On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at the Cultural Center of the Greek Diaspora in the historic building of the Galata Urban School, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew attended and delivered a greeting at the event organized by the Consulate General of Greece to celebrate World Greek Language Day. The keynote speech was given by Ms. Maria Efthymiou, historian and professor emerita.
In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized that the Greek language has been rightfully called the “mother tongue of the spirit” and reminded the audience that it has been the medium for unique works that have shaped the course of global civilization:
“Rightfully and justly, we pay tribute today to the Greek language, aptly designated as the “mother tongue of the spirit.” In the hearts of all of us resides a feeling of pride for our language—the language of our ancestors and our own today—which serves as the key to entering what is perhaps the greatest intellectual paradise of the world. Here lie unique works that have left their mark on the course of world civilization: the Homeric epics, the Tragedies, the Platonic dialogues, the Aristotelian corpus, the New Testament, the writings of the Greek Fathers, and all the flourishing fruits of these roots.
Our language has never been merely a means of communication but also a bearer of high values, ethics, and culture. Greek is a language of contemplation and poetry; it expands the world’s mystery, reveals the depth of things rather than just the surface, and points to being and truth rather than appearance and utility. ‘To seek utility everywhere is least befitting to the magnanimous and the free,’ writes Aristotle, giving the imprint of truth as freedom (Politics 1338a, 30-32), a significant legacy even for our time.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch went on to highlight the vital role of the Greek language in bridging Christianity with Hellenism, as well as the Church’s enduring contribution to the preservation and dissemination of Greek thought:
“It is impossible for one who knows the Greek language not to philosophize and theologize. It has been rightly said that those who engage in philosophy, wherever they may be, ‘think in Greek.’ Likewise, it is no coincidence that Greek became the central language of Christian theology. Through it, the great philosophical and theological achievement was realized: the authentic and admirable expression of the experience of salvation in Christ through the terminology of Greek philosophy. The union of Christianity and Hellenism was a decisive turning point not only in the course of the Church and theology but also in the history of thought and civilization.
Theology has never been mere ‘detached information’ about God. It is impossible to speak of the God of love and humanity’s unquenchable longing for eternity without our words becoming poetry and praise. There is no dullness in matters of faith. The hymnography of our Church is a literary marvel, a sublime hymn to the power and beauty of the Greek language. In general, authentic theological texts are closer to poetry than to prose.
The Church’s enduring role in cultivating, enriching, preserving, and spreading the Greek word is indisputable. It established and operated schools and academies to promote both secular and Christian education, with the firm conviction that language and faith preserved our nation, continue to sustain us today, and are inextricably linked to our future. The learned Greek language still resonates in our ecclesiastical services, connecting Orthodox believers across the centuries in a shared glorification of God’s greatness.”*
Continuing, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized that the Greek language has maintained its continuity from antiquity to the present day, despite its evolution and transformations:
“This continuity is not an ideological construct but a tangible linguistic reality. The Greek language has remained unified from ancient times to today. As Odysseas Elytis wrote, words like ‘sky,’ ‘sea,’ ‘sun,’ and ‘freedom’ are three thousand years old, yet as fresh as if they had just been lifted from the sea, among the pebbles and seaweed of an Aegean shore, within the deep blue and absolute transparency of the ether. They are words ‘one might call azure, still fragrant with the salt of the sea plants’ (Greece of Elytis, Ikaros Publications, Athens 2021, p. 60-61).
The language of the New Testament is not a ‘foreign language’ to us, contemporary Greek speakers. As the distinguished linguist Georgios Hatzidakis noted in his article in the Scientific Yearbook of the University of Athens (1908-1909), of the approximately 4,900 words in the New Testament, 2,280 are used in contemporary common Greek, while another 2,220 are understood by all Greeks. Only about 400 words remain unfamiliar.”
Concluding his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized that Greek remains a universal language and underscored the importance of preserving it in the era of artificial intelligence:
“The proper learning of the Greek language requires great effort, study, and diligence. However, it rewards us a hundredfold—it enriches us existentially, humanizes us, grants us spiritual joy, and liberates us from confinement in banality, the rigid logic of machines and statistical data. It reveals that reality is not merely measurable but also mysterious and beautiful—the ‘wonder’ of the philosophers and the ‘awe’ of the Myrrh-bearing women before divine majesty. It teaches us that human life has dimensions and depths where ‘numbers hold no power’ and ‘Solomonic solutions have no place.’
We take pride in the fact that the Greek language retains its universal character even today. For countless people worldwide, Greek serves as a source of inspiration and intellectual orientation. The works of ancient Greek thinkers and Christian Greek literature adorn the libraries of the world and are studied and discussed. Thousands of Greek or Greek-derived words are found in languages across the globe. Greek remains an inexhaustible source for the formulation of fundamental scientific terms. The cornerstone concepts of global civilization are Greek: logos, dialogue, ethics, politics, democracy, physics, history, pedagogy, music, anthropology, praxis, theory, and countless others. Indeed, Greek is “a language unparalleled among the 2,700 languages of the world”.
This exceptional language, alive for over three millennia, along with the ethos, values, and civilization it represents and expresses, we are called to safeguard in the age of artificial intelligence. This is, of course, a continuation of the timeless struggle for the identity of our language, though under vastly different conditions. Moving forward, it will be of particular importance for all inheritors of this precious linguistic and cultural legacy to recognize our shared duty to preserve it. If we do not care for it, who will?”
The Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his gratitude to Mr. Konstantinos Koutras, Consul General of Greece, for organizing the event, as well as to Ms. Mary Komorosano, President of the Galata Urban School Foundation, and warmly welcomed Professor Maria Efthymiou.
The Consul General of Greece in Constantinople welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch and the large audience, highlighting the significant role of Greek educators and diaspora schools in preserving the Greek language and cultural heritage in Constantinople.
The event concluded with the highly engaging lecture by Ms. Maria Efthymiou, titled “Language and the Sea: The Two Pillars of Hellenism.”
Present at the event were the Synodal and other Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, educators from diaspora schools, and a large audience.
Photo: Nikos Papachristou / Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
