On Friday morning, 13 October 2023, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, successively received, at his accommodation in Athens, the Minister of the Interior, Niki Kerameos, and Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, as well as the Member of Parliament for Boeotia, Eleftherios Ktistakis.
Afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarch visited the Headquarters of the Association of Constantinopolitans, in Ampelokipi, where he had the opportunity to meet and bless people from Constantinople living in the Capital of Greece.
The Ecumenical Patriarch was welcomed with warm words by the President of the Association of Constantinopolitans, Eleni Anapnioti, the President of the Ecumenical Federation of Constantinopolitans and New Circle of Constantinopolitans, Nikolaos Ouzounoglou, Honorary Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, the President of the Association of Greek Nationals Deported from Turkey, Fotios Giannakakis, as well as Georgios Taniskidis, President of Optima Bank and main sponsor of the honorary event.
A greeting was also delivered by the representative of the Government, Secretary General of the Greek Diaspora Professor Ioannis Chrysoulakis, while the honorary event was attended by the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, with his wife, as well as Member of Parliament Yiannis Plakiotakis, on behalf of the Hellenic Parliament, the Regional Governor of Attica, Giorgos Patoulis, Archons of the Great Church of Christ, and a number of people from Constantinople.
Afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarch was awarded a commemorative plaque on behalf of the Constantinople Associations and then the Choir of Chanters sang under the direction of Demosthenos Fistouris, a University Professor.
In his reply, the Ecumenical Patriarch praised the Constantinopolitans abroad for their initiatives and actions, but also for their dedication to the defence of the rights of the Greeks of Constantinople.
