Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa and the Deputy Foreign Minister, Konstantinos Vlasis, cut together ten New Year’s vasilopita for each of the ten organizations of Greek Community in Cairo on the evening of Thursday, February 13, 2020.
The primate of the Patriarchate of Alexandria blessed the vasilopita and expressed his great joy for this beautiful celebration, as he said.
The Patriarch of Alexandria referred to the close ties of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, which he said are “three pillars that will survive because they are built with tears and blood… They are united full of God.”
Patriarch Theodore thanked the teachers of the Greek schools for their work and spoke about the schools being built by the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Africa. There, he said, the children sing the Greek National Anthem.
In his speech, Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantinos Vlasis underlined that it was a special honor to be in Cairo. Referring to the multifaceted work carried out by Patriarch Theodore, he said that it was a beacon of Orthodoxy for the whole of Africa. Addressing Patriarch Theodore he said that “the work you are varying out here is not only religious, but it is also a missionary one. Your work reaches all over the world. You are a role model because you do what you do from the depths of your heart.”
The deputy minister also congratulated the teachers of the Greek Schools of Cairo. Referring to the importance of learning the Greek language, he stressed that “when I see children learning Greek so well I believe that there is hope. There is hope as long as we believe it, we must be proud. We must be proud of being Greek Orthodox Christians.”
Shortly before leaving for Cairo, Konstantinos Vlasis pointed out that “the Greek State will be here as much as it can because Hellenism is one and ecumenical, and we must all be close to the motherland.”
Source: ekkairo.org