It is a great pleasure and honor to be here with you today, at the opening of the “Byzantium through the Centuries” exhibit, which is here within the framework of the Year of Greece in Russia and Russia in Greece 2016.
What the two countries are pursuing through Greece-Russia 2016 is a renewal of our timeless historical ties and a further broadening of the horizons of our cooperation in sectors such as education, science, tourism and economy.
The main vehicle of this endeavor we have undertaken is culture. In this direction, with over 100 events in Greece and Russia during 2016, we are promoting, underscoring and, ultimately, renewing our age-old relationship with Russia. The response of day-to-day citizens and agencies of the two countries to Greece-Russia 2016 clearly demonstrates this.
We are aware that Greek culture is already quite well known in Russia, as Russian culture is in Greece. What we want to do is strengthen our common cultural tradition even further and pass it on to our countries’ younger generations.
To this end, the Foreign Ministry is supporting the “JASON” programme of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which for 22 years now has been promoting Greek studies at Universities in Black Sea countries, having granted hundreds of scholarships, organized research visits and concluded inter-university agreements.
We are also considering a number of actions that will consolidate the cooperation between Greek and Russian Universities, because the will to produce scientific work was expressed by both sides on the occasion of the Russian universities exhibition in Thessaloniki last March.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, at the Hermitage Museum – an historic museum for global cultural heritage – a very important exhibit is being inaugurated.
The purpose of the exhibit is to present to the Russian public exceptional works of the Byzantine age (4th-15th centuries AD), including very important icons from the early Cretan School, and this is also why the exhibit also includes some 120 works from Greek museums and collections: portable icons, sculptures, portions of mosaic floors and wall paintings, handwritten codes, and lavish gold jewelry.
The exhibit considers issues such as the transition from late antiquity to early Byzantium and the idea of Byzantine ecumenicity, while sides of intellectual life and Christian worship are presented.
Also highlighted are aspects of the luxurious life of the Byzantines, as well as their relations with neighbouring peoples to the East and West.
The epilogue presents an exceptional painting by DomenikosTheotokopoulos, better known as “El Greco”. This is an endeavor to link Byzantium and the Renaissance, pointing up the tremendous legacy of the Byzantine intellectual and artistic tradition in global art and culture.
The Byzantine panorama at the Hermitage Museum is a watershed for the further tightening of Greek-Russian relations, as it reminds us of the two peoples’ common cultural and religious origins. I am certain that the Russian public will find a reflection of their identity in the Byzantine exhibits.
I would like to underscore the exceptional cooperation and the particular contribution of the Hermitage Museum and its Director, Professor Piotrovsky, to the Greek-Russian Year joint initiative. And as you know, the unique “Kore of the Acropolis” has been hosted here since April, while visitors to the Acropolis Museum are admiring golden Scythian treasures. We are also now awaiting the exhibit being prepared by your museum in Athens, early this coming November.
I am convinced that both the Greek and Russian programmes for Greece-Russia 2016 will deepen the cooperation between our two countries and the relationship between our peoples.
It is my heartfelt hope that the “Byzantium through the Centuries” exhibit will be yet another watershed on our joint path towards closer cultural relations between our peoples.
Thank you.
June 24, 2016