Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis, representing the government, yesterday officially received His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at “Macedonia” airport, within the framework of a four-day visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate is carrying out to Thessaloniki and other areas of Macedonia, in the presence of the Deputy Minister for Macedonia-Thrace, Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha, and representatives of church and local authorities.
The Deputy Foreign Minister conveyed to the Ecumenical Patriarchate the warm greetings of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while His All Holiness expressed the wish that the Prime Minister bring good news from his visit to America.
The Ecumenical Patriarch congratulated Mr. Amanatidis and the government as a whole on their re-election and referred extensively to the International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism, which will be taking place in Athens, from 18 to 20 October, characterizing it as a very positive event.
The Deputy Foreign Minister praised the international efforts of the Mother Church of Constantinople for its support for our homeland and, addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch, underscored that the Ecumenical Patriarch’s presence at the International Conference will be not only an honor, but, additionally, will contribute to the upgrading of the international dialogue on the need to respect religious pluralism.
October 2, 2015