LAST UPDATE SATURDAY JULY 25, 14:53
The service of the Akathist Hymn was sung in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens in the presence of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece.
All over the world today the bells have been ringing mournfully for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque and the recitation of a Muslim prayer inside it after 86 years.
“We hope that the barbarism does not continue” stressed Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece from the Holy Metropolitan Church of Athens.
Bishops Chrysostomos of Evripos and Filotheos of Oreoi, Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, concelebrated the Akathist Hymn along with Metropolitan Theodoritos of Laodicea.
“The whole civilised world is on our side tonight,” the Archbishop stressed. He added, “We are fighting for culture. We are praying tonight and we hope that barbarism, one the greatest dangers of our time, will not spread. What is happening today is an insult to civilisation. Arrogance and inhumanity are the problems that should concern us. Let us hope that barbarism does not continue.”
Following the service, the Archbishop of Athens, speaking to journalists, said that it was a historic day yesterday and that “civilisation would no longer tolerate such barbarities.” He also stressed, “Many people all over the world are aware of this, while there are others who pretend not to understand because they are serving their own interests and their geostrategic agendas.
We are in favour of fostering culture and promoting the coexistence of peoples. This is how we learned from our ancestors in ancient Greece, this is how we learned from our history and this is how we will continue to act. Let us hope that the mind of the barbarians will open in order to see what the meaning of life is.”