Hercules: Geetings
Vlassis! I am greatly honored to be interviewing you. Your dedication
to the aboriginal spirituality of our ancestors is sincere,
long-standing and praiseworthy.
Vlassis: Greetings Hercules. Thank you for your good words.
Hercules:
What
first drew you to Olympian spirituality?
Vlassis:
Long
ago, in 1976, at the age of 17, I read in the newspapers that a
Christian Orthodox monk from Mt Athos drove all the way to Athens and
attacked with a sledgehammer the replica of a naked statue of God Zeus that was standing right after the entrance of the Ministry
of Education. I still remember his full name! (* See Note Below) This
horrible incident made me henceforth see with a completely different
angle the mutilated statues in our museums. I now knew that the
sledgehammers of similar ancient fanatics and not "earthquakes"
were the main reason for all that mutilation of beauty in the sacred
art of my ancestors.
Hercules:
What
other Paths did you explore before finding and committing to your
deepest resonance?
Vlassis:
For
almost a decade, I also explored the spirituality of the native
people of the Americas, the "First Nations" as they define
themselves. And in the mid-eighties I received from a Mohawk old man
that brilliant response to my question raised on how I could become
perfect partaker of the native wisdom: "In the language that you
are dreaming in, there you'll definitely find the truth that you
seek". Since then, I focused mainly in the Hellenic spiritual
path.
Hercules:
How
and when did your personal mission become clear?
Vlassis:
Well,
I do not believe in "personal" missions other than only
being an honest part of a link in the long historical chain that
brings Hellenism from the farthest past to the present, and from the
present to the future. This notion became quite clear to me in the
first years of the nineties, when I met some people that informed me
about the unbroken historical continuity of our Tradition and
Religion from the times of the persecution by the Christians up to
our present times. I recently made known this unknown continuity via
my latest bookYour
Glory and your Despair,
a historical narrative. The title comes from a Friedrich Hoelderlin's
quote.
Hercules:
What
were some of your initial steps? Was the YSEE your first
organizational vehicle?
Vlassis:
I
started alone, in the late eighties, expecting no more than to speak
the truth of my ancestors via editorials in various magazines. I
admit that what I expected then, was only to to speak the truth of my
ancestors, having against ten millions incensed Christian Orthodox
Greeks. Quite soon, to my pleasant surprise, I found out that I was
not alone on this path. By 1991 I had already gathered around me a
number of like-minded people and we proceeded with the publication ofDiipetes,
the first ever Greek
journal
that openly preached the restoration of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion.
It soon reached a circulation of 2.000 and after some years, in June
of 1997, we founded YSEE, the Supreme Council of Hellenes (Ypato
Symboulio Ellinon Ethnikon).
Hercules: Can
you provide us with an overview of the YSEE, along with its Mission
and goals?
Vlassis:
YSEE
aims for the moral and physical protection and restoration of the
Polytheistic, Ethnic Hellenic Religion, Tradition and way of life in
(modern) Greek society where it is still being oppressed due to its
institutionalized intolerance and theocracy. After 20 years of
activity in the (modern) Greek reality with more than 330
interventions (letters and press releases) and many protests for the
protection of the Hellenic tradition, for the human rights and for
the religious tolerance, more than 800 seminars, tactical
celebrations of the ancient festivals, public rituals and
educational events, YSEE is the front line of the movement for the
protection of the Ancient Hellenic Heritage and the return to the
ancient ways.
Hercules: What
differentiates the YSEE from other Olympian spiritual
expressions?
Vlassis:
Considering
ourselves the contemporary phase of the historically continuous
Hellenic Ethnic Religion, we are broad and catholic. We embrace all
forms of spiritual expression compatible with the verified forms of
the past, including the forms of the Middle-ages or the Renaissance,
e.g. the Plethonists, the followers of Georgios Gemistos - Plethon.
In the same way, we embrace all the philosophical Schools from the
Ionians to the last days of the Academia of Athens. We only reject
neopagan inventions, travesties of our rituals, magic, UFO theories
and other by-products of the monotheist world.
Hercules: Can
you please share some of the highlights of the YSEE's
history?
Vlassis:
Well,
they are many. Indicatively I'll mention the organization in Athens
of the 7th World Congress of Ethnic Religions in 2004, its
Memorandum, dated May the 7th, 2006, to the President of the Hellenic
Democracy, the President of the Hellenic Parliament, the Prime
Minister of the Hellenic Republic, and three relative Ministers, on
the necessity for the the protection of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion
as living part of the National Heritage of Greece and, of course, the
recognition of our Religion as such, by the official authorities of
the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Matters a few months
ago. To their credit, they gave us official permission for a place of
worship in Athens, thus promoting the Hellenic Ethnic Religion to the
status of a “known religion” in Greece, according to article 13
of the Constitution. The Hellenic Ethnic Religion is now under the
protection of the law, to the same degree as the other 5 – 6
non-Christian religions that are already classified as “known
religions” in our country, and we can henceforth register our
children at the Registry Office as belonging to the Hellenic Ethnic
Religion, and also perform Hellenic wedding rituals with full legal
value.
Hercules: Congratulations!
The recognition of Olympianism as a valid religion in modern Greece
is truly historic. Where is the YSEE now in terms of its
evolution?
Vlassis:
In
the last few years, YSEE has been trying to obtain recognition as a
statutory corporation of religious character according to recent Law
4301/2014. So far its appeal signed by hundreds of Ethnikoi Hellenes
has been rejected by both the Court of First Instance and the Court
of Appeal and now the case is taken to the Supreme Court. The
“justification” given for the rejections directly insults the
intelligence and knowledge of history of the average educated person.
The purely cultural and religious terms “Ethnic Religion” and
“Ethnikoi Hellenes” "create “confusion"” (so they
claim) "in the minds of the public" !
Hercules: What
challenges remain?
Vlassis:
To
win the case of recognition as a statutory corporation of religious
character either at the Supreme Court, or at the European Court of
Human Rights if needed, and, of course, in a near or far future, to
have the Hellenic Ethnic Religion recognized by the Greek Parliament
as aliving part of the National Heritage of Greece. We recently supported
the similar appeal of Romuva, the legal body of the Ancient Baltic
Religion for state recognition by the Seimas (Parliament) of the
Lithuanian Republic, as part of the Lithuanian historical, spiritual
and social heritage.
Hercules: What
is your vision for the YSEE's growth and development?
Vlassis:
So
far, we have chapters and nuclei in many areas of Greece, and most
importantly in the United States (Astoria, New York) and Cyprus.
We'll continue spreading in new geographical areas and growing both
in numbers and in quality of membership. For us, the later is the
most important. The quality of our members. If we content ourselves
with the numerical growth, and not persist in the spiritual growth,
especially via Arete (virtue), sooner or later we'll face all the
pathology of the monotheistic world inside YSEE. In the past, but
thank the Gods on a small scale, we have seen this happening, so now
we are more rigorous in our wider targeting.
Hercules: What
role do you see the YSEE playing in the overall history of
Olympianism?
Vlassis:
YSEE
is the body that opened the gates for the re-emergence of the
Hellenic Ethnic Religion to the contemporary world. Re-emergence not
as a product of romantic reverie, but as a historically continuous
Religion that returned back after centuries of persecutions and an
obscurity due to necessity, to stay, thrive and prosper at the lands
that it thrived and prospered in the good old times when Hellenism
was unimpeded, offering its spiritual light to all civilized
people.
Hercules: Do
you welcome interaction or form relationships with other
groups?
Vlassis:
Yes,
we do welcome any kind of co-operation with other groups from all
around the world, even with groups of other Ethnic Traditions. The
only prerequisite for a co-operation is the other side to recognize
the Hellenic Ethnic Religion as a historically continuous and
inherited Religion that has full knowledge of its past and that it
rightfully demands a future of dignity and
self-determination.
Hercules: How
can folks learn more about the YSEE?
Vlassis:
The
ones that know Greek may visit our webpage www.ysee.gr. Unfortunately, for the time being, its English section does not
contain many texts. However, we plan to publish the English
translation of our informative book Theology
and Praxis in the near future.
Hercules: How
can those who find resonance with the YSEE get involved?
Vlassis:
They
can become members, or just friends of our organization and spread
the word to more people. What we actually all try to do is to bring
back a healthy form of humanity that once existed, but for centuries
now was purposely construed as a remote heathen past or as only an
archaeological exhibit.
Hercules: Thank
you Vlassis! As a human being, as a Lemnian and as an Ellinas I am
proud of your accomplishment and am greatly honored that you granted
this interview. I wish you great success in all of your endeavors and
may Olympus continue to bestow many Blessings on you and the
YSEE!
Vlassis:
You
are welcome. May the Gods always shine on you.
(*) Note:The newspaper article erroneously identifies the statue as that of Poseidon and does not provide the monk's identity, however his name was recorded in Vlassis Rassias' notes from the 1970s.
Voice of Olympus
Interviews
Hercules Invictus Interviews
Vlassis Rassias
Founder of the
Larger Than Life Living in the World Today
(c) 1975-2017 Hercules Invictus