On Saturday morning, 21 October 2023, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided during the Divine Liturgy, which took place at the Holy Chapel of the Mother of God in Monaco.
Present for the Divine Liturgy were the Prime Minister of the Principality of Monaco, Mr. Pierre Dartout and his Minister of the Interior, Mr. Patrice Cellario, the Ambassador of Greece to France, Mr. Dimitrios Zevelakis, the Honorary Consuls of Greece and Turkey in Monaco, Mr. Petros Mahas and Mr. İlhami Akgün, Archons of the Great Church of Christ, the Board of Directors of the Greek Community in the Principality, and a multitude of believers.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was warmly welcomed and addressed by the local Shepherd, Metropolitan Dimitrios of France, while Patriarch Bartholomew in his formal address, expressed his joy for his first visit to the Principality.
At noon, the Ecumenical Patriarch attended a meal hosted in his honor by the Greek Community of Monaco. The Patriarch was welcomed by the President of the Community Mrs. Sofia Vahari-Tsouvelekaki, who also offered him souvenirs.
In the early afternoon, the Ecumenical Patriarch and his entourage departed by private flight from Nice’s “Côte d’Azur” airport for Constantinople, where they were received by the Patriarchal Commissioner, Elder Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi along with the Grand Protosyncellus Archimandrite Theodoros.
Photos: Nikos Papachristou