Your Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilos of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, who is currently visiting Greece,
Your Beatitude, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Mr. Ieronymos
Your Eminences and Most Reverend Holy Brothers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure and deep respect that we welcome you today to the Presidential Mansion.
Greece takes particular pride in the fact that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem continues its centuries-old Greek tradition and that You, as a Greek hierarch, worthily bear a heavy spiritual and historical legacy. In your person, after all, the universal values of Orthodoxy meet the centuries-old cultural presence of Hellenism in the Holy Land. Your service and ministry are living testimonies to the indissoluble spiritual and historical bonds that unite Hellenism with Orthodoxy and the Holy Pilgrimage Sites of Christianity.
Moreover, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has historically played a significant role in promoting peaceful coexistence, interfaith dialogue and the protection of the Christian presence in the Holy Land. At a time when the region is being tested by successive armed conflicts, intense fanaticism and endless humanitarian crises, the voice of the Church in favor of solidarity, reconciliation and respect for human dignity acquires particular weight.
The Greek State, as well as the Greek people, recognizes and appreciates the valuable work that you personally carry out, as well as that of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher as a whole. We will continue to support your daily efforts in every way possible.
Your Beatitude, allow me to express my warmest wishes for health, strength and every success in your high mission. We all pray that the Christian message of love and brotherhood may prevail in the Holy Land, in the wider Middle East and throughout the world.
With this wish, we welcome you once again and thank you for your highly honorable presence here.
