On Tuesday morning, November 2, 2021, the Member of the European Parliament Emanuel Kefalogiannis visited the Patriarchate, while on a mission in Israel.
Kefalogiannis was accompanied by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Evangelos Vlioras and his ex-colleague Maria Zozonaki.
Kefalogiannis was received by Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and Hagiotaphite Fathers.
In this meeting, there was an interesting conversation on the pacifying role of the Patriarchate in the Holy Land and especially in Jerusalem where there is an ongoing turbulent political situation. The Patriarchate is trying to normalize the severity of this situation, always remaining the oldest religious institution in the Holy Land. In this mission, the Patriarchate has always had the support of Greece, the descendant of the Byzantine Empire.
Kefalogiannis thanked Patriarch Theophilos for his welcoming reception and expressed his appreciation for the multi-task, multi-cultural, religious, and pacifying mission of the Patriarchate.
On the occasion of this visit Kefalogiannis offered Patriarch Theophilos the book of Rea Galanaki, while the latter offered him an icon of the Theotokos, of the Sacred Edicule, and Tlil’s book, “I am Jerusalem”.
Following this meeting, Kefalogiannis visited the Holy Sepulchre for veneration.