On Tuesday, 2 October 2018, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Bolaris, representing the Government, welcomed His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Kissamos, as well as His Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who travelled to Crete in order to attend the celebrations marking fifty years from the establishment of the Orthodox Academy of Crete.On Tuesday afternoon, the Deputy Minister represented the Government at the consecration ceremony of the pilgrimage church of St. Nikephoros the Leper in Sirikari, Kissamos, which was celebrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the presence of the President of the Republic and thousands of devout Orthodox Christians from throughout Greece. The church of St. Nikephoros is the first religious space in Greece to utilise modern energy efficiency technology for the reduction of its energy footprint. The ceremony was attended by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos, and the Archbishop of Crete, Irinaios.On Wednesday morning, Mr Bolaris accompanied the President of the Republic to the village of Kallikratis, in Sfakia, which was formally named a “Village of Martyrdom” and was included in the Network of Greek Villages and Cities of Martyrdom. A doxology followed in the Holy Church of the Panagia and, subsequently, a requiescat at the Memorial for the Fallen, where Mr Pavlopoulos placed a wreath. The village of Kallikratis represents a unique example in Hellenic territory as it has been through four Holocausts by conquerors at various times. Subsequently, the President of the Republic travelled to the town of Sfakia where he was declared an honorary citizen of Sfakia during a special ceremony.The celebration to mark 50 years of operation of the Orthodox Academy of Crete took place in the afternoon of 3 October, in the presence of the President of the Republic and the Ecumenical Patriarch, in the Academy’s large amphitheatre. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed the event on behalf of the Government, stressing that: “The Orthodox Academy of Crete bears a weighty name laden with a sense of meaning, representing a successful effort to trumpet the Orthodox confession of faith of the Ecumenical Church of Constantinople, proving that the Cretan Renaissance continues to our very day.”The Ecumenical Patriarch noted in his speech that during the previous millennium, it was sects that concerned the Church whereas, in our millennium, it is concerned about “jurisdictional regimes,” stressing that: “If the Ecumenical Patriarchate renounces its obligations and shies away from the inter-orthodox stage, then local Churches shall stray like sheep without a shepherd, expending themselves on ecclesiastical initiatives that confuse the meekness of faith with the arrogance of power,” while he concluded: “That is the coordinating role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate within the Orthodox family. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is necessary because Orthodoxy is not, and must not become, fragmented.”Patriarch Bartholomew reminded that: “It is the responsibility of Ecumenical Patriarchate to place things in ecclesiastical and canonical order because it possesses the canonical privileges and the blessing of the Church and the Ecumenical Synods to carry out its great duty as an affectionate mother to, and authority for, the Churches.”This was followed by awarding of the Gold Medal of the Orthodox Academy of Crete to the President of the Republic, and a speech by the latter, who referred to the Holy and Great Synod of Orthodoxy which was held in 2016 on the grounds of the Academy, stressing that: “The absence of certain Orthodox Churches from the aforementioned Synod is not due to the Patriarchate of Constantinople; on the contrary, it is due to their own ends, with regard to the negative effects of which, for the sake of Orthodoxy, they must undertake their historic responsibilities.”
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.mfa.gr |
