Its All Greek 2 Me

During the Holy Liturgy on Sunday the 6^th of April, Deacon Raphael was ordained Reverend Raphael in the presence of many friends and well-wishers, and of his mother and brother who came from Greece for the occasion. His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios pronounced him "axios" which means "worthy" in Greek. The word "axios" is repeated three times and all those present join in as an expression of unanimous approval of the new priest. According to the Greek Orthodox Church the ordination of a priest is a sacrament like baptism and marriage. The new priest then read the Gospel of the day and offered "antidhoron" (holy bread) at the conclusion of the service, receiving also warm congratulations from the members of the congregation.

Father Raphael (pictured below) has been well known to our community since he became a student at the University of Glasgow where he was awarded the degree of Ph.D. for his research in the Faculty of Divinity. During his student days he offered many services to the Church, especially as a cantor, but also as a teacher of religious knowledge for the children of the Greek School. He gave several original and informative talks on religious matters and acted as a guide for groups of visitors to the Church.

Over the years he has gained the affection and respect of the members of our Community. His gentle manner, his warm humanity and engaging smile have won the hearts of those who have come to know him. Father Raphael will now be serving our Community at St Luke's together with Father Constantinos, our Priest in Charge, and he may also have the opportunity to serve other Communities in Scotland, and perhaps south of the border too. We wish him well in the service of God and the Church.

Brother in Christ and fellow-serving priest Father Raphael: Officiating at the Holy Altar of God is a great responsibility; difficult and steep is the road of priesthood, but sweet is the fruit of salvation. I welcome you personally and on behalf of the historic Community of St Luke in Glasgow, which in the year 2004 celebrates 60 years of its existence. The Church Council, the Ladies' Christian Fellowship, the Youth Club, I myself, and all the members of our Community, wish you "good service". Let us all work together for the future of our Community, for the strength of our Church, and for the glory of the Lord.

Our very own Nicola and Stephanie Pitticas, after a number of international games and hard training since last summer, will finally be relocating to Athens at the end of May to join their other team mates of the Greek National Hockey Team. The Hellenic Hockey Federation will be aiming to field a hockey team in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games - a prestigious event for any athlete. To achieve this goal, they will have to go through their qualifying matches against Croatia, Ireland and Russia in February 2004.  The community will be sorry to lose Nicola and Stephanie (pictured here in the team colours) who have been active members of the Greek School and the dancing group for many years - but we are all very proud of them and will be following their progress every inch of the way. The team's progress will be reported regularly on www.hellenichockey.gr

This Eurostar E200+ satellite was manufactured by the French Astrium and transported from Toulouse to Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was put to orbit by an Atlas V401 rocket on 14 March. At that precise moment, Greece and Cyprus were no longer the only two countries of the EU without a space presence! The total cost reached $175m: $78m for the procurement, $47m for launch, $8m for the two earth-stations (one in Tanagra near Athens, the other in Nicosia), $31m for insurance and $11m for pre-operational costs. The investment was met by the Hellas Sat Consortium Ltd, a Greek/Cypriot consortium with members the Greek Telecommunications Organisation OTE (83%), the Greek Aerospace Industry EAB (4%), the Cyprus DevelopmentBank (4%), the AvacomNet (8%) and the Canadian Telesat (0.39%).

The exploitation of the satellite will offer to Greece and Cyprus national, strategic, technological and commercial gains. Although it has been 10 years since the International Telecommunications Union allocated Greece two geo-stationary positions, the delay was fortunate as two competing satellites failed recently to launch. SES-Astra and Eutelsat exploded shortly before launch from New Guinea. The satellite will cover 3 continents of 2bn population, while it will serve the broadcast needs of 300 TV channels. It is capable of digital transmissions to the whole of Europe. As well as TV, Hellas-Sat will offer: two-way satellite trunk services, VSAT and specialised voice-data communications, satellite news gathering, Internet applications, utility networks, private networks, e-commerce, tele-services in medicine, education and control and many telephony applications.

GOYGB Summer Camps These annual camps organised by the Archdiocese offer an excellent opportunity for young people from communities throughout Britain to get to know one another and to develop lasting friendships. These can be a source of strength in their future lives and lay foundations for the development of our community life in the years ahead. This year’s camps will take place in Welshpool, Wales from 21 July-1 August for children 9-16 years old and from 25 July-3 August for 17-20 years old. It will be organised by Fr Luke Holden, his son Guy Maxfield and Olga Papadopoulou. Further details will be released in due course and can be obtained either from Nondas Pitticas or from Elizabeth Meade, GOYGB Summer Camp, 31 Prebend Mansions, Chiswick High Road, London, W4 2LU, tel: 020-8995 5099.

Late news—Camps in Cyprus! Although it may be too late for this year’s camp, we can report that the Cyprus Ministry of Culture and Education has organised a summer camp for 30 children of 10-12 years old from Britain in a seaside hotel in Cyprus from 1^st to 8^th August and from 9^th to 22^nd August with their relatives. Each child will bear the airfare cost of £229.60 and those children who will attend the whole programme, will receive a subsidy of £100.00. all accommodation, subsistence and transportation expenses for the whole group, which will include 2 teachers. Info: KEA, 22 Stuart Cres, London, N22 5NN, tel: 020-8881 6982.

University of Cyprus for Cypriot repatriates, Cypriots living permanently abroad and Greeks of the diaspora. Repatriated Cypriots should have recently repatriated, graduated from an Elementary Education Institution abroad, and upon their return to Cyprus have attended education similar to that of their foreign residence. Cypriots permanently living abroad may seek admission based on GCSE/GCE or equivalent examinations and must satisfy the requirements defined by each University Department in specific subjects. (Details of rules can be found on the Glasgow Greek School website http://members.tripod.com/g-greekschool.) Greeks of the diaspora must be graduates of Secondary Education Institutions recognised by the appropriate authorities of their country of residence. They should have a good knowledge of the Greek language and present a certificate of foreign citizenship, whereby their Greek origin appears. The academic year for undergraduate study comprises two semesters. Eight semesters are normally required for graduation and attendance is compulsory. The languages of instruction are Greek and Turkish (the official languages as stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus). The programme of studies is based on credit hours and all students are required to fulfil a foreign language requirement. Approximately 850 students are admitted every year and the current roll of undergraduates id 3,150. Undergraduate fees: The tuition fees of 1000 CYP per semester are paid by the State in the case of Cypriot students. The same applies to repatriated Cypriots, Cypriots living permanently abroad and students of the diaspora. Postgraduate fees: MSc, 100 CYP per credit unit. PhD (taught stage), 100 CYP per credit unit. PhD (research stage), 500 CYP per semester. PhD (dissertation stage), 100 CYP per semester. The minimum deposit for registration is 500 CYP (except for the dissertation stage of the doctoral degree). An MSc programme is 30 credits, while a PhD programme is at least 50 credits. Students with an MSc may be partially or fully exempt from the taught courses (that amount to 30 credits) of a PhD programme. Further info: Nondas Pitticas at the Greek School

Greek music appeals to people of all generations and times. If you listen closely to the words of the songs and carefully to old tunes you hear people expressing their emotions, leaving you with a range of feelings. Old Greek songs have a very nostalgic essence which sometimes give you intense feelings of melancholy. They remind you about who you are and where you came from. There are so many modern styles of Greek music today—there has even been the introduction of rock and pop Greek music to appeal more to the younger generations. But however popular these new styles are, no-one can deny the traditional songs. These are the songs which reach out to people and will always be remembered. Many of the older Greek songs are also supported with many well-known dances we see today, like ‘Zorbas’ and the ‘Hasapiko.’ The ‘Zembekiko’, fondly known as the drunk man’s dance, allows each person to express their own originality. With a range of styles, it is inevitable that there will be some kind of music that will appeal to everybody today.

In the UK, most Greek music can easily be ordered from Trehantiri Music, 365-367 Green Lanes, Harringay, London, N4 1DY, Tel. 0208 802 6530

Website http://www.trehantiri.co.uk/