In the presence of HB Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, the official presentation of the 10 volumes containing the Proceedings of the Scholarly Conferences of the Church on the Greek Revolution took place in the evening of November 4, 2021 in the hall of events of the Holy Synod without the physical presence of a public, while it was broadcast online. Apart from the organisers and the speakers, Metropolitan Kyrillos of Krini, Bishop Philotheos of Oreoi, Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and academics attended.

In his address, among others, the Archbishop expressed his joy at this endeavour, which was organised and implemented by the President of the Committee, Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias and Almyros, the members of the Synodic and the Scholarly Committees and their associates. “Ten scholarly Conferences about the period of Turkish Rule and the Revolution involving hundreds of speakers, a multitude of different viewpoints, and complete documentation and bibliography. This is because the Church of Greece respects history, preserves national memory, honours the fighters and at the same time encourages scholarly debate and the exchange of views”, the Archbishop noted and added that “the ten volumes we have in our hands will help every lover of history, scholar or student, Greek or foreigner, teacher or pupil, specialist or lay person, learn more about the subject. The respective Conferences covered many aspects of the historic past and brought new evidence to light with regard to the preparation of 1821, the patriotic and educational part played by our clergymen, the persons who led the Struggle, even with regard to the division, the disagreements, the errors to be avoided by younger generations”. At another point he emphasised that “by means of these volumes as well as in several other ways and through hundreds of Synodic and peripheral events, the Church of Greece actively contributes to and offers its witness to the great Anniversary” and congratulated all the members of the Organising and the Scholarly Committees. Moreover, he urged the members of the Church, particularly young men and women, to study this ten-volume-long work. Each one may find and choose the topics that interest him or her most. Finally, he concluded his address by pointing out the following : “Let us not forget the expression of Theodoros Kolokotronis to pupils in 1838: ‘When we took arms we first said for Faith and then for the Fatherland!”.

Subsequently, Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias and Almyros, in his capacity of President of the Special Synodic Committee on Cultural Identity, which had assumed the task of organising the ten Conferences, read out the address of the General Secretary of Religious Affairs Mr Gheorghios Kalantzis.

Thereafter, the contents of the volumes were presented by Metropolitan Demetrios of Cephalonia as representatives of the Standing Holy Synod, Metropolitan Bartholomaios of Polyani and Kilkission, and Professor Emmanuel Varvounis, Dean of the Faculty of Classics and Humanities of the Democritean University of Thrace and President of the Scholarly Committee of the Conferences.

The event was coordinated by Very Rev. Archimandrite Damaskenos Petrakos, Secretary of the Special Synodic Committee on Cultural Identity, and was declared closed by Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias.

The aforementioned Conferences were organised during the period from 2012 to 2020 and their Proceedings have been released by the Archontariki Publishing House.

More information about the publication you may find here.