Today, Friday, November 19, 2021, Karen Donfried, a high-ranking official of the US Department of State in charge of European and Eurasian Affairs, paid an official visit to the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Phanar.
Accompanied by US Ambassador to Ankara David Satterfield, the Consul General in Constantinople Daria Darnell, and other diplomats, Karen Donfried was received by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and had the opportunity to discuss, in a cordial atmosphere, issues related to the life and ministry of the Mother Church, in Constantinople but also in the world, for the Greek Diaspora of Constantinople and for the Orthodox faithful in the country. The Ecumenical Patriarch also referred to his recent visit to the United States, expressing his satisfaction with the warm welcome and contacts he had there.
The meeting was attended by the Metropolitan Elder Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Grand Protosyncellus Theodore, and Grand Protosyncellus Iakovos.
Earlier, in the propylaea of the Patriarchate, the US Assistant Secretary of State was welcomed by the Protosyncellus Theodore, accompanied by clergy of the Patriarchal Court, while immediately after her meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch she visited, accompanied by her entourage, the Patriarchal Church, where Grand Syncellus informed her about its history, as well as the sacred relics that are kept in it.
