Tag Archives: Vlassis Rassias

The ECER mourns the passing of Vlassis G. Rassias

The ECER mourns the passing of Vlassis G. Rassias, one of our founders and a member of our Board of Directors. Vlassis, the leader of the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes (YSEE), was renowned as an author, speaker, and activist for the restoration of the Hellenic ancestral religion, as well as an advocate for other indigenous, ethnic religions throughout Europe. I grieve, personally, the loss of a dear friend and colleague, someone whom I deeply appreciated, respected and admired throughout the decade we worked together. This is a photo of Vlassis addressing the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto, Canada last November, as part of a panel discussion that he, Inija Trinkuniene of Lithuania, and I presented there. On behalf of the ECER, I send our deep condolences to his family and community — we are all so much richer for having had Vlassis as part of our lives.

Andras Corban-Arthen
President, European Congress of Ethnic Religions

May the earth rest lightly on you, Vlassis RASSIAS

Sit tibi terra levis, Vlassis Rassias

This morning a mate and long-standing friend informed us that Vlassis Rassias, the head of the big heathen community of Greece YSEE (Ellenic’ Council) is passed away.

The news, unexpected, came like a slap.
While I’m writing i don’t know how and why he has died yet.

Immediately many memories of his strong personality and of our various meetings, happened in a time frame of veteen years, reached my mind.

Different occasions, between different people and lands, but similar at the same time, along our Europe roads.

Contacts and congresses happened pursuing a common goal: the right to the legitimacy and dignity for those seeking and nding answers and cohesion in the ancient and eternal religiousness of our respetive Ancestors.

The rst coming to my mind are the images of our last meeting, not lacking of dialectic, but always respectful and with the aim of the common good: it was in occasion of the last E.C.E.R. Congress (former W.C.E.R.) organized in Rome on April 2018 by the M.T.R. coinciding with the Foundation of Rome celebrations MMDCCLXXI a.U.c.

However our pasti is old timed.

With Vlassis, indeed, we were in touch from the beginning of the century thanks to the tireless witness of the Roman-Italic Tradition that was Salvatore Ruta, cofounder and princeps of the M.T.R. of the origins.

Through Salvatore, with Vlassiv we enstablished a very hearty connection based on mutual exchange, by virtue of the common aim of making the Religion of our Ancestors live. Actually his trip to Messina and the meeting with Ruta were for Vlassis the starting point for the development of his next productive path in the Ellenic land, with his Y.S.E.E.

Then the new technologies spread in those years, internet and the debate blogs, helped our exchanges and meetings: Vlassis on 2006 called me to concelebrate at his great event: the Prometeia, organized in Greece on the Mount Olympus, in occasion of the Summer Solstice. I embraced the invitation leading a M.T.R. delegation in the Ellenic land.

After that journey – because of the surprise of attending a Solstice celebrated by an unexpected crowd of people, men, women, erderly, children, a whole community, and because of the interesting organizational and doctrinal insights of those days with Vlassis on the Moun Olympus and in Athens – that I arrived to a method decision: time had come that we, Italian heathens, as well, came from our ivory tower and opened up to the world.

So I owe to Vlassis the turning point that i gave to the M.T.R., rst one in Italy to undertake international relations.

So we take part to the W.C.E.R. congress on 2007 in Latvia, in Riga and Jurmala: even in this occasion, between the Y.S.E.E. mates and us, important af nities and strong correspondences emerged coming from the common classical culture. Then we met in Poland and, after a few years, in Lithuania, in Vilnius on 2014 and in Prague on 2016. Vlassis gave us the courtesy of a friendship visit, as well, in our hedquarters in Rome, to strengthen the ancient bond. Dear Vlassis, let me say that your long and constant work for the bene t of the current Greek and European paganism has been essential. we hope that others will know how to seize your important baton and that they will be worthy of raising the torch high, always keeping the sacred re burning. May the Gods be favourable to your new journey undertaken, and may the ground be light for you.

Daniele Liotta

MTR President

The Hellenic Ethnic Religion in the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018

The Hellenic Ethnic Religion, at the invitation of the world-renowned religious institution “Parliament of the World’s Religions”, represented Greece and its long spiritual tradition at this year’s Toronto Canadian event (November 1-7, 2018, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre).

Continue reading The Hellenic Ethnic Religion in the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018

The Greek state has finally recognized the Hellenic Ethnic Religion as a ‘Known Religion’

ATHENS, Greece – On April 9th, the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes (YSEE), a religious organization working to restore the indigenous religion of Greece, put out a statement saying Greek polytheism has received legal status in Greece. Prior to this, Greek Pagans did not have religious freedoms such as the ability to buy land to create houses of worship nor could Pagan clergy perform marriage ceremonies.

Continue reading The Greek state has finally recognized the Hellenic Ethnic Religion as a ‘Known Religion’

Bologna 2010 speech of Vlassis Rassias (Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes – YSEE)

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, fellow pagans.

I’ m Vlassis Rassias and I represent the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (YSEE), the main board of representation for the followers of the ethnic polytheistic Hellenic Religion. Our aim is to defend from verbal and physical abuse all the holy items, symbols and ideas of our Tradition and, of course, to fully restore the Hellenic Religion, against the fact that the Greek state has so far omitted in its legislation the granting of legal personality to religious communities apart the three byzantine religions -Orthodox Christianity, Turkish Sunni Islam and Judaism- which constitute Public Law Legal Entities. Continue reading Bologna 2010 speech of Vlassis Rassias (Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes – YSEE)

ΟΙ ΥΨΗΛΕΣ ΑΞΙΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΕΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΡΗΣΚΕΙΩΝ

«ΟΙ ΥΨΗΛΕΣ ΑΞΙΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΕΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΡΗΣΚΕΙΩΝ»

Το 7ο Παγκόσμιο Συνέδριο Εθνικών Θρησκειών (World Congress Of Ethnic Religions, W.C.E.R.), που είχε θέμα «Οι Υψηλές Αξίες των Προχριστιανικών Παραδόσεων και Θρησκειών», πέρασε πια στην Ιστορία, όχι τόσο ως το μεγαλύτερο έως τώρα πολιτιστικό γεγονός στην Ελλάδα σε ό,τι αφορά τον σεβασμό στις προχριστιανικές παραδόσεις των λαών της γής (αμφιβάλλω άλλωστε αν ποτέ καν έλαβε χώρα σε αυτόν τον τόπο κάτι αντίστοιχο ή παραπλήσιο.), αλλά, κυρίως, ως ένα πέρα για πέρα επιτυχημένο διεθνές συνέδριο, Continue reading ΟΙ ΥΨΗΛΕΣ ΑΞΙΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΔΟΣΕΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΡΗΣΚΕΙΩΝ