Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday that the death of philosopher Stelios Ramfos, whom he described as a personal friend and interlocutor, was a loss for Greece and praised his “faithful and unselfish” service to the country.
In a social media post, Mitsotakis said Ramfos was a “shining Greek and a sweet human being” who “enriched our every conversation, irrespective of whether we agreed every time and in everything.”
“[He] believed that systems of belief imprison ideas,” Mitsotakis wrote. “That is why the verb he usually preferred was ‘I think,’ and not ‘I believe.'”
The PM praised Ramfos’ “progressive” approach to Orthodox Christianity, and added:
“He interpreted the country’s history bringing to the foreground the consequences of the fact that our country never knew the Renaissance, following the Middle Ages. In this way he was able to answer many contradictions that for decades have riddled not only our politics but also our everyday behavior.”
