Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will travel to Athens and Dilesi, Boeotia, during a two-day visit to Greece from Wednesday, May 22 until Friday afternoon.
The Ecumenical Patriarch will visit the seat of the Archdiocese of Athens on Wednesday afternoon, at 18:00, in order to visit the Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece.
The two primates will have a crucial meeting behind closed doors to discuss the main topic, which is the stance of the Church of Greece on the issue of the autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine, while they will talk about other issues related to the two churches, such as the issue of St. Georgios Church in Ktima Prompona.
The Ecumenical Patriarch will visit the B & M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music on Thursday morning at 10:00, and then the renovated “Dimitris I. Pournaras” Library of the Cultural Foundation of the of Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (ESHEA) at 11:00. He will also visit the bookshop “Estia” at 12:30.
Then he will attend a luncheon held in his honor by the President of the Brotherhood of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Archons “Panagia Pammakaristos”, Archon Orphanotrophos Gerasimos Fokas.
Later on Thursday, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will inaugurate the “Agios Porphyrios” Center for Gerontology and Welfare Support of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens in the presence of President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
The Center is one of the most important works of love in the history of the Archdiocese of Athens and was created after many years of diligent care of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece.
It is located in Dilesi, Boeotia, and has been built in an ecclesiastical area of 27 acres. The buildings consist of a total area of 4,600 square meters, with a capacity of 64 beds. The aim of the Center is to provide basic welfare services such as: hospitality, catering, creative employment, occupational therapy, psychological support, as well as preventive medicine for our elderly and needy fellow human beings living in the Center (basic model of operation) or elsewhere (day care model).
The project includes the necessary medical, hotel and other auxiliary equipment. Also, the Center’s premises include a newly built church, modern sports facilities, open theater, and promenade and recreation areas. In the surrounding area there is a model photovoltaic park for the energy support of the Center.
The Center’s main objectives are the development of scientific research, particularly in the field of geriatrics and the cooperation with specialized bodies (research, biomedical, social etc.), as well as with appropriately trained natural persons.
The Ecumenical Patriarch will receive the US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt on Friday, at 11:00, and then the Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Konstantinos Gavroglou at 12:10. The Ecumenical Patriarch will attend a luncheon held in his honour by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece at 13:00, and he will depart for the Phanar on the same day at 19:00.
