An intense religious idealism has a part in the formation of our national traditions. One feature of this is the fact that the country is essentially Protestant. So are the Greeks, yet every one of them who has lived here any length of time knows how hard it is to make Americans understand he is not Catholic. I take every opportunity to explain the Orthodox Church to my countrymen, but they are almost impervious to such and idea. They think there are just two kinds of Christians, i.e., Protestant and Catholic. Even the learned seem to find it difficult to accept a third category. So then, in this respect, the Greeks are more American than most Americans realize.

Another way in which Greeks are like Americans is in almost making a religion out of education. Even the uneducated are sincere patrons of the 2schools and worship at the shrine of learning.

There are some things which many Americans consider grave shortcomings in the religious life of the Greeks. Dwellers in large cities may not suspect it, but many Americans are deeply grieved by the Sabbath breaking of foreigners. The English word is not a synonym of the Greek Sabbaton, but as one may find in a standard dictionary, means "Sunday" when used as a Christian religious term. The European Sunday is an expression frequently seen in our religious journals. It expresses the traditional American opposition to making the Lord's Day primarily a day of amusement and commercial profit. Some of the Greek clergy are beginning to realize that Sabbath breaking is one of the gravest perils threatening American church life.

Most foreigners learn about America from the largest cities and do not realize that these cities do not represent the bulk of American life. This partly accounts for the almost complete failure of most immigrants 3to understand our national attitude on prohibition. The only people who ever offered me any alcoholic drink were Jews and Greeks. If they knew the long, hard fight we made for three quarters of a century to get the prohibition amendment, they would realize that we are ready to work many years yet for the perfecting of its observance.

In conclusion I might mention a certain presidential candidate who was defeated largely because of his attitude toward the above mentioned a national traditions.