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Velas Tours
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
Christopher ChristodoulouChristopher Christodoulou Educator/Lecturer Cypriot 1998 Recipient Christopher Christodoulou was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1920. His father, Christos, came from Cyprus and his mother Charicleia from the island of Crete. After graduating from the Greek High School in Suez, Egypt, he continued furthering his education in Alexandria, Egypt, while at the same time, he worked as a proof reader and a librarian at the Patriarchate of Alexandria. n 1939, he received a scholarship from the Patriarchate of Alexandria to continue his studies at the Theological School of the University of Athens. While he was studying, he served as a telephone operator at the 15th Greek Military Hospital for the war disabled and stenographer-publisher of professors¢ notes for the students of the Theological School. In the winter of 1943 he was arrested by the Nazis and thrown into the Haidari concentration camp, at the outskirts of Athens, where he endured hard labor and torture for spying and aiding the Greek Jews to hide and escape. He spent five and a half brutal months in the concentration camp and was freed by the end of the war. In his compound out of 2,000 prisoners only 25 survived. Most of them were executed , many of them died of mal-nutrition and sufferings from the tortures. In 1944 he was ordained a deacon and served at the University Chapel in Athens. A few months later he was ordained a priest and served as a chaplain of the 25th Greek Special Battalion of the Greek Commandos. This Battalion became famous in the Korean War. A movie film was made: "The Glory Brigade", which portrays its heroic participation with the Allied Forces. He received a medal for distinguished services from the chief of the Greek Armed Forces General John Gennimatas. In 1945 he returned to Alexandria, Egypt and was appointed General Secretary and Chancellor of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa. For his outstanding services to the Patriarchate he received the Gold Medal of St. Mark from the Patriarch of Alexandria Christopher II. In 1947 he came to New York to study at the Union Theological Seminary and Teacher¢s College of Columbia University, from where he received the degree of Master of Theology in Religious Education. He served as a pastor in Greek Orthodox churches in New York City and Jersey City, N.J. From 1950 to 1955 he taught New Testament Greek, Liturgics and Christian Education at the St. Vladimir Russian Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York City. Among many articles, lectures, sermons and publications, he also authored the books "History of Stenography" in Greek and "Improving Christian Education in the Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America" in English. It was during this time that he met Helen Dooros of Jersey City and decided to resign his position in the Church to get married and start a family. In 1955 he received a private scholarship by the late Greek ship-owner Constantine Goulandris and enrolled in the University of Munich from where he received a doctor¢s degree in philosophy and theology. He also attended courses in the field of graphic arts at the German Institute for Graphic Arts. In 1957 he went to the University of Perugia, Italy for special studies in education and psychology. Besides Greek and English, he speaks Arabic, Italian, German and French. After his return from Europe in 1957 he got a teaching position in the Manhattan School of Printing, while at the same time he was organizing his own printing companies, the Graphic Arts Laboratory and the Creative Color Lithographers, Inc. In 1974 the invasion of Cyprus by the Turks created a havoc among the Greek Cypriot inhabitants. Thousands of innocent people were killed and about 200,000 became refugees in their own land. The need for rehabilitation was of the utmost urgency. Archbishop Iakovos assigned him to direct the rehabilitation effort of the Archdiocese for the refugees. Soon after that the Archbishop and President of Cyprus Makarios, who was a former classmate and dear brotherly friend, asked him to organize and direct two humanitarian organizations: The Cyprus Relief fund and the Cyprus Children¢s Fund. Both organizations were for the relief of the refugees and their orphans. The response to the appeals for help were enthusiastic and generous. In 1975 he was elected and served as president of the Cyprus Federation of America, a prestigious organization , known for its dedication to high principles and ideas. He and his wife Helen have two sons, James and Zenon, of whose achievements in education and business they are very proud.
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