partnership with the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

More than 50,000 people ‘got their Greek on’ at the 41st Paniyiri Greek Festival

The popular Paniyiri Greek Festivalonce again took place for the 41st time inBrisbane last weekend and with over50,000 people attending the two-dayevent, it was a huge success!

Locals and tourists alike ate traditionalGreek food such as 300,000 louk-oumades – which is a record number forAustralia’s longest living Hellenic festival!Also this year was the 40th anniversaryof Hellenic Dancers who performed livein a special showcase program with allproceeds to be funneled back into thecommunity by the Greek Orthodox Com-

munity of St George.There was over 20 hours worth of live

entertainment gracing the stages at theevent, and great performers such as NickParas, known as Australia’s best bouzou-ki player, together with his band NIXLive, singer Paraskevi Kontoleon, theCanberra Hellenic Dancers and manymore talents were part of the line-up.

Prime Minister Turnbull issued a state-ment commending the 41st Paniyiri say-ing:

“As the streets come alive with thesights, sounds and tastes of Greece, it

[Paniyiri] is a festival that brings thewhole community together in celebra-tion.

As much as an opportunity for GreekAustralians to take great pride in theircultural heritage, it is equally a chance

for the broader community to be part ofthe joyful spirit that makes Greek cultureso vibrant, dynamic, and creative.” PMTurnbull added:

“Paniyiri is truly something to beshared and celebrated.”

LAW OFFICE OF KONSTANTINOS KARRAS17 Noembri 6-8, Alimos-Attikis (Athens), P.S. 17455

Email: konstantinos.karras@aol.com or kkvg.law@gmail.comMobile: +30-693-67-08-018

Attorney at Law in Athens. Graduated from the Law School of University ofAthens, Master Degree in European Law from the University of Louvain - Bel-gium.

Practice Areas:

a) Hereditary Issues (Wills, Inheritance)b) Legal Support regarding Property Issues (Real Estate-Markets,

Real Estate Leasing, Real Estate Registration in the Land Registry)c) Tax Matters (Tax Greeks Abroad, New estate tax law, inheritance

and gift tax)d) Greek citizenship (Greek Conditions for Granting Citizenship,

Registration at Registrar’s Office and the conditions for granting visas)e) Family Law (Divorce, Affairs)f) Recognition of foreign judgments in Greece

Our office is located in Alimos – Athens and we can be contacted by emailon konstantinos.karras@aol.com or kkvg.law@gmail.com

describing briefly your case.

TO BHMA16/32 JUNE 2017

Travel

The Greek Australian VEMA

BY H. ARGYROPOULOS

Mt Ziria (also known as Kylli-ni), which occupies the westernpart of the Corinth district in thePeloponnese, is less than 150kilometers west of Athens andoffers the nearest alpine land-scape to the capital, with firforests and picturesque lakes.The only reminders that you arein fact in Greece are the details:old stone houses, many chapelsand the state of some of the for-est roads. The latter comes asno surprise, given that Ziria hasthe Peloponnese’s second high-est peak, at 2,374 meters.

You will surely need morethan just a weekend to acquaintyourself with the area - which,according to myth, was thebirthplace of the cunning godHermes - and enjoy most ofwhat it has to offer. The musts inthe area are the villages of Evro-stini, Goura, Trikala and Kasta-nia, the Feneos plateau and theman-made Doxa reservoir aswell as Lake Stymfalia, associat-ed with one of the 12 labors ofHercules.

Evrostini (or Zacholi), the seatof the homonymous municipality,lies on the northern slopes ofthe mountain and is accessiblefrom Derveni, on the Athens-Pa-tra highway. One of its highlights

is a walking route and the smallwooden bridges under planeand chestnut trees along the Za-cholitikos River, which traversesthe village. Another is the Churchof Aghios Georgios, on the edgeof the village. It is an architectur-al feat, given its 17 domes andthe 40 days approved for itscompletion by the Ottoman ad-ministration in 1811. In an ironictwist, the church hosted twoGreek revolutionary war coun-cils against the Turks about adozen years later.

The route south to Tarsos andFeneos is superb. The road en-ters a dense black pine and firforest which hosts rich fauna, in-cluding foxes, wildcats, eagle

owls, pine martens and francol-ins. Irises bloom on the road-side, while honeysuckle and dogroses are seen in the clearings.

From Ano Tarsos, almost de-serted in winter, follow a dirtroad to the Panaghia ton Vra-chon Monastery for about a kilo-meter. After the first turns, you’llsee a unique natural monument:Huge, yellow and gray smoothrocks dominate the landscape,strongly reminiscent of Meteora.

Somewhere between them liesthe deserted monastery withfine mountain views.

Back in the village, follow thepaved road to Feneos and thenturn right to the Doxa reservoirand the Monastery of AghiosGeorgios. This is one of themost beautiful areas of the dis-trict, full of pine, fir and oaktrees around the blue man-made lake. In a commanding lo-cation above the lake is thestunning 17th-century Monaste-ry of Aghios Georgios, worthvisiting for its defensive archi-tecture and excellent iconogra-phy.

A little further south is ancientFeneos, with the ruins of an

acropolis and a temple dedicat-ed to the god of medicine, As-clepius. West of there is Goura,a beautiful village, full of stone-built, two-story houses andmansions dating as far back asthe early 19th century.

An eastern approach to themountain starts from the sea-side town of Xylokastro and as-cends via Pellini, a village withstone-built houses and large,flower-filled courtyards. About22 kilometers to the southwestis Trikala - Upper (Ano), Middle(Mesea) and Lower (Kato) - anincreasingly popular tourist des-tination tucked into the lush for-est which offers several lovelyguesthouses - mostly open onlyduring weekends in the fall. Thearea is excellent for countrywalks.

The road leading in an easter-ly and then southerly directionfrom Trikala eventually bringsyou to the Stymfalia area andthe head village of Kalliani.

The Monastery of AghiaParaskevi is a 20-minute walk,tucked into a gorge, and 10 min-utes away is the village of Stym-falia, full of fountains. Furtheralong the northern side of thelake are a sequence of pictur-esque and lush villages wellworth visiting: Kionia, Karteri,Lafka and Kastania.

Mt ZiriaJust a couple of hours’ drive from Athens, the mythicalmountain birthplace of the ancient god Hermes awaits

Take the high road

Where to eatTaverna Korais, in Evrostini: excel-

lent fasolada (bean soup), famous grill- people come from afar; KoutoukiStaikou, in ancient Feneos: famoustaverna on the Doxa reservoir - goodambience and superb view of thelake, don’t miss the wild boar and lo-cal sausage; Yiannis Kouloukos, inMesino: traditional taverna with finedishes, excellent service, the breadand grilled meats are superb; Kli-mataria, in Goura: small taverna, tastyfare and low prices, always open;Gogolas, in Karya: very good grill, ex-cellent table wine.

Where to seeThe historic Monastery of Aghios

Vlasios, built around 1400 - from theflower-filled courtyard you have fineviews of the Sythas River valley andthe villages of the Trikala area; thesmall folk history museums in Feneosand Louka; the Trikrina spring near theXenia hotel in Kastania, where nym-phs bathed young Hermes, accordingto mythology; on neighboring Mt Hel-mos, the village of Zarouchla and LakeTsivlou, the result of a landslide; the16th-century Tower of Kordis in Pyr-gos, northeast of Evrostina, with a folkhistory museum.

ActivitiesTake a walk or bring a bicycle to

explore one of the most idyllic autumnspots alongside the Doxa reservoir,or longer routes in the area; hike onMavro Oros (Black Mountain) at 1,800meters. Alternative activities firmGreek Adventure (tel 6944.667.683)manages a track for jeeps at the footof Goura and offers guided treks,paintball and cycling around the lake.Lake Stymfalia is a birdwatcher’shaven in the autumn. Test your wintersports skills at the small skiing center10 kilometers from Upper Trikala (tel22430.22229).

Where to staySemeli, in Goura: comfortable and

clean, excellent service and break-fasts with local fresh produce andhomemade jams (tel 27470.51319);Evrostini: superb guesthouse of justfive rooms (all with fireplace), hos-pitable hosts, very good breakfast (tel27430.32122); Kallisto, in Goura:small, picturesque and hospitableguesthouse, fireplace in the lounge(tel 27470.51080); Pigi Tarlampa, inTrikala: excellently styled upmarkethotel (tel 24430.91267); and Mysaion,also in Trikala: traditional guesthouse(tel 27430.91141).

How to get thereA car or motorcycle is indispensa-

ble. From Athens, it takes about 90minutes to Xylokastro, Lykoporia orDerveni via the Athens-Patra highway,past the Corinth Canal, and fromthere it depends on the destination.Goura is 162 km from Athens. Theroads are generally good and thereare great routes for 4x4 vehicles onunpaved forest roads, which are onlyaccessible by regular cars in dryweather. Useful phone numbers:Evrostini municipality: 27430.30100;police: 27470.51201; Goura healthcenter: 27470.51333.

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