Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the headquarters of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) in Agia Paraskevi during a symbolic celebration marking the public broadcaster’s 60th anniversary and the launch of its new international channel, ERT Cosmos.
The Ecumenical Patriarch was warmly welcomed by ERT’s administration and staff and toured several areas of the broadcasting center, including television studios, the newsroom, and radio facilities, where he addressed audiences with a special message.
In his speech, Patriarch Bartholomew reflected on the evolution of television and the enduring role of public broadcasting in preserving cultural memory and strengthening ties with Greeks worldwide.
“It is a great joy for us to be here, together with our honorable entourage, for the second time within a few years, at the historic Broadcasting House of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT),” he said.
Referring to the rapid transformation of media and communication since ERT’s first television broadcast in 1966, the Patriarch noted that modern audiences now enjoy unlimited access to content through digital platforms and online services. “Television in the age of communication is everywhere, accompanying the viewer and becoming interactive,” he stated, adding that such technological developments would have been unimaginable six decades ago.
Patriarch Bartholomew praised ERT for documenting the life and initiatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Orthodoxy, and Hellenism across generations. He described the broadcaster’s archive as “a precious ark of images and sounds,” emphasizing its role in preserving the collective memory of Greeks both in Greece and throughout the diaspora.
Special attention was given to the launch of ERT Cosmos, the broadcaster’s renewed international channel aimed at strengthening connections with the Greek diaspora worldwide. The Patriarch welcomed the decision to use the Greek word “Cosmos” for the channel’s name, noting that it was “the very word first used by Pythagoras to describe the universe.”
Expressing his deep affection for the Greek language, Patriarch Bartholomew stressed its universal significance and influence on global civilization. “Our rich language, with its millions of words, is not merely a tool of communication, but a living proof of the multidimensional and brilliant journey of our nation through time,” he said.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also addressed broader global challenges, including wars, social inequality, environmental destruction, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence. “Peace, social justice, and access for all our fellow human beings to social goods… cannot remain merely wishes,” he underlined.
Addressing journalists and media professionals, he emphasized their responsibility to serve truth and society with integrity. “You bear a great responsibility but also possess the power to serve the truth with objectivity and respect for citizens,” he said, praising media workers as “unsung heroes” who contribute daily to public information and quality entertainment.
Concluding his address, Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his hope that ERT would continue “to record developments with seriousness” while entertaining and connecting Hellenism around the world.
Read the full speech below:
“It is a great joy for us to be here, together with our honorable entourage, for the second time within a few years, at the historic Broadcasting House of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), here in the Municipality of Agia Paraskevi, following your gracious invitation, Mr. President, and that of your esteemed associates.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first television broadcast, which took place on February 23, 1966, opening our television set today at any moment of the day is considered something entirely self-evident. Indeed, we often find it difficult to choose among the numerous channels and the wide variety of programs, whether informative, entertaining, or live broadcasts. Following television’s transition into the digital era and, more recently, into the world of the internet, our choices have become even greater and available online. We can watch whatever we want, whenever and wherever we desire.
Those who hold a smartphone, excluding the speaker, who does not even possess a mobile phone, and I am happy for that, can also follow broadcasts through their device.
Television in the age of communication is everywhere, accompanying the viewer and becoming interactive, radically transforming — or rather overturning — the relationship between broadcaster and audience. Yet back in 1966, no one could have imagined such developments, when after many efforts the pioneers of television in Greece paved the way and the first news and informational broadcast, presented by the gracious Ms. Eleni Kypraiou, went on air.
It was the beginning of a great journey during which ERT, from its earliest steps until today, has systematically followed and recorded the life and initiatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church, and Orthodoxy.
Its archive constitutes a precious ark of images and sounds, containing events, personalities, and voices, including those of our predecessors […], as well as moments from our own thirty-five-year patriarchal ministry, recorded on thousands — if not millions — of meters of film, later on videotape, and now in digital archives. Together, all these elements decisively complete the mosaic of modern history and the collective memory of Hellenism both within Greece and throughout the world. This is the greatest contribution of public television and radio, which performs an important social and cultural mission by recording and preserving intangible cultural heritage, as well as the life and evolution of society and its institutions over time.
This contribution, impossible to evaluate in monetary terms because it belongs to society itself and reflects both society and universal Hellenism, must be supported by all. It must be strengthened, and its development and constant modernization encouraged. Today, Mr. President kindly invited us to inaugurate together a new journey for ERT beyond national borders toward the wider world, by launching ERT Cosmos, an independent international channel succeeding ERT World, which for thirty years connected Greece with the Greek diaspora in every corner of the planet. We are particularly pleased because, besides the dynamic transformation of this channel, the Greek word ‘Cosmos’ was chosen as its name — the very word first used by Pythagoras to describe the universe — instead of an English word of Anglo-Saxon origin.
I am certain, dear friends, that you are aware of the Patriarch’s love for the Greek language, which we first learned from our beloved teachers in the school classrooms of our homeland, Imbros, and later from our wise professors at the historic — and we hope not for much longer silent — Holy Theological School of Halki.
Our rich language, with its millions of words, is not merely a tool of communication, but a living proof of the multidimensional and brilliant journey of our nation through time, distinguished by its unique flexibility and expressiveness.
The Greek language helps its speaker to be precise in speech, conveying feelings and thoughts accurately. Our language is universal. It profoundly influenced other languages and civilizations and for centuries dominated human communication, while its influence remains visible in science, such as medicine and architecture, as well as in world literature. It is perhaps unnecessary to remind everyone working in a Greek media outlet that the proper use of the Greek language is indispensable. All of you — especially you journalists — must know and above all preserve it.
Therefore, naming the renewed channel ERT Cosmos signifies not only its identity but also its dedication to promoting the Greek language, our mother tongue, throughout the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and all those watching us from your television screens or listening on the radio at this moment, our world today is being tested by wars and conflicts, by poverty and social inequalities, by the destruction of the environment — our common home — and by wastefulness and the unjust distribution of natural resources and goods.
Peace, social justice, and access for all our fellow human beings to social goods, such as modern medical treatments, cannot remain merely wishes; they must become the goal of every initiative and action we undertake.
Humanity, while making tremendous advances, such as in Artificial Intelligence — whose proper and prudent use we hope for and look toward — nevertheless often continues to fall victim to its own selfishness.
Journalists, and all of you working in the field of information and communication more broadly, bear a great responsibility but also possess the power to serve the truth with objectivity and respect for citizens.
You all know this well, especially those of you who labor daily — most of you unsung heroes — fulfilling this important social mission for comprehensive and pluralistic public information, as well as for diverse and quality entertainment. As we mentioned earlier, the first program broadcast by ERT was primarily a news program.
Our lives, the life of humanity, and its evolution constantly produce news. Certainly, we cannot have only good news. Moreover, according to one journalistic view, which personally we do not share, news is not found in good things, and good things are not considered newsworthy. For us, good is news, and the good news lies at the center of Christian life.
News programs remain the central pillar of every television medium. I wish ERT, which has always recorded developments with seriousness, to continue in the same direction while also entertaining Hellenism in Greece and throughout the world.
I thank you once again, each and every one of you together, for your warm welcome, for your respect toward the Mother Church, our Ecumenical Patriarchate, and for your contribution in promoting its universal ministry. I thank you for your esteem, your love, and your desire to create a documentary dedicated to the Patriarch’s 65 years of ecclesiastical service, with emphasis on the 35 years of my humble patriarchate. May God keep you all well and grant you strength to continue your beautiful and beneficial contribution to society.”
