The heavy rain did not discourage the Guard of Evzones and those attending the Greek flag-raising ceremonies in Bowling Green, who marched from St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero to the iconic Park, in a particularly moving scene on Friday morning.

The day’s ritual, which marks the beginning of the culmination of New York’s Hellenism celebrations for the anniversary of the National Regency, in view of the 5th Avenue Parade, began with the Doxology at St. Nicholas, presided over by Archbishop Elpidophoros.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to represent the Greek Parliament in this wonderful ceremony on the occasion of the raising of the Greek flag, a symbol of democracy, freedom and equality,” Plakiotakis said.

The ceremony was attended by, among others, the Consul General of Greece in New York, Dinos Konstantinou, the Member of the European Parliament of the New Democracy, Vangelis Meimarakis, and the MPs Theophilos Xanthopoulos (SYRIZA), Milena Apostolaki (PASOK) and Nina Kassimatis (SYRIZA), the Vice President of the Parliament, Ioannis Plakiotakis, the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Cyprus, Alexis Vafiadis, the businessman Michalis Psaros and the Executive Director of the Leadership 100, Paulette Poulos.

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Finally, the Mayor of Chios, Dr. Ioannis Malafis, stressed that “the emotion is so great, we see the Greeks united and together we will claim everything our country deserves”.