The sixth international scientific conference on Hellenism and the wider world, focusing on Eastern Thrace, opened in Thessaloniki on Friday, bringing together prominent Orthodox Church leaders, academics and other distinguished figures to examine the region’s Greek heritage and historical legacy.
The Holy Metropolis of Nea Krini and Kalamaria organised the conference, which began with an opening ceremony at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in the presence of Deputy Interior Minister responsible for Macedonia and Thrace, Kostas Gioulekas.
Addressing the gathering, Gioulekas stressed that knowledge of Greek history forms an integral part of collective memory and that preserving and highlighting this heritage represents a duty to future generations.
He said the conference would encourage scientific dialogue and rigorous historical research, bringing together scholars from Greece and other Balkan countries, as well as Türkiye, to examine past events and their significance for the present.
“The study, deep knowledge and scientific documentation of where we stood, what happened, where we stand today and what we carry in our hearts and collective memory constitute, I believe, the essential contribution of these scientific conferences,” Gioulekas said.
He added that the gathering would help illuminate historical events through scholarly research and international participation.
Orthodox Church leaders honour Eastern Thrace’s heritage
Metropolitan Apostolos of Miletus, representing Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, conveyed the Patriarch’s blessings and wishes for the conference’s success.
Apostolos described the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an enduring beacon of Romiosyni — the Greek Orthodox cultural and historical tradition — and Orthodox witness. He said the Patriarchate continued to safeguard sacred traditions and the religious and cultural treasures inherited from previous generations.
Metropolitan Panteleimon of Maroneia and Komotini, representing Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, highlighted the enduring spiritual relationship between the Church of Greece and refugee communities displaced from their ancestral homes.
“The Church of Greece honours the memory of our brothers and sisters who passed their faith and culture on to the motherland, keeping the flame of the Greek nation alive,” he said.
Thermaikos mayor highlights refugee roots
Thermaikos Mayor Theodoros Tzekos welcomed the decision to co-organise the conference within the jurisdiction of the Holy Metropolis, which also includes the municipality.
He emphasised the significance of hosting conference sessions in Neoi Epivates, where residents maintain a strong connection to their refugee ancestry. Tzekos also reaffirmed the municipality’s commitment to supporting major scientific and cultural events.
Metropolitan Justin of Nea Krini and Kalamaria closed the opening ceremony with an emotional address, thanking the attending hierarchs, representatives of other Churches and scholars who had travelled to participate.
He called on attendees to remember those who had remained behind in their ancestral homelands, as well as those who died after settling in Greece while still longing to return.
“May this conference be a candle burning in memory of the fathers who remained behind, but also of those who passed away here, yearning to return,” Justin said.
“We need lit candles, especially in the dark days we are living through. We need to commemorate and remember. We need a little oxygen in a world that constantly takes oxygen away.”
He concluded by expressing the hope that the sixth international conference would serve as a burning candle for the souls of all those who died without receiving justice.
Academic presentations and commemorative service
Following the opening ceremony, academics delivered presentations on the life of Saint Paraskevi of Epivates and Saint Nektarios, who was born in Selymbria, Eastern Thrace.
The conference will continue on Saturday at the Thermaikos Municipal Council chamber in Neoi Epivates before concluding on Sunday in Nea Michaniona. The closing programme will include a memorial service at the Church of Panagia Faneromeni.
Representatives of the Serbian and Romanian Patriarchates also attended the opening ceremony, along with monk Kosmas of Simonopetra, representing the Holy Community of Mount Athos.
Other attendees included MP Michalis Chourdakis, Cyprus’s Consul General in Thessaloniki Konstantinos Polykarpou, representatives of the Region of Central Macedonia and the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Central Union of Municipalities of Greece President Lazaros Kyrizoglou, Kalamaria Mayor Chrysa Arapoglou, local councillors, military and security officials, academics, university professors and representatives of Thracian associations.
The opening event concluded with a concert of traditional music.
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