The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew invited the students of the Athoniada Academy to indulge “in the open spirit of Romanism”, eliminating “the ankylosis and rigidity of the nationalist view of ecclesiastical affairs”, at the school yesterday, in
“Constantinople is the womb and generative cause of all Orthodox peoples,” the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed and added:
“And as well as in your school you coexist from different places and different ethnicities, you are immersed in the open spirit of Romanism. From this age to get rid of the entanglements and rigidity of the nationalist view of ecclesiastical things. Romiosyni means tolerance, understanding, mutual respect, patience, disposition and endless love. That is, education, full of Christ. Love these, our dear children. Get addicted to them. To put these in the innermost is of your existence “.
Mr. Bartholomew explained to the children that many times the word “rum” in Greece is misunderstood, underestimated for its Greek burden and meaning, while the exact opposite happens.
The word “rum” is from the Roman Empire… And we are successors and descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. I can say that we are more Greeks, not less “.
Mr. Bartholomew pointed out that in their efforts the students of Athoniada have the “helper” of the entire Mount Athos community, in order to be in the future “outstanding ambassadors” of Athos and expressed his joy for his meeting with them, remembering their own his studies at the Theological School of Halki.
“The joy is great, because by analogy we remember the blessed times when we, as teenagers, full of life and visions, were studying at the Holy Theological School of Halki,” said Mr. Bartholomew.
The Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized to the students that now the foundations of their whole existence are being built and at this sensitive age their character is being formed, while their “malleable psychic world” utilizes the various stimuli that will mark their future.
“Obviously, the education you receive here is of paramount importance for your future development,” said Mr. Bartholomew. He added that the level of studies of the Athoniada Academy has always been very high, but pointed out as “even more important” the “coupling” of the provided knowledge with the interaction with the Mount Athos nature and the environment and with the worship and monastic life, of which they become “shareholders” At Mount Athos.
The Ecumenical Patriarch heard the students sing traditional songs of his particular homeland, Imbros, and excitedly referred to the difficult years of the 1960s for the island, when the then “Turkish National Security Council” took, as he said, decisions ” harsh, tragic “, with the aim of” altering the composition of the population “of the island, which was entirely Greek. He recalled that at that time the schools were closed, fertile fields changed hands, prisoners were released, sowing terror among the inhabitants and finally forcing the vast majority to leave the island.
“So the island emptied, out of seven thousand we were left three hundred people. “The island was destroyed, I was a student in Rome at the time and my parents and brothers wrote to me that the demolition of Romanism had begun, I could not believe it,” said Mr. Bartholomew and continued:
“Many decades have passed, with many efforts, of many persons and many factors, the government of our country, where our Ecumenical Patriarchate is based, allowed to allow the reopening of Roman schools, to have Greek education on our island again, for Tenedos not It is said that there are very few Roma… And not only did the primary schools reopen in Imvros, but for the first time in our history we also have a high school…. we have about sixty children, it is a large number for Imbros, which now has six hundred Roman Christians “.
“There is an optimism for the future, an auspicious prospect. We will never reach the seven thousand, which was once, but we will live more humanely “, added Mr. Bartholomew.
The governor of Mount Athos and president of the lords of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Athanasios Martinos wished that until the graduation of the current students of Athoniada Academy, as graduates, they would be able to continue their studies in an open, then, Theological School. Halki. The Ecumenical Patriarch donated to the Protestant of Mount Athos, the symbolic amount of a thousand euros, so that, either they are distributed equally to the students or the Athoniada Academy is provided with whatever it deems necessary for its operation.
Earlier, yesterday afternoon, Mr. Bartholomew visited the monastery of Megisti Lavra.
In the morning, the Ecumenical Patriarch will officiate at the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Temple of Protatos in Karyes.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
