Maryland’s community of Greek Americans and philhellenes participated in the annual Greek Independence Day Parade in Baltimore’s historic Greektown on Sunday, March 27.

Lifelong Marylanders Andy and Mike Manatos, CEO and President of the Washington D.C.-based lobbying firm Manatos & Manatos, served as the 2022 parade’s Grand Marshalls.  

Representing the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America was Bishop Apostolos of Medeia. Also participating were New Jersey Diocese Chancellor Father Christoforos Oikonomidis and priests from Maryland area churches, including Father Michael Pastrikos of St. Nicholas.

Also in attendance were numerous federal, state and local government officials, including Maryland U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and his wife Katherine Wilkens Van Hollen; Baltimore area Congressman John Sarbanes; Baltimore City’s Mayor Brandon Scott, Council President Nick Mosby and several Council Members, Comptroller, and State’s Attorney; Maryland’s Senate President Bill Ferguson, several Delegates and Comptroller.

The Greek government was represented by several diplomats from the Embassy of Greece to the United States including: Consul General Nektarios Vasilakis; Defense Attache Col. Panagiotis Vlachopoulos; Air Attache Col. Dimitris Bitsis and Naval Attache Captain Prokopis Charitos. 

The Cypriot government was represented by the Embassy of Cyprus to the United State’s Consul General George Loizou and Defense Attache Col. George Ioannou.

Maryland’s Greek Independence Day Parade features dance groups in traditional costumes, children groups and Orthodox clergy from the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.

Participants come from as far away as Ocean City, Hagerstown, and Frederick, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Falls Church and Fredericksburg, Virginia, as well as Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania.

See a compilation of photos from the parade