Sicily, Messina 26 and Palermo 29 June 2024. Presentations of the Volume of Hagia Sophia Churches
On the occasion of the 31st General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), held in Sicily, an IAO delegation held presentations of the Volume “Hagia Sophia: The Churches of the Wisdom of around the World” in Messina and Palermo.
The presentation of the Volume in Messina
The presentation of the Volume in Messina took place at the Town Hall of Messina, on Wednesday, June 26. The IAO Secretary General, Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, greeting the audience, underlined that “Sicily is an area influenced by all three constituent forces of European culture: the ancient Greek reasoning, the Roman legal system and the Christian tradition. It was, in other words, an osmosis workshop of these great currents that shaped what we perceive as Europe (…) Our common intellectual heritage is our most important intellectual property. When it is fragmented or disintegrated, European unity is undermined. Part of this common European heritage is the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul and the universal message it sends for the respect of the Christian values that shaped European culture”.
The researcher of Medieval Byzantine Art of the University of Messina, Professor Mrs. Alessandra Trifonova, also spoke about the Volume, while the IAO liaison with the Catholic Institutions Mr. Virgilio Avato was the moderator of the event. Greetings were addressed by the Mayor of Messina, Mr. Basile Federico, the Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Messina, Mr. Caruso Vincenzo, the assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Messina, Mon. Cesare Di Pietro and the vice-president of the Hellenic Community of the Steno, Mr. Joseph Carbone, while the IAO Advisor, Dr. Kostas Mygdalis briefly presented the IAO and its activity.
Following the presentation of the Volume, the IAO delegation visited the Regional Library of Messina, where its director, Professor Maria Rita Morgana, presented Byzantine manuscripts. Earlier, the members of the delegation were warmly welcomed by the mayor of the Municipality of Naxos, Mr. Giorgio Stracuzzi and the Municipality’s Cultural Advisor Ms. Fulvia Toscano.
The presentation in Palermo
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, the members of the IAO General Assembly attended the presentation of the Volume in Palermo, hosted at the Regional Parliament of Sicily.
The head of the interparliamentary institution noted that “the presentation of this publication -which I had the honor to present myself to the Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis- takes place in the context of the international raising awareness campaign undertaken by the IAO regarding the unprecedented and provocative decision of the Turkish leadership to convert, in July 2020, the Hagia Sophia Church of Istanbul into an Islamic mosque. Unfortunately, our efforts to date have not had the result we expected, perhaps because the international community, as well as UNESCO, are not pressuring the Turkish leadership as much as they should to revise their decision”.
The presentation, which was coordinated by the IAO liaison with the Catholic Institutions Mr. Virgilio Avato, while, greetings were presented by the H.E. Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the representative of the Greek Community of Sicily “Trinakria” Ms. Despina Karniadakis. The President of the Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies of Sicily, Professor Renata Lavagnini, and the writer and journalist Mr. Alberto Samona also spoke about the Volume. Earlier, the IAO Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis referred to the IAO campaign on Hagia Sophia.
The IAO delegation visited the Byzantine monastery of the Three Saints of San Fratello, located at the top of Monte Vecchio, dedicated to the Three Holy Martyrs, brothers Alfio, Filadelfio and Cirino. The visit was concluded with a warm welcome at the town hall of San Fratello by the mayor, Mr. Giuseppe Princiotta, the deputy and vice-president of the Committee on Health Mr. Calogero Leanza, and the Councilor of the Municipality, Mrs. Cardali Fortunata.
