By Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani
There is talk of utilizing and promoting our cultural heritage internationally. And rightly so.
The renewal of the international image of Greece through cultural figures is an extremely positive and promising event on multiple levels.
Nevertheless, it is worthwhile, concerning the plan of this exploitation of our civilization, to add a treasure, which in many modern Greeks is hidden, perhaps contemptible, but abroad it is the object of search, study and admiration.
This is the Christian patristic heritage. The Greek Church Fathers, from the 4th century onwards and all subsequent centuries, gave a wealth of works, scripts, manuscripts, codes, words, hymns, treatises, a unique treasure of the composition of classical Greek and Christian spirit.
As it is well known, these patristic texts containing philosophy, rhetoric, dialectics, theology, physics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, poetry, music, written by educated men with secular and Christian education, are greatly appreciated overseas and extremely useful in today’s globalized intellect.
For this reason, I argue that the issue of promoting the Christian patristic heritage as a part of our whole culture, is a serious and pioneering one, because it safeguards a universal uniqueness of our homeland.
The responsible Ministries should pay attention to all its aspects in fruitful cooperation with the Church.
