“We are your children”, said the Archbishop of Thyatira, addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch
By Thanasis Gavou
A formal dinner with 850 guests was held on Sunday evening in a central London hotel to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Archdiocese of Thyatira and Great Britain.
Present at the event was His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew, who is making an official visit to the British capital on the occasion of the centenary of the Archdiocese.
In his speech, His Holiness expressed his joy, satisfaction and pride for what the British Archdiocese has achieved in these 100 years. “The establishment of this Holy Archdiocese really opened a new chapter in the history of Orthodoxy, in its relations with Christian Europe and in its ecumenical witness”, said the Ecumenical Patriarch.
He praised the work, the “openness to the world” and the “pastoral imagination” of the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Mr. Nikitas, from 2019, with special reference to the approach to the youth.
The Most Reverend Archbishop of Thyateira referred to his own greetings to the progress and achievements of the Greek Orthodox community in Britain and emphasized the maintenance of ties with Greece and Cyprus. He also referred to the work of the Archdiocese.
Addressing His Holiness, he said: “We are your children and the diaspora, the race and the nation”, saying that the diaspora are the continuers of the vision of the “grandfathers”, the first diaspora in Britain.
On behalf of the Greek government, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for expatriate issues, Andreas Katsaniotis, said that “the Archdiocese of Thyatira and Great Britain was called from the first moment, always with the support and enlightened guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to give its own testimony facing and overcoming great challenges and difficulties”.
On behalf of the Cypriot state, the Commissioner of the Presidency for Emigrant Affairs Fotis Fotiou addressed a greeting.
Addressing His Holiness, he noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is “the genuine mother church of all of us Orthodox, a real stronghold of the faith and the nation which under your own ministry continues, despite the difficulties and problems, to shine not only on the European, but and in global becoming”.
He praised the leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarch in matters of environmental protection and his struggles for peace and freedom of religious expression.
He also expressed the pride of Hellenism for the modernization and development of the Archdiocese of Thyatira and highlighted the common vision of utilizing the younger emigrants for the benefit of Hellenism.
The evening ended with music, with songs by popular artists Mario Fragoulis and Deborah Myers.
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