Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa bestowed a special honorary distinction upon the Deputy Minister of National Defense, Nikos Chardalias, offering him the Cross of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, expressing in a climate of emotion his personal gratitude for Chardalias’s struggles against the coronavirus and the many natural disasters that have hit Greece in the last 26 months.
“While expressing my gratitude to the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitrotakis and thinking of your own anxiety, your efforts and the days and nights you stayed awake, with the army and the Fire Brigade, please accept this gift, this honorary distinction,” he said the Patriarch of Alexandria, offering him the Cross of the Apostle Mark.
With Chardalias dedicating this top honorary distinction “to all these people from the Security Forces, from the Armed Forces, from the Civil Protection, who under the guidance of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, fought in the difficult situations faced by the country because of the invisible enemy of the pandemic but also the natural disasters that were so many in such a short time,” as he stressed.
At the same time, he assured the Patriarch that his presence in Alexandria “proves that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek politicians and the Greek people show great respect, undivided support and feelings of sincere love for the Patriarchate of Alexandria and its flock, as well as for the very historic Greek Community of Alexandria, which is an integral part of the friendly Egyptian society.”
“The Greek State remains a constant helper and supporter of the Patriarchate of Alexandria for its missionary, social, humanitarian and educational work in very difficult conditions”, stressed Chardalias, wishing the Patriarchate to remain a Lighthouse of the Greek community and Orthodoxy and as a bridge of intercultural communication.”
“The Greek State respects your work, and we will try to be direct and efficient in whatever the Patriarchate of Alexandria needs.”
At the same time, the deputy minister, who is visiting Egypt to represent Greece in the large military exhibition of Egypt “EDEX 2021,” referred to the joint cooperation between Greece and Egypt.
“We are working for peace with our Egyptians brothers and partners and those who together see the Eastern Mediterranean as a pillar of stability and love,” said Chardalias, offering in turn to the Patriarch of Alexandria soil from three areas marked by the battles of the Greeks in the history of Greece: Salamis, Thermopylae and Marathon, proving, as he said, that “nothing was given to us.
Egypt and we have fought for everything so that we can live peacefully and so that we can, through our defense diplomacy, without claims, but also absolute devotion to our sovereign rights, fight and remain ready for war, without any complacency,” concluded the deputy minister.
Source: ANA-MPA