Archbishop Elpidophoros was received today by the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos at the Presidential Palace, who congratulated him for his deserved election to the Archbishopric Throne of America. The President underlined the importance of supporting the Archdiocese of America, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarchate itself in these crucial times, which is extremely important for all Orthodoxy.
At the same time, he noted that the mission of the Archbishop of America, Elpidophoros, concerns the support of one of the largest parts of the Greek community, the Greek expats of America. “You know things, you have served in high positions, you have proved that you know the issues of both the Patriarchate and Orthodoxy. We are all confident that you will succeed and we pray God gives you strength,” said Pavlopoulos.
For his part, and as stated by ANA-MPA, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America warmly thanked the President of the Hellenic Republic for the meeting and underlined: “the Greek expats in the USA are the boast of our people, of our Nation, of Hellenism throughout the world.” He actually noted that he had a mandate from His All-Holiness and a duty to ensure, at first, the unity of the expats. “For our Nation has proved us that when it has unity of mind and feeling and acts in unison can achieve many things. I believe in the capabilities of our Nation, I believe in the great potential of the Greek expats in the United States, which -be certain- will always be united in the service of both our Nation and our Patriarchate, which is the crown of Orthodoxy, the pride of the Greek Gender in general,” he added.
Referring to the President of the Republic, he stressed that “my meeting with you is a great and personal joy, for we have met personally many times. But this institutional meeting for me is a” prayer,” as you have already characterized it. And it is important that a hierarch and a pastor will be accompanied by the prayers of people who are not clergy.”
In conclusion, according to ANA-MPA, the Archbishop of America mentioned the prayer of the President of the Hellenic Republic in June 2016, at the Holy Synod of Crete, before the Primates and the Ecumenical Patriarch. “Your Excellency, Mr President, a head of state when kneeling before God does not kneel before anyone else. And in your face the Greek Nation and the Greek Gender will never kneel before anyone else, if they kneel before Church and God.”