We had the honor and pleasure of welcoming the great Mike Manatos to the show! Mike serves as the Executive Director of The Hellenic Initiative (THI). He stepped into this leadership role to mobilize the global Greek diaspora and Philhellene community. THI focuses on driving sustainable economic recovery, entrepreneurship, and crisis relief for Greece and Cyprus. Before leading THI, Manatos built a 35-year career in public policy and government relations.

He previously served as President of the prominent boutique lobbying firm, Manatos & Manatos. This made him the third generation of his family to cultivate deeply rooted, bipartisan relationships with top U.S. policymakers. A dedicated philanthropist and advocate for Hellenic causes, his notable accomplishments include: Co-founding the Washington Oxi Day Foundation, where he served as Executive Director to establish the globally recognized OXI Courage Awards; Raising over $2 million and granting more than 250 wishes during his 26-year involvement with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic; Advocating pro-bono for religious freedom, specifically supporting the Ecumenical Patriarchate before the White House, State Department, and Congress; Serving on major nonprofit boards, including the Executive Committees of Leadership 100 and the National Hellenic Society.

Join us in getting to know this fantastic Hellene with us!

Learn more at:

https://thehellenicinitiative.org/

https://thehellenicinitiative.org/ithaka/

We had the pleasure of being interviewed by Meletios Pouliopoulos on his Grecian Echoes show "Mondays with Meleti". We discussed the past and the future of Hellenism in America and how we are fighting to preserve our culture for future generations. Join us!

Hear more on ⁠GreekAF Media⁠!

Father Dimitri is a native of Sheboygan, WI from the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. Growing up in the Altar form a young age, his love of serving the church roots back to childhood. His Greek Orthodox faith was instilled by his parents, grandparents, and parish priest. The Church was central and every aspect of life revolved around major festal holidays.

After deciding to go to Seminary School at the age of seventeen, Fr. Dimitri attended Hellenic College immediately after graduating High School. After four years of undergraduate study, he attended the Graduate School of Holy Cross for three years. These seven years of schooling left a heavy imprint and played a vital role in his development as a servant leader. It was during these years that he developed a love for mission work, having completed two mission trips to Kenya through OCMC, Orthodox Christian Mission Center. Fr. Dimitri remains a mission focused priest, aiming to broaden our Orthodox Church by supporting those less fortunate.

After graduating from Seminary School, Fr. Dimitri worked for IOCC, International Orthodox Christian Charities in Baltimore, MD. It was here that under the mentorship of Dean Triantafilou, he developed an appreciation for non-profit work and fundraising. The road to Baltimore then led Fr. Dimitri to the Cathedral of the Annunciation in downtown Baltimore. Rev. Fr. Dean Moralis offered incredible training on parish life and how to build a vibrant ministry team.

The first assignment as a clergyman took place at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Washington, DC. Under the mentorship of Rev. Fr. John T. Tavlarides and especially Rev. Fr. Steven P. Zorzos, Fr. Dimitri learned how to function as a Greek Orthodox Priest in a large and thriving community. After more than ten years of service, the relationships and experiences made an incredible impact that will never be forgotten.

Fr. Dimitri was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan Savvas of Pittsburgh in 2010 and to the priesthood by the former Archbishop of America, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios in January of 2011. The transition to Proistamenos of Saints Constantine and Helen of Washington, DC took place in June, 2021 by the Archbishop of America, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros.

The new chapter in Fr. Dimitrios' life is introducing him to a beautiful new community filled with loving and dedicated parishioners. Together they will build up the body of Christ and attempt to reflect his light and love for the entire world.

Visit the ⁠Sts. Constantine & Helen website.⁠

Watch more on the free ⁠GreekAF app⁠.

Fr. Ted was born on May 1, 1981 in Toronto, Ontario. Although he lived in Ajax most of his life, he grew up in the communities of Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Oshawa and then at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Scarborough. During his time at St. Nicholas, Fr. Ted, along with his family, was very much involved in the life of the Church. He was involved in the youth and dance programs, taught at the Greek School and also served a term as Youth President of the local GOYA.

Throughout high school, and up to the present, Fr. Ted also participated in many religious and cultural programs such as: The Metropolis Youth Board of Canada, was the Canadian representative to the World Youth Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), board member of Klironomia Hellenic Folklore in Canada, founding member of Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox Summer Camps, Dance Instructor of St. Nicholas Greek Heritage School, and Co-Founder and Instructor of Paradosi Hellenic Dance Company.

After high school Fr. Ted attended the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy where he received his Bachelor degree in Theology. He then continued his education at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Crestwood, New York, where he received his Masters of Arts in Theology with a specialization is Liturgical Theology. He is currently working on his Doctorate of Ministry at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Fr. Ted currently serves in the following capacities:

1. National Youth Director - Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada) 2. Professor of Pastoral Theology - Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy 3. Visiting Lecturer - Orthodox & Eastern Christian Studies, Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, UofT 4. President - Clergy Syndesmos of Canada "St. Photios" Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Canada 5. Director - "Re-Catechism" Adult Religious Education Initiative 5. Orthodox Representative - Commission on Faith and Witness, Canadian Council of 6. Founder/Instructor - Paradosi Hellenic Dance Company 7. Doctoral Student - Doctorate of Ministry Program, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary www.svots.edu

Fr. Ted has been married to his loving wife Joanna since 2006 and has three beautiful children George, Katherine and Angelo. Before coming to Sts. Constantine & Helen, Fr. Ted served the communities of St. Nicholas in Scarborough (Jan. 07 - Sept. 07), Prophet Elias in Mississauga (Oct. 07 - June 08) and St. Demetrios in Winnipeg (Jul. 08 - Aug. 14). He enjoys reading, teaching and researching Greek dance, and cinema.

YouTube Channel - ⁠Fr.TEDTalks⁠

Podcast - The Fighting Priests:

⁠GreekAFRadio⁠

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠Apple⁠

+ Priest Theodore Paraskevopoulos

Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church

⁠https://prophetelias.ca/

On our first full length episode of the Preserving Hellenism Podcast, we welcome our dear friend Melina from ⁠Ecogenia⁠, and a group of young Tulane students who worked with Ecogenia over the summer to produce fantastic documentary footage of their mission. So inspired were these students, they decided to continue to support Ecogenia with an amazing fundraiser. Join us as we get to know Melina, Kalina, Natalie, and Alana!

⁠Learn more about their fundraiser⁠

⁠See more of their videos

Tad Crawford is an author, attorney, and publisher. He grew up in the artists’ colony of Woodstock, New York. Interested in writing both fiction and nonfiction, he majored in economics at Tufts College and graduated from Columbia Law School. After clerking for a judge on New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, Crawford worked for a small general law firm in New York City while writing and teaching writing and literature at the School of Visual Arts.

On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and his Fatherless Son Telemachus debuted in 2023. As the flap copy states, “Countless readers have thrilled to the adventures of Odysseus in The Iliad and The Odyssey, but what further adventures awaited him after his ten years of war and ten years of wandering? Narrated by Telemachus to the bard Phemios, On Wine-Dark Seas speaks of the human drama of a man gone twenty years from home and family, a man who saw Troy on the night of its destruction, a man who lives the special quest which is his destiny. In probing the inner journeys of a son and father separated twenty years who must come to terms with each other and their ruthless slaughter of the suitors of Penelope, it reveals the doubts and joys of Odysseus, Penelope and Telemachus. As Telemachus tells Phemios: ‘My father will be known to the future not as the man he was, but as the man of whom you sing. Often at Troy he called himself “the father of Telemachus,” so I too have a part to speak in his story. Wealthy men can pay some poets to chant a story first this way, then another. I cannot offer you wealth to hear me, but only the truth I know.’ The novel is a masterful recreating of the ancient mind, the landscape of Greece steeped in mythos and the gods, and the human dramas of characters made famous for all time by The Iliad and The Odyssey.”

https://tadcrawford.com/

Say hello to Emily & Danai from the Greek Language Experts! They were born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece and first met in kindergarten. Over the years they followed different paths and went to different high schools, but life brought them back together in 2019. Emily was already living in New York City and Danai was living in Athens. During the first quarantine in March 2020, online learning became very popular and that’s how the idea arose. Greek Language Experts is a website for foreigners that are interested in learning the Greek language. There will be classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced level students with the choice of a group class, private class, or self-paced videos. Each level will have subsections in order to fully understand the Greek language and be able to speak with no fear or hesitation.

https://www.greeklangexperts.com/

Join us in welcoming Aggeliki Konstanti to the godcast! Aggeliki is a young Greek singer-songwriter and violinist based in Athens, Greece. She grew up in South Africa where she was exposed to the arts from a young age. She started playing the violin when she was 5 years old and her curiosity in music continued to evolve, later exploring songwriting and the guitar. Her music combines the romance of traditional and older Greek influence with modern undertones having been inspired by both Greek artists such as Konstantinos Argiros and Giannis Ploutarchos as well as American artists such as Taylor Swift. Her debut single, "Se Latrevo", is available on all online platforms.
Instagram & TikTok - @aggelikikonstanti26
Twitter - @aggelikikon26

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