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On Tuesday, May 17, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chicago, and the Hellenic Society of Constantinople hosted the 41st Annual Commemoration of the Fall of Constantinople at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Schiller Park, Illinois.

Professor Demacopoulos is the Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies at Fordham University in New York. He is also a Co-Founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham and a Co-Founding Editor of the Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies. He specializes in the History of Christianity for Late Antiquity, the Early Medieval West, and Byzantium.

The annual Commemoration of the Fall of Constantinople remembers and raises awareness on the conquest of Constantinople, which occurred on May 29, 1453. This event marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, which had lasted for 1500 years, and was also the day that Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was converted from a Christian Orthodox Church into a mosque.

A special thank you to Father Kosmas Kallis, the parish of Holy Trinity, and the Ladies Philoptochos of Holy Trinity for hosting this year’s annual event.

For those who missed the event, visit https://chicago.goarch.org/ministry/archons-of-the-ecumenical-patriarchate/ or https://www.facebook.com/MetropolisofChicago to view the presentation.

Left to right: Archon Perry Siatis; Amalia Deligiannis, Assistant to the Archons; Archon Louis Laros; Archon Dr. George Bovis; Archon Honorable Jeffery G. Chrones; Hellena K. Chrones, Hellenic Society of Constantinople President; Archon Thomas Kanelos; His Grace Bishop Timothy of Hexamilion; Archon National Secretary and Archon Regional Commander for the Metropolis of Chicago Gus M. Pablecas; Keynote Speaker Archon Dr. George Demacopoulos; Archon Robert Buehler; Archon Arthur Balourdos; Archon Theodore Sepsis; Archon Alexander Gianaras; Archon Wesley Stinich; and Archon Costa Zografopoulos.

 

ABOUT

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago consists of 34 parishes in Illinois, with another 24 parishes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, northern Indiana, and eastern and central Missouri. The general offices of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago are located in Chicago, Illinois. For more information visit https://chicago.goarch.org/

The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle is comprised of Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who have been honored for their outstanding service to the Orthodox Church by having a Patriarchal title, or “offikion,” bestowed upon them by Hi All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Those upon whom this title of the Mother Church has been conferred are known as “Archons of the Great Church of Christ,” and the titles are personally conferred by the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America. The Order’s fundamental goal and mission is to promote the religious freedom, well-being and advancement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. For more information visit https://www.archons.org/

The Hellenic Society of Constantinople in Chicago was founded in 1939 by a small group of immigrant Romoii, the proud name for Greeks from Istanbul, who fled their homeland of Constantinople by the forced exchange of populations following the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The society’s current president is Hellena K. Chrones. For more information visit https://www.hellenicsocietyofconstantinople.org/

Archon Dr. George Demacopoulos, Ph.D., was invested as an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle in 2010 and conferred with the offikion Didaskalos to Genous (“Teacher of the Gospel”). He is the Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies at Fordham University in New York. He is also a Co-Founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham and a Co-Founding Editor of the Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies. He specializes in the History of Christianity for Late Antiquity, the Early Medieval West, and Byzantium. He is the author of many books, articles and academic presentations on Orthodoxy. Archon Demacopoulos graduated with a BA from the University of Tennessee, with an MTS in Theology from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and with an MA and a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.