Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece

Α special living lab of the PARTES European program took place in Frankfurt on July 3 and 4, 2024. The PARTES program proposes an integrated prevention model for the protection of places of worship, which is based on the recording of incidents and corresponding evidence, is inclusive and has wide participation.
The Scientific Associate of the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece, Mr. Sergios Voilas, participated in this specific workshop as a member of the expert committee of the project.
His participation focused on the protection of sensitive religious data, highlighting the vulnerability of personal data related to religious beliefs and the legal requirements under the EU GDPR.
One of the workshop’s key sessions was on cyber security challenges and implications for places of worship. In this session, participants addressed the mitigation of such threats to places of worship. Also topics were covered, such as: collaborations with cyber security professionals, securing online communications and secure financial transactions. By jointly discussing best practices and protocols, the aim was to demonstrate how these cybersecurity risks can be reduced.
Additionally, this interactive workshop focused on better and safer use of social media for places of worship, with an emphasis on mitigating online threats. This session aimed to equip participants with strategies to protect their online presence and effectively manage social media to protect their communities from cyber-attacks.
The last session of the workshop included exercises based on various scenarios. In this session, the knowledge gained from day one was put into practice by working out various scenarios related to cyber security and discussing practical solutions.
The workshop of the PARTES program is an important step to strengthen the protection of places of worship and to raise the awareness of religious communities and religious and ecclesiastical organizations regarding the need to protect their religious and personal data, in a collaborative environment for the best possible solution findings to the ever-emerging security issues.

On May 10th 2024, the scientific team of the Interorthodox Centre of the
Church of Greece had a meeting with His Eminence Metropolitan of Belgium
and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg Mr. Athenagoras in
Brussels.
The group consisting of: Mrs. Kalliopi Mavragka, Mr. Christos Nasios and
Mr. Sergios Voilas, after conveying the Resurrection wishes of the
Director of the Interorthodox Centre, His Eminence Metropolitan of
Thermopylae Mr. Ioannis, to His Eminence Metropolitan of Belgium Mr.
Athenagoras, informed him for the actions of the Centre in the context
of the implementation of European programs.
Also, the officials of the Interorthodox Centre informed His Eminence of
Belgium about the educational activities that the Interorthodox Centre
for more than a decade runs in the axis of educational activities, while
they duly announced its participation in a new European program
regarding interfaith dialogue and the peaceful coexistence of Abrahamic
religions within the framework of the European Union.
Subsequently, the perspective and participation of the Interorthodox
Centre in the “Committee of Representations of the Orthodox Churches to
the European Union” (CROCEU), whose President is, His Eminence the
Metropolitan of Belgium, was discussed.
Finally, the delegation of the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of
Greece had the blessing to discuss with His Eminence Mr. Athenagoras
about the historical testimony of Orthodoxy in Belgium and the
Netherlands and to be guided around the premises of the Holy Metropolis
of Belgium and the parish of Agia Marina. The meeting was also attended
by Archimandrite Father Emilianos Hatzivasiliou from the Holy Metropolis
of Belgium.

The Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece in collaboration with
the Education Advisor of the 3rd District of Corinthian Primary
Education, Mr. Ilias Geraris, organized an online educational meeting
with teachers of the 5th and 6th grade of the Primary Schools of the
area on the 20th of February 2024. The online event was welcomed and
blessed by His Eminence Metropolitan Ioannis of Thermopylae, Director of
the Interorthodox Centre. The topic of the meeting was “Introduction to
Wikipedia and its educational uses” and was presented by the scientific
associate of the Interorthodox Centre Dr. Christos Nasios. The webinar
on writing Wikipedia entries was attended by a large number of primary
school teachers and at the end they all expressed their desire for
similar meetings to be held frequently live.

The European Council of Religious Leaders held its annual meeting in
Berlin from the 11th to the 13th of December 2023 with the theme:
“Religion as a dividing or a connecting factor in European societies and
communities”. The meeting took place at the Hotel Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Haus, which was named after the distinguished pastor and theologian
Dietrich Bonhoeffer who paid the ultimate price. He was executed by the
Nazis, for refusing to compromise with the Nazi regime, remaining true
to his moral principles, in religion, and in his Christian beliefs.
Permanent member of ECRL Council is His Eminence Metropolitan Ioannis of
Thermopylae, Director of the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of
Greece. This year, the main concern of the ECRL meeting was the
ever-increasing polarization and divisions in European societies –
communities, as well as what religious and inter-religious bodies could
do so as to contribute to strengthening stability and social harmony in
Europe but also beyond the European continent.
The ECRL strongly condemned Hamas and any act of terrorism that takes
the lives of innocent people. The participants expressed their
solidarity with all the innocent victims of the ongoing armed conflict,
both on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. At the same time, they called
for the immediate release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire to
allow humanitarian aid to reach the suffering people.
At the same time, the ECRL Council reiterated its support for the
Ukrainian people and resistance to the Russian invasion, while deciding
to continue encouraging religious actors on all sides to support
Russia’s complete withdrawal from Ukrainian lands and creating a
sustainable road map for truth, justice, peace and reconciliation.
Mr. Sergios Voilas, as the permanent scientific associate, represented
the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece.