Today at noon in the Holy See took place the historic donation ceremony of the three fragments of the Parthenon, which until now were in the Vatican Museums and which will be sent tomorrow to the Acropolis Museum.

This is a personal decision of Pope Francis and his donation to the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Jerome. The Greek Government was represented at today’s ceremony by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, and the Archbishop, Reverend Protopresbyter. Father Emmanuel Papamikroulis.

The Holy See and Pope Francis himself were represented by the Prime Minister of the Vatican, Cardinal Fernando Verget Alzaga.

Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, in a statement to APE-MPE, stressed that “in a particularly generous gesture and as a sign of the spiritual and friendly relations between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, Pope Francis offered these three fragments to Archbishop Jerome to be reunited with the sculptures exhibited at the Acropolis Museum” .

“This moment is truly historic: for Greece, for the Vatican and for the international archaeological community, but I think it is also a very big message for dialogue, reconciliation and peace. We are grateful for this gesture at this difficult moment that the Greek people are going through after the terrible tragedy at Tempi. We are grateful that both the Pope and the Catholic Church have joined their prayers for the lost children, as well as for the support of their families,” the minister added.

In particular, the first fragment returned is the head of a teenager, the second belongs to one of Athena’s four-legged horses, and the third is a bearded male head belonging to the southern metope, where the Centauromachy was depicted.

“It was a personal desire of Pope Francis. One day he called me and said, ‘I have decided to donate three fragments of the Parthenon, by all means.’ At the same time, he also wrote to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew informing him of his decision, while he contacted Archbishop Jerome and the Minister of Culture,” Cardinal Fernando Verches Alzaga, president of the Vatican government, told ARE. -MPE.

He also stressed that “this is another sign of friendship and will to continue the path of ecumenical dialogue, which the Pope has clearly expressed with his donation.”

According to Cardinal Alzaghi, with this act, Francis “confirmed his friendship with the Orthodox Church of Greece, his desire to continue the steps of progress, as well as cultural exchange with the Vatican Museums.” “To this end,” a senior Catholic cleric told APE-MBE, “the directors of the Acropolis Museum and the Vatican already have concrete plans to develop cooperation.”

His Eminence Protopresbyter Father Emmanuel Papamikroulis told APE-MPE that “he participated today as a representative of Archbishop Jerome in a truly historic moment.”

“A very important step was taken and this event was given a historical dimension, because thanks to this initiative of Pope Francis, on the one hand, the wounds and traumas of the past are reunited (and partially healed) and, on the other hand, it proves that when Christians working together, they can bring results and together provide practical solutions to chronic problems and historical problems,” said His Holiness.

“It is also important that all this was completed at a particularly difficult time for our country, which is in the aftermath of the Tempe tragedy, where so many young people died. This day gives us optimism and hope for the future. It is the wish of the Archbishop of Athens and of all of us that this initiative and the action of Pope Francis find other imitators and that we truly achieve the reunion of all the Parthenon sculptures in this very World Cultural Heritage Site. “, – concluded Archpriest Father Emmanuel Papamikrulis.

“With joy that overwhelms me, I want to sincerely thank you for the generosity of the Pope and the Catholic Church to return these three sculptures from the metope, frieze and pediment of the Parthenon in Athens to the Museum. Acropolis so that they can forever be reunited with the monument to which they belong. The Parthenon is a universal monument not only for Greece, but for all mankind, and the act of the pope shows that one must really walk in the universal truth of unity and, therefore, in this sense, with reference to the world monument, which is the Parthenon.

Asked if this is also a message to other destinations to take similar initiatives to reunite the Parthenon, Mr. Stampolidis replied that “the fragment has already arrived from Palermo, Sicily” and that “in this, three are being added from the Vatican, and efforts are constantly being made to other works.”

“Since the British people have already spoken out with 78% of exit polls, according to the Sunday Times, at some point and decision makers, our British friends will realize that what unites all of Western civilization, democracy and the monument itself is that that all these sculptures should return to their homeland,” the director of the Acropolis Museum told APE-MPE.

RES-EMI