Members of the Archons, who are honorees of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and selected from among the distinguished laity, are in the Greek capital for a series of contacts and meetings on issues affecting the Mother Church.
The delegation is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Elder Metropolitan of Halkidona, His Eminence Emmanuel.
The issue of religious freedom around the world, and especially in Turkey, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, is high on the agenda of talks.
The Archons were honored on Monday evening at a reception hosted by US ambassador in Greece George Tsunis.
In another development related to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Monday blessed and attended an event in the Bosporus metropolis for Diaspora youth.
A traditional new year’s pie, the Vassilopita, was also cut on the occasion, with the Shepherd of the Mother Church wishing all pupils, graduates and educators of ethnic Greek Orthodox schools in Constantinople and the northeast Aegean island of Imvros a productive and peaceful 2023.