For 44-years, Father Nicholas Vieron has been teaching an introductory Greek class at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. The 90-year-old Pastor Emeritus just started a new session. There's still room left to pick up some phrases and ancient history, but mostly to relax with a man that some have called a Memphis "treasure."
"What are my qualifications for teaching?" he asked the class at last Monday's orientation. "I don’t have any. Some of you will learn a little, and some of you will learn a little less."
For Vieron, learning Greek isn't supposed to be a chore.
"You already speak Greek, whether you realize it or not," he says. "When you use such words as philosophy or zoology or biography or chemotherapy or theology, they are all Greek words."
He gives only three grades in the class: good, very good and excellent.
"You are here to relax," he says.
This year marks the 44th time Father Vieron will teach the basics of the Greek language. His corny jokes and stories are part of the attraction.
James Dowd, the former faith and values reporter for the Commercial Appeal, took the class a few years ago to augment his study of the New Testament, which was first written in Greek. As a reporter with tight deadlines, he worried that learning Greek would take a lot of time and energy.
"Every week that I got there it was a time to decompress and relax and enjoy him and his funny stories and interesting anecdotes about Greece and life there, and I looked forward to it every week and was sorry when it ended," Dowd said.
Father Vieron may act humbly unqualified for the job, but his credentials suggest otherwise. He was born in New Orleans to a Greek family. English, he says, was his second language. When he went to seminary in 1942, many Greek Orthodox churches still used the Greek liturgy. He wrote some of his earliest sermons in his family's native tongue.
Vieron started the Greek class at Annunciation in part to help bring his congregation closer to the gospels.
"Since God decided to speak to us in Greek, meaning the New Testament, the least we can do is tune him in," he says.
Over four decades, Father Vieron has taught people of all denominations and backgrounds. The course includes a Greek banquet, with food and dancing. He also likes to share the history and culture of the country.
"Here we have this little country that has given us the seeds for democracy, the seeds for sports, that has given us art, that has given us so many things that we enjoy today," he says.
In the classroom, he displays some of the awards for good students. One is a ceramic nude bust of the Venus De Milo; another is a copy of the New Testament. They make for interesting bookends.
"How many churches would have the Bible next to a beautiful woman?" asks Father Vieron.
Answer: the Greek Orthodox Church, from which Father Vieron officially retired in 1991. But he’s kept on teaching. At age 90, he still wears the black shirt and white collar of the priesthood. And while his class doesn’t focus on religion or punish slackers, the final exam is very personal to Father Vieron.
After 14 weeks, and with just a little practice, even the most relaxed student should be able to read the Lord’s Prayer aloud, and in Greek.
More information:
Adult Greek Class runs for 14 weeks, Monday evenings, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 North Highland
Cost is $75
Call: 901-323-9530
