Local Initiative Journalism Reporter

In the heart of the city where a preserved stone wall stands as a silent witness to history, the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal returned to its spiritual birthplace to inaugurate a year of commemorations marking more than a century of continuous presence in Quebec. The gathering at the modern hotel, built directly around the remaining stones of the original Holy Trinity Church, set a deeply emotional tone for an anniversary dedicated to honouring the pioneers who built a flourishing diaspora out of a modest basement. Surrounded by these original stones that once formed the foundation of the Holy Trinity Church and the surviving icon of Agios Nektarios saved from a fire in the 1980s, community leaders reflected on the immense evolution of the organization since its inception. Basile Angelopoulos, president of the community, asked attendees to consider the perspective of the early immigrants who gathered at the first church. “Could they have ever dreamed that that little community that they created, just up the street here on Saint Lawrence at 753 in 1906, with the creation or the establishment of the first church, Neva Gedizmos, where from there, its basement and its premises, they proudly began working to welcome more of their compatriots from Greece, to integrate them into the society, to help them get a job, build a business, build a family, build a life, build a future, and above all, build a community,” Angelopoulos asked the audience. He emphasized the current scale of the institution, which includes trilingual day schools across five campuses and six Greek Orthodox churches. The organizing committee detailed a vast array of cultural events designed to weave Hellenic heritage into the broader fabric of the city. Justine Frangouli-Argyris, president of the anniversary committee, described a vision of unity and celebration that will engage both the Greek population and the wider public. “It’s going to be like a Zorba dance,” Frangouli-Argyris stated, envisioning a movement extending from Laval to the South Shore. George Tsantrizos, director general, affirmed the organization’s enduring commitment to the early immigrants. “We want to assure them that we have remained faithful to their mission to serve the Greek community of Quebec,” Tsantrizos noted. The press conference concluded with a formal end to the presentations as officials opened the floor to questions from the media.