Chris Erodotou | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Chris Erodotou

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Oshawa, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

March 27, 2026

Interview Summary:

Chris Erodotou was born in Potamiou, Cyprus in 1947. In 1969, he migrated to Canada in part due to the anti-enosis sentiment that was growing in Cyprus at the time. In 1974, he went back to fight during the Turkish invasion before returning to Canada. During the 1980s, he co-founded the Cultural Organization of Greek Cypriots and served as its Treasurer until they joined the Cypriot Community of Toronto in the 1990s. In this interview, Chris provides insights into how the organizational divide in the diaspora was centred around the debate over Cypriot identity.

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Date and Location

March 27, 2026

Oshawa, ON

Interviewee(s)

Chris Erodotou

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF147

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

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Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Migration

Working Life

Tags

Decades Referenced

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2010s

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Limassol; Potamiou (Limassol District); Canada; Cypriana (restaurant and music venue in Scarborough); Cypriot Community Centre (Thorncliffe); Durham Region; Evangelismos Tis Theotokou, Saints Nectarios and Gerasimos Greek Orthodox Church (Oshawa); Oshawa; Scarborough; St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (Scarborough); Toronto; Greece; Athens; Peloponnese; Rhodes; Turkey; the United Kingdom

Occupation(s)

Cypriot military and owner of Olympia Auto Brokers

Parents Occupation(s)

Father: Served in the Cyprus Regiment of the British Army. He also sold meat and livestock.

Names Referenced

Andreas Agathangelou; Andreas Charalambous; Androulla Charalambous; Anna Ellinas (referred to by her maiden last name of Charalambous in this interview); Athina Charalambides; Christine Amygdalidis; Father Philip Philippou; Makarios III; Xanthos Charalambous

[00:00:40] Early life & his father’s service in WW2

[00:05:09] Memories of the EOKA struggle

[00:09:33] Independence & interactions with Turkish Cypriots

[00:11:49] His military service (1965 – 1967)

[00:13:35] Dissatisfaction with Makarios abandoning Enosis

[00:17:03] Discrimination from Canadians upon arrival

[00:18:18] The battle over identity in the diaspora

[00:21:00] Cultural Organization of Greek Cypriots

[00:25:42] Memories of 1974

[00:32:47] Involvement with other Cypriot groups in Canada

[00:37:42] Interactions with the wider Greek community

[00:42:34] His working life and Greeks in Durham Region

[00:46:30] Lacking hope in a resolution to the Cyprus issue

[00:48:58] His family that stayed behind in Cyprus

[00:50:07] His feelings on Canada

[00:51:15] Question about a unified Cypriot identity

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