Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and all Africa met the Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helene in Cairo.
“I would like to warmly welcome you to the Greek Orthodox Church. As soon as we begin the evening service, the souls of the Greeks who passed away here will rejoice,” stressed the Patriarch in his welcome speech to the Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, immediately after the meeting he held with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.
Patriarch Theodore expressed great satisfaction for the tireless efforts of Greece for peace in the Middle East.
“As a missionary of the Patriarch of Alexandria and of all Africa, I would like to commend your great effort for peace in the Middle East,” he said.
He added, “Congratulations to our prime minister, congratulations to you on your outspokenness, you say that Greece is a strong country,” the Patriarch of Alexandria pointed out, praising Greece’s efforts to make a decisive contribution to the de-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
At the same time, the primate of the African Orthodox Church, which has been based in Alexandria for 2,000 years, expressed gratitude for the efforts made by Egypt and its President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for the humanitarian aid he recently announced for the Palestinians.
He also referred to his own efforts in the same direction: “From my position, I want the Mediterranean to become a sea of peace for all the world.”
The Patriarch to the Greek minister a copy of the historical icon of Saints Constantine and Helen.
It is “a minimal obligation of the prime minister and me,” Nikos Dendias replied, thanking the Patriarch of Alexandria and conveying the warm regards of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
I met with Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II in Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Cairo. The role of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is always important in the wider region. pic.twitter.com/FlrjaL3W8y
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) May 20, 2021
The Greek delegation from Athens, the Patriarchal Vicar of Cairo, Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis, the Greek Ambassador to Egypt, Nikos Garilidis, the General Secretary of the Greek Community of Cairo, Chrysanthi Skoufaridou, attended the meeting.