The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies successfully organized on November 15, 2019, the International Seminar “Ecumenical Patriarchate and Venice” despite adverse weather conditions that affected the city of Venice.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew could not attend the seminar dedicated to Venice’s relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate due to weather conditions. His keynote speech was read by Metropolitan Gennadios of Italy and Malta, whose seat is Venice.
The Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Religious and Consular Affairs, Konstantinos Alexandris, gave an address saying that the Greek State expects that the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies will promote and enhance different aspects of Greek culture through international cooperation and conferences.
In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch outlined through clear evidence the ecumenical characteristics of the Greek spirit, as expressed by great figures of the Church, which, in combination with the ecumenicality of the Christian faith, dominated the Byzantine culture throughout the centuries and now are expressed by the Mother Church and the center of the Orthodox world, that is the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He made a special reference to the centuries-old, complex and decisive relations of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the Most Serene Republic of Venice regarding the consolidation of Christianity in Europe.
As pointed out by the Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee, Professor Chr. Arabatzis, the seminar’s sessions highlighted the gaps which still existed in the research concerning the relations between the Byzantine Empire and the West, and especially concerning the history of Greek communities in the post-Byzantine period. This fact reinforces the need to digitize the entire Archive of the Greek Orthodox Community of Venice, which is kept at the Hellenic Institute, belongs to the Greek State and still remains inaccessible to researchers.
