Intervention at the event ekyklos “Is there a solution to the Greek problem?”

Intervention at the event of the Think – tank eKyklosIntervention at the event of the think tank eKyklos, titled: “Is there a solution to the Greek Problem? An open discussion.”

Athens, 29.02.2016

A. KARAMANOU: Thank you very much. I thank the digital thinktank e-kyklos for organizing this very constructive discussion. However, I believe we need to go much deeper, and this depth cannot be sought within the framework of a limited discussion, or a restricted time frame.

First of all, I would like to agree with what you said, Mr. President, at the beginning, about the division between East and West. Personally, I believe that Greece has one foot in the East and the other in the West, and if we judge by current events, Greece at this moment gives more the image of a Middle Eastern country than a European one.

There is a serious issue of education, as Mr. Chomenidis mentioned. I believe that this is the most serious problem of Greece; there is an issue of a value system. We need to examine the values upon which the modern Greek state was built. I would like to ask here, what role has the most monolithic institution in Greece, which promotes irrationality and conspiracy theories, played historically, and this is none other than the Greek Orthodox Church.

Since I have been deeply involved with women’s rights and gender equality issues, I argue that the Church is the only institution that has not recognized the principle of gender equality, that is, that men and women have equal rights and responsibilities. It denies something that the religion itself, through the Apostles and Christian teachings, has recognized (there is neither male nor female…). I would like to ask you the following: Do you believe that the modernization, which Mr. Ioakeimidis spoke about, should also extend to this institution? That is, should the Church keep pace with modern social developments? Thank you very much.