Heritage (Feb 2025)

Preserving Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage of Thrace: A Needs Analysis for Digital Recording in Monasteries and Temples

  • Aikaterini Stamou,
  • Fr Chrysostomos Nassis,
  • Eleni Chrysafi,
  • Stella Sylaiou,
  • Guldehen Kaya,
  • Evangelia Sarlak,
  • Svet Ribolov,
  • Ventzislav Karavaltchev,
  • Argyris Constantinides,
  • Marios Belk,
  • Efstratios Stylianidis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8020066
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 2
p. 66

Abstract

Read online

Cultural heritage is a common good passed down as a legacy from previous to future generations. Its preservation is a strong commitment to humanity. The main motivation for this project is based on this understanding and arose from the need for the proper and scientifically documented recording of cultural heritage (CH), both movable and immovable monuments of ecclesiastical cultural treasures. Despite its significance, the systematic documentation of ecclesiastical heritage remains fragmented, lacking a standardized and scientifically driven approach. This research addresses this critical gap by developing a structured methodology for the recording, organization, and digital archiving of ecclesiastical CH monuments. This was accomplished by codifying the actual recording and documentation needs for the ecclesiastical cultural treasures, with the systematic study of the users’ needs. The study focused on the region of Thrace, encompassing areas of Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, where post-Byzantine ecclesiastical treasures are expected to be in abundance. Through the design and implementation of surveys and metadata collection, this project has the capacity to facilitate digital transformation across the interconnected fields of religion, arts, and CH. Stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, both within and outside the clergy community, including owners and end-users connected to ecclesiastical cultural treasures, were actively involved in the process. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the vital role of building distance communication channels and promoting digital transformation across the interconnected fields of religion and cultural heritage. Our emphasis was to actively engage stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to create a practical, user-friendly documentation tool that meets their actual needs.

Keywords