Starting speech in the 1st International Congress

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

STARTING SPEECH OF HIS BEATITUDE THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM Mr. Mr. THEOPHILOS IN THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE N.G.O. "ROMIOSINI".

                                                                                Athens, Saturday 30th of May 2009.

"We have seen and heard and recite to you, in order even we have with ourselves (John first 1 - 4)".

His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and Greece all over,
Mr. Jeronime,

Right Honorable Mr. Kiriakidis,

"The appointment to in Christ our God in our society of we the greek-speaking with the arab-speaking Hellenic-Orthodox Christians on one hand and the other same-believers Christians on the other hand, has placed as a goal of the same, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem by means of the founding the N.G.O. "Romiosini".

The history of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as it is known is indissolubly connected with the history of the holy city of Jerusalem and for this reason with the holy history of the Sacred Pilgrimages. As for the Pilgrimages they constitute the untold sufferings and touched symbols of such holy history, as it really is the history of saving the human being.

Participant and co participant of this spiritual and physical legacy has been done by the holy prevision old-been Holy Tomb Brotherhood, as representative of the believing race of the Hellenic Orthodox Christians, as it has proven to be the physical and spiritual guardian and joiner of it.

Fellow-heir and co-participant of the in Christ spiritual and physical heiress of the King-like and imperial race of the Hellenes Orthodox people has been elected the pious nation of Greeks. And of such a nation all fights in favor of the holy Pilgrimages unselfishness, and moreover their sacrificed blood over seal all and very holy consignment over the Holy Pilgrimages being stated privileges and rights. All these do not certainly constitute a self purpose, as wrongly by some people is interpreted, but for sure is a living proof of the Biblical and Ecumenical message of the Apostolical Jerusalem Church.

"March on, so, and teach to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", orders the Lord to His pupils coming from Jerusalem.

The Christian presence in Middle East and chiefly in the Holy Land until our days come to prove the fact that it is due to the spiritual and adoring centers of the Christian faith in a general manner and the Ecumenical Orthodox holy fathered tradition of Hellenism, in a particular way.

In other words, the Holy Pilgrimages constitute a guarantee for the Christian population on the Holy Land, but for maintaining the particular national-religional identity of it. Such a matter is recognized by all, as the Christians, as for even of those no-Christians. The Christians, for instance, are asking themselves: "We then where do we belong to? Where do we come from? And so on. To this certainly has contributed and contributes in fact threatenly the exaltation of the religious identity against of the national one.

So, the contribution of the Sacred Pilgrimages and of everything coming rights and privileges of the fact of being Greek, are not only limited to our redeeming and eschatological meaning, but it is extended even in the ongoing actually reforming of the interreligious and sociopolitical regime of Jerusalem, having as forever point of reference its Old City, and it is natural the Eternally spoken Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

It is to be noted that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem jointly with the other covicarborn Patriarchates of the East are placed as the unsleeping candles of the never setting light, the light of the saving holy Word, the Christ. Of that exactly light of Christ, apostle and evangelist is being the eastern Orthodox Hellenity, and that being in the middle of other religious and other believing environment. Moreover the fact of being of the Hellenity is proved as it really is the only connecting and unifying force of all Orthodox of the Churches in the East and of all national-religional entities.

The exceptional location of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, "functioning under the state authorities and powers, that is, of the state of Israel, the Palestinian Self-government and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (as well as the Principate of Quatar) constitutes its ab antiquo recognized trusted its religious and ecclesiastical founding as particularly extraordinary, as for the unity of the Orthodox Churches, as also for the co existence of all neighboring people in the area of its jurisdiction.

On the other hand the combination of the double particularity of the Patriarch of Jerusalem as being the Prelate of the inside of it as Abbot of the Monasterial Brotherhood of the Hagiotaphites, presents openly the ascetic believing, under which lives and exists the spiritual size of the Hellenity substance.

It constitutes then, a dept, holy for all us, clericals and laics, shepherds and shepherded, "the moving of an overall eager as well as the collection of the monasterial science", according to the example of the god bringing Fathers of the Church, for the restoration of the healthy Hellenic-Orthodox identity of our brothers, of them being in Middle East and everywhere living.

Such holy debt is considered, for our humble Mediocrity's point of view, as being immediate and imperative".