Archbishop of Athens: We are a family with the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The Archbishop welcomed the members with great joy and referred to the special and important work they perform. On their part, the president of WHIA, Leonidas Raptakis, and the members thanked the Archbishop for the warm welcome, expressed their joy for the meeting and discussed with him various issues of common interest, while developing their positions and actions.

They noted: “From our position, we fight for all Greek issues. We are interested in issues of education, religion, geopolitics. We stand by your side in all matters and everything related to the Hagia Sophia and many other issues,” while they expressed their willingness to support and help Greece and the Church.

The Archbishop underlined the good cooperation he had with the US Ambassador to Greece and spoke about various issues, such as the recognition of the Church of Ukraine, emphasizing that “we are a family with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He also referred to the issue of Hagia Sophia, and its significance as an important cultural site. Speaking about the immigration issue, he noted that the country had now reached its limits and called on other European countries to help and cooperate in order to address the situation with love and contribution.

The Protosyncellus of the Archdiocese, Archimandrite Barnabas Theocharis, the Deputy General Hierarchical Vicar, Archimandrite Eugenios Pantzaridis, the Chief of Staff of the Archdiocese, Fr. Anastasios Vlavianos, and Archdeacon Ioannis Boutsis were also present at the meeting.

The World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) is an organization established in 1996 on the initiative of the Greek government. It consists of current and former Greek MPs of the foreign legislature and aims to: a) communicate and develop the relations of these MPs with the Greek Parliament, b) strengthen the relations of friendship and cooperation with Greece and the development common strategy on issues of Greek interest, and c) to promote and spread Greek culture and the Greek language.

In this context, WHIA cooperates closely with the Special Permanent Committee on Greeks Abroad of the Greek Parliament for the promotion of issues related to the Greek Diaspora.

According to the operating statutes, the Board of Directors meets in Greece once or twice a year, while the General Assembly is held every two years in Athens. Until today, the General Assembly has adopted important resolutions in support of Greek issues at the international level.