WESTFIELD, NJ – GNUSA / [Photos: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of NJ]
His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey had the honor of throwing the first pitch for the Baltimore Orioles during the team’s Greek Heritage Night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 9.
Many faithful came from surrounding parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia to represent Greek-American culture in Baltimore as the Orioles faced off against the Seattle Mariners.
Prior to His Eminence’s pitch, Fr. Michael Pastrikos, presiding priest of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Baltimore, was awarded the Heavy Hitter award by the team for his efforts in organizing the event. This year, Fr. Michael marks the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the holy priesthood, as well as 19 years of serving the parish of St. Nicholas.
Metropolitan Apostolos then threw the pitch to begin the game.
On his way back through the stadium, His Eminence had a chance encounter with Orioles Legend Cal Ripken, Jr., bringing even more excitement to the evening.
Maria Pearce of the Apollonia Band sang the National Anthem as The Evzone Honor Guard of Baltimore presented the flags. “It was an honor to play for the Greek Heritage night last night at the ballpark. Thanks to everyone that was there”, posted Tony Pearce, who played the Greek Bouzouki.
At the conclusion of the first inning, The Hellenic Golden Coins (HGC) folk dance group of St. Nicholas represented the Greeks of Baltimore by performing a suite of Cretan dances. “Words cannot describe how proud I am of our kids. They always do such an excellent job of representing our community and culture. This time they did it on a big stage in front of thousands and crushed it”, said the director of HGC, Vasilios Philippou, in a post.
