Archbishop Elpidophoros of America will preside over the celebrations for the historic 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence of 1821, which will take place this afternoon (Eastern European Time).
The celebrations are scheduled to be broadcast live on both the social media accounts of the Greek Archdiocese of America and on television, such as ERT World, the Greek digital platform ERTFLIX, and ANT1 TV in the USA.
As reported by ANA-MPA, the celebrations will begin with Archbishop Elpidophoros performing the Doxology service. Live music concerts and video screenings will follow. ABC Greek American presenter, George Stephanopoulos, will host the events and award-winning actor Dennis Boutsikaris will be the narrator in videos concerning historical and contemporary facts about the Greek War of Independence of 1821, such as its messages and its timeless significance.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Summer, members of Congress Dina Titus and Gus Bilirakis, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla will give speeches. The Greek-American Diaspora will be represented by John Katsimatidis, Vice President of the Archbishopric Council and George Choriatis, Supreme President of AHEPA.
New York Metropolitan Opera soprano Carolina Pilou and the internationally renowned baritone and artistic director of the Teatro Grattacielo in New York and the byzantine music choir of the Greek Archdiocese of America will also participate in today’s celebration.
Both live speeches and videotaped messages will be broadcast, due to the precautionary measures in the USA.
In addition, in his statements to ERT, the Archbishop of America underlined: “The whole of America celebrates with us, as all American citizens fully understand the meaning and messages of the Greek War of Independence. “No matter how many centuries pass, people can be reborn from their ashes and fight for their freedom,” he stressed. “The principles and values that inspired the Greek War of Independence are universal,” he added.