The Archbishop of Australia, His Eminence Makarios, this week referred to International Greek Language Day, which is annually commemorated on Feb. 9.
In a statement, His Eminence noted that “…by common confession, the Greek language was the shoot that “grafted” the European and world-wide culture, while it is worth mentioning the strong imprint it has left in the field of science, as we can all see during the current testing times of the pandemic and the extensive use of terms of Greek origin to describe it.”
The efforts to dedicate one day a year to the Greek language began in 2014, inspired by Prof Yannis Corinthiou, who was then the president of Federation of Greek Communities and Brotherhoods of Italy.
Feb. 9 was chosen in honor of 19th century Greek national poet Dionysios Solomos.