New York, 23 September 2008

Archbishop Demetrios of America thanked Foreign Minister Ms. Bakoyannis for this visit to New York and the seat of the Archbishopric, and said it was a pleasure to see her again because she is a warm, human presence and also a strong political presence; a person with power and knowledge. The political scene in Greece needs both, he added. There cannot be the right politics without knowledge or the right politics with just knowledge and no power.

He pointed out that “we are happy to see that there are people of this kind and with this wonderful combination who represent the Greek state.” He thanked her for her visit to the Archbishopric despite her particularly busy schedule, and stressed that she has shown love and recognition for the work carried out. He stressed that their prayers and love are always with Ms. Bakoyannis and with their dear friends who are today responsible for things in Greece at many levels and positions.  He said: “we are always moving based on the diptych Orthodoxy and Hellenism.” We hold this diptych high and we make no concessions, because we want to keep it intact and alive, to help breathe life into the region where we live.

For her part, Ms. Bakoyannis thanked the Archbishop for his wishes and prayers at a difficult – as she pointed out – moment, and for the honour and pleasure of meeting him. He stressed that it is always “a double pleasure to come to the Archbishopric” and said that the Archbishop’s work is particularly important and that the Archbishop himself is the true voice of the Greek community in the United States, maintaining particularly strong ties.

She thanked him once again in public for his own contribution and for the contribution of the Greek community abroad, not just financially but also in terms of time and quality efforts to keep the Greek presence alive and strong.

In answer to a question whether he briefed the Foreign Minister on the reigning climate with regard to our national issues, following his attendance at the conventions of the Republicans and the Democrats, Archbishop Demetrios answered: “we had the opportunity to mention both these events and the special points on which there is a connection with our national issues.”