The Greek Community across New York marked resurrection and Orthodox Easter

The Greek-American community once again flocked to their local churches this year in order to witness the climax of the Holy Week Services, with the Service of the Epitafios on Good Friday, the Resurrection Vigil on Holy Saturday, and at midnight, the Holy Liturgy of the Resurrection.

From Astoria to Southampton, from Flushing to Manhattan, and from the Bronx to Brooklyn, Greek-Americans of all ages flocked to the churches, ahead of the great celebration of Christianity.

This year’s celebrations were also historic, as the new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center held its first Holy Week services.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America officiated on Good Friday at Holy Trinity in Hicksville for the Apokathelosis and the Lamentations at St. Nicholas Flushing, on Holy Saturday at St. Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria for the ‘Proti Anastasi’ and at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan, and on Easter Sunday for the Vespers of Agape at St. Nicholas WTC, where Consul General of Greece in New York Dinos Konstantinou was also present.

In Astoria, the well-known cradle of the Greek-American diaspora of New York, the area of Ditmars became the focal point as three communities- St. Catherine and St. George Church, the Stavropegial Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou, and St. Markella Cathedral- followed the identical route for their Procession of the Epitafios, between 23rd Avenue and Ditmars, with the police closing off the traffic, especially at 31st Street, under the elevated train tracks. Among those present at St. Irene was former Consul General of Greece in New York Dr. Konstantinos Koutras, who was greeted by many community members during the procession of the Epitafios in Astoria on Good Friday. At the same time, attendance was also significant at St. Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria, which held its procession in the area of 30th Avenue.

The Greek-American community outside of New York City, of course, also attended Holy Week services with a typical example being the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons, where Fr. Alexander Karloutsos and Fr. Constantine Lazarakis, after the recitation of the Gospel of the Resurrection, said “Christ is Risen” in various languages.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs