Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew sent a congratulatory message to Joe Biden.
“The joy and enthusiasm for your electoral victory are not just personal feelings. They are also feelings of our Ecumenical Patriarchate and its Dioceses around the world, with first the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America with its worthy shepherd Archbishop Elpidophoros – and thank you for surrounding him with love and honor – and beyond our Patriarchate, millions of Americans but also citizens of the whole free world applaud your supremacy, to whom you give hope (we would say certainty) for a better world, where the eternal values and ideals of civilized humanity will prevail”, the Ecumenical Patriarch said among other things in his letter.
Bartholomew also praised Biden for his stated intention to undertake initiatives to protect the environment, with a view to joining the Paris Agreement and guaranteeing a cleaner environment.
“Mr. President, those who thirst for religious freedom expect a lot from us, those whose human rights are being violated, those who desire freedom and justice. And there are so many of them! They also include the historic religious communities of the Middle East that envision a peaceful coexistence. Mr. President, may God be with you!”
It is recalled Biden visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar in 2011, as Vice President of the United States.
US presidential candidate Joe Biden presents ‘vision for Greece’
Earlier this month, Biden also called on Turkey to reverse the decision on Hagia Sophia, and stated that the US (more specifically the Trump administration) must press Turkey to refrain from any further provocative actions in the region against Greece.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked Biden for his comments: “It is very important that just yesterday the former Vice President of the United States and presidential candidate, Joe Biden, joined his voice with the global wave of protests for its transformation into a mosque. He called on Turkey, in an explicit manner, to restore its character as a monument to all humanity.”
