Before an audience of linguists and intellectuals from around the world, Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 17th International Conference on Greek Linguistics, hosted at the historic University of Cambridge from September 23–26, 2025.
Held in the grand Lady Mitchell Hall, the ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Greece to the United Kingdom, Mr. Ioannis Tsaousis, and leading academics including Professors Charles Forsdick and John David Rhodes.
In his address, Archbishop Nikitas emphasized the Church’s irreplaceable role in safeguarding the Greek language through the centuries. Speaking as a third-generation member of the Greek diaspora, he reflected:
“Our families, leaving Greece, carried few material possessions in their suitcases, but in their souls they always carried Faith and Language. They built churches and schools first, knowing that these two would keep the flame of Hellenism alive.”
He highlighted the Church’s mission during difficult periods of foreign rule, when the “secret schools” preserved the Greek tongue, and underlined the living continuity that unites Homer and Aristotle with the Gospels, the Fathers of the Church, and modern poets like Elytis, Seferis, and Cavafy.
The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain was also one of the main sponsors of the conference. Professor Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Chair of English and Applied Linguistics at Cambridge, publicly thanked Archbishop Nikitas for the Archdiocese’s active support, describing it as a tangible sign of the Church’s commitment to Greek letters.
Concluding his remarks, Archbishop Nikitas issued a heartfelt appeal: “Let us support every effort aimed at preserving and promoting our language, this sacred heritage entrusted to us by History.”
