NEWS RELEASE
Dear Cherished members of Orthodoxy and Hellenism,
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Greek Chair at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, I am pleased to mail you a copy of the program.
The celebration was very simple in its concept. It was meant to be, and is, formal recognition of excellence, as determined by a process of selection that reflects the accomplishments of outstanding people.
Virtue may be its own reward, but we believe that virtuosity deserve a more concrete and tangible form of recognition. From the time of the laurel wreath awarded by our own ancient Greeks, we have recognized that in every field of endeavor some people are outstanding in their particular work, and some people are outstanding simply as people. Very often, in saluting these exceptional individuals, we do more than merely honor them; we help them set standards for emulation from this time forth. So it has been with the establishment of the Greek Chair at UMSL.
As you may have observed, those of Greek descent have been in the U.S. almost 150 years, and now with Greek immigration down to almost zero, the members of our Greek Hellenic Orthodox faith is diminishing while mixed faith marriage have exponentially increased, our faith is experiencing a severe shortfall in our numbers in many ways.
Our cornerstone, the symbol of Hellenic permanence and strength of the community in the U.S. are in the strong militancy of the Greek Orthodox Christian faith and the chairs of Hellenism in the universities.
At this moment, I am appealing for your financial help in sustaining and upgrading the professorship here at UMSL. Your assistance will be appreciated and you will have the personal warm feeling that you are a soldier for Orthodoxy and Hellenism.
Yours in Christ,
Nick Karakas
