JOURNALIST: In a few days, the Holy and Great Council of Orthodoxy is convening in Crete. What message do you think it can send to the world.
I. AMANATIDIS: The principles of charity, solidarity, respect, as intrinsic principles of the Orthodox faith and the human spirit, are to be reaffirmed and radiated globally, based on a unified strong voice of the Holy and Great Council. Additionally, the Holy and Great Council will be the culmination of many decades of efforts, and mainly it will show the whole world the unity of the Orthodox Churches in the service of the universal human Christian principles and values.
JOURNALIST: What is the Greek government’s comment on the moves of certain Churches that tried, invoking various excuses, to undermine the climate, even the very convening of the Holy and Great Council?
I. AMANATIDIS: The power of the unified message of Orthodoxy transcends any and all extraneous concerns. The very convening of the Holy and Great Council, after over a thousand years, calls on us to transcend human limitations for the sake of what is more generally at stake. So synthesis, rather than entrenchment, should be the priority.
JOURNALIST: There will be 14 Church primates in Crete, hundreds of bishops and priests. How big a challenge was it for the Foreign Ministry and, in general, the state to coordinate the actions of the competent state services for this major event?
I. AMANATIDIS: Coordination on an interministerial level and preparation for high-level meetings really is a challenge. But the Foreign Ministry has the experience, the knowledge and the know-how to handle such events, with very successful results. An un-salaried Special Committee for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church has been set up, and through this we have, for the past four months, been coordinating all of the state agencies involved in organizing the Council. The Greek state is making every effort to ensure that the result is excellent.
JOURNALIST: At this critical time for the regions of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, where the presence of Christian populations is being tested, what initiatives and actions is Greece setting in motion for the inter-Christian and interfaith dialogue?
I. AMANATIDIS: The cultural and intellectual dimensions of Europe need to contain a moral dimension that draws from the essence of Christianity but is also open in our time and can be used by non-Christians.
This means that Europe also needs a new universal humanism that unites and inspires, inclusively, and takes its ultimate foundations and models from the major religions – especially those that, like Judaism and Islam, are closely related to Christianity.
Bearing in mind that states bring with them to the diplomatic process tangible resources, like power and capital, religions bring intangibles, such as respect and trust. Both can work effectively to strengthen the country’s position in the international community. The active exercising of religious diplomacy, our cultural heritage, like traditional friendships with peoples in the Near East and wider southwestern Asia, give Greece the status of trusted mediator among states. The Conference on Religious pluralism that the Foreign Ministry held in Athens this past September is a legacy and part of our planning.
June 12, 2016