Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was visited by the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, and her delegation on Bright Tuesday.
Patriarch Bartholomew and the Governor-General, according to the relevant press release, had the opportunity to discuss, in a cordial atmosphere, the work of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and particularly the contribution of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to Australia.
Special mention was also made of the visit of the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, whose work and contribution they both praised.
The meeting was attended by the Governor General’s husband, Simeon Beckett, the Australian Ambassador to Ankara, Miles Armitage, the Consul General in Istanbul, Tony Huber, and members of Mostyn’s staff, while on the side of the Patriarchate were Metropolitan Elder Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Metropolitan Maximos of Sylivria, and the Grand Ecclesiarch Mr. Aetios, Director of the Patriarchal Office.
The relevant statement from the Governor General noted that the meeting follows Patriarch Bartholomew’s visit to Australia last year, when Ms. Mostyn welcomed him at Admiralty House.
Mostyn and Beckett thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for the welcome, “expressing their best wishes on behalf of Orthodox Australians, discussing warmly the time he spent with the Greek Diaspora in Australia and his focus on peace, compassion and care for the environment.”
“After their meeting, a guided tour of the beautiful Orthodox Patriarchate followed.”
The Governor-General travelled to Turkey, as reported by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, for Anzac Day commemorations and was likely to represent Australia at the funeral of Pope Francis.
More specifically, when asked on Tuesday about who would represent Australia at the funeral, Albanese replied that he had spoken to Mostyn.
“The details are of course still being finalized, but Her Excellency would be an appropriate representative.”
He also reported that he spoke with Keith Pitt, who has been appointed as the Ambassador to the Holy See, but noted that Pitt had not yet been able to “present his credentials” due to the pope’s illness.
Meeting with Erdogan
While in Turkey, Mostyn also met with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As Hurriyet Daily News wrote – citing Turkey’s Communications Directorate – the Governor-General and Erdogan discussed bilateral relations, as well as other issues.
The Turkish president said that his country will continue to develop cooperation in many areas, especially in trade, tourism and transport, in order to strengthen “the deep relations between Turkey and Australia through the actions to be taken.”
He stressed the need to intensify the efforts of the international community to end Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Erdogan’s chief adviser, and other officials also participated in the meeting, which was held at the Presidential Palace.
