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Biography

 

H e was born in Thessaloniki in 1970 and grew up in Serres, Greece. In 1992, he completed his studies in the Department of Greek Philology (specialisation in Classics) in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He worked as a Greek teacher and a pedagogist in the Papafeio Orphanage in Thessaloniki from 1994 to 1996. He has been teaching lessons of his specialty (Ancient Greek, Latin, Modern Greek language and literature, history) to Junior and Senior High School students in the Gnomon Greek Language and Culture School since 1997. He has been involved as a radio producer in the radio station of the Holy Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita, ‘Kivotos Radio Station’, since its foundation, with two radio shows: ‘Secret Garden’ and ‘The language given to me was Greek’. In March 2008, he participated as a charter member in the establishment of the Union for the Elevation and the Diffusion of the Greek Language (U.E.D.G.L.), which has been activated successfully, over recent years, organising great cultural events and seminars and publishing the journal Λόγοι ἐν Σέρραις (Words in Serres). Five issues dedicated to Alexandros Papadiamantis, Saint Photius the Great, Rigas Velestinlis and General Yannis Makriyannis, Photis Kontoglou, and the Peloponnesian War correspondingly have already been edited. He has been president of the forementioned Union since 2008. Since 2012, he has been heading the online courses programme which is titled ‘Ancient and Modern Greek Language, History, and Culture Courses for people of all ages’. The motto of the project is ‘Returning to our home, to our civilisation’. Its target is to familiarise students with the Greek language and the masterworks of the Greek literature – for example, the works of Homer, Plato, and Aristotle, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil the Great, and the other Church Fathers, Dionysios Solomos, Yannis Makriyannis, Alexandros Papadiamantis, Photis Kontoglou, George Seferis, and Odysseus Elytis-, to cultivate a love of reading in them and to develop their critical thinking. He has delivered speeches on Greek history and literature («Ἡ δικαίωση τοῦ Παπαδιαμάντη» = “Papadiamantis’ vindication”, «Ἡ οἰκονομικὴ πολιτικὴ τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἰωάννη Βατάτζη» = “Saint John III Doukas Vatatzes’ economic policy”, «Ἡ ὀρθόδοξη χριστιανικὴ ἀγωγὴ στὸ ἐκπαιδευτικὸ ἔργο τοῦ Ἰωάννη Καποδίστρια» = “The Eastern Orthodox Christian education in Ioannis Kapodistrias’ educational policy”, «Ὁ μυστικὸς κῆπος καὶ ἕνα ἄνθος του» = “The secret garden of Greek personalities and one flower into it”), whereas he was the main speaker in the celebration for the Greek Independence Day organised by the Greek School of the Greek Community in Portland, Oregon on 23 March 2019. The title of his speech was: «Ὁ Ἀγῶνας τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὸ ᾿21 καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία τους» = “The Struggle of the Greeks in 1821 and Their Church”. He is married to the English language teacher Anastasia Kymbari and they have five children.

Activities

As the president of Ε.Α.Δ.Ε.Γ. (ΕΝΩΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΔΕΙΞΗ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΔΙΑΔΟΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ) = A.P.D.G.L. (ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION AND DISSEMINATION OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE), I was a member of the organising committee of the undermentioned events which were held by A.P.D.G.L.:

  1. 2008. Language and domination systems. An event and discussion held on 11/06/2008 in Philippos-Xenia Hotel in Serres, Greece. Speakers: Kostas Karaiskos, Nektarios Dapergolas, Kostas Zouraris
  2. 2009. All-time classic great personalities of Hellenism and Eastern Orthodoxy: Saint Photios the Great. An event and discussion held on 09/02/2009 in Philippos-Xenia Hotel in Serres, Greece. Speakers: archpriest Georgios Metallinos, archpriest Theodoros Zisis
  3. 2010. A tribute to Alexandros Papadiamantis. Duration: three weeks. February 2010. The tribute was organised in collaboration with the Prefecture of Serres and the Papadiamantis House Museum in Skiathos and included:
    • An event and discussion with the title: Alexandros Papadiamantis: From his house in Skiathos… to faraway Brazil. 03/02/2010. Amphitheatre of the Central Public Library of Serres, Greece. Speakers: Athina Papageorgiou, Théo de Borba Moosburger
    • An event and discussion with the title: The spiritual and political aspect of Papadiamantis’ opera. 08/02/2010. Philippos-Xenia Hotel, Serres, Greece. Speakers: Elder Moses the Athonite, Sarantos Kargakos.
    • An educational exhibition of the author’s biographical and works elements. It was courtesy of the Papadiamantis House Museum in Skiathos and it was exhibited in a specially arranged venue of the Central Public Library of Serres, Greece. Plenty of students and teachers from Primary and Secondary Education Schools of the Prefecture of Serres visited the exhibition.
  4. 2011. An event and discussion with the title: Is the Greek language in danger? 07/02/2011. First floor of the Central Public Library of Serres, Greece. Speakers: Dimitris Natsios, Kostas Samoïlis.
  5. 2012. An event with the title: Rigas Velestinlis, general Yannis Makriyannis: two all-time classic personalities of Greece which continues resisting. 05/03/2012. Philippos-Xenia Hotel, Serres, Greece. Speakers: Kostas Chatziantoniou, Giorgos Karabelias, Javier Ortolá Salas
  6. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 01/12/2012. Speaker: Bart Soethaert. Title: Travelling with the Greek litterateurs (as a part of the seminars with the title: On the path of our language and tradition)
  7. An educational seminar and discussion in Serres, Greece, on 22/12/2012. Speaker: Argyri Nakou. Title: The theology of the Nativity Icon (as a part of the seminars with the title: On the path of our language and tradition)
  8. 2013. An educational seminar and discussion in Serres, Greece, on 21/06/2013. Speaker: Anastasios Tzintzidis. Title: The liberation of Serres in the press of that period.
  9. An educational seminar and discussion in Serres, Greece, on 14/12/2013. Speaker: Dimitris Petalas. Subject: Presentation of the second issue of the A.P.D.G.L. journal «Λόγοι ἐν Σέρραις» = Words in Serres which was dedicated to the event in honour of Saint Photios the Great (09/02/2009)
  10. 2014. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 08/02/2014. Speaker: Kyriakos Georgiadis. Title: The financial policy of John III Doukas Vatatzes in the Empire of Nicaea
  11. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 15/03/2014. Speaker: Christina Lekkou. Title: The secrets of The Woman of Zakynthos
  12. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 11/10/2014. Speaker: Lia Miliou. Title: Deianeira, Medea, and Papadiamantis’ Seraïno: three different attitudes to life
  13. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 18/10/2014. Speaker: Filotheos Kemetsentzidis. Title: A history of education in Northern Epirus from the Ottoman Empire period to nowadays
  14. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 01/11/2014. Speaker: Théo de Borba Moosburger. Title: Byzantium in the Icelandic Sagas
  15. An educational seminar and discussion in Serres, Greece, on 13/12/2014. Speaker: Giorgos Rakkas. Subject: Presentation of the third issue of the A.P.D.G.L. journal «Λόγοι ἐν Σέρραις» = Words in Serres which was dedicated to the event in honour of Rigas Velestinlis and general Yannis Makriyannis (05/03/2012)
  16. 2015. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 21/02/2015. Speaker: Alexandra Malamma. Title: Memories of homeland: the thralldom of the men of Serres in the Bulgarian labour battalions (1917-1918 and 1941-1944)
  17. 2016. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 16/01/2016. Speakers: Jordi Redondo and Juanjo Pomer. Titles (correspondently): Are the Ancient Greek writers evergreen for Europe? and Teaching Ancient Greek in a Spanish High School
  18. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 06/02/2016. Speaker: Pavlos Touramanidis. Title: Photis Kontoglou as an icon painter
  19. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 27/02/2016. Speakers: Theodora Tzintzi, Konstantinos Georgiadis. Title: Photis Kontoglou as a writer
  20. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 26/11/2016. Speaker: Ioannis Kechagias-Gounaris. Title: Pamphilos of Amphipolis: the immigrant painter
  21. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 10/12/2016. Speaker: Anastasia Vakaloudi. Title: Edification and education of children in the Byzantine period
  22. 2017. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 18/02/2017. Speaker: Pavlos Touramanidis. Title: Mosaic: an ancient Macedonian art which prevailed in the world
  23. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 18/03/2017. Speaker: Georgios Kostouros. Title: National and universal Dionysios Solomos
  24. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 01/04/2017. Speaker: Anastasios Deleoglou. Title: Sieges and conquests of cities in the Byzantine historiography of the 11th, 12th, and 13th century
  25. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 21/10/2017. Speaker: Dora Bagana. Title: Your name is Pindos, o memory of my people: Place and time in Odysseas Elytis’ Axion Esti (= Worthy it is)
  26. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 18/11/2017. Speaker: Dimitris Petalas. Title: Varnalis’ works in Papadiamantis’ style: where “the bread of the people” meets “The poor shall eat and be satisfied”
  27. 2018. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 27/01/2018. Speaker: Vasileios Giannogloudis. Title: One hundred years since the rapine of the monasteries in Northern Greece
  28. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 10/02/2018. Speaker: Nikolaos Bonovas. Title: Monuments and portraiture in Serres during the Byzantine and the post-Byzantine period
  29. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 10/03/2018. Speaker: José Antonio Moreno Jurado. Title: Two literature generations in Spain and Greece (1927-1930): parallels and differences
  30. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 17/03/2018. Speakers: Sylia Zetta, Sofia Kantaraki. Title: Society happenings in Alexandros Papadiamantis.
  31. An educational seminar in Serres, Greece, on 24/03/2018. Speaker: Pavlos Touramanidis. Title: Byzantine mosaic: from the Early Christianity period to Byzantine Iconoclasm
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