During his time in New York City (1946-1954) as a foreign correspondent, writer Costis Bastias was motivated to write Papoulakos—his most popular historical novel. It is the story of a little known charismatic Greek Orthodox monk who tried to stir up new life into his fellow countrymen when a small portion of the Greek Nation had finally been liberated and was attempting to se up a new state, after a devastating four-hundred-year rule under the Ottoman Empire. The story of this legendary but also controversial hero was first read by the Greek-American community in the columns of the Greek National Herald newspaper. It was this story that inspired many more publications and studies to be made on this truly authentic hero and defender of the Orthodox spiritual tradition in his time.
