THE VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF HELLENIC REPUBLIC AT THE PATRIARCHATE

On Thursday morning, January 10/23, 2020, His Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited the Patriarchate. Mr Pavlopoulos came to Israel as a representative of Greece for the commemoration of seventy five years since the Jewish holocaust and was accompanied by his wife, the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos, the representative of the Embassy of Greece in Israel in Tel Aviv Mrs. Stavroula Deli, along with a group of his associates.

His Excellency the President and the delegation were warmly received by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and Hagiotaphite Fathers, as the President is the representative of Greece, a helper of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the guardian of the rights of our Nation in the Holy Land and a factor of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East.

Replying, the President thanked His Beatitude saying; “Your Beatitude, we hope, referring to the prime example of the Church of Greece to your undivided support to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the representation and support of the Orthodox Christians all over the world, especially in our difficult and troubled time.”

For this visit, His Beatitude offered the President a beautiful icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem for his protection, congratulating him for the completion of his Office as a President and also offered him a signed silver case.

Thereafter, His Beatitude left to meet with the President of Russia Mr. Putin and the Prime Minister of Israel Mr. Netanyahu and the President of Greece visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, accompanied by Geronda Secretary-General His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Archimandrites of the Patriarchate and Dragouman Archimandrite Mattheos and was received by Geronda Sacristan His Eminence Archbishop Isidoros of Hierapolis at the Office of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

From Secretariat-General