The Archbishop of America Elpidophoros had a meeting with the Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, and with members of the Greek-American community – among whom the newly appointed US Ambassador to Greece, George Tsounis.
In his speech on the occasion of the meeting, the Archbishop Elpidophoros expressed his joy to be again with the Mayor of New York, whom he called a friend of the Archdiocese and the Greek-American community.
He even recalled when they marched together for justice in Brooklyn, when they first met.
The Archbishop of America recalled the Mayor’s visit to the Archdiocese’s offices the day after his election victory, last November, to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who was in the United States.
During the Mayor’s visit to the Archdiocese, the Ecumenical Patriarch “raised vital concerns of our Ecumenical Patriarchate, which are concerns of the community represented here today,” said the Archbishop of America.
He added that the Ecumenical Patriarch had pointed out the ongoing struggle to reopen the Theological Seminary of Halki, “our pain for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, and the restrictions on the religious minorities in Turkey.”
In fact, Elpidophoros stressed with meaning that the Archdiocese hopes and prays for peace and prosperity of all nations and in the world.
However “our Greek-American community in the United States feels that it is impossible to achieve these goals in the Eastern Mediterranean, as long as the illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus by Turkey persists, and as long as there are such unreasonable and illegal demands of Greece, by Turkey”.
Finally, concluding his speech, the Archbishop of America noted that “because we know that our good friend, Mayor Adams, holds that justice is the precursor to peace, and we know that his commitment to both is the solid foundation for our ongoing close relationship and warm friendship”.
