Obama assures the Ecumenical Patriarch
The Ecumenical Patriarch is back in Constantinople, (Istanbul), content with assurances from President Obama that he will raise the issue of re-opening the Halki Theological School when the US President meets the Turkish PM Erdogan
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in a 30 minute meeting with the President of the United States Barack Obama, where the President assured the Ecumenical Patriarch that he will raise the issue of re-opening Halki Theological School when he meets the Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Ergogan in December.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos expressed his contentment after holding 30-minute talks on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama.
The US President assured him that when he meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on December 7, he will stress the need to respect the Ecumenical Patriarchate and call on him to allow the reopening of the Halki School of Theology.
"Mention was made of human rights and of our problems of the Patriarchate. Indeed, he told us that he is expecting the prime minister of Turkey in December. And he will mention all these issues to him as he had done on other occasions. As you are aware, during his visit to Turkey he raised the issue of the reopening of the Halki School of Theology at the Grand Turkish National Assembly and said that he will not cease to speak about these issues which for him are issues of religious freedom and human rights for which he is interested for all the world," the Ecumenical Patriarch said.
"This was his message. We also spoke about the Greek community here and the freedom enjoyed by the Orthodox people in America. And the president said that this is self-evident because it is anticipated by the Constitution of America," Mr Vartholomeos added.
Speaking outside the White House, the Ecumenical Patriarch highlighted that he also discussed environmental protection issues with President Obama. "With the politeness and kindness characterising him he received us, the Archbishop of America and the other metropolitan brothers. With great politeness and kindness he referred to our first meeting in Istanbul. He said he was pleased that we were meeting again. We spoke about ecological issues, about the banquet that we had, while he is not yet sure if he will go to the world conference in Copenhagen," he added.
The Ecumenical Patriarch was accompanied by Archbishop of America Demetrius and three metropolitans who accompanied him on his trip to the United States.
Advertisement
-
We should accept gay marriage(7)
-
Greek lobby mixed efforts in Canberra(4)
-
Hellenic line in the sand(4)
-
The politics of transition in Greek Australian community organisations(4)
-
Greece Reaps the Fruits of Corruption(4)
-
Why can’t they flirt?(3)
More from this Section
-
A leading Orthodox psaltis is coming to Melbourne to perform Russian Orthodox Easter hymns
-
The return leg in Ukraine will decide which of the two sides will qualify for the 2010 World Cup after the 0-0 draw at OAKA.
-
Bill Papastergiadis believes that good reasoning and sound research informs the proposal for the Greek Tower in Lonsdale Street.
-
A young woman allegedly doused a 20-year-old British tourist's penis with alcohol and lit it, after the drunk man exposed his private parts and attempted to grope her in a bar on the island of Crete.
-
A survey reveals that Greek university students do not believe that a undergraduate degree is sufficient to enhance their life and employment prospects.
-
Fine Food Australia expo in Sydney, finished on Thursday but Greek companies were noticeably absent from the expo.
-
The Greek Under 20s mens baskettball team exchanged passes, banter and a basketball top with the Greek Prime Minster when he hosted them last week
-
Discover how a 54 year old teachers aid from Brisbane has made a grand impact on Channel 10's Masterchef and has done herself proud despite the intense competition.
-
Notis Sfakianakis is touring Australia for the first time since 1996.
-
The Greek government is selling a minority share holding in Greece's second largest water utility, EYATH, by competitive tender.
-
Unemployments has risen in Greece in the last 12 months with women suffering the brunt of job losses.
-
Three Greek Australian community leaders express their opinions on the issue of changing the Australian flag.
-
The twenty year urban development plan for the region of Attiki announced by Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias last week has also attracted criticism by a key Greek urban planner.
-
AEK win their fifth game in a row and move to third place in the Greek Super League while .
-
Professor Vrasidas Karalis explores the political and historical significance of the 1821 revolution and its relevance to our contemporary times.
-
George Halvagis has expressed his family's frustration with the decision of the Court of Appeal to overturn the conviction of Peter Dupas for the murder of Mersina Halvagis and to order a new trial.
-
Two victories in the pool stage has seen Greece start well in the European Volleyball Championships.
-
Greece’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a bouncer against a lower appeals court ruling indicting him on intentional homicide charges in the death of 20-year-old Australian tourist Doujon Zammit.
-
A 40-metre drive by young gun Mitchell Stamatelis has salvaged Sydney Olympic a 2-2 draw against a determined Bankstown City Lions outfit.
-
PAS Ioannina stole a point, and perhaps should have had all three, while AEK has ended Kavala’s play-off hopes with a classy performance.
-
Northcote City earned its first VPL points in 19 years thanks to the exciting 3-3 draw with South Melbourne.
-
Bentleigh Greens earnt their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Altona, last year's VPL titleholder.
-
Twenty percent of Greece’s population are facing poverty according to a survey conducted by the National Statistics Service on living conditions and income earned in 2008.
-
The Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, spent two days in Washington last week meeting with US President Barack Obama and other senior figures in his administration.
-
Greek-American chef, Michael Psilakis will reveal his revolutionary techniques and flavours as a guest of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
-
A total of 20 Greek Australians are candidates in the South Australia elections which will take place on March 20.
-
A day at Sovereign Hill, FOTIS KAPETOPOULOS, is an enchanting experience which combines old-world history with modern technology to create an authentic recreation of the 1850s.
-
More than 30,000 people took to the streets of Athens on Thursday as part of the second nationwide strike in Greece against the austerity measures announced by the Papandreou government.
