Recent reports about the situation of the former Patriarch of Jerusalem, Irenaios, who is being treated at a Jerusalem hospital under the care of the Patriarchate, have triggered the reaction of Deputy Foreign Minister Antonis Diamataris, who is in charge of religious affairs.
According to diplomatic sources, the sister of the former Patriarch, who is at his side, informed the Consulate General of Greece that Irenaios wishes to travel to Greece but has lost his passport.
Officials of the Consulate General, as it is known from the same sources, visited the former Patriarch twice at the hospital on August 8 and 10, expressing strong interest in his state of health and in order to immediately begin the process of issuing a new passport, at the request of his sister.
The former Patriarch, however, according to the same sources, made it clear, before witnesses, that he did not want to travel and preferred to stay in Jerusalem. He also refused to sign the necessary documents for a passport.
It is also pointed out that on August 9, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Diamataris visited Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece and informed him that the Consulate General of Jerusalem is moving fast in order to prepare the necessary documents for the former Patriarch, so that he can travel to Greece as quickly as possible.
Source: ANA-MPA