ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
The image of a Greek government minister “celebrating” Hanukkah in New York, at the invitation of a foreign religious community, is not a harmless public-relations gesture. It is a politically and symbolically troubling act, especially coming from a government that constantly presents itself as a defender of “nation, religion, and family.” (You can read his “proud” announcement on his Facebook page at the bottom of this post.)
First of all, Hanukkah is not a neutral holiday. It commemorates, at least in part, the Jewish military victory over the Hellenistic kingdom of the Seleucids of Syria, a historical context that makes the participation of a Greek minister particularly inappropriate. This naturally raises a simple question: When has an Israeli minister ever attended the celebration of the Greek Revolution? When has an Israeli president, prime minister, or minister officially attended, even symbolically, the Orthodox Easter Resurrection at the Holy Sepulchre?
The contradiction becomes even more striking when one considers that Israel has not officially recognized either the Armenian Genocide or the Greek Genocide of Asia Minor and Pontus, while at the same time rightly demanding universal recognition and respect for the Holocaust. Historical memory, however, cannot be selective.
This is not a matter of religious tolerance. It is a matter of institutional consistency. An Orthodox Christian minister of the Greek state does not “celebrate” another nation’s religious-national holiday without sending a message of political submission and identity erosion. If this is merely diplomacy, then it should be stated honestly:
not “nation, religion, family,” but realpolitik without memory or principles.
Especially when we know that in the recent wiretapping scandal in Greece, PM Mitsotakis knowingly used Israeli software, and Israeli intelligence agents operated the system. Is this an independent country or a “Banana Republic” and a colony of foreign interests?
Shame on Adonis!! Especially in light of Director Smaragdis’ recent statements that it was Adonis who DID NOT SIGN funding for the production of “Kapodistrias”!! He undermined his own nation’s history, but he is eager to celebrate another nation’s identity!!
Most troubling of all is the Church’s silence. Is there not a single bishop willing to clarify the difference between interfaith respect and the political participation of a government official in a foreign religious celebration with heavy historical symbolism?
The issue is not Hanukkah itself. Or Antisemitism… We Greeks have been against all racism, and we have proved it in thousands of years of history, especially during the Holocaust. During WWII, Greece had more victims than any other nation – except the Russians and the Poles!! America had about 400,000 victims, and little Greece had over 800,000!!..
The issue is the lack of reciprocity, selective sensitivity, and political hypocrisy.
And in a country with deep historical memory and unresolved trauma, these things do not go unnoticed.
December 16, 2025, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
This is a level of cuckoldry that should not even be possible.
I agree this should be condemned. But what about the late Patriarch of Serbia, Irenei, entering a synagogue and putting up a candle? And what about Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon saying that one of his greatest pleasures is entering synagogues to recite the Psalms in Hebrew? I have yet to hear of one cleric openly condemn that.
Not related to this, sorry I don’t know who that person even is since I am not Greek. But we are called to confess our faith. His act is the opposite. Those people are ready for antichrist and they will accept him. They do not even hide where their loyalty is.
I just wanted to post this:
https://spzh.eu/en/news/89655-in-washington-orthodox-christians-gather-in-support-of-uoc
God bless these people for going, I was not aware this even took place.
Seems that not only this guy but also the OCU
“priest” is confused who his God is
https://spzh.eu/en/news/89637-in-kyiv-ocu-priest-lights-a-menorah-near-his-church
Thank you for the orientation on the history of Jewish/Hellenic roles since WWII. It is a historical fact, that The Greek People sacrificed their lives to safeguard the Jews in Greece ,under the Occupation of Nazi Germany in the 1940’s!
I recall when I was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, the year after 1967-68 “the hype ” of the 6 Day war in the Political Science Department , with the intensity of American Jewish Students that were engaged with US Foreign Policy to support Israel. Despite at the time ,of the protests of the Vietnam War ,The Greek -American Students were ambivalent, in its agenda regarding US Foreign Policy towards Papadopoulos and the Greek Junta. Mr. Adonis must be scrutinized of his submission, by turning his back on his lacking of Hellenic Cultural, Historical Support, due to his shameful adversity to fund the “Kapodistrias” Movie. We should be reminded of the dire consequences that regrettably , one notable , who was a product from war torn Europe, A Nobel Prize Jewish American; it is inexcusable of the US Sec of State Henry Kissinger’s insensitive role , on July 1974, to allow the partition of Cyprus with the illegal invasion by US Arms by Turkey.
I don’t understand why a minister of Greece comes to New York to jointly celebrate Hanukkah with the Jews. Couldn’t he have celebrated with the Jews of GREECE in the two big cities, Athens or Thessaloniki? Whom did a politician want to serve with that gesture? Who paid his expenses? Did he come alone or with his wife? Might he have children studying here in the USA and used his official position to supposedly attend Hanukkah with New York’s Jews? Why such sucking up to the Jews? I don’t think this helps the Jews
Nothing surprises me anymore, when some of our hierarchy goes and prays in synagogues, which is very misleading to the converts and the young orthodox who don’t know the canons. Why does he do it and why do they do it?
I learnt years ago from a Jewish friend that Hannakka is the LEAST important holiday for Jews. But now, bc of PC attempt to dilute enormity of Christmas, this Hannaka has taken 2nd place to Christmas!
The spirit of Anti-Christ is among us.
On the other hand…
https://spzh.eu/en/news/89610-i-am-a-christian-new-president-of-poland-refused-to-celebrate-hanukkah
Sandy – thanks for info on the new Poland 🇵🇱 President! Very impressive his loyalty to Christian faith. America used to be like that… what happened??
Apples: Probably the powers of this world happened. But isn’t like a glass of cold water on a hot day, when we hear someone at the top confess Christ? God bless him!
The grumbles on here about efforts of some Jews to be unfair in their contact with Christians miss a very important point. The overwhelming danger that BOTH Christians and Jews face is from radical Islam. That has been the problem for some 1400 years.
I am sure that radical Muslims are glad if they can see Christians and Jews arguing with one another instead of focusing on the Islamic danger.
Sadly, I expect fierce opposition to my post from some on this site.
John, I am sure you understand that this is not about “Christians and Jews”. It’s about Zionism a practice equivalent to racism. As Hellenes, we are opposed to all forms of racism and we oppose all forms of hegemony and imperialism. Instead we propose a return to0 the ideals of peaceful Hellenic Ecumenism practiced by Ale3xander the Great and his Hellenistic successors. These ideals were adopted by Rome and became the foundations of the Western Civilization.
Hellenism never practiced “Hegemony”, “Global Dominance”, “Supremacy”. We opposed the Crusades, we opposed Colonization, we opposed Imperialism. And we opposed Slavery. We are the creators of hritianity – without the Hellenistic Stoic philosophy, Christianity would be one more Jewish sect…
Most European peoples were “colonizers” and imperialists. Not us. America removed itself from these Hellenic ideals a century ago and since then it has been losing its appeal…
We shall return to these thoughts soon.
The anti-Jewish comments I read did not address Israel or Zionism, they simply jumped on the chance to say negative things about the Jews around us.
I didn’t say a bloody thing against Jews. I said that Orthodox clergy have no business praying in synagogues. The fact that a patriarch did it doesn’t make it right. I had a great-grandfather who was a German Jew. He died in this country about the same time my mother, his granddaughter, was born. Three of his cousins perished in the holocaust. That being said, those clergy violated the canons. If we clergy don’t say anything, we will lose more people to “True Orthodox” breakaway groups.
John, you should ask the Christians in Palestine and the Holy Land how well they are treated by the Jews. The OC has lost a lot of land using very biased laws. The Patriarch of Jerusalem has spoken about it and asked the west for help. This land not only belongs to the Christians, but it belongs ot the Church! Yet they built on it! And we should now forget we are Christians? Forget about the birth of Christ and celebrate Hannukah? What?
So often the haters of the Jews bring up the tiny number of Christians in and around Israel as an argument against Israel. But the real danger for those Christians is from Islam. They cannot say it, we can.
Tiny number of Christians? There are more Christians in the holy land than Constantinople. Should we forget the Greeks of Constantinople?
The Christian’s in the holy land are in danger from the various Israeli settler groups. You might want to read about the religious groups in Israel who spit on Christians. And the Arab Christians in the village of Taybeh.
The haters of Jews are probably and mostly in your imagination. We worship Virgin Mary and Christ who were Jews. We read the Psalter written by another Jew. If we truly hated anyone we could not even say we are Christians. I personally hate no one. I don’t even know what logic you are using to call us haters of Jews!
Also, you are confusing “hate” with “being critical of”. We are here critical of our own patriarch and the Greek archbishop because we love our faith and we want our clergy to respect the cannons of our church. We want our faith to be intact as Christ gave it to us and we want to protect it from heresies and innovations. But please do not assume we hate our hierarchs. Do not confuse Being critical with Being faithful.
Please, once again be careful in your language. We don’t WORSHIP the Theotokos. Not even the Latins do that, though they have the false notion of the Immaculate Conception. The Protestants falsely accuse us of this.
Radical Islam is a problem. Radical Muslims have taken over and are massacring Christians in Syria just like in Iraq. Israel and the US have supported the Islamist takeover of Syria.
Israel is a supporter of the government of Azerbaijan which has committed genocide against the Armenian Christians of Artsakh. The neoconservatives who support the Israeli extreme right have decimated the Christians of Iraq and Syria with their policies.
The hardline Israeli nationalists who drove the Palestinians from their homes since 1948 had no more sympathy for Arab Christians than Muslims. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has had land taken by messianic settler groups with the backing of Israeli governments.
Israeli settler groups most recently have attacked the village of Taybeh. The last Christian village in the West Bank. These settler groups believe all Arabs including Christians must leave because God wants them to have that land.
For what it’s worth, I believe Israel has a right to exist. The Palestinians have a right to a homeland as well. Israel at the present is not defending itself. It has been waging genocide against Christian and Muslim Palestinians in Gaza.
The interests of the Orthodox east do not align with the west of which Israel is an extension. Only the lunatic American Protestant Zionists believe that Christianity is fully aligned with Israel. The Israelis are led by lunatics such as Netanyahu and ministers such as Ben Gvir.
John, you have your sources and I have mine. You are free to believe what you want. So am I. THere are attacks on Churches and Christians in procession in Israel very very often and they are not from Islam. Plenty of videos on line available too. It is not Islam that is stealing land for the OC in Israel, either. This is documented with court papers. So we really can’t blame Islam for everything.
Yup, it’s highly doubtful you’ll ever see Jews budge one iota for or towards Christianity. In their Talmud, the Goy are like cattle, gentile woman referred to as immoral Shiksa to be taken advantage of, our blessed Mother referred to as a “harlot” or “hairdresser” and the Lord himself is “in hell boiling in increment”. You should know what they think about children!!!
Still want to think highly of them? Know this, a real awakening has taken place in the younger generation. They understand the deception of Zionism, which has infiltrated all columns in the western world and elsewhere. It’s always about MONEY, POWER & CONTROL!! Zionism is really a highly powerful networking mafia.
Let’s celebrate our faith, the best of all, and celebrate St Nicholas instead of Santa, here is a very good article about St. Nicholas, a lot of info that most of us don’t know. We usually hear the miracles and positive stuff, but he was tortured in jail and scientists documented their findings. Happy Saint Nicholas day, Nick :)
https://spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/89711-broken-nose-what-doctors-found-in-the-tomb-of-nicholas-the-wonderworker
Hieromonk Alexei: Forgive me, I meant venerate Virgin Mary and worship Christ. I will try to pay close attention to what I am writing. Thank you for the correction! God bless!