US Ambassador to Athens Jeffrey Pyatt met with Archbishop Ieronimos, head of the Greek Orthodox Church on May 29, according to the Greek media outlet Romfea.
US Ambassador to Athens Jeffrey Pyatt met with Archbishop Ieronimos, head of the Greek Orthodox Church on May 29, according to the Greek media outlet Romfea.
The parties discussed the issues of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the situation around the official name of Macedonia, as well as the general issues of South-Eastern Europe. Previous to his appointment in Athens Pyatt worked as an ambassador in Kyiv.
The ambassador said that “the Orthodox Church can make a decisive contribution to peace and reconciliation between peoples.” Archbishop Ieroņimos, for his part, emphasized that all parties involved in the Ukrainian case should demonstrate appropriate attention to this. As for Macedonia, they must hear all the proposals before making a final decision.
As reported, the Greek bishops do not accept the use of the word "Macedonia" by their neighbors, and the bishops from Ohrid are not ready to give up on this title, because this is a matter of identity for them.
Previously, the representatives of the Constantinople Patriarchate have already visited the Church of Greece, where they discussed the Ukrainian issue. Andrey Maslov, Ambassador of Russia in Greece, met with Archbishop Ieronimos. There is information that the ambassador spoke about the interest of the Kremlin in the Ukrainian church question, noting that for his government “it is not just a church issue”.