In a huge event, the famous Library of Alexandria, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Leventis Foundation of Cyprus celebrated today the completion of the preservation of one hundred ancient manuscripts of the Patriarchal Library, joining forces to support the culture which the Patriarchate of Alexandria exudes.
Speaking, Primate Theodoros of Alexandria warmly thanked Cyprus, which once again has assisted the work of the missionary Patriarchate, supporting an important part of the culture, while highlighting the strong cooperation between the two states in this field as well.
"The completion of this program is the fulfillment of one of my biggest dreams," said the Alexandrian Primate emotionally, adding that with its contribution, the Leventis Foundation gives him the strength to continue his work.
"These books will never die, they will always be studied by experts. The ink came to life and inscribed the knowledge ", said Patriarch Theodoros, speaking about the completion of their maintenance, while he also stressed the contribution of Egypt and its President, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to the work of the missionary Patriarchate.
"It is very important to work with our immediate neighbors in the Mediterranean, Greece and Cyprus, who we consider to be more partners than neighbors," said Dr. Mustafa El Feki, Director of the Library of Alexandria, presenting the special edition presented today for the completion of this important program, in the presence of the Ambassador of Cyprus Homer Mavromatis, the Ambassador of Greece Nikos Garilidis, the Consul General of Greece in Alexandria Athanasios Kotsionis and the Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria Metropolitan Narcissus of Naucratis, at the event at which a large crowd had gathered..
"The work of preserving the ancient manuscripts of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is a contribution to world culture," added Dr. Mustafa El Feki, Director of the Library of Alexandria, adding that "all we are doing is clearly an extension of the strong ties with our brothers and friends, of Greece and Cyprus".
"We support the work of the Patriarchate of Alexandria", stressed the Director of the Leventis Foundation of Cyprus, Charalambos Bakirtzis, warmly congratulating the Library of Alexandria for its important work, conveying the message of the President of the Foundation, Dr. Anastasios P. Leventis.
The Vice President of the Hellenic Community of Alexandria Andreas Vafiadis, in the presence of the General Secretary of the Community Dimitris Kavouras, stressed that the fact of this project is an example to be imitated for the ancient parish organization and the maintenance of its own archives.
The work of preserving the first hundred oldest manuscripts generally began eight years ago and has been organized in recent years with the support of the Leventis Foundation of Cyprus.
It is worth mentioning that at the end of his speech, the Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria made mention of the late Alexandrian scientist and collaborator in this field of the Library of Alexandria, Michael Solomonidis, who lost his life due to Covid-19 about a year ago.
It should be noted that the Patriarchal Library includes ancient manuscripts that go back to the depths of history, from the 10th to the middle of the 19th century, with reference to ecclesiastical and liturgical texts, lives of Saints, gospels, musical texts, Arabic manuscripts, tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides and philosophical works of Plato and Aristotle, which, among other things, grace the 40,000 titles of books kept in the renovated area of the Patriarchal Library.
The entire event, with the flags of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus adorning the hall, took place on the day of the National Anniversary of Egypt on October 6, thus showing the great importance that Egypt attaches to its cooperation with Cyprus and Greece and everything that has to do with Greek culture in general, but also the contribution of the three countries, Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, to peace, as the Director of the Alexandrian Library emphasized.
