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Orthodox Observer March 5, 1997
Hellenic Letters and Arts Luncheon Features NEW YORK — The annual luncheon of the Archdiocesan Council of Hellenic Letters and Arts and Department of Education held Feb. 2 featured a presentation on the upcoming "Glory of Byzantium exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning March 11. Keynote speaker was Dr. Helen Evans, associate curator for Early Christian and Byzantine Art at the MOMA, who gave a slide presentation on some of the exhibit's highlights. Her lecture was accompanied by another slide presentation by Dr. Demetrios Katsarelias of the Hellenic Institute on Byzantine works. | A highlight at the luncheon was Archbishop Spyridon's presentation of the Three Hierarchs medal to Nicholas Pavlou, a construction worker who risked his life to rescue a mother and her two children from a falling crane.
Archibishop Spyridon pre- sents a medal to Nikos Pav- lou in recognition of his cou- rageous act. (D. Panagos photo) Pavlou, who sustained serious injury and was in critical condition after the accident, was still bedridden but is recovering. He was brought on a portable bed to receive the award. | Other speakers included New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who presented a proclamation from the city to His Eminence; Maria Hatzikonstantinou, deputy director of Gov. George Pataki's Washington office; Consul General of Greece Charalambos Rocanas, Consul General of Cyprus Pantelakis Eliades and Eugene Rossides, American Hellenic Institute Foundation president. Demetrios Kastanas, host of the National Greek TV program, served as master of ceremonies. Thalia Vamvakas of the Metropolitan Opera performed in a musical interlude. Hellenic Letters and Arts Council Executive Committee members are Dr. Nicholas H. Kladopoulos, Maria Makedon-Fountas and Stella Kokolis, who also chaired the luncheon. | Following the program, Archbishop Spyridon offered his reflections in English and Greek. | In his remarks, Archbishop Spyridon said, in part, "It is indeed a great pleasure, as well as a very special blessing, to be with you this afternoon. To celebrate Hellenic Letters and Arts is to celebrate, not only the living legacy of Hellenism, but the foundation and guiding principles of all of Western Civilization. Moreover, to reflect on the Aghia Sophia, as we do today, is to not only recall Hellenism's contributions to the world, but to witness the lofty heights attained from building on this foundation. Other heights based upon a Hellenistic foundation are readily observable: the democratic form of government we cherish here in America; the artistic inheritance of the Italian Renaissance; the investigations of the German philosophers; the mathematical and scientific inquiries that have spawned the technological advances of our age. All of these —and countless others— are directly attributable to the Hellenistic spirit. The Aghia Sophia, however, because it reflects in a singular fashion the union of spirit and mind with the physical world around us, stands as a singular achievement among these other accomplishments. Indeed, we see in the Great Church of Constantinople an achievement so bold, the magnitude of which is realized that much more when we remember that it was completed only in the sixth century after Christ, that it can only he considered a reflection of a quantum leap in the historical development of mankind. What may be readily appreciated is that this quantum leap mirrored, in turn, the intellectual achievements of the time. What may not be readily appreciated in today's world is that this leap took place within the bosom of the Church. The historical record shows us that the summit of Hellenism was reached when the great thinkers of Byzantium, following the highest intellectual pursuit of the day, contemplated and debated Christian theology. Faced with the confrontation between classical Greek philosophical ideas and Christian claims about God, these philosopher-theologians successfully adapted pagan concepts to Christian truths, thus crafting the dogmas that came to define the Christian Faith. Although many people were engaged in this enterprise, the Church set apart St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom, calling them the "Three Hierarchs." These three represent the height of Christian theology; at the same time, these three represent the height of Hellenism. [ Orthodox Observer - Vol. 62, No. 1124 - March 5, 1997 - pp. 10, 27 ]
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