Professor of History at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Alexander Kitroeff, will present an online lecture about the  Greek Orthodox Church of America, on Thursday 14 April 2022, at 7pm, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The Greek Orthodox Church is the largest and most influential institution in the history of the Greek presence in the United States. In so being it distinguishes the dominant role of the Church in the life of Greek America in comparison to all other Greek diaspora communities around the world where community organizations (koinotites) are also important. This presentation based on Kitroeff’s book The Greek Orthodox Church in America: a modern history explains how this hegemony was achieved under Archbishop Athenagoras in the 1930s and consolidated under Archbishop Iakovos in the 1970s and 1980s.

Alexander Kitroeff was born in Athens and educated in the United Kingdom where he received his doctorate degree in modern history from the University of Oxford. He is currently Professor of History at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His research focuses on identity in Greece and its diaspora on in a broad range from politics and sports, on which he has published extensively. His most recent books are The Greeks and the Making of Modern Egypt (2019) and Greek Orthodoxy in America: a modern history (2020.) He has also collaborated with film director Maria Iliou as historical consultant in several documentary films including “The Journey: the Greek Dream in America”; “Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City” and “Athens Between East & West, 1821-1896” which is the first of a 5-part series on the city’s modern history. Kitroeff is currently working on two book projects, a history of AHEPA, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association to mark the organization’s centenary in 2022, and a history of Greek-owned diner restaurants in America.

When:   14th April 2022, 7pm

Speaker:  Professor Alexander Kitroeff

Topic: The Greek Orthodox Church of America

Online Platforms: Facebook and Youtube

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