THE MIRACLE
A True Story |
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THIRD EDITION
With an impression of 4,000 copies, "The Miracle: A True Story" was first published in September, 1993 and presented to 1,200 Greek journalists, all the members of the Greek Parliament, the members of the Academy of Athens, 80 metropolitan bishops in the Greek Church, Greek ambassadors and consuls around the world and eminent figures in Greek intellectual and social life.
The response to this first edition was so encouraging that I decided to go ahead with a second impression of 4,000 copies in 1994, and with the help of the Association for the Protection of National Heritage the book was translated into English.
The second Greek edition was read out on a 5-hour radio broadcast, divided into ten half-hour episodes interspersed with Byzantine music. The
programme was broadcast in 1994 by 80 radio stations in Greece, the USA, Canada and Australia and since then has been offered free of charge (as always) by the Association for the Protection of National Heritage to radio stations in Greece and to Greek communities overseas.
Simultaneously the book began to be published in instalments by
newspapers and magazines (for example, "Elefthero Vima" in Komotini,
"Nigrita" in Serres, the periodical "The Greek Restaurant Around the World", and a monthly newspaper produced by Sapes Primary School, in the Rodopi region of northern Greece). In 1995, after approval had been obtained from the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, the book began to be distributed free of charge to 8,000 primary school libraries. This process will continue with the publication of the third edition in 1996.
4,000 copies of the book's first English edition appeared in 1995. These were sent, accompanied by a personal letter, to the 626 members of the European Parliament, 439 members of the American Congress, 100 members of the American Senate, 659 members of the British Parliament, 575 members of the French Parliament, 591 members of the Canadian Federal Parliament and 223 members of the Australian Federal Parliament.
I am well aware that amid the vast array of enormous problems facing the world and the clashing interests of the so-called Major Powers, a small
voice such as mine has an infinitesimal chance of being heard. But faith in Truth and Justice is a timeless human "shortcoming". I believe that even today, this "shortcoming" is worth fighting for!
L. Koumakis
Acknowledgments
I should like to thank two people without whose help
I would have been unable to complete this book:
Firstly, Dimitris Kaloumenos, journalist until 1958 at the Patriarchal Court at Fanari, Constantinople, who devoted endless hours and patience in providing me with important details of the last 80 years as he experienced them; he also gave me copies of his extremely valuable books entitled "The Crucifixion of Christianity" (Athens, 1975) and "The Contraction of the Hellenic Nation" (1985).
Secondly, my mother Irini, who helped me to recall memories that had lain dormant and added many details and facts.
Finally, I should like to thank the Association for the Protection of National Heritage for the photographic and other material which it so generously provided, and for its assistance in producing the Second Edition of the book in English.
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