Athens, 13 October 2023

M. Charakopoulos at Museum of the Bible in Washington DC: "Hagia Sophia should be accessible to every citizen of the world"

"Our initiative to publish the Volume in 13 languages and to present it around the world is part of the international communication campaign that we have undertaken as a legitimate reaction to the unacceptable decision of the Turkish leadership to convert the Church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque. It was an act which is part of the instrumentalisation of religion and the attempt to create new state revisionist ideologies and thus dangerous for peace and stability in the region." The above was stressed by the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), member of the Hellenic Parliament, Dr Maximos Charakopoulos, at the presentation of the Volume "Hagia Sophia: The Churches of the Wisdom of God around the World", held at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

For the Volume spoke the Chief Curatorial Officer of the Museum of the Bible Jeffry Kloha, Rabbi Ari Lam, Virginia Theological Seminary Professor Fr. John Yeh, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theology at St. Mary's College, Dr John Fotopoulos, while IAO Advisor, Dr Kostas Mygdalis informed the participants about the activities and goals of the IAO. The event was moderated by Mrs Elizabeth Prodromou, Visiting Associate Professor at Tufts University in Boston.
The return of the stolen Evangelistarion

In his speech, the head of the IAO noted, "it is a special honour for us that today's presentation is taking place at the Museum of the Bible, which is a great educational institution, combining the historicity of religious studies with the modern technological means of the digital age. Indeed, the Museum of the Bible has demonstrated in practice that it is an institution that respects the cultural tradition of every place. Characteristic is the fact of the return of one of the world's oldest Greek manuscript Gospels, dating back to the 10th century, which was stolen in 1917 from the Patriarchal Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa by the occupying forces of the city of Drama in Macedonia during the First World War. The millennium-old Evangelistarion, which ended up after an adventure, in the Museum of the Bible, was returned on your initiative, as soon as it was identified, to the historic monastery in September 2022".

Maximos Charakopoulos concluded his speech by stressing that "it is everyone's duty to protect this unique monument of incomparable beauty and high spirituality. And in order to achieve this, we all have to coordinate our actions, so that the decision-making centres will pressure the Turkish leadership to return the monument to a museum status, with strict safety standards, so that it is accessible to every citizen of the world, regardless of religion."     

Photography exhibition

After the presentation of the Volume followed a tour in the impressive exhibition of photographs of the churches of Hagia Sophia around the world by the Chief Curatorial Officer of the Museum of the Bible Jeffry Kloha. It is noted that the exhibition will last until the 28th of January 2024.

Among others, the event at the Museum of the Bible was attended by MPs Ioan Vulpescu from Romania, Panicos Leonidou from Cyprus and Radomir Tcholakov from Bulgaria, the Greek Ambassador in Washington Theodoros Bizakis, the Ambassador of Malta, Dr Godfrey C. Xuereb, the Supreme President of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) Savas Tsivikos, Lords of the Order of St. Andrew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and men and women of letters.

 High resolution images







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