How Can the Church Help Save Greek in Australia?

On Wednesday 21 February 2024, the Hellenic Society of the University of NSW, in Sydney, Australia and the Orthodox Christian fellowship Sofia UNSW held a panel discussion on the topic: “How Can the Church Help Save Greek in Australia?”

For centuries, the Orthodox Church has served as the cornerstone of Greek identity, fostering a deep connection between faith, language, and cultural heritage. Religious texts, liturgy, and traditions have been instrumental in transmitting the Greek language across generations. In the Australian context, the Church played a crucial role in establishing Greek communities, providing a space for cultural expression and language practice.

However, with changing demographics, globalization, and the dominance of English, the use of Greek in everyday life has declined, particularly among younger generations. This raises the critical question: what can the Church do to revitalize the language and ensure its continued presence in Australia?

During the discussion paramount importance of this connection between the Church and Hellenism was emphasised, as well as the urgent need for action to be taken for the establishment of a national council of Greek education, the support of all sorts of socio-cultural spaces where Greek is used, the preservation of the Greek liturgical tradition, and the further exploration of the creative inspiration that Orthodoxy can have on Greek Australian arts and letters.

The general sense was that with regards to the future of Greek in Australia everything starts at home with the loving intervention of mothers, but it depends on dynamic, potent and influential institutions such as the Church for its further public and social proliferation.

The event took place at Patricia O'Shane building on UNSW campus and lasted for more than two an a half hours with participants discussing the very topical issue of the Greek language surviving in the diaspora. Among the officials present was the newly arrived Head of the Office of Public Diplomacy at the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, Dr Athanasios Lambrou.

Panel speakers included Rev Fr Athanasios Giatsios (Kogarah Greek Orthodox Church and chaplain at UNSW), Dr Anna Dimitriou (tutor and researcher at WSU), and Dr Vassilis Adrahtas (convenor of Greek Studies at UNSW and subject coordinator at Islamic Studies, WSU).

IMG 20240224 001315 824

On Wednesday 21 February 2024, the Hellenic Society of the University of NSW, in Sydney, Australia and the Orthodox Christian fellowship Sofia UNSW held a panel discussion on the topic: “How Can the Church Help Save Greek in Australia?”

Weekend in Ermoupoli of Syros, the most stately town of the Cyclades

Suspected Molotov Cocktail Attack Damages Popular Greek Adelaide Restaurant