The Greek language as a means of Transmitting the Christian message

Abstract

There are moments in the history of nations when language transcends its conventional limits. It ceases to be merely a means of communication and becomes a vehicle of culture and spirit, a bearer of thought and wisdom, and, in the fullness of time, an instrument of Divine Revelation (Babiniotis, 2008). Such a language was—and remains—Greek, a language which Odysseas Elytis (1911–1996), one of Greece’s most important modern poets and a major figure in twentieth-century European literature, described as having “the light of God within it.” The Greek language, born on the shores of the Aegean and forged through philosophy and poetry, stood ready to receive with faith, humility, and love the true Word (Logos). It proved capable of expressing the inexpressible mystery of the Incarnation and of assisting humanity in understanding God Himself, who became flesh and dwelt among us—not as an abstract concept, but as a living Word, as a person. Greek played a decisive role in the transmission and dissemination of the Christian message in the ancient world. When Christianity emerged in the first century CE, Koine Greek functioned as the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean. This linguistic reality enabled Christianity to move rapidly beyond its Jewish origins and to become a universal faith. For this reason, the present study examines the Greek language in order to understand how it became the principal medium through which the Christian message was proclaimed and how it served as the conceptual canvas upon which the salvation of humankind was articulated.