LAST UPDATE: 17:00
President of Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas welcomed Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to the Presidential Mansion in Athens shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, during the Patriarch’s official visit to the Greek capital.
The meeting took place following the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit earlier in the day to the headquarters of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) in Agia Paraskevi, where he participated in events marking the broadcaster’s 60th anniversary and the launch of the new international channel, ERT Cosmos.
President Tasoulas greeted Patriarch Bartholomew by expressing “feelings of joy and above all gratitude” for his many years of spiritual leadership and service. He emphasized that the Patriarch represents “an institution of enormous influence” as the spiritual leader of millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Referring to the Patriarch’s recent address before the Hellenic Parliament, the Greek President noted that it had been “extremely well received by the Greek people,” stressing that its references to human dignity, ecology, and peace represent “the pillars upon which the modern world should be built.”
Tasoulas also underlined the important role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in promoting peace and dialogue among religions. “If there is no peace among religions, there can be no peace among peoples,” he said, echoing a longstanding message of the Ecumenical Patriarch.
For his part, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew thanked the Greek President for the warm welcome and for the enduring support shown by the Greek state toward the Phanar. “Every human person is unique and irreplaceable because each is created in the image and likeness of God,” the Patriarch stated, emphasizing that the Ecumenical Patriarchate serves all people without discrimination.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also addressed the difficulties currently facing global Orthodoxy, warning about the resurgence of ethnophyletism, or religious nationalism. “The curse of ethnophyletism has entered the body of the Orthodox Church and torments contemporary Orthodoxy,” he said. He added that “our Slavic brothers, led by the Church of Russia, are primarily those who are fragmenting pan-Orthodox unity.”
At the same time, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew reaffirmed the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s commitment to inter-Orthodox dialogue and cooperation among the Churches, stressing that the Phanar “has not only the right but also the responsibility to guide and coordinate pan-Orthodox affairs.”
The meeting concluded in a particularly warm atmosphere, with the Patriarch expressing his wish “that Greece may live in a climate of prosperity, unity, and peace.”
Photo credit: Sotiris Dimitropoulos / EUROKINISSI
