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Christodoulos of Athens and all Greece, With or without Christianity?

From, Futurum - address to the University of Iasi, June 2003  *

    Within the framework of the Byzantine empire, the Church was able to teach the ecumenical idea. Although invasions and settlements of peoples did occur within the empire, and despite the fact that massive displacements of populations from one region of the empire to another were not uncommon, we have no indication of ethnic strife: the Church treated all peoples with the same love, and took care of the integration of any newcomers. But this could not be so in Western Europe. Being preoccupied with the acquisition of secular power, the Church of Rome was unable to teach the peoples the priciple of peaceful mutual acceptance. Thus, already in the course of the early Middle Ages, the texts of the period make mention of the inextinguishable hatred between Italians and Germans, and particularly between Franks and Germans, a hatred that cost many conflicts in the course of the centuries, before leading to the two World Wars...  Read Complete

       Cf. Nat Gerrs' Why Europe, where Archbishop Christodoulos' views are discussed. Cf. David Turner, Byzantium : The 'alternative' history of Europe  *  Pope Benedict XVI, The Papal Science * Bartholomew’s lessons of faith and intelligence * Al. Vasilief, A History of the Byzantine Empire