KNOXVILLE, Tenn — The Consul of Greece from Atlanta visited Knoxville Monday to commemorate Greek Independence Day with local community leaders.
Consul Theodoros Dimopoulos attended a ceremony at the Howard Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse with Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
Dimopoulos' visit was sponsored by Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, which held a special reception in his honor.
Kincannon and Jacobs signed proclamations recognizing the special day. March 25 marks Greek Independence Day, which celebrates the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. Greece formally won its independence in 1829 after the Treaty of Edirne established an independent Greek state.
"I'm amazed and I'm surprised with how active our community is. It is not, of course, the biggest community we have in the United States, but I can say that I'm really proud that they are active and keep our customs and traditions on a really high level and I'm really honored to be here with them today," Dimopoulos said.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan, who is of Greek descent, participated, as well as opera singer Eleftherios Chasanidis from Thessaloniki, Greece. The Howard Baker Jr. Center and University of Tennessee staff also hosted a noon luncheon for Dimopoulos followed by a discussion with UT students centering on current geopolitical and security events in Europe -- including the Ukraine war.
Dimopoulos, who now serves Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina, formerly served as the Greek Consul in Moscow, Russia for three years.
"We have expressed solidarity with the peoples of Ukraine," he said. "We hope that all this will end soon and peace will reign again in Europe."