Before the blue and white filled Fifth Avenue, the day began the way New York’s Greek Independence Day always begins: in prayer.
The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on East 74th Street was filled Sunday morning for the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the Doxology marking Greek Independence Day. Metropolitan Ieronymos of Kalavryta and Aigialeia presided over the Liturgy, arriving from one of the regions most closely bound to the events of 1821. Archbishop Elpidophoros of America officiated at the Doxology.
Among those in attendance was Nikitas M. Kaklamanis, President of the Hellenic Parliament, whose presence recalled the 2008 visit of Dimitris Sioufas, then President of the Hellenic Parliament, who came to New York as Grand Marshal of the Greek Independence Day Parade. Also in attendance was Mayor Mamdani, whom Archbishop Elpidophoros thanked as the first sitting mayor of New York City known to have attended the parade-day Doxology at Holy Trinity.
At the end of the Doxology, President Kaklamanis said in his remarks that all officials from Greece were in New York on the occasion of the parade not only “to celebrate another anniversary,” but also “to make a promise, all together”: that “we fight for democracy and peace throughout the world,” and that “we will defend the freedom, independence and territorial integrity of our homeland.”
Turning to Mayor Mamdani, President Kaklamanis said: “we welcome you in our midst, we thank you because this very important day for the history of our country, you are here to celebrate with us.”
Mayor Mamdani said, “Today, bearing witness to this beautiful service, I am reminded of the origins of the word liturgy. It translates from Greek, roughly, to people’s work. And Reverend Thomas Fitzgerald writes that when a member of the Orthodox Church comes to attend the Divine Liturgy, it is not as an isolated person who comes simply to hear a sermon. Rather, they come as a member of the community of faith who participates in the very purpose of the Church.”
“This year is Two Hundred and Five Years from 1821, and Two Hundred and Fifty years from 1776. Both anniversaries have great significance for the Greek-American Omogeneia,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said. “As Hellenes and Philhellenes, and as Americans, we acknowledge the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. For their love and patriotism gave them the strength to keep the long March for freedom alive in every generation.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros thanked President Kaklamanis and the representatives from Greece. Turning to Mayor Mamdani, he said: “Mr. Mayor, you serve a city that received generations of Greek immigrants, men and women who came seeking opportunity, who labored with faith, and who helped build this city and become devout Americans. From the classrooms of Bronx High School of Science, to the neighborhoods of Astoria, the Greek American presence is not foreign to you,” he concluded.
The parade on Fifth Avenue brought the 205th anniversary celebrations of Greek Independence to a powerful close. Over four hours, 102 groups and 46 floats made their way up the avenue, in a broad display of faith, heritage and communal pride. As every year, the march of the Presidential Guard of the Hellenic Republic — the Evzones — provided one of the day’s most stirring moments, joined this year by the Philharmonic of Korakiana “Spyros Samaras,” whose 80 musicians added a resonant musical tribute to the procession.
