On February, 28th, 2023, a delegation of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) under the Secretary General dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, arrived in London for the presentation of the Volume “Hagia Sophia: The Churches of the Wisdom of God around the World”. Members of the delegation of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Athanasios Davakis and Mr. Ioannis Sarakiotis, as well as the head of the Romanian delegation to the I.A.O. Mr. Ioan Vulpescu and the I.A.O. Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis participated in this delegation in London. The presentation held in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia).
At the commencement of the event, the Very Revd. Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, Theonas Bakalis of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Divine Wisdom welcomed the public, while Fr. Niphon delivered the greeting message of the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Mr. Nikitas.
The I.A.O. Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis analyzed the main features of the Organization’s institutional structure and operation, as well as its scope of action in the context of the 30 years since its establishment.
Subsequently, the editor of the Volume Professor of Christian Archeology and Art of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Dr. Ioanna Stoufi Poulimenou described the thematic axes of the publication of the I.A.O. She also referred to the 37 historic emblematic Churches dedicated to the Wisdom of God, which are expanded from the British Isles to the depths of China.
Emeritus Professor of History of Byzantine Art at the University of Birmingham Dr. Leslie Brubaker was unable to attend the event due to extraordinary reasons. However, her presentation on “The Art and Symbolism of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople” was presented by the Director of the Hellenic Institute of Royal Holloway of the University of London, Professor Charalambos Dendrinos.
Moreover, the Senior Lecturer of the Open University Dr. Aggeliki Spanou presented the subject “History and Legacy of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople”.
The event was concluded with the speech of the I.A.O. Secretary General Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, who clarified “this is the first time that our Organization has made an official visit to the British Isles” and expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome. He stressed, “We are once again honored to be here and to reflect on the ever-moving interest of King Charles, who is also the head of the Anglican Church, for the Orthodox Christian tradition, in particular the Athonite State of the Holy Mountain”.
The head of the International Institution explained, “The Volume contains comprehensive information and rich photographic material about the Greek Orthodox Church of Hagia Sophia in London and the Catholic Church dedicated to the Wisdom of God located in Galston, Scotland, the only examples of Hagia Sophia Churches in the entire British Commonwealth, along with the Churches located in Cyprus”.
Finally, the Secretary General highlighted that “I would like to take this opportunity to point out that even in my homeland, Greece, there is a monument of the world cultural heritage whose unity and integrity have been broken and is in a state of fragmentation. Of course, I am referring to the Parthenon and the wider archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. This, after all, was practically confirmed by Pope Francis last December with his kind gesture of returning to Greece fragments of the Parthenon frieze that were in the Vatican museums, “as a testimony and an indication of the desire to continue the ecumenical course of truth””.
The presentation concluded following a Commendation to Emeritus Professor of the St. Antony’s College in Oxford Dr. Richard Clogg for his general contribution to Science and Letters. Professor Clogg thanked the I.A.O. Secretary General and described his experience of participating in the maintenance of the Hagia Sophia in Trebizond in the 1960s, which, unfortunately, like the Hagia Sophia in Nice, was converted into a mosque.
The participants of this event had also the opportunity to tour the photo exhibition with material from the Hagia Sophia Churches around the World, as well as to receive copies of the presented Volume.
