How Great Spiritual Figures of Greece Helped Form the Renowned Conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos

Dimitri Mitropoulos (center) with St. Nektarios (left) and Alexandros Papadiamantis (right) and the Metochion of the Ascension in Vyronas of Athens in the background.

Perhaps the best known relationship of the renowned composer and pianist Dimitri Mitropoulos was his constant betrayer and eventual successor: Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein first heard and saw Mitropoulos as a recent émigré from Greece when he had given a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert in 1938 which electrified the Harvard graduate student. Mitropoulos took Bernstein under his wing, though the ambitious Bernstein later repaid his kindness by angling to replace him as the head of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. It was Mitropoulos, after all, who is primarily responsible for inspiring Bernstein to become a conductor. Another friend of Mitropoulos, Herbert von Karajan, also was entranced by the way in which music seemed to flow through the Greek conductor and communicate itself to both players and audiences. At Karajan's behest, Mitropoulos became a welcome return guest at the Salzburg Festival in the last years of his life. Mitropoulos exercised a formative influence on the two most dominant conducting egos in the second half of the 20th century.

Artificial Intelligence as Artificial Brilliance (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

To an English speaker without a knowledge of Greek, this article won't make a lot of sense, since the author is using two different ways of talking about Artificial Intelligence (Τεχνητή Νοημοσύνη and Τεχνητή Εὐφυΐα). The literal translation of Εὐφυΐα is the word "brilliance", though it really is another word for intelligence, but the other Greek word for intelligence, Νοημοσύνη, contains the word "nous" or "noetic", which in Orthodox theology is the highest faculty of the human being that has spiritual connotations. This article therefore is about replacing the Greek word Νοημοσύνη with Εὐφυΐα, though in English both mean "intelligence". To understand the difference, I have rendered Εὐφυΐα as "brilliance". It is an important theological discussion, but not applicable in English, so do not think that "Artificial Intelligence" should be replace with "Artificial Brilliance" in English.

 

Artificial Intelligence as Artificial Brilliance

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Nowadays, there is a lot of talk not only about Artificial Intelligence, but also about its consequences in our lives. Opinions are expressed about the benefits that will come from its implementation, but also the risks that result from the abolition of human freedom and the alteration of human rights.

Thus, the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence sounded the alarm of modern technology and emphasized that they must set limits.

For example, Geoffrey Hinton, who is described as "the father of Artificial Intelligence", in an interview he gave to the New York Times, explained that he left Google to speak freely about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. In fact, he particularly emphasized that "some of the dangers arising from artificial intelligence Chatbots (software) were quite scary." “Right now, she's not smarter than us, as far as I can tell. But I think that soon it can be done."

Movie: "Men of Anjolos" (1997) - An Islamic Movie on the Life of the Seven Youths of Ephesus

The Men of Anjolos (Persian: مردان آنجلس Mardān-e Ānjelos), also known as The Companions of the Cave (Persian: اصحاب کهف Ashāb-e Kahf), is a 1997 Iranian television series directed by Farajollah Salahshoor. It depicts the Islamic version of the story of the Seven Sleepers (mentioned in Surah al-Kahf of the Koran), which according to Islamic tradition took place in Jordan, not Ephesus as in the Christian version of the story.

The Bitten Apple of Apple Inc. (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The whole world is being led into a "virtual reality". When we speak of "virtual reality", "we mean the simulation of a real or imaginary environment by a computer". As we read, "current VR technology often uses virtual reality headsets or multi-view environments, sometimes in combination with physical environments or scenery, to create images, sounds, and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual or imagined environment" (Wikipedia).

In an exhibition created for the anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, I was given the opportunity, using "virtual reality", to be inside the Church of the Holy Lavra, when Bishop Germanos of Old Patras raised the banner of the Revolution, and even to be a spectator of a battle between Greeks and Turks.

Rocker Roy Gallagher Concert in Athens in 1981 (And the Ticket of Orthodox Theologian Panagiotis Nellas)

 

On September 12, 1981, a great musical event took place in Athens: It was the first major rock show in Greece, which took place at Nikos Goumas Stadium in Nea Philadelpia in Athens. The artist that performed that night was the great Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter Rory Gallagher (1948-1995).

Gallagher is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing, which strongly influenced other guitarists such as Brian May and Eric Clapton. But, due to his lack of commercial success, he is often referred as "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of". Gallagher was voted as guitarist of the year by Melody Maker magazine in 1972, and listed as the 57th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

In the 1960's, he was in the band Taste, but found greater success as a solo artist in the 1970's and 80's. In January 1975, when the Rolling Stones gathered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to continue working towards their album Black and Blue, they auditioned new guitarists, to replace Mick Taylor, as they recorded. Gallagher went over for a jam with the band "just to see what was going on," but did not join the group, happy with his solo career.