St. Nicolas the New Martyr of Myra is known as the miracle worker and is the Patron Saint of Mariners.

“An example of faith and a picture of gentleness

A teacher

He elevated your people

As well as the truth

And made a rule out of humbleness

“Father Nicolas

Ambassador of God

save our souls”

I embroidered this card to honour Saint Nicolas of Myron who bears the name of my late father.

I will present it as a gift to the Holy Church of Saint Nicolas in London.

In the world of Eastern Orthodox Christianity the Holy Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is the comfort of every afflicted and persecuted person in this vain world of injustice and despair.

I have created an embroidery on card to honour the Dormition (which means, “going to sleep”) of the Blessed Mother Mary, which is celebrated annually on August 15 by Christians around the world.

On the Greek island of Tinos the joyful celebration takes on an official character with the Greek political and presidential leadership participating in the festivities.

This artwork will be granted as a gift to His Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece.

Greek artist Katerina Kondovraki fashioned the embroidery showing Plato and Aristotle in order to portray internationally the grandeur of Greek culture. It is a fact that Greece is the homeland of Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles and other great philosophers.

Greece is also the homeland of Olympian Zeus. Greek hospitality is well known to foreigners who have visited the country since times of old. Greeks have their own particular culture and unique traditions.

Katerina Kondovraki will gift this hand-made embroidery to the Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and thereby to all member states of the United Nations.

Furthermore, the artist dedicates it to all readers of the Middle East Times in gratitude for their messages and dedication to artistic beauty. She would like to thank them all for their responses and encourages them to continue to communicate. Katerina Kondovraki is eager to send them copies of her works of art that were on display at her exhibition during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

(As published in the Middle East Times newspaper)

Have a Merry Christmas!

In Greece, we say “Hronya polla!” which literally means “Many years.”

St Nicholas

St. Nicholas the New Martyr of Myra is known as the miracle worker and is the Patron Saint of Mariners.

I created this embroidery card to honour the Saint.

I also wish to honour Orthodoxy and the Ascension of the Virgin, which is celebrated every year on August 15 on the island of Tinos.

Last, but not least, I wish to remind myself that 70 years ago the Greek Naval cruiser “Elli” was torpedoed and sunk in peacetime while participating in celebrations of the Ascension of the Virgin.

St Nicholas icon

This prompted the beginning of World War II for Greece two months later during which the Greeks fought heroically and changed the course of history.

Greece was a U.S. ally.

I will present this embroidered card as a gift to St. Nicholas Church in a London district.

Brazil won the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games making it the first South American country to host the Olympics and only the second country ever in the Southern Hemisphere – Australia was the first and got it twice.

Once again, competition between nations that wanted to represent and be directly linked to these games was very strong.

The Brazilians did a remarkeable job to win over their competitors Japan (Tokyo), the United States (Chicago) and Spain (Madrid) to host the Games in 2016.

Truly these undying sports, whose birth was inspired thousands of years ago by the Ancient Greeks, transcend time and culture and are a global phenomena in every way.

I have created this embroidery of the Brazilian national flag to honour the country of the 2016 Olympic Games. It will be my gift to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva and to the people of Brazil.

We hope, we pray for, and we expect that in this time of unprecedented global shocks, the Olympics will once again be in good hands, as Brazil very successfully held the Pan American Games back in 2007.

(Click here to read the full English translation.)

Inspired by my deep faith in the Son of God and Virgin Mary, I have embroidered this card to honour this great religious celebration of Christianity, the physical birth of Jesus.

I will offer this card as a gift to the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Here, on the right, is my rendering of the maple leaf flag of Canada, officially called the National Flag of Canada.

It was my great pleasure to spend many hours over this artwork in order to honour the country in which the city, Vancouver, will hold the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

This artwork will be my gift to the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and with it I wish the host country every success.

The Maple leaf flag was inaugurated in 1965 as Canada’s first national flag. Canadians are very proud of the struggle that led to the creation of their national flag and so they fly it with dignity.

I come from Greece, the country which gave birth to the Olympic idea and where the first Olympic Games were held – ancient Olympia in 776 BC.

This embroidery depicts child Jesus in the arms of his mother, the Virgin Mary and its design is based on traditional Greek Orthodox religious style.

The Virgin Mary brought to this world the only begotten son of God who came as a true light to this world and taught humankind the love for our neighbour and fellow man without discrimination of colour or nationality and also taught us God’s truth.

Jesus Christ came in a dark and critical period in a world full of evil, violence and vanity when hatred, envy and avarice had been rampant throughout the world.

He suffered all kind of persecution, maltreatment and mankind’s ruthlessness and finally was crucified as an ordinary man.

I will offer this embroidery to the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece for their dedication to religious values and to Greek Orthodoxy.

An imposing image of Jesus Christ welcoming the entire world stands for all to see in the Latin American country of Brazil.

The monument dominates the skyline of Brazil’s capital, Rio de Janeiro.

Built on a 710-metre-high mountain peak overlooking Rio, the statue of Jesus is 40 metres in height and 28 metres from fingertip to fingertip.

The statue of Jesus standing with open arms in welcome is called, “Christ, The Redeemer.”

It was built over nine years and completed in 1931.

The construction was paid for mostly by donations from Brazilian Catholics.

Today, a chapel at the base of the statue is a place for prayer as well as for baptisms and weddings.

I, the Greek Olympic artist, have embroidered the majestic image of Jesus embracing the world and I will offer it to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, honouring at the same time the entire Brazilian nation.