ST. AUGUSTINE, FL. – The St. Photios National Shrine is proud to announce its Second Annual Drawing Competition open to children ages 9-12 of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for the annual commemoration of the Fall of Constantinople observed May 29.
This commemoration is not only a remembrance of the fall of the capital of the Roman Empire on Tuesday, May 29, 1453 by the Ottomans who finally took the “Queen of Cities” established by Saint Constantine the Great some eleven centuries earlier; rather, it is also a celebration of Byzantine culture and the Hellenic culture that sprang from this pivotal event in world history.
Besieged by the Ottomans, Constantinople and a few remaining lands of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire was led by the Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, successor to the founder of the capital over a thousand years earlier, Emperor and Saint Constantine the Great. With the breach of the city walls that had protected the city for over a millennium, the Emperor and defenders consisting of Greeks, Genoans and others were finally vanquished.
Participants will submit drawings of the last Byzantine Emperor, successor not only to the great saint whose name he bore, but also to the final dynasty of emperors who, even as their Empire was slowly declining, oversaw a resurgence in ecclesiastical art and theology.
This competition is open to all children ages 9-12 of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. There are no fees for participation. There will be one grand prize of $250.00.
All submissions must be received at the Saint Photios National Shrine NO LATER THAN Monday, May 9, 2022 via email to: Polexeni Maouris Hillier, Executive Director of St. Photios National Shrine at [email protected]. The Winner will be announced on May 29, 2022 during the annual Fall of Constantinople Commemoration of the St. Photios National Shrine. All submissions will become property of the Saint Photios National Shrine.
