THE OPENING RITUAL OF THE 19TH EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF ETHNIC RELIGIONS (ECER) IN ATHENS

 

AThe 19th ECER - European Congress of Ethnic Religions officially began its work on Friday, October 3. The opening was marked by a sacred ritual and the lighting of the Sacred Fire on the altar of the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, where the spiritual leaders of the ethnic religions of Europe joined their voices and souls, proclaiming a common path of concord and cooperation.

After the lighting of the sacred fire by the Hellenic Ethnic Religion, the Ancestors were called upon by the Latvian Religion to offer their guidance. Participants from Belgium, Norway, and Denmark offered their wishes to the Aesir, honoring them and promising honorable and brotherly participation. The sounds of the flutes played by representatives of the Slovenian Religion filled the sacred space, and the ancient sounds of the tympanum summoned the Winds and the Protectors of the Sami tradition. Finally, the Druids, with their kind and heartfelt invocations, wished for everyone's efforts to be fruitful and sealed with the appropriate sanctity.

The good intentions and cheerful mood of the participants from all ethnic religions marked, from the outset, the unique conditions under which the Congress was held. The results it produced, combined with the harmonious cooperation, rightly make it one of the most important milestones in the long-standing joint struggle waged by the official bodies of the ethnic religions under the common umbrella of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER).