Screens in our Lives and in Society (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Screens in our Lives and in Society 

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Our contemporary life, especially that of young people, is closely connected with screens — those of television, cinema, computers, tablets, smartphones, and so on. Screens have deeply penetrated our lives and our society. This too is a product of electrical energy and modern technology. Their use is necessary and beneficial, but their overuse creates many problems for our health and our social interaction, because human social relationships are also disrupted. It is a common phenomenon to encounter groups of young people all looking at their smartphones and not conversing — or conversing with one another through messages — while they are together.

In a main article of a newspaper (TA NEA, 4 November 2025) titled “Screens,” the danger of excessive screen use is presented, especially among children and adolescents. It is noted at the outset that “mobile phones and tablets have unfortunately become an inseparable part of children’s everyday life.” The article then presents the results of a study by “the unit for the treatment of young people’s addiction to mobile phones and tablets" at the General Children's Hospital Panagioti and Aglaia Kyriakou, according to which a high rate of screen addiction among children is observed. Specifically, “78% of minors aged 5 to 12 use the internet, while in the age group of 10 to 12 the percentage reaches 90%.” Adolescents in particular “spend six hours a day in front of a screen, when the recommended maximum exposure time is two to three.”

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“I Write As It Comes Down To Me”: Papadiamantis as a Poet and the Ethos of Inspiration. 115 Years Since His Repose.

Photograph of Alexandros Papadiamantis by Pavlos Nirvanas at Dexamenis Square in 1906.

By Stelios Koukos

“I write as it comes down to me.” How tragic —  and how beautiful! Tragic for a professional journalist when he is asked to write an article and he gets blocked, loses his bearings, doesn’t know where to begin or where to end; and a blessing when it comes to a poet, who is guided by inspiration to write something within the personal form he has established for himself.

This is also the case with a prose writer of the stature of Alexandros Papadiamantis, who uttered the above phrase. It was particularly tragic for him to be asked to improvise, in a sense, on the spot, on a topical subject, writing an article to be published in a newspaper. Nothing could be more shocking for a poet — such as the great writer from Skiathos! Even for the same man who worked in the press as a translator from English and French newspapers.

Nevertheless, Papadiamantis was probably put in an awkward position before his employer, the legendary Constantinopolitan publisher Vlasis Gavrielidis, who asked — or rather entrusted — him with this task. He believed that Papadiamantis would be the most suitable person to write it. Perhaps he even thought that Papadiamantis would express the “line” of the publisher and the newspaper.

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On Religious Cinema

 

By His Eminence Metropolitan Saba (Isper)

With the ongoing rise and spread of movies and television series, the production of religious films follows this trend. The approach to depicting religious events on screen varies depending on the production entity behind them. As the "seventh art"[1] developed, the number of production houses multiplied, and cinematic technology reached levels close to the fantastic. Because religious matters are among the most significant fields of human concern, across religions and sects, it is natural that the dramatic arts would follow religious themes though for different reasons.

Like any art form, religious art is used for purposes of evangelization, education, documentation, and to promote the beliefs upheld by the producers. Neutrality is rare, especially in this field. In our times, both private and public institutions, even official bodies, compete to present this type of art because it attracts large audiences and stirs the emotions of the religiously inclined in general. Thus, it is now almost impossible to find a screen that does not occasionally present something that touches on religious themes, especially in these troubled days, when appealing to religious emotions has become widely popular.

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Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani)

Bach's Christmas Oratorio 

By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, in central Germany, and died in 1750 in Leipzig — indeed, blind. Shortly before his death, he dictated his final musical piece, whose theme was: “Before Your throne, Lord, I now draw near.” As is internationally known, he was a supreme composer who found rich inspiration in the texts of Holy Scripture.

Among his artistic works is also his noteworthy creation, the Christmas Oratorio. Bach has bequeathed to us three oratorios: the Christmas Oratorio, the Easter Oratorio, and the Ascension Oratorio — if we exclude the three surviving works titled Passions (according to Matthew, Mark, and John), which, although written in the oratorio form, together with other similar works came to constitute a distinct genre bearing the classical name Passions, such as those by Schütz, Telemann, Handel, and others.

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On World Mental Health Day (October 10th)

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

October 10th of each year is considered a day dedicated worldwide to mental health. It was established in 1994 by the World Federation of Mental Health and the World Health Organization, in order to raise public awareness of mental illness issues. This is because mental illnesses are constantly increasing, to the extent that experts are talking about a global "epidemic" of mental disorders, such as those related to depression or alcohol consumption. And in our country, things are not better. There are statistics that show that 10 to 12% of the total population of all ages suffers from mental illnesses, while as for adolescents, there is their expressed statement (2 out of 5) that they are not satisfied with their lives and do not feel generally "well".

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