GREECE – VATICAN The Vatican gave Greece three fragments of the Parthenon

Pope Francis wanted to make this gift to the Orthodox archbishop to show the importance of fraternal relations. They represent two young people and the head of a horse. It is hoped that this sign of peace between Christians can also be a point of reference for Ukraine, where arms have prevailed over dialogue.

Athenian () – Athens () – In a sober and low-profile atmosphere, out of respect for the 60 victims of the terrible train accident that occurred a few days ago on the slopes of Mount Olympus, on March 7 the archbishop was handed over of Greece, Hieronymus, of three fragments of the Parthenon that were in the possession of the Vatican museums. The official act was attended by Card. Fernando Vergez Álzaga, Governor of Vatican City, the Minister of Culture of Greece Lina Mendoni, the Rev. Emanuele Papamikroulis representing the Archbishop of Greece and the director of the Vatican Museums Barbara Jatta.

These three fragments, consisting of two faces of young people and a horse’s head, the result of looting perpetrated by the British ambassador Elgin, had been legally acquired by the Vatican Museums in the 19th century. Pope Francis made the decision to donate them to the Archbishop of Greece during his trip to Cyprus and Greece in December 2021, so that they could return to their original location, in the Parthenon in Athens.

This gift from Pope Francis wants to express the importance and value of charity according to God and at the same time of fraternal relations between two sister Churches, thus strengthening their path in ecumenical dialogue. This dialogue must be a point of reference and a sign of peace among Christians, especially when in the not far away Ukraine weapons have imposed themselves on dialogue among Christians.

Beauty -said Pope Francis- must be a source of inspiration and reconciliation in a continuous and reciprocal dialogue, to build bridges and silence the roar of weapons that have transformed the land that the Creator gave us into a place of slaughter.

For his part, the Rev. Emanuele Papamikrulis, representative of the Archbishop of Greece, praised Francis’ gesture, underlining its multiple positive implications: it constitutes, in fact, a tangible proof of our common witness to the Truth and, at the same time, it is a proof of the common will to Christians to walk towards full unity, based on charity, in a context of mutual respect and understanding.

This – added the rev. Papamikrulis – shows that when Christians work together they can give answers to historical questions that have been pending for many years and that can be sources of calamity for all humanity.

As lovers of classical Greek culture have commented, Francis’ gesture must also be interpreted as a tribute to that Greek spirit that Christianity made its own at the foot of the Acropolis. The Parthenon wanted to represent precisely the convergence of divine wisdom with human thought in search of Truth, a conception that was later embraced by all humanity.

The Archbishop of Greece Hieronymus once again congratulated the Pope’s initiative and expressed his hope that this gesture could soon find imitators.