“Romiosini and Christianism”

N.G.O. "Romiosini"
1st International Congress on "Romiosini through the centuries"
Amphitheatre of the War Museum of Athens
Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of May 2009

Introducer: Mr. Fotios Dimitrakopoulos, Professor of Byzantine Philology of the Athens University

Subject: "Romiosini and Chrisianism"

Since the beginning we have to observe that the term Romiosini does not be met in the Byzantine nor to the post-Byzantine texts, it seems that ratherly is not a neologism being introduced during the 19th century. Its introduction by Argyris Eftaliotis in the famous History of Hellenism, its poetic using by Palamas, Basilis Michaelidis, by Seferis and primarily by Ritsos, as well as by father Romanides and other scholars, established the term in a literature place, but particularly historic. Hellenism is just the being of the Greek, Orthodox, Hellenic-speaking basically that attracts in the precedence since the ancient Greeks, the in Christianized Romans and other spoken people, but is a land for us, being freed and un-freed, who still wait the longing ones, patiently and not offensively either. Certainly, the Hellenic language that was used as a bright and unreached tool of speech, the language of world spreading of the faith to Christ, has given the capabilities to the Hellenic speaking and not only the then ecumenism to receive and accept the teaching of the Apostles, and particularly of the Apostle of nations Paul. However, the teaching of the Apostles overpasses the substance of the language, as it is a teaching of resurrection, that is a scandal for the Jews, as for the Greeks it is a stupidness.

One should be endangered so much in roads being cut as for the seeking on the coming from and using the national names as Romanesques, Hellenes or Greeks, common names, but this is not my wishing.

It is certainly enough to remind that during the first Christian centuries the teaching fathers do underline the common existing with the ancient wises Dom but with the preponderance of the Christianic faith. It is historically unrepeated the fact of being persecuted the Christians by the roman emperors, and they not to abandon their faith, to be sacrificed for the same and declare for the Christ being crucified and then resurrected.

Three hundred years of terrible percecussions that topped in the beginnings of the 4th century, without being fallen the triumphed church! The faith did not abandon. So, for whatever expediency, whenever it was abandoned or the faith changed, Hellenism fall down and finally was saved the world collapse. Whenever we have not accepted our sorrow, it is like forgetting the word of our Lord: "in the world you shall have pain, but be courageous, as I did win the world". So, for the reason that the faith did not abandon, as the world subordinated to the same, as the roman empire became officially Christian, in the 4th century, through the co-apostle saint emperor Constantinos.

I general I consider that the in fact truth is being rather found in the area of art, instead of the area of politics. And if politics is the art of being, the art is the policy of un-being.

The being a saint, the magnificence of emperor Constantinos, is given in a few words and clearly in the texts of the high art of hymnography, from where we immediately take out results on the saint personality of Constantinos.

On the other hand, what let us say is the historical true on this? We may see how is being attacked his personality today, and surely we know why. We have not, by no means, any appreciation to the historic science, as Alexandros Papadiamantis says, such a pure expression of Hellenism.

The means of Holy Providence, saint Constantinos, has built whatever we call today Hellenism, after the Christianizing of the roman empire, the founding of New Rome and the trans-going to that the capital city, and after the First in Nice Ecumenical Congress 325 A.D., where he presided among 318 god bearing fathers and was over lost the Arios heresy. The fight for Orthodoxy is then tied immediately upon the founding of New Rome and then constitutes a term for its being.

Now, according to the Service of the saints Constantinos and Helen in the Monthly, on the 21st of May, Jesus gave the king "a strongly weapon, the Holy Cross" and adorned it with the wisdom of Solomon, the placidity of David and the Orthodoxy of Apostles. The unforgotten king is the first who subordinated the king's throne voluntarily to Christ.

"Being brighted by the sunbeams of the Holy Spirit, was presented to kings and being unbeated was seen, and given the ecumenism as a dowry providing so your Founder even a king living and being god believer". Constantinos the Great united politically ecumenism, and in the Nice Congress brought the ecclesiastical unity. The New Rome is the Rome baptized in Christ. It is not the second Rome, as to have even a third and forth Rome. The epithet new, as in hymn of Romanos in Christmas, during the subhymn, "a new child the before centuries existing God", and means being dressed, and baptized in Christ.

Even equally the New Sion, the New Jerusalem, it is not by no means second, so it is the Holy in Christ. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and the wishing of nations. Judaism through the Old Testament, being also translated into Hellenic, it is not far of christianism, as romiosini waits for the proper time that Jews should be entered in the saving faith.

Saint Constantinos in the songs of the Vigil, received the calling "not coming among men", "but as the glorious from the heaven Paul". "First King of Christians to the God, Constantinos, has received the scepter", "the joy of Christians and for Greeks the glory". But in the canon of the Saint Constantinos and Helen, the saint is placed parallel to the Apostle Paul: as the Apostol Paul taught Christ to nations, as even the equally Apostle Constantinos established the Christianism in the Roman Empire.

So, since the Great Constantinos, and thereafter, the Roman Empire become the Christians empire, and some decades later, with the Great Theodotius, Christianism becomes the official religion of the Empire. This is also saying the so well known song, "The rising on the Cross voluntarily, the well known new state of yours, your compassion present us Christ the God...". The state is new and is Christian named, and the congregation of the Church is also Christian named.

The fight for Orthodoxy is a term to survive Hellenism, the maintenance of the Empire. Bright names as the three maximum light givers of the thresunned goddess and Gregory from Nyssa, the saints and fathers, the emperors as Justinianos, the Santa Sophia builder, Heraclios with the Holy Cross, the great and first melody maker Saint Romanos the Melodies-offerer determine the face of Hellenism.

The icon adoring as well as the triumph of icons saves up today the self personality of Hellenism and the Orthodox eastern countries. The over wining of heresies expresses as well the difference and superiority of the Orthodoxy, and for this reason even the Sunday of Orthodoxy is also the Sunday of Hellenism.

The Holy personality of John Damaskinos governs in the fight against the Icon battling. The Macedonian dynasty, being based on the stability of the faith, under the excellent emperors, resisted and gotten out the Saracens, during the four centuries of the Byzantine epopee. The Saracens call as Rum Orthodox, as even today the Christian Greeks. Hellenism is the unity of the Orthodoxy. It is not the union of churches; it is the union of faith, in waiting that all shall be one. The calm of Hellenism gives it the capability in being an easy co-talker in the Near East as well with the Israelians and the Arab-talkers. The term Greek has a great meaning for the in abroad living Greeks and the other Orthodox, speakers and is the in Christ calm contemporary great idea.

The second millennium after Christ, the mundane spirit as well as the lust for power of the Byzantine emperors, their conviction that the West could help them, brought the decay. The Constantinople substantially was given to Crusaders in 1204 because of the contentions of the rulers Angels. But here it is again the saintliness as well as the virtue of two Emperors of Nice, John Batatzis and Theodore Laskaris, re-gave the Constantinople to the Greeks, unbattlessly.

And just here, let us do a deviation, in order to see how, the Holy Assistance being intervened the Constantinople has given us back almost by change and unbattlessly. We have to stress that the regain of the Constantinople is due to the saint treatment of the before-mentioned emperors, but even of the emperor Michael Palaiologos. I tell all them as an answer to all those who mistrust or laugh to that entire are heard about a battle less and un-bloody return in the future coming of the Constantinople to the hands of Greeks. Let us listen to how George the Acropolitan in the "Intiming Writing" imprints the facts (translation of A. Panagiotou):

And then the emperor sent to the West military forces that could gather, the Cesar Alexios Stratigopoulos, in order to fight there the enemies of Romans; at the same time gave him the order, as his road brings him near the Constantinople, and he should be passing around there, to realize an attack against it and then go forward with his army up to the walls of the city, in order to fear the Latins who were inside. And then took place even something else that must be a fact of the Holy Assistance. That is, just arrived a big latin ship from Venice to Constantinople and brought the new governor, that called powerful, man, and he seemed being active and brave in the battle; he ordered all Latins of the Constantinople to fight, advising them that "we shall remain only in protecting the city and ourselves, but we must do even something against the Romans, in order not to disdain us completely in the war". He convinced them, so, that once the triremes have entered, that they had as well as in some other ships, that could move against the Dafnousia island, as to be able to take it and receive loots from the same. So, the city remained without men, jointly with the women and small children as well as the so-called emperor, Baldwin, with a few other men.

And suddenly, then, in the night came Alexios Stratigopoulos and come close to the Constantinople. So, as he had with him some other men who came from the city and knew it very well, and after he asked them for, and so learned that there was a hole in the wall, from which could come in a soldier and for this reason, without any delay began the undertaking. A man passed through in, so, the hole firstly one and then another and so this way passed in about fifteen men or even more got inside the city. So, this way they found on the wall one of the guards, and as some men after going up there, they got him of the feet and threw him out, as the others after taking mattocks, broke the pivots of the doors and so could the army get in easily. This way entered in the city the Cesar Stratigopoulos. The governor of the city, on the other side, Baldwin, went to the great palace.

The Latins, on the other hand, that had been moved towards Dafnousia jointly with the leader, they had no an idea on what had already happened, and as they could do nothing to the bad for the island - as God protecting the there in residents - they so moved in order to come back to the city. The Roman armies took it and put fire to the Latin's houses that were at the sea-shore and burnt them all. When the Latins saw that the city was all over in fire, were so much worried and then took as many they could got in the triremes, they got away, as another trireme went to the great palace and took in Baldwin, who for just a little he could have been captured. This way, so, happened all these facts and Constantinople, by means of the holy assistance, came again back in the hands of the Romans emperor, as it was just a right, after being in hands of the enemy for fifty-eight years.

The emperor was there camped at the Meteory, when suddenly in the night came the information that socked the world over. The message brought the small child of the emperor's sister Irene, who had been named a nun under the name Eulogia, and as she came to visit his mother coming from the Bythinia places heard as was on the road by someone that Constantinople had been taken by the Roman armies. The emperor's sister, so went as fact she could to him, but found him sleeping, and because of that she pushed him slightly with her hand in order to awake hip up, as she was saying him slowly-slowly: "King you have taken Constantinople".

But as she told him many times, the emperor continued not giving her no one answer; she then changed her sayings and told him: "Get up, King; Christ has gifted you Constantinople". Soon after the emperor got up, raised up his hands to the sky and said: "All that you have told, sister, I do accept myself; and this, on the other hand that you told in the beginning, that I have taken the Constantinople, by no means I do not accept; for how is it possible, as I am at Meteorio, take up Constantinople? I have not sent, on the other hand against it important armament. But I do agree even myself, that all these things are quite easy for God, and for everything that is almost impossible to be done, he soon may offer to those ones he wants".

After saying all such about and after gathering all the potentates who were there with him, asked to learn if they were thinking that such an information is true. And these, then, agreed that it is true, and particularly those ones who had been informed on the campaign of Latins against Dafnousia. Only some ones have doubted, those ones who did not know what means Holy Assistance, and parallely appreciated that such a thing is one of the most difficult ones and it is not easily achieved. With all these talks the night passed by. When broke the day, they all hoped that someone would appear what really had happened; but passed by and that day without nobody to come, and all there were in despondency and concern, and particularly the emperor. But when it got dark, came the emissary bringing the good news and announced categorically that the Roman army under the Cesar Stratigopoulos were found in the Constantinople and described how all these had happened.
The emperor, then, being happy started towards Meteorio in order to get very soon to Constantinople, as he was feared if the Latins come back from Dafnousia and entering in the city come to an decisive battle with the Romans and put them out of the walls, as they were much more in number. But nothing of all these things took place, as those (the Latins) were very impressed by the unwaited fact, as we have already said, they took the opportunity and gone away; but the emperor, on the other hand, was fastening his going on. When we passed the mountains of Calamos and the emperor camped near to Ahyraou, they then the brought us the royal emblems of Baldwin, the so-called emperor of Constantinople. These were the royal coverage of Latin shape, being adored with pearls and a red rock on the top, the red shoes and a sword in a silky red scabbard. And then, so, the simple soldiers believed what had already be done; as that was the size of the fact that they could not accept. Worried up so, the emperor the going, walking faster and covering larger distance. And when he already approached Constantinople, and thought to enter into the city, but not as it was usual for an emperor, but fearing in God; and so found the manner to do it, that is sending thanks to God and blessings in favor of the kingdom and the hierarchy, in favor of the city, the residents and all the believing people.

So, the emperor got in Constantinople on the fourteenth of August, but he did not want to enter the same day into the city and camped in the monastery of Cosmidion, that is located near the monastery of Blahernas. So, after he passed his night over there, he got up in the morning and made his entrance into the city in the following way. Because of the Patriarch Arsenios was not there - he was always difficulty moving for good, and feeling against to the king and rather worried as the emperor adjoined Constantinople to the Roman nation - but a certain bishop should announce blessings, so, such an activity undertook the bishop of Kyzicos George, who was called as the Keyholder. He went up, so, on a tower over the Golden Gateway, having with him the icon of Our Lady, who has taken her name of the Guiders monastery, and then read in order to be heared all blessings. The emperor, then, took out his coverage and kneeled down. The same did the whole companion of him that accompanied him. When the first blessing ended and the deacon made the sign to getting up all, so they all got up and said loudly the "Kyrie eleison" (Our Lord bless us) one hundred times. Just after all that had already be done, the bishop said the next blessing and such an activity repeated again, up to the moment that all blessing had already being told. As, then after all this ritual was completed, the emperor being a Christian believer at the most, rather a king, entered into the Golden Gateway, walking on foot, while the icon of Our Lady was going in front and before them. So, he walked up to Stoudion monastery and then left there the icon of Our Lady, got up on the horse and got to the Church of Santa Sophia, where he kissed the prelate Christ, and after thanking him, as he should, he got to the great palace. All the Roman people was then enthusiastic and there was no-one not being happy and in joy and there was no-one not to believe that it happened, because of the un-waiting of such an extraordinary size of the matter.

And when the Palaiologians, being under the need, because of the Otomans spreading, they believed that the unique way was to go towards the West and sign the Union of Churches and it was then pre-written that Hellenism should collapsed. The signing of the Churches Unification on 1438/9 in Congress of Ferrara - Florence did not give nothing of assisting to the hungry emperor John the 7th the so-called Palaiologos.

All those who know, evenly that the Getaway felt to the Otoman's hands without existing Patriarch, since the last one Gregory, the so-called Mammis had gone on 1451 to the Pope! The heroic emperor Constantin Palaiologos denied to surrender the Getaway to Mahoma and so Hellenism was slaved to Otomans, under of whose however was saved in faith, its being, while under the Latins should have pressed in being assimilated. As lord Byron writes and Papadiamantis repeats, since one thousand years ago our country is placed between the Turkish violence and the Latin trickery. And just for this reason has been said the famous told by the duke Loucas Notaras "it is much better look at the Getaway being adored with a Turkish kerchief than a Latin coverage"!

Sultan Mahoma the Conqueror, recognizing as Patriarch to Gennadios Sholarios, gave a stating existence the Patriarchate of Constantinople, giving rights to Gennadios as being the religious and national leader of the slaved Romans jointly with the care as well as of the jointly-living Orthodox, Romanesques and Bulganians. Hellenism was brighting in all sectors of the post-Byzantine culture, and it is to blame our lack of knowledge that even today makes some individuals being totally ignorant and talk on "the darknesses of the Turkish-stating" and nothing else. The Holy neomartyrs during the Turkish stating period have sanctified with their blood the painful Hellenism, the monasteries with their enormous libraries functioned even as education centers having among other items, the sanctified personalities of own-named nation teachers being Romans who saved the faith as well as the language, and anonymous teachers by means of "Exercising teachers" that educated the youth, the churches that were before as in nowadays places of Holy teaching and adoring, our Patriarchates that were during the captivity the pre-gates of Hellenism, whenever came the Reborning day on 1821, where and also then Our Holy Mother saved the Revolution during the Navarino battle fight! Even the Hellenic-Orthodox regime of the Holy Lands remained as an area of the Hellenic Orthodoxy, the so-called Roum-Orthodox, and even after the Crimaic war, being recognized up to our days under Paris Pact in 1856, without any particular involvement of Greece in the war of Russians against the Otomans as well as their Western allies.

The pope intromission had to show also earlier its face with the filotomans and Barlaam Calabros. The holy personality of Gregory Palamas saved the Orthodoxy, although the tranquilizers who were abusing as inside viewers. In the same way the followers of the filowell being renaissance around the 1800 were calling them as barnacles. But all these were very highly educated and being lovers of the true faith. They saved Hellenism in reality and not the propagandists. Some decades earlier, very few of us knew the wellbeing renaissance and in the middle-degree education were taught in excess the European and neo-Hellenic enlightment. In my book Byzantium and neo-Hellenic thought in the middle of 19th century, I proved that the thinkers as well as the professors, even in the Theological Faculty, the disdained Byzantium. The in-westernism it was the official ideology and Hellenism found assistance to our poets as well as to Papadiamantis, after Constantinos Paparigopoulos and his well-known history. But renaissance is not enlightment!

If during the previous centuries the question in Greece on Hellenism, enlightment and Byzantium had at the most the character of academic and cultural, from now and on even much more shall be seemed that it is not simply a matter of self knowledge and self protection. That is the claim of the otherness, the right to reserve my own personality, is little by little disappearing and leveled inside the grouping-world widening, that is in the spirit of flock, and this is not only a problem of our land. The spirit of modernization is already the fear-giver of coercion: or you shall get inside the flock in order to survive, or you should die outside of the same...

So, being alarmed we are entrenched inside the monetary flock, abolishing at the same time our preoccupation for the more over, the unknown, for the end of all. I do believe that ideology is, in the end, what you really believe for what you cannot see. Looking so an in moneyed world and a fantastic reality, you easily are entered in it without any ideologies, without even been interested on what really is happening around you: "all those remained jobless or famished or are simply useless!"

And practically again, the triumphical argument of the modernized thought have always been the facts of positive sciences, this we nowadays call as the miracle of technology. Whatsoever if we are concerned, the scientific research should continue substantially its uncontrolled road. And this is the unique point that by all means one should agree: there are so many wounds that left on this planet the technological miracle and of such fashion, that only the same technological progress itself should heal it, and even if it is finally possible, according to the saying "the one who is wounded the same should be healed".

At the same time, our enlighted keep on mocking at the superstitious and religion believing middle-aged Byzantium and our Romiosini.

The enlightment ideas on the same are summed up in the following basic articles: faith in the power of the right word, in the progressing of man, in the progress and the happiness capability. I do keep the book of K. Th. Dimaras, on the Neohellenic Enlightment, on page 6: "the Enlightment is optimism; gives with sequel, a particular meaning on the items of education; encourages the living languages and mainly to the national idioms, and contrary to the dead and unspoken languages, pushes the free critical research, the knowledge of the natural world, teaches the religious tolerance, as well as the each man respectfulness.

For the Enlightment the right speech is much stronger than whatever tradition and onlyness; the experiment gains the tradition and assures the knowledge of the natural world".

I do hope not to be remained lots of doubts; otherwise the forming during the last period for Dimaras is explicit: "the right speech is stronger", "the experiment governs the tradition", this is matter. Please pay attention to the verbs the deal with the power and victory!

Power and victory on this world are not imposed only through the financial superiority. The discredit of tradition constitutes an insult of the greatest historic teaching that the strength of evil deplores the existence and so the optimism of enlightment is extremely dangerous, mainly in our days that the ecological problem is a common experience. In Greece the teachings of enlightment fully overruled very badly, and officially governed absolutely and corrupted the unstable party consciences. I have been oldly writing:

"The neohellenic contemptible as an illness of the Greek intelligentsia comes from an old symptom of interiority before the West, being accompanied with feelings of precognition against the Byzantium, because of the total ignorance of the Hellenic-Orthodox roman viewing of the world. The disease presents specific pathological appearances, and mainly affects the neo-hellenic thinkers, intellectuals and statement.

As an ideological syndrome is generally presented as an identification crisis, as rejecting all our owned as well as an admiration to foreign ones, that is a complex of national feeling of interiority. Contemptible is even presented as an acute form of yearly calamity of copying as well as of the mania for whatever is foreign, and nulls the patriotism, un-powers the national pride, nullifies any national theory, and often drives its victims to be transformed in unofficial recanters. In other words, it is found at the antipodes of chauvinism".

Not being interested in items of power and domination the romanticism did not influenced at all in politics and remained the livingivering mould for the art in the 19th and 20th century, being clearly against the power unhealingly... romantic.

This does not mean that it had not any political messages. I was writing once being referred to the Hellenic reality: "But such a things save our wellbeing: our writers show that, the soul of Hellenism is the East. While Corais in 1805 saying that what should do the Greeks in the actual situations asking from Greeks to be adhered to the Russians, in the years of Emancipation, Calbos in his ode the Blessings tells the Greeks to abandon the finding of protection givers, to grab the sword and look to heaven where is the unique our protector, God.

Makrygiannis denounces the Baverian keepers and asks not to sell at any route our faith and our pastime, as well as Balaoritis also denounces in his Foteinos, the dogs these Franks and blesses the Patriarch Gregory the 5th, as Aquiles Parashos dumns the Franks and eulogizes Constantinos Palaiologos, Papadiamantis ridicules the nowadays ancient affected as well the Greek lingers of today, Carcabitsas describes the Hellenism of sensual east, Palamas creates the epics in the king's flute and the gypsian dozen listing, Kabafis honors our glorious Byzantinism, the so-called generation of the '30 ties grasps again the being Hellenic sense, Contoglou restands the tradition, Ritsos impresses the sorrow of Romiosini, Elytis chants the Hellenism in the way of a Worthing Being (Axion Esti), Seferis re-sees the miracle in Cyprus of '53 - '55, and Eggonopoulos voices that Simon Bolivar is as beautiful as a Greek.

Our men of letters constantly denounce the neo-hellenic mimicry and overstress the comparative assimilation. Our men of letters constantly honor the heart of our Romiosini, while the mendacious as well as insufficient politicians of ours and the only one thing they feel how to tighten Greece of the vehicle of the west. Such a thoughtless mimicry jointly with the disdain of our fatherly preached the propagandists as well as their followers, the progressists and European lovers. "My Lord, but not with them", as Seferis says. But with who ones then? With our men of letters at hand, firstly, with new honourlearnings.

Our Hellenic heart, our neo-hellenism is found in our literature. Wherever meets you the evil brothers, each time our mind made turbid, remind to Dionysios Solomos and bless Alexandros Papadiamantis. The voice that does know of any lie let us keep in peace the face of martyrdom (Odys. Elytis). In order to govern in our land the teachings of enlightenment that they should be defamed Hellenism (romiosini) as well as all the Hellenic middle times. Such work was began by Corais, and with not any interruption continued its followers. The finding of the various steps to all effort pf such disdain of such of Byzantium I tried to do in my book Byzantium and neohellenic intectuality in the middle of nineteen century (editions Castaniotis, first edition of 1996, and second edition 1999). Such a book came upon a question as well as a research. It is a question, why should it be considered the Middle-aged Hellenism a matter of decline, and even looking for as why even in our days the modern Greeks to accept it in a complete comfort. Just the day before yesterday I heard in a private conversation the absolute declarations of a university college that Greece as a free state appropriates as fantastic an enactment that has not any one relation to the ancient times, since Byzantium is the non continuity of the Hellenic antiquity. I have remembered the volume on Byzantium and the Classical Tradition of the records of the thirteenth spring symposium in Birmingham 1979, being pressed in 1981, where the unilateral work by Cyril Mango "Discontinuity with the classical Past in Byzantium" on the pages 48 - 57 of the volume.

I remembered the book on Hellenic Romanticism by K. Th. Dimaras, Athens 1982, where in the page 48 writes on Constantinos Oikonomou that "naturally even he is one of those intellectuals of the non so many ones who kicked away the spiritual inheritance of Corais and so restrained this way even up to our days on the natural development of the new Hellenism". And also read again the treatise of Seferis named "Costis Palamas" in the volume of his Essays: "Since the period that were written the Gospels have already past almost twenty centuries. And on the other hand this so long period presents, for the thinker on the Hellenic literature, certain characteristics. Firstly there is not any interruption and there is not any change or diversion - the road is straight: we have had never Rebirding, such ones that knew the European people in the West. A second and main characteristic; these unfinishing millenniums are covering a double closed silence. I want to say from the point of view of the poetry. What does it happened? It happens that since the period of Gospels up to the years when gets up the slaved nation, the Hellenic texts do not express, do not create, only describe. When we read them, we have the impression that we turn around a closed tower. That does not ever open. It is dead, and even their language is dead".

I have given above these three unequal views in order to be seen the triptych of the modern doubting: first, between the ancient times and Byzantium there is rather an un-continuity, not a continuity; second, only the line of the propagandists, of them of Corais, and has a right of existence; third, we have twenty centuries of poetic aphony. In other words, foreigners and some of ours insist that there has never existed creation in Byzantium. Various degrees: an on purpose suppression, an also on purpose distortion, a dangerous ignorance, improvised lack of recognition, inferiority complexes. What, then is happening? From one side an existed anti-Greek feeling of many foreign Byzantinologists as well as neo-Hellenists, and from the other side an unknown improvisation of some ones of ours, intellectuals scientists and statement. In order to assure the recognition, the promotion and inter-connection, run to over mock our own ones their country, Hellenism (Romiosini). All these are written by university philologists, who had been moved in the academic area of Greece and abroad for more than thirty-five years.

In a certain way we are nowadays in the moment of appointment of Romiosini. The doubt however has not ended. There have not finished being written theories and overstressed views on racist discontinuity and non purity of blood of today's Greeks. As like all other people to be racially and bloodily clear, or like this matter to have such a thing an important meaning, or like to be the historians a kind of doctor who have found and rediscover the gens. The unacceptable joke of nationalism based on the principle of nationalities, has not stopped to be played against the people. The idea of the State being based on the racial superiority, is a different form of statetism being based on the principle of nationalities, has not stopped being played against the people. The idea of the State based on the racial superiority, is another way of the imposing of the material against the spirit. Such a joke of the imposition, the management of the power, has not stopped. And does even seem to come a salvation through the religions, whoever of them in a parallel way to keep standing for the meaning of the religious dominance. That is why our Romiosini (Hellenism) lives as a hope, as a consolation, as an exposition of solution to our contemporary problems.

But if we want to be forbearing, the Greek propagandists could not adore nothing else that the ancestral past and only the Hellenic antiquity. Hellenism was for them something the extravagant, as the Europeans presented it being the propagandists of the eighteenth century, as Voltaire, Montesquieu and particularly Gibbon. This way instead of the "barbarism" of Byzantium they placed the "brightness" of the antiquity, and not being able to overcome the Christianism they made a pious moral precept. Such things offered positions, dignities and recognition. And after all these things, were added to all these bad items the indecent exploitation of the motherland, the religion and well speaking from the power, the state and the rightist nationalism; in front of all these things stayed up the same propagandism of the progressists. So, those were communiting pots where the one gave the reason of existence of the other. And in order to tell in another way the saying of Stefanos Coumanoudis, we should say:

"Poor Greece! Rightist jingoists and enlighted leftists were to deliberate in the middle of the twentieth century"!

And now, how to speak on our glorious Hellenism in a world who looks for surenesses and certainties, who talks about aphorisms, "this is this way and it is not otherwise"? How to tell that it is not useless to stay far from certainties and assurances, as the sweetness of our face is the smile of the perplexity, the acceptance of the past being, the existence of mindly un-existing? What, then to say for the Hellenic message of the eastern Orthodoxy, that there is salvation at any moment and for all whenever we change our mind and dress the love of relations?

The reality that we live is the offering of ours to the relations of loving offer, without having targets, without cares, indefinitely and without any meaning, and at the same time being trusted and annoyed as well, being asking and insisting. Only such a procedure can do me suffer for the other human being, whatever he may do to me. Far from moralisms and devoutnesses, far from typified religionisms, without any systems, self plans and self biographical abandonment in finding the other one, that should be the long during joy of ours, up to the moment that enlights the other. Propagandism is not lightning.

Romiosini is our joy, being lighted by our Orthodox faith, by the light of Christ. Certainly here, let us think those ecclesiastical specialists in what an amount and those as well as ourselves, that have lengthened away from the sweet and the peaceful, from the acceptance as well as the forgiveness, from the pardon giving and clemency, from the affable and the condescending of the humble face. But all these things open other chapters.