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Evidence and testimonies in favor of Greek-Christian identity

• Κωνσταντέλος, Δημήτριος Ιω.

The author explores the fruitful, albeit sometimes controversial, interaction between ancient Hellenic tradition and Orthodox Christianity which resulted in the constitution of Modern Greek-Christian identity. The term “Hellenic-Christian” was first employed in 1852 by historian S. Zambelios to substantiate the unity of the Hellenic nation, but the confluence of Greek and Christian thought goes back to the first centuries AD. The close relationship between the two currents is already discernible in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, and permeates Byzantine religious and philosophical thinking, despite the fact that some Byzantine authors used to consider Hellenism as the ideological vector of idolatry. The ties between Greek identity and Orthodox religious faith were strengthened in late Byzantine times, when Eastern Orthodox Christians cut themselves off Roman Catholic Europe, and remained particularly strong during Turkish occupation of former Byzantine Empire. Greek-Orthodox identity played a major role in the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the subsequent formation of Modern Greek national consciousness.

• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Christianity and politics
• Ελληνισμός