Our Church and the ecumenical Greek education celebrate today the memory of the Three Holy Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, Saint Basil the Great the Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos, both Archbishops of Constantinople.
The Three Holy Hierarchs are also commemorated separately, however, since the 11th century, their joint celebration has been established as a sign of great gratitude and to avoid quarrels over which of the three should be honored more by the Church and the Greek community.
In celebration of this feast, Metropolitan Ioannis of Euchaita, a scholar and devout clergyman, who was deemed worthy to see all three Saints, reassured him that they are equal before God and, therefore, they should honor the same by the faithful, as advocates of Greek Letters and Education.
The Orthodox Church owes a lot to the three Holy Fathers. Greek education and young students also owe much to them for being great scientists, wise teachers, advocates of Greek language and philosophy, founders of schools, and prolific writers. In recognition of the contribution of the Three Holy Hierarchs, the University of Athens established in 1842 the feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs to be the day of celebration of the Greek letters, which Saints Basil, Gregory, and Ioannis gave prominence as an ecumenical treasure through study, research, and writing.
Source: Church of Cyprus
