Athens; Moscow, March 22, 2019
Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr
Against the background of the trying times the Orthodox Church is currently facing, which threaten the unity of the Church, the Russian and Greek remain united in a bond of mutual admiration, respect, and love.
The primate of the Greek Orthodox Church His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and members of the Holy Synod and the Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs visited the Russian embassy in Athens for a dinner party on Monday in honor of feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, reports vimaorthodoxias.gr.
The meal is given every year for the first Sunday in Great Lent, though, as the Greek agency writes, “This year it is of particular importance because of the situation in Ukraine and the controversy between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Moscow.”
Abp. Ieronymos offered thanks for the warm welcome and noted that “the peoples of Greece and Russia are fraternal peoples, and the Churches of Greece and Russia are connected by love and mutual understanding, based on the solid foundation of our common faith.”
Earlier, in the first week of Lent, a delegation from Greece headed by the Secretary of the Greek Church’s Synodal Department for Pilgrimages Archimandrite Spyridon (Katramados) visited Russia to participate in the 26th annual international tourism exhibition.
Having attended the Great Canon on Wednesday at Novospassky Monastery, read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Archimandrite Spyridon conveyed Abp. Ieronymos’ good wishes to Pat. Kirill and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to travel to Russia.
And addressing the Greek pilgrims, the Russian primate said, “We are brothers, brothers in faith. We belong to the one Orthodox Church. May the Lord preserve the Orthodox Church in unity, and our peoples in faith and piety,” reports the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church.
As a sign of this friendship and love between the Greek and Russian peoples, a solemn event dedicated to the day of Greek independence will be held in the hall at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. The program will include congratulations and honors for those who have contributed to the development of Greek-Russian relations in the fields of culture, academics, and diplomacy.
Among the many honored guests will be His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Cyrenaica, the representative of the Patriarchate of Alexandria to the Patriarchate of Moscow and head of the Moscow Society of Greeks.
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