Geology professor’s classes are all Greek to students

Marios Sophocleous, courtesy professor of geology and senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, teaches Greek to students at St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church in Overland Park. Disappointed by a lack of modern Greek instruction in the area, Sophocleous decided to teach the language himself.

Doug Koch/University Relations

By Jennifer Kepka

The students who gather in the classrooms at St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church in Overland Park have textbooks and a KU professor in front of them, but they aren’t getting any college credit for their work.

These students come to learn modern Greek, and they come for many reasons.

They come because they want to understand church services, because they’re planning trips to Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, because they want to speak to their Greek in-laws or, for some, because their father is teaching the course.

“Originally, I got involved into this because of my kids,” says Marios Sophocleous, a courtesy professor of geology and senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey. “I wanted them to learn a little bit of Greek.”
Disappointed by the lack of modern Greek instruction available in the area, Sophocleous decided to teach the language to his children himself.

A member of St. Dionysios, one of two Greek Orthodox churches in the Kansas City area, he soon realized that others in the church also might benefit from understanding the language. Sophocleous volunteered his time and knowledge, and roughly 10 years ago, the first modern Greek class at St. Dionysios was born.

For most of these years, he’s been the sole instructor, leading classes on Sunday afternoons in a room at his church. Recent renovations, however, have made expansion possible. The new Greek School, a joint effort of St. Dionysios and the Church of the Annunciation, Kansas City’s other Greek Orthodox church, opened in September 2002.

Approximately 80 students of all ages are enrolled. Students each pay a nominal $20 fee, which goes to purchase books. Any extra money is donated to the St. Dionysios Church treasury.

The expansion brought not only more space but also the chance to recruit a few more volunteer teachers. Now, the Greek School incorporates several classes, allowing students to study at various levels in age-appropriate groups. Sophocleous, who directs the school, leads an intermediate to advanced class, while other volunteers teach basic Greek to separate classes of young children and adults.

Expanding the school has allowed more people to attend, opening the way for even more casual learners to get a bit of Greek education.

“People are taking Greek for all sorts of reasons,” Sophocleous says. “Some are more motivated than others.”

Services at St. Dionysios are held mostly in English, but some Greek is still spoken, Sophocleous says, which motivates some in the congregation to attend classes. Although they focus on language, the classes are not exclusively textual.

“Knowing Greek is essential in understanding Greek culture and Orthodox Christianity … questions raised by Greek philosophy and by Greek ideas about God, man and the world have influenced the system of Christian thought,” Sophocleous wrote recently, explaining the function of the school.

This translates directly into the reasons that many take the classes.
“Some [students] want to be more in touch with their culture and why they do the things they do,” Sophocleous says.

Learning the language helps many maintain some connectivity to relatives and family customs. A woman in one of Sophocleous’ classes has learned just enough Greek to enable her to communicate with her Greek-speaking in-laws. Another student, he recalls, “was determined to learn Greek because her grandpa was Greek. She was always enthused to learn some more.”

Sophocleous’ own children are now grown, but they left their Greek lessons with the same knowledge current students do.

“My kids understand some Greek and know how to read it,” he says. “They appreciate the language even more now.”