Μake us preferred on Google Greece’s Parliament has ratified a 10-year memorandum of cooperation between the foreign ministry, the culture ministry and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem aimed at protecting, preserving, studying and promoting the Patriarchate’s religious, historical and cultural heritage.
The agreement, signed in Athens on June 8 during the official visit of Patriarch Theophilos III, establishes a long-term framework for cooperation between the Greek state and the Patriarchate. The Greek foreign ministry confirmed at the time that the memorandum would focus on protecting and preserving the Patriarchate’s material cultural heritage.
File Photo: A downwards view into the rotunda inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that shows the Tomb of Christ as the miracle of the Holy Fire occurs on 19 Arpil 2014, the day before Easter. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe the Holy Fire, which emenates from within the Tomb of Christ and quickly spreads around the church and outside to Jerusalem and even to foreign countries, represents the flame of the Resurrection power, as well as the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
Under the agreement, Greece will provide one million euros annually for the agreed projects, with the foreign and culture ministries contributing equal amounts. The funding will support conservation and restoration work on monuments and religious treasures, scientific and technical studies, and the digital documentation of monuments and movable artifacts.
The program also covers the conservation and digitization of manuscripts and printed material held in the Patriarchate’s Historical Archive and Patriarchal Library, as well as the restoration of icons, frescoes, wood carvings, mosaics and other religious and cultural objects.
Academic and educational initiatives will be developed in cooperation with Greek universities, while the agreement also provides for cooperation with international scientific, research and cultural organizations.
The memorandum is intended to give a more structured and long-term institutional framework to the historic relationship between Greece and the Jerusalem Patriarchate, providing what the Foreign Ministry described as stable institutional, scientific, technical and financial support.
The agreement also respects the historical, administrative and canonical autonomy of the Patriarchate. Individual projects will be selected and prioritized in cooperation with the Greek ministries, with funding allocated to specific programs agreed in writing.
Initial projects already under discussion include conservation and restoration work at the Metochion (glebe) of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens’ Plaka old quarter, and the Byzantine Church of Goumeno in Ilia prefecture of southwest Greece.
The memorandum was signed by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Culture Minister Lina Mendoni during Patriarch Theophilos’ June visit to Athens. Gerapetritis said Greece would continue supporting the Patriarchate and working to protect Christian communities in Jerusalem and the wider Middle East, while emphasizing the importance of preserving the historic Status Quo governing the Holy Sites.
The Patriarchate has described its relationship with Greece as longstanding and has emphasized its role in safeguarding the Holy Places and the Christian presence in the Holy Land. The agreement comes amid continuing regional instability and concerns over the protection of religious communities and holy sites in the Middle East.
