Fanar hierarch: If we lose the Greek language, we will lose the Greek faith

Archbishop Makarios, the head of the Australian Archdiocese of Phanar, said that if the Greeks lose their language, they will lose their faith, orthodoxia.info reports.

At an event dedicated to the Greek language and culture, held in the suburbs of Sydney, Archbishop Makarios stated that "if the Greek language is lost, then the Greek identity and the Greek faith will be lost."

“Therefore, we hold on for dear life to the Greek language (literally 'with our teeth and nails to the best we can'),” Archbishop Makarios stressed.

Another speaker, Vassilios Vertoudakis, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Philology at the National University of Athens, said that "Greeks will exist as long as the Greek language does."

In response, Archbishop Makarios recalled the well-known statement of the historian Herodotus about the common consciousness and identity of the Greeks (“ομόθρησκον”, “ομόγλωσσον” και “όμαιμον”) and noted that “it is these words that embody the policy, ministry and vision of the holy Archdiocese of Australia today.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of the Australian Archdiocese of Phanar, Archbishop Makarios, said that he was rightfully proud of his Greek nation.