On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 15, the inauguration ceremony of Zografeion Lyceum took place, marking the completion of the first phase of the restoration of the school’s historic building.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew honored the event with His presence, while the institutions that supported the restoration works were represented by their senior executives.
Among those attending were: Mr. Gikas Hardouvelis, Chairman of the Board of the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA) and of the National Bank of Greece; Mr. George Zanias, Chairman of the Board of Eurobank; Mr. George Taniskidis, Chairman of Optima Bank; Mr. Lazaros Papagaryfallou, Deputy CEO of Alpha Bank; Mr. Stylianos Iliadis, Chief Retail & Digital Officer of Attica Bank; Mrs. Angeliki Bouki, General Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility of Piraeus Bank; Mr. Vassilios Rapanos, President of the Cultural Foundation of Alpha Bank; Mrs. Haroula Apalagaki, Acting General Director of the Hellenic Bank Association; Mrs. Elena Laskari, Press Representative of the Hellenic Bank Association; Mrs. Eleftheria Arlapanou, from the Press Office of the Hellenic Bank Association; and Mr. Giannis Kampourakis, Communications Advisor to the Chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association.
The event began upon the arrival of the guests and the welcoming of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the entrance of Zografeion, where the unveiling of the commemorative plaque took place, bearing the names of the donors whose contributions made the restoration possible. The plaque now adorns the entrance of the school.
The distinguished guests were warmly welcomed by the students, who emotionally sang the Zografeion anthem. The event then continued in the newly created rooftop space of the school.
At the upper level of the roof, the inauguration of the new hall took place, which bears the name “Dimitrios Archontonis from Agioi Theodoroi of Imbros”—the secular name of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during his student years at the school.
The evening was hosted by the distinguished journalist Mr. Manolis Kostidis. The event began with a welcome address by the Director of Zografeion Lyceum, Mr. Yiannis Demirdzoglou, followed by remarks from the President of the Historic Stavrodromi Community, Mr. George Papaliaris.
In his speech, Mr. Papaliaris emphasized that the aim of the School Committee is for the complex renovation project to continue and be gradually completed, both during the upcoming winter holidays and over the next summer. The donors then took the floor, expressing their emotion and pride in contributing to this ambitious project being realized at the historic educational institution of the Greek community in Istanbul.
The speeches concluded with the address of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who highlighted the important educational and cultural work carried out at Zografeion. The event concluded with the screening of a video presenting the progress of the restoration works and the awarding of commemorative plaques to the donors.
