His Eminence Archbishop Damianos of Sinai paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis today, in the presence of Ambassador Ilias Iliadis.
Discussed during the meeting were issues of general religious interest, as well as matters concerning the Monastery of Sinai.
The following statements were made after the meeting:
ARCHBISHOP DAMIANOS OF SINAI: I was very pleased with today’s meeting. First of all, I congratulate Mr. Amanatidis on his new duties and I wish him every success in the exceptional work he is undertaking, as he himself is up to date on international inter-Orthodox issues. And I think this is a very good state of affairs, because I think that the Orthodox spirit is in a position to change not only economic circumstances, but also, and mainly, the whole flow and thinking of Greeks and all of those who are within the European space.
Through this new spirit, which will be through the Orthodox spirit, I hope that much will be achieved, and we also believe this with regard to you, Mr. Minister, and the government.
I. AMANATIDIS: I would like to thank His Eminence for his visit here. This may be the first time we have met, but the ties with the historic Monastery of Sinai are ties that have existed for hundreds of years now and impact, to a significant degree, I think, the thought of many of us here in Greece.
We talked about the region and about the Monastery, about the importance of the Monastery in world thought and in the religious affairs of the Orthodox Church. I took this opportunity to invite His Eminence to participate in the International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and peaceful coexistence in the Middle East, which will be taking place here in Athens, from 18 to 20 October, and he accepted the invitation with pleasure, and we will have him here with us.
I said to His Eminence, “You are on the God-trodden mountain, but we must walk on the road,” and he said Greece is saint-trodden. We are in saint-trodden Greece.
October 1, 2015