Digital Promotion of the younger cultural heritage of the Holy Monastery of Mount Athos. https://epantokrator.gr/

Press release

HOLY MONASTERY OF PANTOKRATOR OF MOUNT ATHOS

 

Digital Promotion of the recent cultural heritage of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator on Mount Athos. https://epantokrator.gr/

 

The event for the presentation of the project of the Digital Promotion of the younger cultural heritage of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator of Mount Athos, which took place on Monday, April 15, 2024, at the Athens Concert Hall, was a complete success.

In the context of the event, the multiple aspects and the great importance of the project of digitization, documentation and promotion of the relic wealth of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator of Mount Athos were presented.

The event was greeted by the Abbot of the Monastery Archimandrite Gabriel, the Minister of Digital Governance Mr. Dimitris Papastergiou, Bishop Makarios of Aneon and the Director General of the Athens Concert Hall Ms. Ekaterini Zeugoli.

In attendance were His Eminence Bishop Aneon as the representative of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, Archimandrite Theologos Alexandrakis as the representative of His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens, the former Prime Minister Mr. Panagiotis Pikramenos, the Political Commander of Mount Athos Ambassador Mr. Anastasios Mitsialis, the Deputy Political Commander of Mount Athos Mr. Aristos Kasmiroglou, the former Political Commander and Archon Exarch of the Holy Great Church of Christ, Mr. Athanasios Martinos, the Rector of the Higher School of Fine Arts, Mrs. Erato Hadjisavva, the Wisdom Rabbi of Athens Gabriel Negrin, the Dean of the Theological School of Athens Mr. Emmanuel Karageorgoudis, professors of Higher Institutions, former ministers, members of parliament and many friends of the Monastery.

The choir of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School performed excellent hymns related to the Monastery and the Great Lent.

Addressing the guests, the Abbot of the Monastery, Elder Gabriel, referred to the great cultural heritage entrusted to them by the Fathers throughout the centuries, a heritage that they ought to preserve and highlight with the help of technological achievements.

Characteristically, he mentioned that in the eternal presence of God the monk remains an anonymous fighter. However, the commandment we have is to place the wolf on the highest point in order to illuminate all people with his light. The Minister of Digital Governance, Mr. Dimitrios Papastergiou, referred to the results of the project and the added value they offer to research and the digital transformation of the country.

He made special reference to the previous and current contribution of the Pantokrator Monastery in the use of digital technology for the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Mount Athos. Afterwards, Hieromonk Fr. Epiphanios Pantokratorinos referred extensively to the digital application under the title "Monastic Diet", the purpose of which is to record, as far as possible, the experience of the deceased fathers and brothers, who have bequeathed us this long-standing cultural and gastronomic Athonite tradition.

Characteristically, he mentioned that the cook in the Monastery does not just execute recipes, i.e. moulds, but celebrates, since food on Mount Athos becomes a continuation of the spiritual table, and one feels what the Holy Fathers say that "the table is a liturgy after the Divine Liturgy".

Finally, Ms. Zevgoli, general director of the Athens Concert Hall, expressed her gratitude to the monastery, as she said, of all those who do not have the opportunity to tour Mount Athos with physical presence, respecting the centuries-old tradition, because you have given us access to the millennial Athonite cultural heritage.

The event had a pioneering character in that the physical exhibits were presented in combination with the digital ones. This resulted in a full immersion in both the image and the content of the cultural treasures, as the guests were able through special electronic interactive "tables" (i-tables) and devices of virtual

(OCULUS RIFT) to discover and digitally navigate the applications using modern innovative technologies Virtual Reality, Augmented reality, simultaneously with the physical material.

About the project "Digital promotion of the recent cultural heritage of the Holy Mother Pantokrator of Mount Athos.

The project is co-funded by the EU and is part of the Operational Programme Digital Transformation 2021-2027.

The project is an innovative initiative of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator of Mount Athos, and aims to create an integrated digital cultural module, which will include in electronic form all the manifestations of the cultural heritage, post-Byzantine and modern, of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator.

The ultimate goal of the project is to make the cultural heritage digitally available to the entire global community through the Internet, offering the possibility of browsing the relic wealth of the Monastery in a way that will fully respect the spiritual and contemplative character of Mount Athos.