The Very Rev. Constantine S. Bebis, pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Dartmouth

'I escaped death a few times'

The horrors of Sept. 11 resurrected the long-buried childhood memories of the Greek Orthodox priest.

"What 9/11 reminded me was what I went through as a young person in Greece when the bombs were falling down on us, and it was a horrible experience," said the Very Rev. Constantine S. Bebis, pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Dartmouth. "I escaped death a few times in the city of Piraeus so I could understand what happened on 9/11. I remembered so vividly when I saw the sadness of those heroes, in particular the firemen. Italy bombed us, Germany bombed us and then the allies bombed us. Many of my neighbors got killed. How I survived was a miracle!"

A young teen during World War II, Bebis recalled a near date with death in January 1944.

"It was a beautiful Sunday, and I was supposed to visit a friend," he said. "But I was not feeling well. On that street I was supposed to walk that particular day, bombs fell."

He said that the Greek people were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years.

"Many Greek people were beheaded or hanged for their Christian faith, so I was not really surprised what the fanatic Muslims tried to do to us here," he said sadly.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was the only religious edifice destroyed in the attack on New York City.

"It was right in the heart of Manhattan where the Twin Towers were," he said. "The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is trying to rebuild the church so we can worship there, but the New York Port Authority is giving us a hard time. I hope they will find some solution."