American Hellenic Institute

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Peter Milios
October 25, 2017—No. 43 (202) 785-8430

AHI Commemorates the Smyrna Tragedy

Washington, DC—On the evening of October 11, 2017, the American Hellenic Institute and St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church (Falls Church, VA) jointly commemorated the tragic 1922 fire of Smyrna with a private screening of "The Promise" at the church.  The film, a powerful historical drama starring Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, and Charlotte Le Bon, is set in 1914-1915 and depicts the Turkish genocide of 1.5 million Armenian Christians.

The extermination of Armenians during World War I was the dark precursor to the Greek holocaust of Smyrna in 1922, which signaled the end the centuries-old Christian presence in Asia Minor.  AHI commemorates the Smyrna catastrophe each year in memory of the hundreds of thousands who perished and suffered and as a public challenge to deniers of the genocide against Asia Minor's Greek, Armenian, and Syriac Christians.

Attendees were welcomed by Nick Larigakis, AHI's president and chief operating officer, and James Stoucker, a long-time AHI member and president of St. Katherine's parish council.  AHI board member James Marketos introduced the film.  Following the screening, he was joined on a discussion panel by the Rev. Dr. Stefanos Alexopoulos, Assistant Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology, and Dr. Robin Darling Young, Associate Professor of Spirituality, both of The Catholic University of America.

The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

 

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For additional information, please contact Peter Milios at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org and follow us on Twitter @TheAHIinDC.